CamelBak - Octane
Last night, I headed to the trail for a “medium” long run, according to my marathon schedule. I would say 12 miles is considerably farther than medium, but I guess whatever gets my sub 3:10, will do. I love this stretch of trail because it’s away from traffic, the slope is flat (converted from rail track), and their are distance markers every mile.
Arriving straight from the office, I pulled a superman and changed in the park restroom. Shirt, shorts, socks, sunglasses and watch – all check. Then, I put on the iPod and hit play. Nothing. Well this sucks! I’m facing a 12 mile run, which is hard enough, but now have to go it alone without music. I tried to stay positive by telling myself it’s going to be good running without it, so the next time, the run will be so much better. Kinda like going without coffee in the morning for a week. Sure the week seems slow and irritable, but the fresh cup 7 days later always tastes so much better. So, sans music isn’t that big of a deal.
Then, I noticed I didn’t have my Camelbak. This wasn’t good because the trail does not have water and it’s going to be a little under 2 hours in the sun. Last year, Michelle and I tried this, which led me to the Camelbak in the first place.
Before starting out, I fill up with as much water as I could at the trail head. I knew I was going to stop along the way because of this, but starting out hydrated was more important. The first half of the run seemed to go fairly fast and I was feeling strong. At the turn around (10K out), I was feeling a little tired. My mouth was definitely dry and I was wishing for some water. A biker passed me on the left, which I thought about asking him for a sip. By the time I decided yes, he was gone. With about 20 minutes left, I knew I was going to make it and all in all with a decent time for the 20K (1:41). Overall, it was possible to run without water but I would much prefer to have my Camelbak. Not only does it keep me hydrated, but also keeps me running faster cool in the sun.
So next time, it’s going to be great music, Camelbak, and fresh legs at the end.
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