Runners - lung freeze?

I only have problems with the cold air in my lungs when I'm going over pace You shouldn't be breathing too hard when you're running. Try slowing down a bit.

Yep, slowing down some is the key. When spring comes around and there are a bunch of new runners out on the trails I can hear them coming up on me since they're breathing so hard. Most of them seem to quit since, "running is so hard". You should be able to hold a conversation while running. If you can't clearly talk, like a whole sentence at a time, you're going too fast.

I haven't run since I was 17 or something... so, it's been... a while, lol. Sometimes I feel like running during my walks though, so I did today... but I had to stop after 5 minutes, my lungs were burning like crazy. It's 48 outside. I tried breathing through my nose instead (which is hard for me, I had a deviated septum forever so I've always been used to breathe through my nose, even if I finally got surgery over a year ago), and it didn't seem to help much.

How do you do it? Does it go away? I see people run outside all the time, so there must be some trick? I have asthma (it's controlled though, I haven't had an attack since I lost weight), might it have something to do with it?

I remember when I first started running in October last year (in the lovely cold UK!). Despite running in 60 second intervals, I found it really hard and the air harsh on my lungs. But as the weeks progressed, that went away, and now I've been out on days where there's frost all over the park grass but my lungs feel just fine. So I'd say it was a beginner's thing, perhaps because you're out of breath more and therefore breathing in and out more air than a more experienced runner would.

I second what Kirk_R said - take it slow to start with. Like, even if you're really slow, as long as you keep going, you'll find you gradually improve. Nobody picks up a 20kg weight and starts twirling it around when they've never weight lifted before - the same applies to running!

I also second what kennie2 says about "in through the nose, out through the mouth" - I'd also mention that if you breath in with your stomach going out, and breath out with your stomach coming in, it helps negate running stitch (to avoid this, make sure your hands aren't holding anything or clenched into fists, keep your arms at a sort of 90 degree angle with your fingers uncurled - don't make the mistake of running along with a water bottle held in one hand). If you find it painful breathing through your nose, maybe you could try using a Buff (a bandana thing) over your mouth until you warm up, then you can just either leave it around your neck or push it up over your forehead to keep your hair and sweat out of your eyes.

If you can get to them, I'd suggest downloading the NHS "Couch to 5k" podcasts from iTunes, or from an iphone app store if you have one - they're free and I found that it was so much easier having someone tell me when to run / walk / give encouragement / sort the weeks out for me. If you can't get to them, the plan for the runs is written on the website.

Stick with it - I hated running at first, felt awful that I was ready to curl up into a ball after 60 seconds of running, and now I look forward to my 35-40 minute runs! Have fun and good luck

Yeah I wasn't going fast at all, lol. Ugh. I'll have to try again...

Heh, when I first started running one of my daughters would WALK next to me while mocking me.

My son still walks fast next to me while I "run".

OP: I couldn't run to the corner (about 200 yards) without feeling the way you did when I first started. I believe that was one minute or less. I suggest that you try Couch to 5K. Just google it. It takes you from the couch to being able to run a full 5K in a couple of months I believe. I never did it (and had the knee pain because I advanced my mileage too quickly). Also make sure you do some cross training (biking, swimming, strength training) a couple of days a week, it can prevent injury. Have fun!

I've run all kinds of places now, including very rocky trails like the Appalacian Trail. Just be careful/aware of the surface and you'll be fine. Here's one of the trails my daughter and I have run:

I try to avoid running outside if it is below 30, otherwise, I get bronchospasms.

One suggestion is to talk to your Dr. about an inhaler....