So, I got up early this morning (6:00 is very early for a Sunday), got my gear together which I’d neglected to do the night before, & headed down to Courthouse pier to get in what I wanted to be an eight to ten mile run. I’d picked up one of those water bottle belts a while back & thought maybe I could give it a try. This is the Nathan brand & holds one 20oz water bottle & also has a small pouch for iphone, keys, & what have you. I wanted to take my phone as I wasn’t entirely sure of my turnarounds & wanted to use the Map My Run app.

It was cloudy & still reasonably cool when I got to the pier parking lot. After I got Map My Run locked in on a satellite, I strapped on the belt so that it seemed snug but not too tight, got the tunes started, & headed out. It didn’t take me long to realize that this belt thing was not going to work. The water bottle was too heavy & bounced up & down in a rather sickening way that had the embarrassing side effect of pulling my shorts down. After stopping a few times to adjust it, I took it off & tried just carrying it in my hand for a while. That was just a cumbersome and annoying as it sounds. I eventually wore the belt & carried the water bottle in my hand. It was a very frustrating run, I only did about six & a half miles, & if I hadn’t spent so much on the belt I would have just tossed it into one of the trash bins.

We live & we learn. I looked some this afternoon for a hand held bottle that was insulated but didn’t see anything that I just had to have. For now, I’ll just continue freezing a 12 or 16 oz water bottle & tying a handkerchief around it for the run. As for carrying the phone, well maybe this is the excuse I needed to buy the new Timex Marathon GPS watch.