After last week’s heavy, stomach-achy long run, yesterday’s 15-miler was a blessing. It was a slow run- holding a steady pace for a long distance has been more of a challenge since the accident- but I finally had no stomach pains!
I was feeling a little bit of dread at the beginning of the run. I wasn’t looking forward to having to finish the last miles with heavy legs and side stitches. So I asked myself: What do you want to be great at today? WIll you be great at this run, work, friendships, Richard? I committed to being great at the run and began to visualize how strong I’d be. It was awesome and definitely paid off toward the end!
Stomach pains- or side stitches- have been a huge issue lately. They killed my January marathon and every long run since. My stomach is sensitive when running so usually I consume as little as possible while running, which also leaves me tired and hungry during long runs.
Here’s what I did to help keep away those nasty side stitches:
- Made sure my arms don’t cross in front of my stomach when pumping my arms. I made the extra effort to push my hands a little farther out so as to not twist my belly.
- Took exaggerated deep breaths every few minutes. Sometimes it’s easy to settle into short, shallow breathing. Taking those deep breaths really created space.
- Was conscious with my pre-run meal. I’m finding a bagel with a little PB and banana works well for me (duh). I focus on carbs beforehand and protein/carbs after.
- Drinking little bits of fluid throughout the run rather than large amounts once or twice. I don’t carry any fluids when I run so I took the extra effort to run past water fountains every few miles.
- Someone suggested I may be low in sodium on my runs so I took a few salt pills before.
- If all else fails, take a trip to the bathroom. Or the woods.
- Visualizing having a run without side stitches surely adjusted my actions and helped.
Croom 50k here I come!
What is your biggest issue with training runs? How do you keep away side stitches?
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
This was my biggest problem when I first started running. I haven’t run over three miles….but if I’m not really conscious of taking in long deep breaths then I almost always get side stitches – such a pain!
Jodi @ Jodi, Fat or Not recently posted..TGIF
My body reacts exactly the same way when I’m running! To avoid side stitches I try to eat as little as possible before my runs, start at a very slow pace, and doing regular strength training, especially targeting my core. Surprisingly, doing pushups, planks, and crunches has helped a lot.
Sue @ Sue In Training recently posted..Still Running
When I was running in high school, our coach would have us lay on the floor with a stack of magazines on our stomachs. We learned to breathe to make the magazines move up and down instead of taking short breaths that cause side stitches. It really helps!
I hate doing ab work, but I definitely notice fewer side stitches when I have a stronger core.
I needed to read this today! Side stitches have been plaguing me this last week. Thanks for the tips!
Cheryl recently posted..Meal Planning
Thank you for this post! I’m a relatively new runner (I started last June and am about to begin training for my first half marathon) and the only negative issues I’ve ever had have been side stitches. I might look into the salt pills and I’m definitely going to think about how I pump my arms when I run next time!
Sara recently posted..weekly update: february 17
Glad you had a better run! These are all great tips! So much of running long is mental, as you’ve shared before.
I gave up all goals running related aside from logging 1000 miles this year (no races, no speed targets, etc) and things were going swimmingly until my 5 year old and I both got smacked with the flu and I barely made it out of bed for a week, much less ran. I tried to do a split 14 yesterday…ran to another base, worked a full day event on my feet, and ran home. Both runs were horrible but the 2nd one left my right ankle/foot/toes very sore today and my whole body completely drained. It was too soon to try and run long on a week I’d only run once, I was very dehydrated, I barely ate at all throughout the day (a corn on the cob, a few cups of coffee and a capri…I was working a scouting event so food was limited) and I paid the price. I KNOW what I did wrong and will plan better next time.
Have you ever tried Hammer nutrition products? My stomach is pretty solid but hammer gels, recoverite, etc were always much easier for me to consume than gu or power bar/gel products.
Side stitches are so annoying! When I get them, I breathe in really deep through my nose and exhale vigorously through my mouth a couple times. It usually gets rid of mine!
Hi! Ashley,
Congratulations you to your training and preparation up a significant notch, by controlling your mind, keeping it positive and not allowing anything to get in way of your success. Thats what great atheletes are made off.
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For me, this is very inspiring and I think most people also wants to be motivated through this post…
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I used to have side stitches a lot, but I manage to avoid them using deeper, more diaphragmatic breathing. I also count my breaths when I run (weird, I know, but I do it automatically) and I find that when I breathe to an odd-numbered count–3 steps breathing in, 2 steps breathing out (instead of 2 steps in and 2 steps out)–it also helps keep the stitches away. This sounds really strange, I know, but the counting happens automatically, and the pattern change made a big difference. I’ve always been curious if a lot of runners count steps/breaths or if I’m an oddball.
I’ve never heard of it but I’ll have to give it a try
my chiropractor told me that side stitches are a sign of weak and/or fatigued hip flexors…essentially when they are tired, you start to hunch forward and it the muscles right under your ribs are recruited to do the work. Ever since then, I stretch out my hip flexors when this happens (or dig my thumb under my ribs or beside my hip bone into my hip flexor ) and it seems to go away. Before she told me that, I would exhale for twice as long as I inhaled for a couple of minutes, and concentrate on exhaling to the point of pulling in my abs as far towards my spine as I could. that seemed to work too .
Best of luck to you with this!