Just thought I would try and get some thoughts on overcoming stomach stitches from the intake of fluids etc on the run. Last season (my first in tri's) I found myself having to overcome such an occurrence in pretty much the first few minutes of every race. Generally if I held back a bit I could get over it and then pick the pace back up. However I believe this brought about my downfall in my first crack at HI. I would be scared to take in too much fuel for fear of getting a stitch..subsequently I had nothing in the tank to tap into.

This year I haven't raced effectively all season cause I am geared up for end of season HI and more so IM later in the year. My training has changed from going hard regularly (last season) to barely at all this season as I build the fat burning efficiency. ANyway I have been taking in a LOT more fluids on the run during training and during bricks but have found that I don't seem to be suffering stitches much if at all. Was curious whether the body adapts to the fluid weight at lower speeds or perhaps learns to process it much better which then enables you to handle it more so when the HR picks back up?

Anyone experience anything like this when they moved from short course to long course? Any other views on stitches appreciated. Note in the past I would never consume anything within about 2 hours of racing so it was never like I had fresh produce inside at the start line.