Breathing while hill training

tiny_clanger

I'm having some issues with my hill training. I'm asthmatic, so get a bit panicky if I can't catch my breath. Normally running is fine as my breath is totally under control. However, I'm finding that, doing hill repeats, my breathing rate is increasing, then I feel panicky and out of control, then I stop running. I've tried stopping and starting again, taking walk breaks, etc, but I've not been able to extend the length of time before I start breathing more heavily and getting worried. I've also tried flat sprints, where my breathing rate goes up, but nothing replicates the same sense of panic as hill repeats.

This is not an actual asthma attack and my rescue inhaler won't help, it's just psychological. I really need a strategy for getting stronger on hills. I was wondering about running to the point of panic, stopping, walking, getting it all back, then going again. If I keep doing this, do you think the intervals will increase, or am I just fighting against my reduced lung capacity?

mgalovic01

Hills are no joke. Monitor your heart rate. I'd probably stop short of panicking, to teach yourself it's OK. You might consider trying an O2 trainer or elevation mask to further strengthen you respiratory system.

rybo

You are going to need a cue to remind yourself that it's ok & to calm down. The moment you start feeling labored, go to that cue. It can be one to take your mind off your breathing, or one to focus on slowing it down. I've used one where I would go to a relaxed, deep yoga breathing sequence to regain control. You might need to experiment to see what works for you. Slowing down should also help you to go longer before reaching an elevated breathing rate.

BrianSharpe

Try walking the hills first as a confidence booster, then run them very slowly and work your way up. Or, as an alternative try running stairs (or a small stadium / set of bleachers if available).

greenolivetree

I also have asthma and running hills does something to my breathing where I know it's NOT an asthma attack but I am literally so out of breath and it can get scary. It happens very quickly. I know my legs can carry me up those hills but my lungs fight it. I just tried going further each time without quitting. A lot of times I have to walk after making it up the hill because I can't gain control of my breathing. Just do your best and keep trying. Maybe even run 10 seconds only and then 20 seconds and then 30 seconds.....

Bluepegasus

You need to control your breathing whilst running up a hill, I do this by slowly blowing out my breath rather than gasping. Make sure you breathe long and deep, and if you feel yourself getting out of control, just slow your running down. Make sure you pump your arms. It sounds really daft, but I also occupy my mind if I'm finding it tough by imagining I'm pulling myself up the hill with a imaginary rope, each time my arm comes forward, I pretend I'm grabbing the rope in front of me with my hand, and as my arm comes back the rope is pulling me up, then I let go and reach forward to grab it again!

tiny_clanger

Thanks for all the suggestions. I've narrowed the problem down, it's when I do a steep incline followed by a gentle incline, where there isn't an opportunity to relax breathing. There are a lot of hills like that near me, so I'm going to get going round them. I really like the idea of very short intervals, I'll start working on that and build up from there.

Machka9

I have EIA which is triggered by both exercise and stress. I'm not a runner but I am a cyclist, and cycling up steep hills is both a whole lot of exertion and stressful for me ... and so I often struggle with breathing difficulties.

My inhaler does help somewhat, but a few other things have helped too:

1) Focusing on my exhale. I exhale hard and deliberately, and then quietly inhale, then exhale hard and deliberately and repeat. That seems to settle my breathing.

2) Going slow enough that I can breathe.

3) Climbing stairs, lots and lots of stairs just about every day.

4) Losing weight.

tiny_clanger

Machka9 wrote: »

3) Climbing stairs, lots and lots of stairs just about every day.

Ooh, now that's not a bad idea! My office is on the ground floor of an 8 storey building, I could plod up and down a couple of times on my lunchbreak....

Bonus - the canteen is on the top floor, and they do some lovely healthy (and unhealthy!) snacks as motivation

Machka9

tiny_clanger wrote: »

Machka9 wrote: »

3) Climbing stairs, lots and lots of stairs just about every day.

Ooh, now that's not a bad idea! My office is on the ground floor of an 8 storey building, I could plod up and down a couple of times on my lunchbreak....

Bonus - the canteen is on the top floor, and they do some lovely healthy (and unhealthy!) snacks as motivation

When I first started doing it, 5 flights of stairs was a real challenge. Now I'm doing between 25 and 35 flights a day and it has made a big difference to my ability to climb hills.

I wish I had a canteen on the top floor too.

nossmf

Back when I was in high school cross country, once a week we loaded into a bus and travelled to the local ski resort (in the fall so no snow yet) to run hills at elevation. Even without asthma, you run out of breath VERY quickly doing this.

We didn't start off doing the long hills, at least not us average joes who were just part of the team and not the stars. We did the smallest hills the first week, taking lots of time to slowly walk back and recover after each very short sprint. The next week we either did a longer hill or used a shorter recovery walk before doing the small hill again.

By the end of the season we were verily flying up the hills. Believe you me this gave us a huge advantage during actual races involving hills.

I also second the notion of using stairs as often as possible. My last duty station before leaving the military I was at a base in the mountains. My job was to help newcomers to the base get acclimated not only to their jobs but also their living conditions. For some of these guys who had been at sea level before coming to a base at 6200 feet elevation, it was a huge shock for their lungs. I had two top words of advice: drink double the water you normally do, and take the stairs every time.