Side stitch on bike

Side stitches should be hammered out in training so they don't appear on
race day. If you push through them, they will go away. If you hide from
them, they'll keep coming back. The reasons that they appear can be
countless, but simply ignoring it and continuing what you were doing will
make it go away.

Contrary to what 98% of everyone else will probably say, it's a mechanism of
the mind that causes them and doesn't really have anything to do with what
you're drinking or eating, unless what you're eating or drinking is
poisonous.

By acknowledging them at all, you give them more power to have an effect on
you.

Go out and do a hard training day with the intent of kicking their butt and
then just push through when they "turn on". You'll see them disappear and
not come back afterwards.

"Niall Smart" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi All

I did my second tri this weekend (4/5th Olympic distance), and as per
my first sprint tri, I got a nasty side stitch about half way through
the bike, even though I immediately slowed down it persisted all the
way into the third lap of the run.

Most of what I've read about stitches relates to how the diaphram is
under pressure during the run, but this is happening to me way before I
even start running.

Does this happen to anyone else? Any idea how I can prevent it? For
the next race I'm planning on eating only a liquid meal 3 hours before
the race, and relying on gels and a small but of water instead of a
sports drink for energy. I don't think I'm able to absorb the sports
drink quickly enough which may be related.

Thanks

Niall

What I've read on this, side stitches are caused by a spasm of the
diaphragm muscle which can be caused by your breathing pattern and are
more common in running due to exhaling on the left foot strike.
Accordingly to medical "wisdom", if you work on your breathing pattern
(avoiding shallow breathing) and strengthen your core, these will
subside:

From http://www.thestretchinghandbook.com/archives/side-stitch.htm

Tips to prevent a side stitch
- Improve your cardiovascular fitness;
- Concentrate on breathing deeply during exercise;
- Warm up properly before exercising;
- Gradually increase exercise intensity;
- Strengthen your core muscles (lower back, abdominal and oblique
muscles);
- Stretch more, especially your lower back and abdominal muscles;
- Avoid eating before exercising; and
- Drink more fluids.

Alo said:

Side stitches should be hammered out in training so they don't appear on
race day. If you push through them, they will go away. If you hide from
them, they'll keep coming back. The reasons that they appear can be
countless, but simply ignoring it and continuing what you were doing will
make it go away.

Contrary to what 98% of everyone else will probably say, it's a mechanism of
the mind that causes them and doesn't really have anything to do with what
you're drinking or eating, unless what you're eating or drinking is
poisonous.

By acknowledging them at all, you give them more power to have an effect on
you.

Go out and do a hard training day with the intent of kicking their butt and
then just push through when they "turn on". You'll see them disappear and
not come back afterwards.

"Niall Smart" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi All

I did my second tri this weekend (4/5th Olympic distance), and as per
my first sprint tri, I got a nasty side stitch about half way through
the bike, even though I immediately slowed down it persisted all the
way into the third lap of the run.

Most of what I've read about stitches relates to how the diaphram is
under pressure during the run, but this is happening to me way before I
even start running.

Does this happen to anyone else? Any idea how I can prevent it? For
the next race I'm planning on eating only a liquid meal 3 hours before
the race, and relying on gels and a small but of water instead of a
sports drink for energy. I don't think I'm able to absorb the sports
drink quickly enough which may be related.

Thanks

Niall

Alo said:

Contrary to what 98% of everyone else will probably say, it's a mechanism of
the mind that causes them

Thanks for the chuckle!

Oh, wait. You were serious?

Mike Tennent
"IronPenguin"