Side stitch when I push the lace

I’m on journey to run a sub two hour half marathon. I have a really good base. I’ve been running consistently for a year and a half and regularly run over 30 km a week. I’ve been active most of my life. I do yoga three to five times a week and lift once a week.

In the fall, I ran a half marathon in two hours and 15 minutes. I was on track during that run to finish around 2:05, but at 12km I got a sharp cramp under my right ribs. Whewww it was painful. I had never experienced anything like it when training. I was able to finish, but my pace slowed dramatically.

At first, I thought it was a cramp from over fuelling, but I’ve recently felt a lighter version of this cramp after interval training.

I’m assuming this is a side stitch related to pushing myself too hard. I’m wondering if anyone out there has experience this and if you have any recommendations for picking up the pace without ending up in pain.