Hydration Station

Well, it happened.  Someone finally talked some sense into my hydration plan.  Truthfully, not just one someone, but many.  So to all of you honest people who sent me hilariously poignant messages such as, "...buck up and join the waterless crowd," thank you!  I needed that swift kick in the shorts to get me thinking like a seasoned marathoner.

For three years, I relied heavily on my Camelbak.  It was big and clunky but I loved it.  My good running friend, Monica, joked it was my purse and she was so right.  I stuck all kinds of crap in that thing.

My husband Randall and I at the Denver Rock 'n Roll Half.  How do I have 40 oz of water and he carried nothing? 

Not only does it hold 6 pounds of water, but I stuffed money, keys, a phone, tampons, tissues, Gu, jelly beans, granola bars, band aids, and whatever else I could stuff into it.
 

Yup, I'm a dork.  I even wore my Camelbak for a 3.1 mile run during my first duathlon...

By the time I was loaded up and ready to run, I weighed an extra 12 pounds!

Finishing the Colfax Marathon last year.  Look how happy I am to take that thing off!

This year I decided to shed the extra weight and train only with a handheld water bottle, hoping it would make me faster.  I never once ran out of water and while I initially worried my arm would get tired of holding it, my arms got stronger.  Win-win.

After a 13 miler with only a hand-held and one Gu.  I survived as always.

However, for some reason the idea of carrying 3-4 Gu's and a full water bottle for 26.2 miles has really started to freak me out.  Plus, I will run out of water, so then what?  I've never used hydration stations at races before because:

1. They are so crowded.
2. It would slow me down.
3. I've heard of horror stories where the race directors didn't use potable sources of water and people got horribly sick after the race.  Gross.
4. Those darn cups are so hard to drink from, even if I pinch off the top, maybe one ounce of water actually makes it to my mouth.  
5. When I decide I'm thirsty, I want water.  NOW.  If I can't get water at that moment I focus on it and I panic.  I also don't want to risk dehydration.  That is an impossible hole to climb out of. 

Knowing I didn't want to use my Camelbak this year, I went to a popular running store here in Denver seeking advice.  They convinced me I needed a larger handheld water bottle and a fuel belt for my Gu.  Essentially a fuel belt is a small fanny pack that isn't supposed to bounce around too much.  But when I ran 12 tempo miles on Thursday, I kept thinking about my floppy new appendage.  Needless to say, I am not used to pendulous things on my mid-section.  While a fanny pack was totally cool in the 80s, I'm not sure I could make it work.  Focusing on that extra load ruined the first few miles of my run. 

So screw the fuel belt.  I can carry Gu in my shorts and the larger pocket of my water bottle.  That water will last me until 15 miles and somewhere along the halfway point-ish I hope to see my husband who can throw me another full bottle and additional Gu if needed.  I will also utilize the water stations, although numerous people warned me against the first 3 as they are often understocked and overcrowded.  Also, if the water bottle becomes too heavy and the water stations work out effectively, I can always toss my husband my water altogether to relieve the weight.

Why do I care about weight?  Well, first of all my arm gets tired holding 20 ounces of water for 4 hours.  And second, a friend of mine, who has run Boston 5 times posed this question, "You plan to BQ at some point right?  Have you ever seen a Boston Qualifier, or elite runner carrying something on their body or in their hands for 26.2 miles?"

"Um, no."  I frowned.

"That's because every little ounce truly matters for your overall time.  Even 5 ounces of weight can adversely effect your time."

"Yeah but I have lost 7 pounds in my training..."

"Think of this.  For every 10 pounds you loose, they say you also loose 8 minutes off your overall time for the same effort.  Sometimes a few ounces are the difference between a 3:35 and a 3:37.  While you may not have intended to loose weight, it will help you during the race.  Why would you load that extra effort back on needlessly?"

I've never given so much thought to weight before. Sure elites talk about their goal racing weight and I might too if I could actually run 4:30-5:00 miles for 26.2.  (Shoot if I could run that pace for a half a mile that would be cool.)  Every little bump in the road matters for them.  While I will never be an elite runner, I have worked really hard the last 5 months.  If I can push myself a little closer to the target with the same effort, I'm willing to try. 


~Roadburner

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