« Close, oh so close | Main | US Judiciary, a.k.a. KKK »
April 10, 2005
Breathing Easier
I'm trying to get ready for the Vermont City Marathon, but things haven't been going so well. Between the cold weather, an Achilles injury and my travel, I logged a grand total of 27 miles in January. No worries - plenty of time. February brought a pretty nasty bout of the flu that lasted a good 10 days, and running after that was (ahem) difficult. Total miles for Feb: 32 miles. March brought a number of business trips that seriously inhibited my ability to do any significant running, and I logged a grand total of 52 miles.
However, I could still tuck in some long runs in April and early May and still be OK for the race, but on my first "long" run, scheduled to be 11 miles on March 19th, I was only able to complete 7 miles and then limped home doing the walk run walk thing. Not so good. I tried again on March 27 - a planned 12 mile run turned into a 8 mile run and then more walking.
I had to postpone my next long run attempt until April 6th, and again, a planned 11 mile run got shortened to 9 miles with the last couple including a lot of walking. I was getting pretty depressed.
The problem wasn't being tired, although I did feel the normal drain while running. I just always felt like I had to stop and catch my breath, even when things were "normal" in the first 6 miles or so. Further, when I did stop running, I would get very light headed, and it would take a long time for my breathing to return to normal. The last time I trained for the marathon (a couple of years ago), I had problems with my breathing, but it was never this bad.
I had planned on another long run this past Saturday (4/9), and in getting running to run I was thinking a lot about my breathing. I simply couldn't face another run like the last one - I had to do something different. I had talked with Beth about it a couple days earlier, and she had made some suggestions which were all rattling around in my head.
I stepped out of the house and began running, and the first 100 yards are always so easy and joyful - "Why can't the whole run be like this?" I was thinking. And then it hit me - those first few yards I was very relaxed, and hadn't settled into my "breathing rhythm". What if my breathing rhythm was all wrong? It was a very weird experience: instead of thinking about my pace and the traffic and all, I concentrated on holding onto that good feeling I had the first 100 yards. My idea was simple - just try to keep the running feeling good. A mile went by without problem, the two, four and finally I completed the 6 mile loop I was going to run twice - still feeling pretty darn good, and no breathing problems at all! The second loop was as enjoyable as the first - no breathing problems.
After thinking about it, I realized that I had picked up my breathing rhythm in Junior High, and never thought about it again. The problem appears to be that I was breathing slightly too rapidly, and irritated my lungs to the point that it caused asthma-like symptoms. What I had done Saturday was to decouple my breathing from my pace, and this allowed me to breath much more normally.
I'm not out of the woods yet. I suspect I can improve my non-paced breathing to something more rhythmic but not so rapid to create problem. Further, I still need to do a lot more distance running. But with a clear strategy now emerging, I'm in a way better position to get ready for the race.
Posted by pgutwin at April 10, 2005 6:30 PM