How do you breathe: mouth or nose?

When I’m cycling, I often wind up breathing through my mouth, thanks to my cantankerous nose. The colder the weather, the worse this problem is. That runny nose is an annoyance in itself; and breathing through my mouth so much makes me get thirsty faster! Thus I need the Camel-Bak on my Sunday long rides even if the mercury stands at the freezing point.

I played a wind instrument for many years; so I guess I can say that I know something about breathing technique. Don\’t worry about \”breathing from the diaphragm\”, because the diaphragm cannot be consciously controlled. Pretend there\’s a line across you, at the point where your legs join your body. When you inhale, let yourself fill up with air down to that line.

When I\’m riding hard, of course I\’m aware of my breathing; but my mind is on things other than my breathing technique. I\’m watching where I\’m going; and that\’s especially important when I\’m riding in the dark. At the same time, I\’m keeping an eye on the length of the current interval; and how fast I\’m going.

Or I would be, if I could figure out how to program that Garmin. It\’s driving me bonkers. How do you breathe when something like that is wearing out your fingers and your brain? I got quite tense over it!