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Running problem: stomach cramps really early in my run

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BenWhit
Posts: 4654 - Karma: 3,257
alright, so i've been training for a 10k for the past couple weeks or so. started out running 3, increasing by half a mile now i'm running 5. i'm not fast, so don't ask for my mile time. my issue is that even a quarter mile into my run, i'm getting stomach cramps. they're fucking killing me. usually i can run through it, or if i stop for a second they go away, but they're really killing my times. i ate a bag of doritos and drank a bottle of water no earlier than an hour prior to my run. i need to know how to prevent this, it's fucking killing me.
Jul 27 2011 6:07PM
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MrPantyDropper
Posts: 5016 - Karma: 65
wow you seem pretty fast. whats your mile time?
Jul 27 2011 6:07PM
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bribri
Posts: 160 - Karma: 30

OP,

I am Cross country captain at my school and this happens to me a lot too.

Try to eat an hour before running, Dorritos were not the best choice, try something healthier or ever wait till after running. If you drink or eat too fast that can give you stomach aches too. Sometimes the stomach aches are because you pulled a  muscle. weird but true.

Stretch before runnnin. touch your toes, sit on the ground in a strandle and touch your toes, ect. Also doing more abb work outs after running will strengthen those muscles so that they are not pulled as easily.

How long have you had your shoes? Sometimes when your not getting the right support in your shoes it can effect your body.

Hope this helps!

Jul 27 2011 6:14PM
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paige.
Posts: 1932 - Karma: 926
Before you run stretch out your sides/abs specifically. Put one arm over your head and bend it at the elbow so you can clasp your other hand. Pull down steadily so that you feel the stretch in the side of the arm that's over your head.

Also when you feel the cramp while you are running focus on your breathing. Take a deep breath in then let it out in a few short bursts (kinda making a huh-huh-huh-huh noise, you should feel it in the abs). Repeat. This will hopefully loosen up the cramp enough that you can run through it pretty easily.
Jul 27 2011 6:25PM
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OldDirtyPete
Posts: 453 - Karma: 299
Bro,
try to hydrate throughout the day so you dont have to drink water before you run. This used to happen to me as well. Bananas help. Eat a big ol' banana a couple hours before you run. The potassium helps reduce all sorts of cramps. Bananas man, bananas..........
Jul 27 2011 6:26PM
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D-Ross
Posts: 308 - Karma: 16
Start eating bananas on a regular basis. The potassium helps prevent those cramps. Good luck man
Jul 27 2011 6:26PM
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BenWhit
Posts: 4654 - Karma: 3,257
hahaha i didn't clarify that i had been drinking water and had eaten today as well prior to the doritos.

i always stretch before i run. i played football and baseball in highschool so stretching is paramount. i've made it a point to stretch my abs as well.

i've had my shoes since i started running. Nike Free Run 2's. Not the greatest ankle support hahaha but they're light as all hell and they're comfortable.

the only thing i haven't done is eaten bananas haha.

and my fastest average mile on my runs was 7:47. brutally slow.

also, i feel like the fact that i lift daily could be an issue. my supplement have a decent amount of creatine which could cause the cramps. also, i do abs after my workouts everyday so that could be a problem as well.
Jul 27 2011 6:44PM
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theabortionator
Posts: 51944 - Karma: 165,994
Blow a fatter line of yak before you start
Jul 27 2011 6:46PM
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deathcookie
Posts: 1800 - Karma: 1,196
do everything the rest of them said but also try breathing in through your nose and out through your mouth the entire time. that really helped me out when i started running.
Jul 27 2011 6:49PM
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DYFI
Posts: 3836 - Karma: 30
Focus on extending your belly while you're breathing. Take deep breaths in through your nose, and instead of pulling in your stomach push your belly button outwards as far as possible. Whenever i get cramps when running i tend to do belly breathing to give those muscles a rest and to unwind the knot thats there.
Jul 27 2011 7:00PM
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bigbromskier
Posts: 1175 - Karma: 330
don't eat doritos before you run... Most fruit is good really cause they give you natural sugars and aren't as hard for your body to break down (whereas corn chips and other stuff like bread/meat/fat tend to take more to break down; notice you feel kinda tired sometimes after eating stuff like that cause it's harder to break down and requires more energy).

basically, you don't want your body spending energy digesting food when it could be spent bringing blood/oxygen to your muscles. pretty simple logic really.
Jul 27 2011 7:40PM
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Blurst
Posts: 13577 - Karma: 10,169
I hear sucking your own dick helps.
Jul 27 2011 7:48PM
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Benj.
Posts: 568 - Karma: 269
i loled hard
Jul 27 2011 8:07PM
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californiagrown
Posts: 9794 - Karma: 2,014
youre getting side stitches? or stomach aches?


large difference between the two, and different ways to resolve the two. so far everyone has been giving you advice on how to get rid of your stomach ache.
Jul 27 2011 8:16PM
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J..H
Posts: 646 - Karma: 73
THis may seem rediculous but helps me a ton. So when your running you usually will exhale on your right step. Try to exhale on your left.
THis is because your liver is on your right so when you breathe and step on right it compresses liver. Not sure all how it works but that is what I have been told and it helps a ton.

let me know if this works so I know it is not just me.
Jul 27 2011 8:43PM
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Username_42069
Posts: 1591 - Karma: 15
assuming you have to swallow, in order to prevent cramps..?
Jul 27 2011 8:46PM
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AWALLRUS.
Posts: 5762 - Karma: 223
HAPPENS TO ME AT THE START OF EVERY SEASON.

YOU'RE EITHER OUT OF SHAPE, EATING/DRINKING TOO MUCH BEFORE, OR NOT STRETCHING.

ALSO IF YOU RUN MORE IT WILL PROBABLY GO AWAY MORE
Jul 27 2011 8:47PM
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californiagrown
Posts: 9794 - Karma: 2,014
this is how to cure side stitches...which is probly what OP is talking about
Jul 27 2011 9:04PM
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soulskier
Posts: 17806 - Karma: 3,841
work on healthier eating
Jul 27 2011 9:06PM
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Deluge
Posts: 4401 - Karma: 805
OP im a crosscountry runner at my HS as well and heres some advice

-eat and hour or more before running

-eat bananas they work wonders

-pray to the "nanner-gods" for no cramps (my whole team does it before races)

-control your breathing

-no cramps

Jul 27 2011 9:13PM
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KnobJockey
Posts: 797 - Karma: 37
eat bananas before you run it helps lots
Jul 27 2011 9:20PM
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