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In article <[email hidden]>, Dan
Stumpus said:Learn to breathe! Elite runners are breathing 3 to 4 steps per breath cycle
at racing pace. Are you holding yourself back by your breathing?
I think you have potential to run noticably faster if you can get into
better shape. If your legs get strong enough to demand more oxygen, you'll
find yourself breathing harder, and running faster.
I reach my MHR by breathing 1 step in, 1 step out. 85% with 2 in/1 out, and
60-65% with 3 in/3 out.
If you get in shape to do tempo runs at 3 steps per breath cycle, you're
getting somewhere...
-- Dan
Building on what Dan is saying, if one is maintaining a steady cadence
of 180 at MHR, 85%, and 65%,
Maintaining an erect posture and leaning forward from the ankle brings
gravity into play as the body falls in the direction of the lean;
The lean (angle) of the erect postured body from ankle to top of head
increases as the speed increases;
With increased speed, a greater distance is covered each stride;
In order to maintain cadence, the runner has to move the leg more
quickly through a greated range of motion;
To cover a greater range while maintaining the same cadence, there is
more work being done;
The work being done is to keep up with the rate of falling so that one
does not fall;
To not run out of oxygen and go into oxygen debt as one increases their
speed while maintaining the same 180 cadence, one can shorten the
breath cycle so that more cycles of air are taken in over the same
amount of steps
4/4 over 24 steps is 3 cycles of air
3/3 over 24 steps is 4 cycles of air
3/2 over 24 steps is 5.8 cycles of air
2/2 over 24 steps is 6.0 cycles of air
2/1 over 24 steps is 8.0 cycles of air
1/1 over 24 steps is 12 cycles of air
While using Danny Dryer's image of the erect body leaning from the
ankle as an accelerator pedal to increase the speed, the increase in
cycles of air with the increased speed while maintaining the same
stride cadence would be the carburetor-increasing the amount of oxygen
being burned. Or someone might want to use the higher the speed while
maintaining the same RPM of strides, one increases the RPM of breath to
maintain the overall perceived effort;
The idea of the different breath cycles while maintaining the same
stride cadence and increasing the speed is to give the brain and body
enough oxygen so that a homeostasis is maintained while increasing the
work load;
While maintaining a constant speed with an increase in effort due to a
steep hill or the glycogen depletion at the end of a long run,
marathon, or ultra, one can use the same cycles above to maintain their
constant speed - e.g. climbing a steep hill at elevation when a 2/1 or
a 1/1 feels normal and natural. For me it is maintaining enough oxygen
so that the brain does not panic and cause waste of energy by
tightening up or tensing other muscles that need not be brought into
work being done;
Some Great dialogue and good info in this thread.
Building on Donavan's:
Quoted message said:I wonder if this is partly determined by ones VO2 max ? I mean, when
you did
the measurements, you had exceptionally high VO2 max and relatively poor
running economy, which basically means you're a "gas guzzler", so maybe
that
explains why you breathe fairly quickly even at a low relative
intensity.
Quoted message said:I've noticed one of my training partners used a very low breathing
rate when
he was starting out (3-3 for the bulk of a speed workout) and this has
been
picking up as he's been training.
Cheers, Donovan Rebbechi http://pegasus.rutgers.edu/~elflord/
Practicing breath, Practice Form and Style
While the 180 is an ideal or a scientific fiction, one can train at 180
steps/minute going at a 9 or 10 minute mile and breathing 8/8 while
practicing to inflate the lungs to maximum. As the speed increases the
breath cycle goes to a 8/6, then 7/6, then 6/6, then 6/5, then 5/5,
then 5/4, then 4/4 and so on (this is a way to practice using breath so
that the volume exchange remains the same and that one can gradually
work at getting the same volume exchange at a 2/1 or 1/1). Again this
is some folklore to practice and play with.
While maintaining a 180 cadence, an even cycle (air out+air in=even
number of steps) will coordinate with same foot landing at the
beginning of the cycle; while a odd cycle (airout+air in= odd number of
steps) will be a bilateral foot landing at the beginning of each breath
cycle.
Another image that might be helpful is the use of breathing as shifting
gears. The more effort due to increased speed or more work (hills) the
greater the number of breathing cycles per minute.
========================
From: "Dan Stumpus" <[email hidden]>
Newsgroups: rec.running
Date: Fri, 08 Oct 2004 04:53:24 GMT
Quoted message said:Interesting -- it would seem that the high vo2 max guys have to breathe
harder to get that extra output.
..Higher redline, in other words. They might be working just as hard
(breathing as hard) as you running 7:00/mile, but while you might hit
LT at
5:40, they can keep revving up the motor before they hit their redline
at
5:00.
..It would also follow that in general, when you improve your vo2 max,
you can
comfortably run at a higher breathing rate.
..I was about 18% less efficient than my world-class brethren with the
same
vo2 max of 76 (which predicts a 2:14 marathon). I would guess about 10%
less efficient than the average competitor.
..Still, the fast guys I used to run with raced 3 step a lot of the time.
Donovan said:Quoted message said:I've noticed one of my training partners used a very low breathing
rate when he was starting out (3-3 for the bulk of a speed workout) and
this has been picking up as he's been training.
Quoted message said:Makes sense -- his vo2 max has improved. -- Dan
===================
My logic would go, the higher the VO2Max, the lower the breathing rate.
This would also mean that there was more capacity or more gears for
this higher VO2Max person to down shift to. Rather than having 3 or 4
gears they could shift to 8 or 10 different gears.
This goes along with your training partner's ability to start out at a
lower breathing rate at the beginning of your speed workouts. In my
mind's eye, because I am increasing the effort, I want to
hyperventilate but knowing that the rapid breathing will only bring me
to statis quo. Therefore I'm keeping the perceived effort low
especially if I can keep the brain oxygenated very well.
So at the end of a section of a speed workout, I don't bend over, I
keep my legs moving and continue to breathe at the breathe cycle I
finished (e.g. 2/1 or 1/1) until I can feel that I am recovering and
can go to a 2/2 or 3/3.
From the Sport Psych part of me, in training people, I want them to
feel the control they have by their breathing as opposed to gasping,
hands on knees with the brain sending negative messages as to having to
do this 6 more times.
In health and on the run,
Ozzie Gontang
Director, San Diego Marathon Clinic, est. 1975
Maintainer - rec.running FAQ
http://www.faqs.org/faqs/running-faq/
Mindful Running:
http://www.mindfulness.com/mr.asp
