running problem.advice needed

FOLDnoSHOW

i am currently training for the connemarathon with very little running experience. my training plan thus far is to start at 5k, running 2 days on 1 day off, and increasing the length by 1k each run.This i plan to continue until i reach 16k, from there i will then adopt the traditional marathon programme. so far sat - 5k<25mins,sun - 6k<30mins, tues - 7k<35mins. today i started my 8k run, running sub 5min kms. first 4k im feeling fine, then i get a stitch.i run it off but by 5k i have to stop as the stitch returns. this really frustrated me as i felt untired, and otherwise fully able to finish the run.

so my questions to you are:

measures to prevent stitches?
how long after food/drink should i run?
at what stage should i begin to consume liquids, 15miles, 20 miles ?
and how much?
basically anything else that you can tell me about stitches as i feel that it will be my only hinderece.

thanks in advance

911sc

How is your HR and breathing at <8min per mile?
Have you tried to slow down?

I would recommend you build the distance before running against the clock.

Drinks: all depends and everybody is different. In my case, I have a high sweat rate, still try not to drink during run less and 13miles unless i am running in a hot place (though not here).
For optimum hydration intake, you will need to know your sweat rate.
Have a read at this article

Krusty_Clown

I used to get stitches often, particularly after cresting hills (say after running around 6 miles). Now I just make sure that I leave a couple of hours (2) after eating a meal (usually breakfast) and sip any drinks after that, rather than gulping. This seems to have cleared me of my stitch issue, but it may be as 911sc suggests, they have just gone away with more running/mileage.

Like 911sc, I wouldn't bring a drink for any distance under 12 miles, however, for long runs/marathons I would drink frequently (every mile or two) but only a sip, and didn't have any problems with stitches. When I did get a stitch I would slow down and massage the area (often underneath the rib-cage!) and it would disappear pretty quickly and not re-appear. Here's some more info: The Side Stitch

Running Bing

Tim Noakes advices belly breathing to help reduce stitches.


Its breathing by moving the diaphragm rather than the rib cage.

Here's a wiki article on it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belly_breathing

Noakes suggests lying on your back and putting a large book on your belly and try to move it up and down as you breath.

MarieC

For info on fluid intake I found this quite useful:

http://www.runireland.com/nutrition/fluid