A lot of the advice I got when I took up jogging as a regular activity was to pace my breathing with my steps. Breathe in for 2 steps, breathe out for two steps, in for 2, out for 2. When it wasn’t working, I tried changing my breathing pattern. In for 2, out for 4. In for 2, out for 3. In for 3, out for 3. Ultimately, none of these were sustainable enough to last more than a quarter of a mile, at most.
I asked for more advice, and I was told to slow down my steps. In for 1……….2………., out for 1……….2……….
This worked out pretty well, but I started changing it in my head. The musician inside me read my running in a very legato 4/4. I started breathing in 1, 2 and out 3, 4. This could last me for about half a mile before the out breaths began feeling heavy and useless.
So I changed it. Out 1, 2. In 3, 4. Out 1, 2. In 3, 4. The end of my measure became the beginning of my breathing cycle. I put the high point of the phrase on beat 2, had a quick recovery on beat 3 and set up the next measure on beat 4.
I ran 1.25 miles.
