10 minutes into my run I feel like my lungs are burning and I’m going suffocate. It feels like when I try to hold my breathe for as long as I can underwater. I’m dying to stick my head above water and take a giant gulp of life-giving air. Nothing is actually preventing me from opening my mouth to get more air, but I continue to fight the urge to breathe through my mouth. My body instinctually responds to the oxygen limit I’m putting on it and slows my pace down until I don’t feel like I’m suffocating anymore.

If you do a quick Google search about running and breathing you’ll find a lot of great articles about how to breathe efficiently (belly breathing) and how to keep a rhythmic breathing pace. You may even find articles about using both your nose and your mouth for breathing, but there is a lot less about the benefits of only nose breathing…