What are the proper breathing techniques when running outside in cold weather?
Part of the problem may be that the air doesn’t have time to warm up before it hits your lungs. Your lungs actually release histamine when cold air hits them. Also, the mucus becomes thicker (just like any other fluid) as it gets colder. To counter this, you should try to breathe through your nose. Blood vessels in your nose heat up the air to body temperature very quickly. You’ll probably have to slow down your pace to be able to nose-breathe, but winter is a good time for base-building rather than speed work. Hope this helps and you can continue running!
“first time I have ran in a few months” That’s a long time not to run, you can lose a ton of endurance in that amount of time. If you really want to be a good runner you can’t take breaks like that because you lose everything you’ve worked for previously and you have to spend forever trying to build back up to it. But anyway, that’s probably 80% of what’s bothering you. Your breathing is usually the first thing to go when you get out of shape. Cold air does definitely make a difference and it’s making it worse, but I guarantee if you keep at it then it won’t bother you so much when you get in better shape. I guess just make sure you drink water regularly to keep your throat moist and keep running to improve your endurance which will in turn cause your breathing to be more steady….wear warm clothes too lol, gloves and a tobogan can do wonders.
