Wednesday, September 2, 2009

Great Wednesday Run, Testing Fuel Belt

Got a good night's sleep (assisted, unfortunately) last night and decided against getting up before 6am to run. Instead, I was out at 10:00am for a 4.5 miler. I ran the first mile slow (8:10), 2nd mile fast (6:37), last 2.5 miles slow (19:45) for an overall time of 34:33 (7:41 pace). First of all...wow! My goal was to run mile 2 in 7:10-7:15. Had no idea it would be that much faster. Second of all, this was my first time ever wearing a fuel belt (Brooks Waterboy A/S). Worked okay, but it kept creeping up my abdomen and settling right below my ribcage, which caused some breathing issues. I'll play with the tightness of the belt the next time out. Instead of using the bottle that came with it, I chose to use a fairly cheap Nike bottle that uses an auto-seal on the nozzle (there's nothing to pull open or push closed), so you squeeze to shoot liquid out, but otherwise it stays sealed. Or it's supposed to (it works great on the bike). When I'd drink and replace it on the belt (it sits horizontally), I'd feel drips on my leg for a couple of minutes. If it's just water, it's not a big deal (other than losing precious liquid), but if it's sports drink, I'm looking at a sticky mess on my leg after awhile. So next time I'll probably use the bottle that came with the belt & see how it goes.

I was planning on taking tomorrow off, but I might go out for a very short test run to see if I can get the belt to work comfortably before Friday's 12-miler. I want to focus on that run, and not have to fiddle with the fit of the belt the whole time.

Have a great day & run strong!

3 comments:

  1. That's why I'm not too excited about fuel belts myself. I use a handheld with a strap and that works ok, of course it's a bit annoying having the extra weight in my hand but I have a trim waist. A fuel belt would end up doing the same thing for me and that would start to restrict my breathing.

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  2. I can't stand to wear fuel belts when I run bacause they tend to bounce or come up like yours did. They're ok for the bike.

    For my long runs, I wear "race ready" shorts that have mesh pockets in the back. They are great.

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  3. Mike, I also have a small waist. I'll probably invest in a hand-held bottle with a strap, but I'm not sure I'd want to be carrying a bottle for up to several hours, potentially. But if the waist belt just isn't working, that may be an option. Gina, I haven't heard of the shorts you mentioned. They sound interesting. I'll look into it. I'm not going to give up on the belt just yet, but it's good to know about other options. I appreciate the comments!

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