W6R3 - suddenly getting a stitch??

[optimisticoxford]

I did weeks 1-5 without tooooo much difficulty - some heavy legs and gremlins to be sure, but no massive physical discomfort. This week though, suddenly I seem to be getting a stitch? It happened during W6R2, but I breathed through it and drank some water and it went away after a few minutes. Today though, it struck about 6 minutes in and just would not shift. i couldn't actually finish the run and had to stop a couple of times on the way. I didn't get a stitch at all in W5R3, so what's suddenly happening? I've been careful with my food and drink, had my normal breakfast (two slices of toast and a cup of tea) two hours before running and even made sure to drink extra water this morning as I worried this might happen. I actually cried a little bit on the treadmill and now I'm just dreading W7. Help!

[Dunder2004 Graduate]

Try slowing it down a bit and ensure you are taking nice long/deep breaths.

[Irishprincess Graduate]

The only times I seem to get stitch is when I drink too much water beforehand. I have no idea if it's related or just a coincidence but I try to drink just enough water and not too much. You might just experiment with this and see what works for you. When you do get a stitch, take deep, short belly breaths as if you're blowing up a balloon. The breaths have to come from the lower belly (stick your tummy out when you do this) to work. Well, it works for me 😊