I have found after a week and a half of our training that environment plays a key role in running -- expanding a little more, it's the scenery and places we run, the weather, along with the air we breathe while we are running. Last night we ran for 3 minutes, walked for 1 minute, and repeated 7 times; completing the night with a 2 minute run and a cool down walk. Last night was tough but it was easier than Monday. Monday was hot and humid, last night we had a cool breeze and the air wasn't thick. However, last night, we faced a different issue. We ran along 44th street, which we have done the last 2 runs, and noticed that the car exhaust was causing our nasal passages and throats to hurt as we were taking in air while running. We noticed it more last night than we had the two prior runs. Running along 44th has been nice because it was a change in scenery from our runs last week around the block. We are eager to explore more potential routes but living in Grand Rapids and doing one or two of our runs at night, if not all of them, we have to consider safe zones and where we should/n't run.
I also had another issue last night that I faced on Monday as well. At one point in the run I had issues with breathing. My breathing almost felt panicky and was hard to gain control of. It seems silly to me to ask because breathing seems like it should be the easier part of this training program -- any one who runs or exercises, do you have any suggestions in keeping a steady breath and how to breathe while running? It has happened both times towards the end of our run, and after walking for a minute I can gain some control again but it's still difficult. Does it better with time and continuous training?
On another not, we celebrated Nick's birthday yesterday! He turned 24! We woke up and I made him a birthday breakfast of french toast and bacon. We spent the day relaxing and opening gifts. For dinner, we went down town to the B.O.B. where we ate in a restaurant called Gilly's -- they give free Maine Lobster dinners to birthday customers! How awesome! Nick was totally geeked, the lobster kind of gave me the heebie jeebies but if you were a seafood fan, how could you not be excited about it? We took pictures but for some reason my computer is being stubborn and I am having a hard time uploading them. We went to our first White Caps game of the season as well, we sat in the lawn seats, surrounded by kids chasing each other around and middle school girls flirting with middle school boys; we had some laughs and enjoyed the evening together! Nick even caught a game ball and we stayed for the fireworks after the game! It was a great day spent and we finished the evening by going for our run.
Lastly, we have been married for 2 months today! I can't believe how quickly time is passing! I feel like our wedding was yesterday. Sometimes I wonder if brides suffer from postpartum wedding depression, our wedding day could not have been any more perfect, and I wouldn't want to do it any differently. But sometimes I wish we could do it all over again! To have all our family and friends under one roof, celebrating together! That's what renewal of vows is for? Maybe next year? :) Just kidding. I love married life and am so grateful for our big day on April 2, 2011. Marriage seems so natural to us, we are making the most of it! We know that we may face our mountains, but we our prepared for all that is to come our way.
Your breathing will definitely get better with time and practice. When running, you won't steady your breath, but you'll be able to breathe into your lung capacity. You want to take short breaths in (through your nose) and out (through your mouth). These should make your breathing fast. If you take long, slow breaths, you're telling your body to do two opposite things. Once you stop to walk, you can start taking those slower breaths, but do it gradually slower...You're training your body to do something new. It will seem like it takes forever, but you'll get there. Even when I take breaks (like a week or so), I have to retrain my body to breathe again.
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