How to Cure Side Stitches When Running:
From E-How.com http://www.ehow.com/how_4489555_cure-side-stitches-running.html

Many runners at times experience a very painful cramp underneath their rib cage while exercising. This pain makes breathing difficult and moving fast almost impossible.

Instructions:

Step 1
Eat at least two hours before doing any serious exercise. When you eat shortly before exercising, make sure that you do not stuff yourself full of junk food with lots of empty calories. Eat something small with good carbohydrates and some protein. Having some fruit is a good idea, too.

Step 2
Drink lots of water. Water is one of the key things that your body needs to have when exercising, especially if you will be in the heat. Without sufficient water and minerals in your body, you will not perform as well. However, do not chug water right before you exercise because this will give you cramps.

Step 3
Stretch your muscles before you do any physical activity. Sometimes having tight muscles can cause side stitches and other types of pain to occur more easily. Stretch your calves, your thighs, arms and other parts of your leg. Try to hold each stretch for a minimum of 10 seconds.

Step 4
Steady your stride and try to find your breathing pattern when running. Instead of going fast then slow or having short quick strides, try to even out the strides and maintain one steady pace. Don’t sprint during a long run; instead, try to go at a fast jog.

Step 5
Exhale when you land on your left foot. Many runners breathe about every fourth stride. A good breathing pattern is to take a very deep breath then run four strides. As your left foot lands, breathe out, then repeat the pattern.

Beautiful Running

Hi everyone,

Just thought I would share a little bit about my training experiences so far and give some tips that have been helping me out and maybe you'll do the same for me.

I've never been a big runner other than keeping myself healthy and running a few miles a week. Since I have my huge goal of running a marathon in a few months and I have a great cause to motivate me, I've become really focused on achieving my weekly goals. I'll admit, it's not always easy getting up early on a Saturday and getting started on a ten mile run but I just did it and I loved it!

The thing that has really been working for me on my long runs is finding new places to explore while I run so I am visually stimulated, which helps pass the time and makes the long runs much more enjoyable. I've been lucky enough to be away pretty much every weekend for the past two months thanks to weddings, family events and fun trips. For every weekend that I have been away I have used both Mapmyrun.com and the people who know the locations where I will be on the weekend to give me suggestions for my longer runs.

Over the past few weekends I have been able to run through the fields in VT overlooking beautiful mountains, along the Farmington River in CT, on the beach in RI, and through dirt roads in a country town in Westchester NY. Taking these runs has not only allowed me to achieve my goals but also to see things that I wouldn't necessarily have an opportunity to see. I saw two beautiful deers this past weekend who just stared at me probably wondering what the heck I was doing, gorgeous country homes that I aspire to own one day and picturesque views filled with lush greenery.

Even when I am back in the city I have been able to find new and different runs in Central Park, Prospect Park in Brooklyn and even around different neighborhoods that I haven't really explored.

Another thing that has helped me along the way is allowing the running to become a part of my schedule. I'm lucky enough to have friends who like to run so they've been running along side me on my shorter runs during the week and then we can enjoy a delicious dinner with out any guilt afterwards!

I'm enjoying the challenge and hope you are as well. I'm always up for new runs and running partners so let me know if you have any ideas!

Best,
Patrick

Hi All,

We wanted to create a forum for people involved with Team Free Arts in the NYC Marathon can speak freely about their experiences as they prepare to run this year!