Side Cramps

    Trying to run with a side cramp is the equivalent to running with a dagger sticking into your stomach. Okay, it's nothing like that at all. But running with a side cramp is in fact very painful and annoying. It hinders your running experience and time and often you have to stop to walk.
     Often one of the reasons I've found that side cramps occur is because of the food you've been eating that day. I have noticed that in order to avoid these annoying cramps I need to not eat any heavy food that day. Eating within about two hours of a run can cause heavy damage for myself. It's different for everybody. One person's favorite pre-run snack or food is another person's worst enemy. You have to experiment to see what is good for you before a run. Sometimes, like myself, nothing is the best way to go. Running while hungry sometimes helps me. The facts are, foods high in fat and fiber will take longer to digest, which could be causing some of your side aches. This may be something to consider if you are looking to rid yourself of any more trouble.
     I've found that running a warm up can help to rid your side of cramps as well. Before an actual work out, my cross country team runs a warm up of either one mile or two, and then comes back to the school to stretch. This helps the team as a whole by getting your legs and body warmed up. On days when I'm not running with my team, I tend to just walk a few minutes, a little less than half a mile. I believe this does the trick for myself as well, but sometimes I've noticed that not running a warm up or walking for a few minutes has no affect on me and that I can just run a few miles without getting any side cramp, but for four miles or four I often need to do some type of warm up.
     I believe controlling your own breathing is very important to avoiding side cramps. I've found that when I match my breathing to my strides. I have no knowledge of the science behind what this does for your body or how breathing correlates with side cramps, but I do know that when I'm running fast I usually try to fit one or two strides in between each breath of air and that when I am running slow I try to fit three to four strides in. I've heard from some that you are supposed to only inhale when your left or right foot hits the ground, but I have not found this helps me at all.
     I hope some of my remedies for side cramps can help you.