I was looking forward to this mornings run a little more than most mornings, if that is even possible. It has been a few mornings since I have been able to get in a run before work due to poor weather and my crazy work schedule. This coupled with the excitement of trying out new running gear had me bouncing out the door early in order to get in my run. I had asked for a running Hydration pack for Christmas and my wonderful mother delivered the one I had spent time researching and decided would be the best for me. I pulled the belt out and clenched it down on my hips as tight as possible. I had washed the two bright yellow water bottles that go in the belt a few days ago so I retrieved them and filled both up with water. I knew I would not need the water on this mornings run because I only had time to fit in four miles before I needed to get back and start gearing up for work. A bit apprehensive about running with something on my waste I started jumping around trying to get the belt to move out of place but it stayed nice and snug like the reviews stated it would. So there I went out for my first Hydration pack test run with my lab Blue.
The first 20 feet was bliss then it happened… The belt started moving up. So I figured I had to make it tighter. I stopped got Blue to sit still and I once again tightened the belt as far as I could get it to go. Off we went for another 20-30 feet and once again the belt began to move back up. I then figured I needed to move the belt father down under my hip bones and tighten it. Well that worked for about 60 feet then once again the belt was bouncing around my waste. So needless to say I did this whole stop/start thing for right at a mile before deciding this was not going to work. I took the belt and slug it around my shoulder like a sling pack and took off running again. Well then the bottles began to fall out. Good thing about that is they are bright yellow so I could see the bottles on the ground from a bit away. So here I am going at a snails pace because I have my 100 pound lab by a leash in one hand and I have to hold the two bottles in the belt with my other hand. Have you ever tried to run without using your arms? Well I have adapted to just one since Blue runs with me but not having either really does not work well. Now that I think about it I can see where I looked rather comical to those that passed by me this morning. I did 3 miles like this. I made a tragedy of my time and my neck is killing me from where the pack was slung over my shoulder. Needless to say this was the first time I have had such a quagmire of a run thanks to my faulty equipment. I’m glad I got a run in none the less.
