One of the first questions beginning runners invariably ask is: How should I breathe? There are all sorts of cute answers to that fundamental question, but clearly breathing is important for any runner. Obviously so. But how you breathe can also spell the difference between running well and laboring with every step.
We inhale air either through our nose or mouth. Those are the only two ways. The mouth is larger than the nostrils so you can inhale and exhale more air through the mouth. While running, you need more air than when you’re sedentary so it only makes sense that the most effective way to breathe while running (or even walking) is through the mouth.
Not only are you able to inhale and exhale greater amounts of air, but it’s also easier and a more relaxed way to breathe. If you breathe through your nose while running, your facial muscles will tighten and your jaw will have a tendency to clench.
While running and breathing in and out through the mouth, some air will naturally come in through the nostrils but it’s not a huge factor and you won’t have to concern yourself with it.
As you begin to run, merely open up your mouth slightly and breathe through your mouth in a relaxed, comfortable way. Your pace at the beginning of a run should be very easy so you won’t have to worry about sucking in huge amounts of air. Just breathe normally and your pace should be easy enough that you should be able to chat with your running friends. If you can’t converse comfortably and you feel yourself out of breath, you’re going too fast. Slow down.
Your actual breathing should be done with short and shallow breaths. You don’t want to get into a breathing pattern of taking long, deep breaths on every inhalation or you won’t be able to run very far.
However, when you run up a steep hill that requires plenty of effort (think Mount Bonnell, Ladera Norte or Jester) and you feel yourself running out of breath, a deep inhalation (or several) once at the top may be necessary to "catch" your breath again. Or, at the end of a run or race where you speed up to max speed and find yourself running out of breath, you will naturally breathe harder for a few moments until your breathing returns to normal. But ordinarily, heavy breathing isn’t something you would do while running or walking.
The general rule is if you can hear yourself breathing while running and/or it takes a conscious effort, you are simply running too fast. Heavy breathing is OK for a couple of minutes (again, such as on a hill or at the end of a race), but only for a few minutes. After that burst, you should slow your breathing pattern and get back on a normal running and breathing pace.
There is one other type of breathing and it’s a very specific type. It’s called belly breathing and generally it’s only used to either get rid of a side stitch or to recover from a hard hill or a spurt of fast running. Belly breathing is useful on occasion because you can actually inhale more oxygen and get rid of more carbon dioxide on your exhalation than breathing into the chest through your mouth. When you belly breathe, you use your stomach muscles to inhale. When you do, the stomach balloons with teach deep inhalation and flattens with the exhalation. Your chest remains mostly still.
If you are troubled by a side stitch during a run or race, five or six inhalations through the belly is usually enough to get rid of the stitch. It’s also a good way to recover from a fast section of your run or race (sduch as on a hill) that necessitated heavier breathing. But even though belly breathing brings more air in and forces more carbon dioxide out, you can’t belly breathe for very long because it takes so much effort.
Stick with breathing through the mouth into the chest. Develop a regular breathing pattern that is in sync with your stride. Don’t overthink it, but eventually your stride and breathing will naturally match up. Again, when running fast or over some hills, you will have to quicken your pattern but breathing while running should come easily and naturally.
If it doesn’t, slow down.
