“Breathing: The quality of your running is directly affected by the quality of your breathing. If with each breath you bring air all the way into the bottom of your lungs, it will significantly increase the amount of oxygen uptake in the capillary beds in the lining of the lower part of the lungs. Shallow, incomplete breaths will not oxygenate your blood as well, and your muscles will burn inefficiently because of the lack of oxygen.

“Belly Breathe: Purse your lips and contract your upper abdominal muscles to expel all the air from the bottom of your lungs. Then, when you inhale, close your mouth and breathe in through your nose, allowing your belly to fill first, followed by your upper lungs (expanding the back of your rib cage).

“Match Breath Rate to Cadence: When I’m running at an easy pace I synch my breath with my stride. I breathe out for three strides and inhale for two. When I’m doing a faster pace I’ll breathe out for only two strides and inhale for one. This sets up a nice rhythmical breath rate that’s very relaxing at any speed.

“Nose Breath Whenever Possible: If you want to ensure you’re not running beyond your aerobic threshold, the best trick is to always run with your mouth shut, breathing only through your nose. If your run too fast, you won’t be able to nose breathe and you’lll have to gasp for breath through your mouth. It’s a self-limiting method of pacing, and it works like a charm.”

_{—Danny Dreyer in ChiRunning: A Revolutionary Approach to Effortless and Injury-free Running}8 months ago