It had recently come to my attention through the efforts of my personal training advisors (you know who you are) that by breathing through the nose will prevent going over the heartrate threshold (or something like that, at least it acts a a bit of a regulator) so I set off for the beach last night to try it out.
First impressions – felt a bit odd, I’m clearly an inveterate mouthbreather when I run, usually in some sort of gasping fish out of water style. After I while I got more used to it, I think I should have been counting steps and breaths or something but I’d forgotten what I was meant to count and how much I should be counting to anyway so I just made it up.
It does actually seem to work, if I was finding it hard to breathe through the nose and felt like I needed a gulp from my mouth then I knew I was pushing too hard. Mainly the uphill bits it seemed as I could happily cruise at around 10 min per mile pace on sand while nosebreathing. In fact the hardest part was remembering to do it once I got into the zone and started enjoying the scenery and terrain.
I actually covered seven and a half miles and it didn’t feel like I was putting out too much effort. Maybe this slow/chi/noserunning technique has plenty going for it. It was kind of a definite comeback run for me. Every day as I travel to work I pass at a distance the hill of Witches Point at Southerndown and I can just make out the wall on the side of it. Throughout my injury it has teased me with its presence and every time I’ve gone past I’ve sworn my revenge on it.
Yesterday that time came and when I reached the wall I took a photo of my vanquished foe, gave it the two fingered salute and pranced around it just to demonstrate my return and put this completely inanimate object back in its place – I’m king of the hill again!
Instead of the beach on the way back I ran the cliff route which means lots of hills to test out the nosebreathing. I have to admit to switching to my mouth a few times before remembering why I’m doing this in the first place. Gob shut I continued slower.
Once again for those that reached the end of the post I give you the brave … I don’t care that you are photographing me …. lamb
Blue Green Gold Grey, Awyr Maes Tywod Aarreg 
You are funny!!!! Can’t just picture you posturing around the wall 😂😂😂
WELL DONE sounds like an amazing run!!! It’s THOSE runs that tease us into never giving up huh?
And as for the lamb…. *wail* Donnnnnnnnnt!!!! I was planning moussaka for dinner!!!!
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That wall won’t mess with me again! Yeah definitely a teaser run, I want to go further but trying to be sensible with the foot. Enjoy the moussaka, try not to think of little Lambington-Smythe (I named him to help you get over this 😉 when you’re eating!
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Haaaahahaaahaaa! Omg Lambington-Smythe!!!! How to totally screw with someone’s dinner!!!! Rethink in progress!
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Ooops sorry! Hope the family didn’t have their hearts set on it. Next week cute cows!
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Nah we are safe with Percy and Daisy… It’s Nemo and ChickenLicken now you have to worry about!
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Fantastic! You know I just love it when things work for others as well! Makes me feel like less of a maniac. FYI the counting does not matter. Such an awesome lamb 😀 and YAY for showing this stupid piece of dumb wall it’s place.
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Yep it definitely stopped me blowing myself away in the first few miles. There’s actually a point I could recognise at which I really needed to gulp air through the mouth and as soon as I hit that point I would back off until it was back under control so yep it seems to be an ideal regulator for me and one that even I can’t screw up! I’m thinking as my fitness comes back that point will stretch further away =) As for Lambington-Smythe he is indeed a bit of cute on eh? And the wall? KAPOW!
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Nose breathing takes a while to feel natural but once it does, running is almost effortless!
Love the stream of consciousness kind of post.
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I just have to keep remembering it in the meantime. Thanks for the kind comment, I tend to just write things in the order they occur to me, usually the order they happen in the run now I come to think about it ….
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Glad to hear that the nose breathing works for you too (and I wasn’t just imagining it!). Totally understand the projection of feelings onto inanimate objects such as hills, roads, lamp posts, traffic lights (yes my horizons are a bit smaller) and celebration of small victories is very important. I learned that about celebration on a management course. It suggested that we find ‘unique and creative ways to praise and celebrate success’. Ie it mustn’t waste time or cost money. I think your hilltop dance counts. 😊
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Oh God management courses, the horrors! I remember those days
If it counts I also high 5 trees, is this normal?
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It’s completely normal.Only start to worry if the trees see you coming and run towards you in anticipation. If this happens I’d advise you to abandon nose breathing and run in the opposite direction (until, Trump style, you figure out what the hell is going on).
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No. Hugging trees is normal. However if you are a repressed male who shies away from physical contact a high 5 is an appropriate substitution😊
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im not repressed but i dont have time to stop and hug! I’ll fist bump next time
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😆😆
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