It may seem like your legs are up to the task of running nonstop, but your breath gets in the way of your progress. However, you can blame your breathlessness on your muscles rather than inefficient breathing. When you give your muscles more work than they're used to, they demand more oxygen. Your running muscles need training to process oxygen for energy efficiently. A steady breathing pattern helps keep the oxygen flow in line with demand.
Basics
Finding the right breathing pattern during a run helps you maintain efficient oxygen consumption, making it easier to hold a steady pace, run longer or even run faster. While there isn't one breathing pattern that's perfect for everyone, elite athletes often use a 2-to-2 breathing ratio, according to Brian Mackenzie, track and field coach for United Kingdom Athletics. That means you breathe in for two steps and out for two steps. Experiment with the 2-to-2 ratio, 3-to-3 ratio and a 3-to-2 to see which one you respond better to during your runs.
Speed
Once you find an effective breathing pattern to use during routine runs, alter the pattern to help you build speed during sprinting or interval training. When you pick up speed, switch to a 2-to-1 breathing pattern, taking two breaths in for every exhale. Eventually, you'll be able to use your breaths to control your performance. When you train regularly using consistent, controlled breathing patterns, you'll start to fall into those patterns automatically, changing your breath to align with your speed, or vice versa.
Breaks
Although finding a natural and effective breathing pattern is important for beginners, it's also important to recognize the value of walking breaks. You're training your cardiovascular system to work harder and longer, but your capacity for running continuously needs to be developed over time. A 30- to 60-second walk break, or walking for one lap around the track, should be enough. This gives the stressed muscles time to recover, which means they will use oxygen more efficiently when you switch back to running.
Considerations
Use breathing patterns to help overcome stitches -- pain in your side -- during running. Mackenzie recommends changing to a different ratio of breaths in and out, such as changing from a 2-to-2 ratio to a 3-to-3 ratio. You should also slow your pace in the event of pain in your side.
Check with your doctor before you start a running program if you have a history of heart problems.
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