Wheezing when running...

Do you have any idea what pace you are running? Do you happen to have a heart rate monitor of any sort?

It may be you are running a little too fast and as your runs get longer you are bumping into your current upper limit of endurance; your heart rate is probably elevated at this point and you've already noticed the breath. If you can't carry on a verbal conversation without finding yourself uncomfortably short of breath (at the start or end of your run) then you are running too fast for your training runs.

If you have no medical history of breathing issues it is highly unlikely you are hurting yourself and you'll find your aerobic capacity only continues to increase with time.

It seems counter-intuitive but running slower, but longer, is how you build aerobic capacity. You will naturally get faster over time. Running slower reduces the risk of injury and allows for shorter recovery time between runs.

Something you could try: A long long time ago, long before Google, I used to do deep breathing exercises because a mountaineer I respected suggested I could build some additional intake capacity. When I started running last fall again, 105 pounds overweight at the time, and having had pneumonia earlier that year, my lungs ached. I remembered to try deep breathing... and believe it helped over time. Maybe Dr. Google has something on that now.

Deep breathing exercise or not I went from being unable to run 5 or 20 minutes to now doing 2 hour runs and my lungs never hurt.

Good luck and let us know how you make out!

Mike

^^ your last probably explains it all, you are running too fast for your training runs. A reasonable rule of thumb is most of your training runs (like 80%) should be slower runs, allowing you to put in more time running. Use the 20% to do speed work of some sort when you are ready for it.

Many people won't find they push their heart + aerobic system as hard while cycling as they do while running, so that would explain why you feel different on and off the exercise bike. A reasonable upper limit for aerobic maximum heart rate for your 80% training would be 180 - age = 155, meaning you'd want to keep your running (or cycling) within a range of 145-155 for the bulk of your training.

But there's no need to rush out and buy a HRM / running watch right away; if you find down the road you really love running and are looking at ramping up your activity and start training for events, that'd be a good time to invest in one. Running watches offer more features than just pace and heart rate, but some are very specific to running and some are more multi-sport or general purpose, so it will pay to chose based on your needs when the time comes.

For now using the "can I hold a conversation of some sort" while running is a tried and true means of approximating where you are at.

Another benefit of dropping the pace a bit: you might find you end up taking shorter strides and often this is exactly what new runners need to do as many run at too low a cadence. Higher cadence, shorter strides tends to work well for our bodies and can help reduce injury as well.

PS: On running faster up-hill, go for it from time to time! But not *all* the time. If you want to stay at that comfortable aerobic range, just take smaller steps. Note that picking up your cadence might feel like you are running faster.

Most of all continue having fun out there! Great that you have a partner to share your runs with!