Breathing and Running

I admit that I've never given belly breathing anything more than a passing thought, thinking it's more of a "yoga type thing" with no real application to running. Perhaps I've been wrong all these years. Check out this video by Budd Coates Running On Air: Breathing Technique.

If you are like me, always on the lookout for new ways to run faster, I think you'll take some time to experiment with belly beathing and the "in-2-3," "out-2," "in-2-3," "out-2" easy and the 3 count 2:1 hard running breathing rhythm.

More On Breathing and Running

Long term analysis conducted by Jack Daniels has found that elite athletes in races up to and including the 10K use the 2-2 (breath in 2 steps and out 2 steps) breathing rhythm at the start of the race and after completing about two-thirds of the race they switch to a 2-1 breathing rhythm. For races longer than 10k the 2-2 breathing rhythm is used for the whole distance, perhaps shifting to a 2-1 breathing rhythm in the last minute or two for the sprint finish. -brianmac.co.uk

MY COMMENT: I've always started my exhale every other time my left foot strikes.