Matt Metzgar

Nasal Breathing II

One other thing I wanted to point out about nasal breathing is the number of breaths per minute.  In the original article I found that turned me on to nasal breathing, the author recommends a rate of 15 breaths per minute.  In Jack Daniels' "Daniels Running Formula", he estimates that top runners take 45 breaths per minute.  This is quite a difference!

Many people have criticized running because it produces oxidative stress.  However, this depends on the method a person breathes.  I am not an expert on oxidative stress, but I would think that 45 breaths per minute over an extended period would create a lot more damage than 15 breaths per minute!  This study(pdf) shows that males at rest breath at an average rate of 16 breaths per minute.  Therefore, running with nasal breathing has roughly the same breathing rate as a person at rest (though I'm sure the running produces deeper breaths).

I have continued to stick with nasal breathing in my training.  I can run 20 to 30 minutes on nasal breathing.  I still slip up, but it's mostly due to losing focus rather than needing to breath through my mouth.

Barefoot on Pavement

Something I've been toying with lately is running barefoot on pavement.  Tonight, I just did a couple of laps at the track in the Vibrams, and then headed for home.  I decided to run back barefoot on the pavement.  For whatever reason, this doesn't feel painful to me at all.  It only took about 5 minutes, and of course, I got a few strange looks along the way.

I actually think I run with better efficiency barefoot on pavement than any other style.  Maybe the combination forces more efficiency.  I have no desire to run barefoot on pavement just to put on a show, but if it helps me develop then I'll do more of it.  Of course, this won't be feasible in the wintertime, so it's a seasonal tool at best.

Once Bitten, Twice Shy

It seems like whenever you run a race (like I did yesterday), the question starts popping into your head, "how can I get faster?"  With the information overload of the internet, there are limitless programs to choose from.  Of course, all these ways can't be equally effective and some are undoubtedly ineffective.

Back in the mid-90s when I did some running, it was really pre-internet times and there was much less information on running.  In looking to improve, I just took the simplest approach: I kept running at moderate paces and slowly got faster over the months.  It was very similar to the Lydiard system, but I had no idea who Lydiard was back then.

Unfortunately, this type of system doesn't sell too well in the information marketplace.  There's not much to sell really - I mean, how much will people be willing to pay for someone to say, "continue running at a moderate pace."

Fast forward to 2004 when I did some running, and I got sucked into the modern systems.  Pose running, intervals, run faster to get faster, etc.  The intent was on making the body run faster, rather than letting it happen.  I have to say that all this worked... for about six months.  By that time I was so burned out that I didn't feel like running anymore.

This time when the "get faster" question pops into my head, my plan is to stay the course.  I have already tried the quick-fix method, and it didn't work.  Real progress takes time.

First Trail Race

I ran a local trail race this morning.  I've run road races, but never a trail race.  It was only a 5k, so it seemed like a good opportunity to try it out.  I also wanted to see how my Vibrams would perform.

I didn't really "race", I just ran easy and tried to maintain nasal breathing.  I didn't want today to become a chronic cardio-type of event.  It went pretty well, but my form faltered in the last mile.  I've mostly been training at the local football field, so I haven't done much distance.

I got a number of comments on the Vibrams.  Another guy said that he just bought a pair and had been using them for speed work.  The Vibrams held up well, but again the sports tape on my heel fell off at some point.

All in all, it was pretty enjoyable.  My only goal for the race was to have fun.  I am trying to keep my running on a sustainable path.  If you don't enjoy something, then you won't keep it up in the long run. 

Unneeded Insulation

I've been doing a lot of barefoot running on grass, and I wanted to see if it transferred to running on pavement.  Today, I put on my Puma H Street shoes and headed up a mile-long road.  From the outset, it didn't feel right.  The good feelings from running on grass were gone - replaced by tension everywhere.  I only ran a mile up and a mile back, but I was happy it was over.  I couldn't feel the ground, and the run certainly triggered the stress response.

A couple hours later, I returned to the hill with my new Vibram FiveFingers.  This changed everything.  My stride was naturally shorter and crisper.  My balance was better, and my breathing was less labored.  In short, it felt similar to the barefoot running I've been doing (except I still like running on grass instead of pavement!).

Given that the Puma H Street is a thin shoe, I'm surprised at how disruptive it was to my running.  All this keeps bringing me back to the same conclusion: running is supposed to be done barefoot.  It's no wonder that 75% of runners are injured every year because 95% of them wear thick shoes.  If you cut off your feedback from the ground via thick shoes, your body has nothing to work with in improving mechanics.

Everything felt better in the Vibrams.  I could sense my bodyweight better, and I felt the need to lean more.  The only thing that wasn't good was the heel part still rubs a bit.  I had sports tape on my heels, but it fell off with the sweat.  I'll try something else for this minor issue.

Running and the Stress Response

One of the things that has always puzzled me about running is how it triggers the stress reponse.  If you run sprints or intervals, this triggers the stress response but that is what is supposed to happen.  However, even doing slow running (jogging), I've noticed that it triggers the stress response for me.  Then the longer duration of a jog compared to a sprint seems to make things worse, because you have a longer continuous period of stress.  What doesn't make sense is that the jogging is low-intensity like walking, and somehow walking doesn't trigger the stress response and yet jogging does.

Something that may help circumvent this problem is nasal breathing.  I did another easy run with nasal breathing last night, and I felt fine today.  The root to this may be biological - many animals usually breathe through their nose, and then only under stressful conditions (like being chased) do they breathe through the mouth.  The same may be true with humans.  Running with nasal breathing may signal that everything is still okay, while running with mouth breathing may trigger the stress response.  This is just a hypothesis, but I will continue to work with it and see if it's true.

Nasal Breathing

Recently, I was looking up some things on hunter-gatherers, and then I came across this piece:

"A paleontologist, who is also a triathlete, was allowed to go hunting with hunter gatherers. He reported they began their morning hunt in a run, jog, run, jog fashion. When found the trail of an animal they wanted to hunt there was no more jogging only running because they had to catch up. When they caught up with the animal it sprinted off for its life. The men continued running after until it could run no longer and then they killed it. He was able to keep up with them but not without considerable effort on his part. He said the most impressive thing to him was the fact the men never opened their mouths to breathe. To them the nose was not a restriction. What has happened to us civilized humans? "

This leads to a simple question: is nasal breathing the natural pattern for running?  I had actually read about this years ago in "Body, Mind, and Sport" by John Doulliard.  He is a big propenent of nasal breathing, especially for exercise.

I did some research and came across some strange findings.  First, I found that there was a correlation between mouth breathing and dental/mouth problems in children.  The researchers aren't sure what causes what, but they believe it's a vicious cycle where mouth breathing leads to dental dysfunction, which leads to more mouth breathing.  Whatever the case, it doesn't look like mouth breathing is a positive factor.

Next, I found this article where a coach prescribes long, aerobic barefoot runs with nasal breathing as a complete training program.  There are also a couple of related articles by the author at this website that are of interest.  The author believes that nasal breathing is a major key to keeping the heart rate down, which will make a run truly aerobic.

Finally, I found that mouth breathing leads to distortions in posture.  It is easy to follow from this that mouth breathing during running could lead to poor running posture, which could cause problems.

All this can make a case that nasal breathing is the "default" breathing pattern for running.  I would imagine that people who have run their whole lives may naturally do this.  As I said earlier, I will experiment with nasal breathing and see how it goes.

Running at the Speed Limit II

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about how bare feet and natural surfaces may create a type of "speed limit" for natural running.  Now I have come across another system that may beneficially limit training intensity: nasal breathing.  I am seeing evidence that hunter-gatherers may have breathed through their nose for endurance runs.  I have some other related information that I will put up in the next few days.

I went out tonight and did a short run while breathing through the nose the whole time.  It produces a different experience for sure.  It is much more calming and steady.  I will continue to experiment with this over the next few weeks.