Using a hydration backpack is better than eating snow.

Yesterday I woke up at 6 AM, fully intending to eat breakfast and then scoot on out the door on my 18-mile long run.  Instead, I spent the next few hours waffling with myself, debating about whether to do the run that day or wait until the next day (today).  I have a shin splint in the making on my right leg, and my left hip has been wobbly during the last week, so I was thinking that they may need a day.  Also, here in northern Illinois-land, we have been plunged into a deep freeze with temperatures in the teens most of the day; I hemmed and hawed about waiting until the next day to do the run because it was supposed to be warmer that day.

I finally convinced myself to suck it up and do the run yesterday, trying out a new out-and-back route in order to provide the motivation to take the time to get all of my winter running gear on and get out the door. (I like running in new places, because there are sights to see that I never even knew existed right in my own backyard--for example, a zoo and a firearms shop.)  But I put on a piece of gear that I hadn't worn before: my hydration backpack.

Backback plus bonus dog.

You see, I'm really really tired of carrying water around in my hand or on a belt, especially in this cold weather.  There's that whole "water freezes below 32 degrees" thing to contend with, so you actually end up carrying around a bottle of ice after an hour, or I have to deal with a hydration belt that eventually rides its way upwards during a run, becoming a bra by the end.  The thing is, though, when you're running for 3 or 4 hours, you get thirsty--really thirsty.  So, instead of eating snow for the last 6 miles and spitting out the road sand that comes with it as I have done before, the  logical solution for me was to shell out some serious cash for the backpack you see above.

Inside the backpack is a bladder that hold about 1.5 liters of water.  Connected to that is a tube that comes outside and down the right arm of the backpack, which ends in a bite nozzle that you bite down on (duh) to get the water to come out.  Since I wear about three layers in the cold weather, I put the backpack in-between my 2nd and third layer so as to prevent it from freezing; I also threaded the tube with the bite nozzle through the right arm of my jacket (between my 2nd and 3rd layer) so that wouldn't freeze either.

It worked like a charm.  Here's what I liked:

• 1.5 liters was more than enough water for a 3+ hour run
• The bite nozzle worked well; I felt like I could get enough water, especially after sucking down a gel.
• The straps that come around the front didn't bother me at all. (Although they did make wear marks on one of my favorite running shirts I was wearing for my 2nd layer.  Bummer.)
• I looked like a total hunchback running down the road with it underneath my jacket, drawing confused looks from passing motorists
• It didn't bounce at all--I didn't even notice it after the first mile.
• It has lots of pockets to carry your stuff.  While that didn't help me yesterday (it being underneath a jacket) these will definitely come in handy when it gets warmer.

I only had two main issues with it:

• The constant sloshy-sloshy sound of the water in the bladder was my constant companion.  However, I run with music, so I only heard it between songs.  (I found out later if I drained the air out of the top of the bladder before running I wouldn't hear it sloshing.)
• I was stupid enough to leave the bite nozzle sticking out of the top of my sleeve during the first two miles of the run.  Having tried out the bite nozzle in my house before I left, there was water sitting in the tip of the nozzle, which promptly froze as it hung outside of my jacket for those two miles.  Thankfully, I just had to press on it to break it up, and it was all good.

Overall, it was a good run yesterday, even if the first 9 miles were right into the cold and windy suck that is Illinois in February and I had to shout "NO-GO HOME!" to way too many dogs.

This was a pace run, meaning I had to negative-split the run so I was ending at my race pace.  I think I did a pretty good job, considering that I had decided I would run each mile my body wanted to run it and not get so focused on the numbers.  Compared to my last 18-mile run, I did come in a bit faster with my average pace, although not much--I started slower this time than last time, but last time I never got into the 10:00 paces whatsoever. 

However, I am going to need to watch it during my marathon--I tend to start speeding up around mile 7 or 8, I've noticed, and then I have to throttle back in later miles in order to make it to the end.  If that happens during the full 26.2, I think I may be in trouble; I am currently planning on holding back a little until the 13th mile, and then assessing the situation from there.  I just don't want to have to do a lot of the pathetic self-bargaining that I had to do yesterday just to make it through the 17th mile.  (I promised myself a new house.)

Anyway, it's cross-training for the next two days for me, which will give my shins a needed break.  Let the Cathextravaganza continue.