I have been on a quest to improve how I breathe. Sounds really weird, but it is a serious issue. I tend to breathe shallow, I get tensed up and sometimes even find myself holding my breath. I started a meditation routine 268 days ago. Life changing really. I made fun of the idea for most my life, but decided to give it a shot to see if it could help me on my journey. It did, in a major way and in unexpected ways.
I have tried many meditation methodologies with varying degrees of success, but the most beneficial is a routine where I simply just focus on my breathing. Breathing in and out, following my breath with my mind and trying to get to a solid count of ten without an invading thought enter into my mind. I have gotten better at it. I can now sit quietly and not have a single thought enter into my mind for a solid 15 minutes. It took a long time to get there. No monkey mind anymore.
As I am on this 84 day sprint to improve my marathon running time, I am pouring effort into several areas where I need improvement. The big one is breathing. There is a direct correlation with running efficiency and how you breathe. It makes sense, oxygen is the primary ingredient required by the body during an intense exercise. I have followed some advice, a book I will refer to in a future blog, about learning to follow a pattern while running. Effectively counting inhales 1 – 2 – 3 and then exhales 1 – 2. Keeping this count odd, because you want your first inhale to come as an opposite foot hits the ground.
As I have worked on this for the last 18 days, I have finally got into a consistent pattern. I struggle to breathe through my nose exclusively, but I am getting the deep belly breathing down and following a consistent rhythm. As I have done this, my speed has improved due to leg turn over. I have also noticed that I am able to stay within a smoother cadence. I also feel better, and less taxed after several miles. This rhythm concept is so simple that is obvious now to me, which leads me to a bigger thought.
What else in my life is subject to immediate improvement just by finding a certain rhythm in performing the correct and appropriate action? We all have jobs to do, roles to fill. We all know of things that have to be done correctly to perform the basic mechanics of the job. I have to lead a team, and there are some core things that I must do well to be successful. Almost like breathing is to running. Do I have a rhythm to those things? The answer is absolutely no.
Same for my role as a father and husband. There are some core things that I should be doing all the time for my wife and kids. Simple things. I do them, I know what they are, but I am not consistent. Would finding a rhythm in this role be helpful, absolutely!
When you wake up in the morning, do you have a routine? Establish a rhythm in how you go about it and you will be amazed and how consistent, efficient and fast you become. I talked with someone today and they asked me to go through my morning schedule. They were flummoxed about how much I got done before 7:30 am. I supposed 18 months ago, I would have been shocked too. However, I do not even think about it anymore! I have a this pattern, this rhythm that I follow. When I wake a 5 am now, I am almost all the way through the first 3 of those before I even get to that conscious negative thought about trying to get out of it. Yes, I have that voice still. Always trying to convince me to bail out early, skip it today, you know the drill.
I supposed a rhythm is nothing more then establishing a routine of a series of established habits. It is the efficiency that comes with time. 537 days in now on my 365 commitment, and I am finding those efficiencies. What was once impossible, is now achieved before the old me would have still been laying in bed looking at random stuff on my phone. So I am finding a rhythm for my running mechanic that that is helping me to maximize my oxygen intake and stay consistent and more efficient.
I supposed we should realize that the most important thing anyone can do is to maintain an activity until it becomes a habit. Then as you keep the habit for an extended period of time, enjoy the establishment of rhythm.
Efficiency is therefore really not the hard part, it is just time.
Guy Reams
