Are all you nose breathing advocates seriously thinking that one could run a mile at a faster pace by not opening their mouth. I am very skeptical.
Since this issue was raised several posts ago I have been giving the nose breathing a shot during my daily workouts. First thing I noticed right away was that I was starved for oxygen exercising at my normal intesity and only by slowing way down could I even consider keeping my mouth closed. Perhaps I train at too high an intensity?
Running is part of my regimen and I am quite sure that I could not run my best race without breathing through my mouth and nose. Long ago I learned the secret of full diaphragm breathing with running or any other highly aerobic exercise but this nose intake breathing really throws me. If I were to get serious about it like some here and in the links have advocated I would need to take a huge step backward in my training.
I could envision some merit to nose breathing during low intensity or anaerobic exercise like weightlifting.
Lance Armstrong is a certified freak of nature. What he is able to do does not apply to almost anyone else.
My workouts incorporate occasional sessions that are designed to bring me to exhaustion - the point where I am literally sucking air and ready to puke. It's a place mentally and physically that I choose to visit so that when it happens out in the real world whether racing or doing one too many portages I am prepared for it and understand how my body will react and when it will shut down. I absolutely don't want to visit that exhausted state for the first time far from any medical help because my body may not just shutdown, it may shut off!
I will continue to experiment with the nose breathing but I still am very skeptical.