You know when you're running, and half way through you get a cramp?

[furrypaws]

Ugggh. I stretch my sides, I have a decent stretching warmup for at least 10 minutes, I eat one cup of applesauce or a banana about an hour before I run, I drink enough water, things are going smoothly, I'm beating my old time, and, bam, I'm immobilized by what feels like a lead bar in my left set of abdominal muscles. I have to stop, then walk a little, then run at a much lighter pace. How much lghter, you ask? In my 4.5 mile run, I lost 4 and a half minutes, which, while it doesn't seem like a lot, is a whole bunch for a runner. That's just about literally running a mile a minute slower. I'm happy to report that I still finished the run, but man. It hardly even feels like I exercised.

It's the FSOD of running.

[Tessu]

I can't say I've ever gotten a running cramp, but I DO experience many discomforts when running. I tried cross-country in gradeschool and middle school, and well.. I have really weak ankles, and no matter what I do to strengthen them, it seems like a wasted effort. So I'll be running along and then BAM, suddenly, my ankle bends so it forms a 90 degree angle and I have to hop while holding my foot and whimpering in pain. It's always the same ankle, too. Same thing happened in basketball, volleyball, and tennis.

I'm not sure if this will help, but have you tried taking tylenol or advil or something to that nature before your runs?

[furrypaws]

No, but that reminds me, I do take Tums. I don't think that has anything to do with it, and I take them to prevent heartburn-esque symptoms along with throwing up in my mouth.

I could try, but then again, when it comes time for an actual competition, I might be disqualified like that one horse from the Olympics.

[CelestialBlade]

Exactly what stretches are you doing, and just how much water do you drink during the day? I used to run track, there's a lot of different possible causes for these things. After your run, it might help to ice it for a little while, and then if you can, put some sort of heating pad on it.

[Sinue_v2]

I experience cramps in my muscles quite often. Not generally from running though. They suspiciously somehow seem to always center around my lower back or right arm/rotator cuff.

[UnderscoreX]

It happens. Even with professional Athletes you'll see them constantly stretching during time out and trying to keep their bodies warm. Stretch more, exercise more and your body will get used to it, but as I said it happens.

[furrypaws]

Quite a few, but I'll try and go through all of them. Of course, I know just about none of the official names, so bear with me. >_> I'll bold the side stretches because I think that's what you're looking for, but all the others are listed just in case.

-Touch toes, slowly, so I don't hurt my back.
-Spread legs apart, then touch left toe, go center, touch right toe.
-Balance on one leg, hold the other up to your back, lean forward. Once for each leg.
-This one's tricky to describe, but here goes. Slide one leg forward, point the toe of that leg as close to you as possible. Reach over with your opposite arm and touch said toe. Once for each leg.
-Sitting, I do the sit and reach, where you make a triangle with one leg with the base of the foot on the triangle leg touching the joint at your knee. Lean forward and touch outstretched toe, once for each leg.
--I also do another variant where I hold the "triangle leg" so that it's facing behind me instead, reach out to outstretched toe with opposite arm, once for each leg.
-BUtterfly, where you sit with your feet as close together as possible when they're connected by the soles (no pun intended). Try to touch your knees to the floor.
-Some yoga stretch thing where you're lying down flat, press both your knees into the floor so they from something like >>, try to outstretch both arms on either side of you.
-The half-moon, where you're standing, you raise both hands above your head, clasp your hands together, and just lean to a side, once for both sides.
-ANother side stretch where you place a hand on a hip, raise the other hand above your head, and lean in the direction of the hand on your hip.

I bolded the side stretches because I thought those were what you were looking for, but I listed all the others just in case. Also, I don't "bounce" when I stretch and I hold each stretch for 15-25 seconds. Any help is greatly, greatly appreciated, believe me.

I dunno if I get enough water. I normally try to stop at the water fountain as often as possible, but that could not be enough. They need to give us more passing time between classes...or just make another bathroom. XP

[Tessu]

Ah, wait. How do you breathe when you run?

Do you do the little "huff-huff-huff" that I see most people do where they take in a little breath for every time they move their leg?
Or do you take deep, even breaths, one at a time?

[furrypaws]

I start breathing in for four steps, out for four, but then, I need more oxygen, and I cut it down to in for two, out for two. So, if bold was breathing in and italics breathing out, step step step step step step step step. Occasionally, I just need lots of oxygen, so I take like a 6 step breath, hold it for two steps, let it go for 4, and go back to a 2 step pattern, but I've never noticed that contributing to cramps, nor do I do it often. Probably 1-3 times a run.

[CelestialBlade]

Your stretches are good, you seem to be staying hydrated, and you've got a good breathing strategy. My next question is, how do you do your workout? Are you doing warm-up and cool-down runs? If your workout is a 4.5 mile run, you should be doing a 1 mile warm-up and a 1 mile cool-down at not full pace, but a decent pace. This way you can build up to your workout instead of jumping straight in and trying to beat your PR. Both will strongly cut down on lactic acid buildup on your muscles, which causes cramps.

Also, have you considered something like Gatorade or Powerade? I actually prefer these to water during my workouts because not only does it replace fluids (it's mostly water), it also restores your lost electrolytes.

[furrypaws]

I do cool down by walking five or ten minutes, but I haven't tried running to warm up. I'm guessing just as long as it's a fairly light jog, it shouldn't affect my performance terribly, right? It's probably better than wanted to rip open your entire left side anyways. I'll give it a shot when I run again next Friday. Thanks for the tips, I really appreciate it.

[CelestialBlade]

A fairly light jog is just fine. Go at a decent pace, but less than your workout pace. Your cool-down pace should be a mirror of your warm-up, walking isn't a gradual enough cool-down in my opinion. See how it goes for you, and good luck.

[CupOfCoffee]

Running cramps are some of my least favorite things ever, for serious. I used to get them pretty bad last summer, but to be fair, I don't have a real widely structured stretching routine or anything and I'm a novice runner at best--usually just between two and three miles round trip, around the sidewalks in my neighborhood.

I think at some point I began to subconsciously blame my coffee intake for the cramps, haha. Not sure if that has any basis in possible fact or not, but it's what I'm stickin' with.

[McLaughlin]

I get cramps fairly frequently, usually underneath my ribs. I just run through them. I find slowing down only makes them worse.

I also try to run for ten to fifteen minutes before I stretch. That seems to help a bit.

[CelestialBlade]

Coffee> Your cramps are probably most likely to a lack of a good stretching routine. Water intake might have to do with it too. I've never heard of coffee causing cramps but it's certainly not the best thing to drink for running, in terms of hydration and energy replenishment XD

Obsidian> That's usually from a lack of fluids, or a lack of practice. Running 10-15 minutes before stretching does indeed help, but it's equally important to mirror your warm-up after your workout to prevent buildup of lactic acid.

[McLaughlin]

Oh, I "warm down" too. I stick to a pretty regular schedule as far as my running goes. It's probably staying hydrated that's the issue. I hate running with a bottle.

[CelestialBlade]

Oh, I "warm down" too. I stick to a pretty regular schedule as far as my running goes. It's probably staying hydrated that's the issue. I hate running with a bottle.
Have enough to drink beforehand (just don't drink a whole bunch all at once) and be sure to have a bottle as soon as your workout is done. I actually prefer Gatorade or Powerade after a run to get hydrated and restore electrolytes. Really, if you stick with the 8-to-10-glasses-a-day rule, that's normally plenty for running. So yeah, you definitely don't need to run with a bottle, just make sure you stay consistently hydrated throughout the day and put fluids into you as soon as you're done with your workout (just drink it slowly).