For the first time in my life, I ran with hydration!
Keep in mind, the farthest I’ve ever run was 13.1 miles, and that was during a race, where there were water stands. So, it’s not as bad as it sounds that I have never run with hydration. But it’s still kind of bad.
I figured that if I’m going to start running farther than 10 miles, I’m going to need to bring along some hydration. I wasn’t sure what to carry my hydration in for these longer runs. I definitely could not carry a bottle, even if it had a clever carrying strap, because my hands are already very full with Ada the Dog’s leash, Ada the Dog’s poop when I’m not lucky (don’t worry, I carry it in plastic bags…otherwise that would be really icky), keys, and my phone. I told Husband Saign that I wanted to get a belt with some water bottles, and he got me a Fuel Belt!
My Fuel Belt has two bottles that are a little over 7 oz, and a little zip-up pocket. It seemed pretty great (though I’d love it if it had a pocket big enough for my phone), but I wasn’t sure how I’d end up actually liking it on my run.
On Saturday I went for an 8 mile run, and used the Fuel Belt for the first time. I thought it would be fine to use half-tabs of Nuun in my <8 oz bottles, which I did. (A half-tab of Nuun is meant to be mixed with 8 oz of water) The Nuun was a little overpowering, since it was mixed strong, so I think next time I’ll do one bottle with strong Nuun and one with water.
I wasn’t sure where the Fuel Belt should sit, but I thought it made sense to put it on my hips. This worked out wonderfully…until I started running and my slippery shorts allowed the belt to slide up and then bounce around with each step.
I ended up tightening the belt at my natural waistline…like Steve Urkel would wear a Fuel Belt, if he were a runner. Yep. But that made the thing stop bouncing, and it worked out well from there.
I really liked running with hydration! Every 15-20 minutes I stopped and took a few sips while walking, and then went back on my merry way. I felt energized!
I can’t believe I’ve gone my whole life not carrying hydration. Why didn’t anyone tell me how great it would be?
I also realized while running that my Fuel Belt has some elastic in the belt which I didn’t notice at first, which helps make it more comfortable and flexible while running.
So, I’m sticking with the Fuel Belt! I really liked it!
How do you carry hydration while you run? Any tips?
I used to have a fuel belt, but a couple of months ago switched to an amphipod hydration belt. It was more expensive, but I love it! I don’t use it often. Usually on long runs I will loop back to my house where I have water stashed in the mail box.
“Amphipod hydration”? That sounds so fancy! I’ll have to look it up!
I usually try to carry water on runs over 9 miles or if it is really hot out. I got a fuel belt for marathon training and after the first run with it I didn’t even notice it anymore. I also have a handheld thing that I sort of like or I just try to map runs where I know water fountains are and then chug some Nuun when I get home 🙂
Yeah, I think the Fuel Belt will work out fine, but if I didn’t have to carry so much crap, I’d probably go with the hand-held strap thing. Those seem pretty good!
I love my fuel belt for anything over 10 miles or so….I just bought a New Balance bottle with a carrying handle for my 8-10 milers. I Love it. But yes, you do have to hoist it all nerd-style. But I LOVE my belt 🙂 Glad you found a hydration solution.
Lol! I’m glad I’m not the only one who wears it so high. It really seemed to work best for me!
Sometimes I can get it to stay down low with it being really tight. But I’m also built like a 12-year old boy so I don’t actually have hips. I think it depends on your body type.