Home State (and hydration belt)

Oh Michigan how I love you! I had planned on running more while down in the Outer Banks, NC, however I really try to make sure the running I do doesn't turn into torture. I realize that not every run is going to be fun or easy or pain-free. However I do know that when I am running in a climate that is too hot, I feel tortured. So rationalizing aside - I didn't run any more than the three times in NC because it was STINKING HOT! When the temperature at home reaches 75 I head to the gym. In OBX the heat index at 6am was like 90. Sooooooo I wimped out. ;-)

That all being said...we drove the 14.5 hours home yesterday (ate like CRAP) and I'm recommitting myself today to my calorie count and running. Enter the 5 mile run today. The 5 beautiful, wonderful, fairly easy, COOL, 68 degree, 5 miles that I ran at 10:30 am!!!!!! Thank you beautiful Michigan weather! (Granted later this week it's going to be in the 80's...but still!)

I've had some runs that have left me not only thirsty but feeling really sluggish. I purchased the hydration belt that I tried out today (and loved!), but I've also been thinking about what I'm taking in before my runs. Sometimes I don't eat anything, or sometimes its whatever I've eaten for the meal the hours before the run. However I think that I'm really needing some instant nutrition before my runs. So I ate a GU before the run today to see if that would affect how I feel on this run. My plan for today was to reach for 5 miles but I hadn't run much in OBX, and I ate like crap yesterday and didn't drink much water. This left me feeling skeptical about the success of the run today.

The hydration belt that I bought is a Nathan Speed 2R Auto-Cant in Medium. The website gives the measurements for a hip size of 32-38". I have a hip size of about 38" but I have a waist size of 29 so I thought that I wanted to buy a belt that would fit as I lost weight.  I stretched it over my hips when I got it and I can Velcro it but it's very tight. So I put it around my natural waist and Velcro it pretty tight and it works perfectly. I'm used to wearing a training pack around my natural waist with my phone in it anyways so this wasn't much different.

My pace started out at 13:26 for the first mile. I have such a hard time maintaining a lower pace during easy/long runs and then I burn out too quickly, so I tried to not push myself into a higher pace. My heart rate stayed around 160 which was excellent. The hydration belt did not budge! I couldn't feel it bounce or slosh or anything. I took a sip after the first mile and realized that the drinking mechanism is something I will have to get used to. Its not a mouthpiece you open with your teeth or suck on to get water out, its more designed to squirt into your mouth. Back in the belt I could hear the water slosh around when I took my ear buds out but I didn't feel any difference in the weight between a half empty bottle or a full bottle. About 1.2 miles in I realized I needed to go to the bathroom. Uh Oh! So I aborted my original route and turned around to head back home. The second mile was the same pace as mile one and I felt pretty good. I made it home (after an unintentional detour) at mile 2.66 and paused my Garmin so I could go inside the house to use the bathroom. Once I came back out I decided to run my old loop to finish off 5 miles. My splits at this point were getting faster but my heart rate stayed around 165. As I continued the run I got used to the water bottles and how to squirt them in my mouth without slowing down or chocking. The water bottles each hold 8 ounces which I think is perfect for what I'm using the belt for. I don't need or want to drink a lot of water on my runs, but I remember that thirst from the 7 mile run a couple weeks ago and I need a little something to help get me through.

I finished the run without walking and feeling really good. I only had about 6-7 ounces to drink between the two bottles which was good for a 5 mile run. The hydration belt didn't make me sweat more, it has wicking material that worked really well on this sweaty run. I think that between the water available to me all the time as well as the GU before the run really helped make this run as good as it was despite the lack of good nutrition and water yesterday. I am really happy about today's run and I'm really happy with the hydration belt. So now I'm sitting watching last week's Extreme Weight Loss with Chris Powell and I'm going to be getting ready for a training session for work. All in all a good day! :)

PS....I forgot to take pictures of me in the belt today but I will be posting them soon!