Runningbébé

NYC Marathon Inspiration

2011-08-04T00:34:00.001-07:00

Countdown to 40

2011-05-25T10:26:00.000-07:00

As I write this my 40th birthday is 701 days away. That works out to a nice round 100 weeks. I am totally fine with this impending milestone, don’t get me wrong. I’m not afraid of a little number like 40. On the contrary, I think most of us get better as we age, and I want to celebrate this milestone with gusto! I think a big birthday can be something to look forward to (even if you’re over 25), especially if you set out to take on a big challenge to mark the occasion. Which brings me to the point of this post….I need an ambitious goal to work to work toward for the next 100 weeks!

I can hear the voices of my friends and family now…..and let me respond to their inevitable comments before I go on…No…I can’t be satisfied with a relaxing, self-indulgent trip to the Caribbean or Hawaii. How boring is that?? I’d rather work toward something really daunting and then celebrate the triumph and bask in the glory (possibly while enjoying a relaxing, self-indulgent trip to the Caribbean or Hawaii)…..

I’ve run 3 marathons so far along with a bunch of Halfs, 10Ks, and 5Ks, and nothing…NOTHING compares to the sheer thrill of running the first marathon in Amsterdam in 2007. A lot of the excitement came from uncertainty that I could even finish the thing, let alone the exhilaration of travelling to another country and lining up to start the event in the Olympic Stadium along with thousands of screaming runners.

I’ve found it’s pretty much impossible to recreate that buzz. Once you know you can do something it loses a lot of its appeal. I’ve tried to keep things interesting by constantly trying to improve my performance, but it’s just not the same. I can’t seem to replicate that sensation I had starting that first marathon.

So like any junkie in seek of a new high, I am on a mission to find a big challenge for 2013.

The first thing that came to mind when I started brainstorming was to train for an Ultra-Marathon. For those of you who don’t follow running that much, an Ultra is any distance over the ‘official’ Marathon distance of 26.2 miles (42.2 km). Some common Ultra distances are 50K, 50 miles, 100K, and 100 miles. On the pros side, I know I like running and I wouldn’t have to buy a lot of extra gear (other than a lot more pairs of shoes). There are also lots of events locally, so I wouldn’t necessarily have to travel across the world (unless I wanted to). On the CONS, side, is the time commitment. Training for a 50 mile race, for example, would very likely involve at least 5 months of focused training for 8-10 hours a week (not to mention all of the massage therapy I’d need!). There would probably be a lot more wear and tear and I’m sure I’d end up with more aches and pains in the usual areas (knees, feet, hips). Would I get bored during an event that involved doing one thing for 12-15 hours straight?? Dunno.

Another idea I had was the Ironman. I’ve already done a Sprint Triathlon (about a hundred years ago) so I have SOME experience biking and swimming. The good thing about doing an Ironman is that I’d at least have some variety in my schedule. I wouldn’t have to be on my feet as much as if I trained for an Ultra, and from an overall fitness point of view, it would be good to round out the lower-body focused running & biking with the more upper-body focused swimming. On the negative side…I would have to spend quite a bit of money buying gear (bike & accessories, bike rack, wetsuit, etc). I also know that it would be a lot harder to coordinate my schedule around all of those different workouts (sometimes 2 or 3 a day). And swimming and biking are SO much more complicated in my mind than running. Living in downtown Vancouver, I’d probably have to drive somewhere with my bike in order to get some open road. Going to the pool is so annoying too, all that changing and drying off. Super complicated.

I am still looking for more ideas, but right now an Ironman or Ultra-Marathon are the front-runners for the big 4-0. I am super interested in hearing more ideas or comments from you! What do you think??

Healthy Recipe: Nicole's Winter Kale

2011-02-21T13:12:00.000-08:00

Before I launch into the recipe I thought I'd give you a list of some of the health benefits of Kale I found online:

1. Lots of Vitamin A: Very important for vision & the immune system
2. Lots of Vitamin C: Also very important for immune system, cancer & other diseases prevention
3. Lots of Flavonoids: Disease prevention
4. Lots of Glucosinolates: Cancer prevention
5. Lots of Vitamin K: Blood clotting, cancer & heart disease prevention, bone health
6. Lots of Manganese: Bone building
7. Lots of Apha-Linolenic Acid: Reducing inflammation, disease prevention (esp. heart disease)
8. Lots of Fibre: Cancer prevention, improved heart health

I am taking GREAT liberties with the name of this recipe because I cannot remember from whence it came or the proper name of it. I know I found it on the internet. If you can enlighten me please leave a comment here and I will certainly give proper credit to the originator of what will temporarily be known as "Nicole's Winter Kale".

Nicole's Winter Kale
Ingredients:
4 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped into little pieces
4 or more cloves garlic (depending on how much you like garlic)
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
8 tsp white sugar (feel free to substitute with honey or brown sugar)
2 Tbsp cider vinegar
3 cups chicken broth or veggie broth is fine too
2 bunches of stemmed, rinsed, & torn Kale (=about 10 cups)
1/2 cup dried cranberries (you can substitute with any dried fruit really)
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 cup toasted sliced almonds

Directions:
1. Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat
2. Stir in onion and garlic. Cook & stir until onion turns transclucent (approx. 5 min)

3. Stir in mustard, sugar, vinegar, & chicken broth & bring to a boil.
4. Stir in Kale, cover & cook 5 minutes or so.
5. Stir in cranberries & keep on boiling, uncovered, until liquid has reduced by half & cranberries have softened (about 15 min).
6. Season to taste
7. Sprinkle with sliced almonds & serve.

My New Running Partner

2011-01-20T12:57:00.000-08:00

Meet Raisin. We adopted her on April 14, 2010. Yes, I have been VERY neglectful of this blog, but I digress…

Raisin was found wandering in Whistler and turned in to the WAG (Whistler Animals Galore), which is the local shelter. Due to her persistent licking of any face that was in range she was quickly dubbed “Kisses”. With no tags or chips and nobody claiming her, Kisses became available for adoption….

One Friday afternoon, Ian and I stopped by the WAG on our weekly drive from Vancouver to Pemberton to see if there were any dogs that needed to be walked. The staff brought us back to meet the new pooch and off we went.

Ian was IN LOVE with ‘Kisses’ from the first second they met. She was so lovable and sweet and friendly with everyone . I quickly fell for her too, and we decided to take her home for a trial run. It had been over a year since we had to put our beloved Rottweiler, Freddie, down, and we were starting to think seriously about a new dog.

Raisin is mostly Husky, with some Pomeranian, Akita, and Basenji mixed in (according to her DNA test). This makes her IDEAL for distance running. Here’s a breakdown of how each of her contributing breed genes make her born to run:

Siberian Husky:

According to Wikipedia:

The dog of choice for the modern Iditarod is a mixed-breed husky bred for speed, tough feet, endurance, good attitude, and most importantly the desire to run. The long distance runners are typically 45-55lbs (which happens to be Raisin’s size!)….

This race is approximately 1112 miles long, and takes over 3 weeks to complete. The VO2 max (aerobic capacity) of a typical Iditarod dog is about three times that of a human Olympic marathon runner!

Pomeranian:

One of the more athletic of the toy breeds, the Pomeranian was bred from larger Arctic Spitz breeds.

Akita:

Used to hunt big game in ancient Japan, they move with cat-like grace.

Basenji:

One of the oldest breeds of dog, which were bred to assist in the hunt in Africa.

After a week in Pemberton and Vancouver, we decided to make it official, and we changed her name to Raisin.

What a life this girl has! Every morning I drop her off across the street from our loft to spend the day at VIA Architecture with my good friend, Mel. She has been the ‘official’ office dog for about 6 months now. Ashley the Dog Walker picks her up at work and takes her to the dog park on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Almost every weekend we go to our house in Pemberton (20 minutes north of Whistler) where she is free to frolic off leash in the deep snow and play with lots of other dogs.

Raisin LOVES to run with us. She is pretty good at staying on one side and keeping pace, although she does tend to pull a little at the beginning. I find that I run a little faster when she’s with me and the time flies by quicker than when I’m alone. We usually run at night, and she is always outfitted with a headlamp around her neck and one or two flashing lights for extra safety.

I never thought running with a dog would be so much fun, and having a dog that I could run with was never a high priority. But now that I have my new little Buddy, I find it hard not to run without her!

The longest run I’ve taken Raisin on was 8 miles, which she completed with ease. We usually stop for sips out of puddles (her not me), and so far she has never shown any desire to stop or slow down. I’m curious to see what she’s capable of with some training….

If you're interested in keeping track of Raisin's antics, you can follow her on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/raisinisadog

Race Report: Sea Cavalcade Mile

2010-07-28T15:53:00.000-07:00

My mom and I had to wake up at the un-Godly hour of 6am on a Saturday to take the ferry to Gibsons for this race. I was slightly worried it wouldn't be worth the hassle, but I had a feeling it would be fun.

I have only ever done one other one mile event and it was more of a fun run than a race. It was the Chip's Not Dead Yet Mile, and it was an uphill climb with themed waves, such as clowns, brides, underwear, superheroes...I don't even know what my time was. I was dressed up as a bride.

We arrived in the little town of Gibsons and had a look around before heading to the start area. As the start time drew nearer, it was apparent this was going to be a very small race. There were only about 10 or 15 adults gathering around the start line and about as many little kids. I guess a mile is a reasonable distance if you're eight.

A few seconds before the gun, a group of fighter jets flew overhead in configuration just for us. Actually, there was a big parade planned right behind the race, so it was probably for the crowds that were gathered waiting for the main event.

Soon we were off and within a few strides a 12 or 14 year old girl tumbled and rolled in front of me. I had to swerve to avoid her. She hopped right back up and seemed ok, so with a few concerned glances backward, everyone kept going.

Really early on I felt a tiredness in my upper arms, which I didn't expect. There was a bit of a hill the first 400m, which was also bothersome. I glanced at my Garmin and my pace was about 6:56/mile, so I slowed down a tiny bit. I didn't want to run out of gas!

Every 400m there was a big, yellow sign (400m, 800m, etc) which was handy. I checked my pace a few times, and then when the course changed to decidedly downhill I sped up and tried to catch another female runner who was about 10 yards in front of me.

The last 100m or so I really gave 'er and smoked the woman I was tailing. As I crossed the line I glanced at the clock and it said 7:05, but my official time was 7:12. That was good enough to win my age group (2nd was also last place).

The crowd support was excellent for such a tiny race in a tiny town. I'd recommend this race and would love to see a larger turnout in the future!

Race Report: Run for Central Park

2010-07-21T13:09:00.000-07:00

The days preceeding this trip I deliberately avoided looking at the weather forecast for New York. I had a feeling it might be H-O-T and didn't want to get psyched out. There's not a lot a person can do to acclimatize a week before an event, so there wasn't any point in freaking out about it.

SO many port-a-potties, so little time

I awoke at 6am in my frigidly air-conditioned room at the Times Square Hilton and got myself together for the race. I quickly chugged two big glasses of water and headed downstairs to the breakfast buffet.

There was a really nice spread laid out of sausages, bacon, three varieties of scrambled eggs, fruit, juices, etc....but common sense and experience told me to stick to a toasted bagel with a little bit of egg on the side. I also had my customary one cup of coffee, even though my tiredness quotient called for at least three.

Once I felt adequately fueled I headed outside into the warmness and hailed a taxi. There was almost no traffic, so within a few minutes I jumped out of the cab and made my way into the park.

By now there were lots of other chumps like me (over 5,000 as it turns out) shlepping their way along the winding paths of Central Park. Some wore their newly acquired race T-shirts. Many carried backpacks and water bottles. As usual, the runnners represented many different ages, sizes, colours, and persuasions.

As I got closer to the starting area, which was near the Bandshell, the crowds became thicker and I started to overhear snippets of familiar banter. Talk of PR's, hydration, run-walk strategy, and IT band syndrome faded in and out in the background as I weaved through the crowds taking pictures along the way.

About 45 minutes after I arrived, it was time to find my corral (based on my supposed 8:08/mile expected pace, HAHA). I tried to stand in the shade for as long as possible, but I finally had to bite the bullet and go stand under the sun's relentless gaze. Within a couple of minutes I noticed beads of sweat forming on the bald heads of middle aged men around me.

The anthem was sung way off in the distance at the start line, a gun was fired, and we were off. I started my Garmin and decided not to look at it again until the end of the race. After all, there was a heat advisory in effect and the temperature at 9am was already 28C (82F) I was not intent on breaking any records. I just wanted to run as much as I could and make it to the finish without puking or passing out.

The first couple of miles I was buoyed by the energy around me and still relatively cool, and ran at about 9:00/mile pace without killing myself too much. After a while I started to get really warm and decided to take lots of walk breaks during the third mile. Throughout the race at every water stop I would drink a cup of water and pour another cup on my head. The cooling effect was great and it lasted for about a half a mile each time.

After taking a pretty relaxed 12:00 to run/walk mile three, I decided to pick up the pace for mile four. I started to tire with about 300m to go, but the crowds were much heavier by then and I didn't want to humiliate myself by slowing or stopping in front of all those people, so I dug in. There was an uphill climb, lots and lots of cheering, and then a corner. After the corner things flattened out and I sprinted to the finish.

My final time was 39:42, which is probably a PR because I have only run one other 4 mile race and it was before I was really a runner and I am sure it was slower.

The Run for Central Park supports the Central Park Conservancy. All awards for the race are eco-friendly, and flowers are planted throughout the park for all race winners, which is a really nice touch. The race is super well organized, the crowd support is fantastic, and the location is varied and scenic. The hot weather was compensated for a bit by the shade of the park's big trees and the frequent water stops and spray stations. I highly recommmend this event and would be happy to do it again.
Here are the bullet points included in the memo, entitled Tips for Running a Race in Warm Conditions, handed out by the New York Road Runners at the package pickup:

Rave Run: Stanley Park Seawall

2010-07-04T22:24:00.000-07:00

Stanley Park is one of the best things about living in Vancouver. It's approximately 1000 acres (compared to New York's Central Park at 800) - and takes up about half of the downtown peninsula.

I'm lucky enough to live in Vancouver's TINY downtown core, which means Stanley Park is running distance from my house. Its also running distance from lots of hotels, so if you're here from out of town you should totally check it out.

Below is my 8 mile running route. The little diagonal line going from the forested area across the little inlet is the Lions Gate Bridge. You'll see a photograph of it below.

Route Map (8 miles / 13km)

The seawall around Stanley Park can get rather crowded on warm, sunny weekends. Weeknights are much more quiet. It's important to note, that bikes are supposed to stay on one (clearly marked) side of the path while pedestrians are supposed to stay on their side. If everyone sticks to the rules we'll all get along just fine. Sadly, many a tourist seem to be caught unawares of our local customs, which can lead to unfortunate mishaps.

Fellow Runners on the Seawall at Coal Harbour

There are lots of monuments and viewpoints along the way, a few of which are pictured, below:

Statue of Harry Jerome, who competed for Canada in

three Olympic Games, and set seven world records

including the 100m in 10.2, 10.1, and finally 10

seconds in 1960

The Nine O'Clock Gun, which is a 12-pound

muzzle-loaded Naval cannon, has been

declaring the time of day for over 100 years

Here's the "Girl in Wetsuit" statue (1972), which

you can get a better look at here. It was

commissioned by the city as a modern take on

the "Little Mermaid" in Copenhagen

Replica fibreglass figurehead from the SS Empress

of Japan, which sailed between Vancouver and Asia

from 1891-1922. The original wooden figurehead

can be found at the Vancouver Maritime Museum.

The Lions Gate Bridge looming in the distance,

with the North Shore beyond

The far side (north side) of Stanley Park, between the

Lions Gate Bridge & English Bay

The beach at English Bay, which is visible as the

seawall exits Stanley Park.

This is a great route for the natural scenery, cultural sites, and great people watching. Its not uncommon to spot Herons and Harbour Seals along the way too, which is an added bonus. There are a few drinking fountains along the way, though not as many as you might expect - so its a good idea to bring water.

Strength Training without a Gym

2010-04-26T17:15:00.001-07:00

A few weeks ago I showed up at my gym only to find, much to my annoyment, that it was closed due to a holiday.

Not wanting to miss a workout so early in my "HAL HIGDON'S HALF-MARATHON TRAINING PROGRAM", I decided to go home and improvise.

There were a few exercises I knew I could do without any equipment off the top of my head, such as push-ups & crunches. I also had hip & glute exercises my chiropractor had given me. For more, however, I turned to YouTube.

Off the Top of My Head:
1. Push-Ups
2. Crunches
3. Burpees

From the Chiropractor:
4. Hip Circles
5. Clams

From YouTube:
6. Static Lunges
7. Plank
8. Squats
9. Chair Dips
10. Deck Squats with Jump
11. Supermans
12. Hip Bridges
13. Calf Raises

I'll post videos of each of these exercises soon....

Track Review 1: Brockton Oval

2010-03-22T16:12:00.000-07:00

I'm starting my comprehensive Vancouver running track review with Brockton Oval because it's my favourite. I love going there on summer evenings after work, when it doesn't get dark until late.

It's a crappy old track in a beautiful setting, just steps away from Coal Harbour and the Seawall. Float planes coming and going from the harbour frequently pass by overhead. It's a nice distraction when you're pumping out 800s.

Brockton Oval is a dirt track with a grass playing field in the centre. There are decent washrooms and a drinking fountain on site. Unfortunately there is no lighting provided, so please take care after dark - you never know what kind of creeps are lurking in the bushes...

Here's an aerial photo showing where Brockton Oval is in Stanley Park:

You can either drive and pay $1 or $2 for parking, or take a bus. You can also ride your bike or walk if you're feeling ambitious (or live close by). Here's a map showing where Stanley Park is related to downtown:

The most people I've ever seen on the track at one time, besides me, is two. Sometimes there will be a team playing football or rugby on the field, which is nice for added security. The parking is also super close, so that's good for security too.

2009 in Review

2010-01-08T15:29:00.001-08:00

Here are some interesting figures I pulled from my Buckeye Outdoors Training Log. Despite being SO determined to make this my fastest, biggest, brightest running year so far - I actually didn't put up very big numbers compared to 2008. I can blame a lot of that on my injury, however, because my last run of the year was in the first week of November.

                             2008                          2009
Number of Runs: 158                         165
Average Time:      00:55:20                   01:02:46
Total Time:           107:55:04                  170:31:11
Avgerage Pace:    10:13 min/mile            11:00 min/mile
Avg. Distance:      5.6 Miles                    5.7 miles
Total Distance:     878.1 Miles               929.0 miles

Hopefully I will see a improvments this year in average pace, distance, and total mileage!

The Case of the Mystery Pain: Part II

2010-01-07T16:44:00.000-08:00

Sorry for the cliffhanger. I wrote the last posting with every intention of coming back a day or two later and filling you all in on what happened to my leg. But every time I sat down to compose something the explanation came out sounding so convoluted and confusing I just kept putting it off.

I'm going to try to make this as simple as possible, and I'm probably going to leave some things out. There's also a good chance that I've misunderstood or misinterpreted all or some of the diagnoses I've been given over the last couple of months. Having said that, I will do my best.

First Chiro Appointment
When I showed up for my first chiro appointment last November, one of the first comments she had after looking me over was that my right hip was low compared to the left. She also found out, by poking around my muscles, that my left glute and hip area were EXTREMELY sensitive compared to the left side.

Treating the Pain
Over the ensuing weeks my massage therapist and chirpractor used a combination of adjustments, massage, pressure points, and exercises I was to do at home to treat the leg pain. They also started applying Electrical Stimulation Therapy to the shin area, which is supposed to encourage the body's natural healing systems by sending safe, low frequency electrical pulses to the affected area, causing the muscle to contract and increasing temperature and blood flow.

An Explanation!
After a few weeks I started to feel so good I decided to start to run with a dog I was walking. I only ran slowly for about 90 seconds, but the next day my shin hurt BAD. It ached for days afterwards. When I reported this to the chiro, she decided to send me for an x-ray to see if there was a stress fracture.

(This is not MY x-ray, but merely an example)

A few days later, her suspicion was confirmed. About a month after the initial pain started on that fateful October run, I finally got confirmation of a tibial stress fracture.

I'm a Gimp?!

Around the same time, both practitioners came to the conclusion that my left leg is a little bit longer than the right. The chiropractor felt that this would explain why the left leg suffered the fracture, since the left leg was bearing more of the stress from running than the right. For this she recommended an orthotic which would be slightly higher on the right side to try and make up for the leg length difference. To be honest I was a bit skeptical of this conclusion, since nobody had ever suggested this to me before. I decided to trust their advice, however, and went with the orthos.

What I've Been Doing

I've been wearing the orthotics for about a week without any major complaints and I've continued with the massage and chiropractic therapies, although the frequency of visits has gone way down. I've also been trying to keep up my leg strength with weight training, my cardio strength with swimming and spinning, and have been stretching lots to work on my overall flexibility.

I also got the green light to ski over the holidays and took to the slopes 4 times at Whistler. Nothing crazy.

What's Next?

Today I had my follow up x-ray and at tonight's chiro appointment I should find out if the bone has healed. Hopefully it has and I can get back to running (and blogging more often)!

The Case of the Mystery Pain: Part I

2009-12-07T12:49:00.000-08:00

On October 24th I went out for a 7 mile speed workout. It was my third run after having taken a week off with acute bronchitis. The first two runs had been easy and uneventful. During the run, at around mile 5 I felt a sudden and surprising pain in my left leg. The weird thing was, I couldn't tell you where the pain was centered. It was sort of global.

Naturally, I ran through the pain, very pleased with myself for completing my workout in my goal time. Then I walked home and laid down on the floor in agony. For the next few days the pain did not improve. It was worse when I took a step on the left side, but it never went away.

I saw the doctor on the first day I could get an appointment, which was Oct.27th. The first question I asked was, did I need an x-ray to rule out a stress fracture. But because I couldn't precisely locate the epicenter of the problem, the doctor diagnosed me with 'fascial pain', gave me a prescription for some strong anti-inflammatories, and told me to walk when it felt fine to walk, and run when it felt fine to run. She said I would not do any damage by running on the sore leg.

Two days later we jetted to New York City where we walked about 3-5 miles a day and where I managed a 6 mile run. It was painful, but not unbearable until the last mile or so.. Every evening after walking all day my leg killed me. But every morning it felt fine, so I figured it wasn't getting worse.

I went back to the doctor on Nov. 6th and reported the pain had not gone away as expected. I also let her know that my hip seemed to be the worst area now. At that she sent me to a chiropractor, suspecting my hip might be out of alignment causing issues all the way down the leg.

To be continued....

Running Bébé Takes Manhattan: Day 5

2009-11-05T21:56:00.000-08:00

Today we headed down to Lower Manhattan to wander around and also to go look at wallets at Century 21. We don't have those in Canada (Century 21's, not wallets). The department store was super crowded, so we did a lot more walking around outside than in the store.

Ian sipping coffee with Trinity Church in the distance behind him

It was a perfect day for aimless meandering through the streets - not too hot, not too cold, and not raining.

New York Stock Exchange Me on the steps of Federal Hall , which was the original capitol of the United States

Back at our room we were treated to quite a show, as the USS New York docked right in front of our hotel (picture above taken from our room!). Apparently part of the hull is made from steel salvaged at Ground Zero. Being our last day I thought it was important to get some shots of our room, which was AWESOME. This images don't do the hotel justice, but they're better than nothing.

Fabulous walk-in shower

View from the lounge area into the bedroom beyond

We had a great time in New York, and we highly recommend the Ink48 Hotel. The service is amazing, the rooms are well-appointed, and since the hotel only opened in October - everything is shiny and new!

Running Bébé Takes Manhattan: Day 4

2009-11-04T20:35:00.001-08:00

Today we had a lot of fun exploring the modern galleries at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the Upper East Side. We LOVE modern art. We also saw the important Vermeer exhibit, including the famous painting of "The Milkmaid":

To be honest I'm not really one for Dutch masters. This stuff is way more fun if you ask me:

"Spectrum V" by Ellsworth Kelly, ca. 1969

As usual I was obsessed with finding funny shots at the museum, like this one I took of Ian - which was not staged. He had no idea until he saw this picture.

The painting, "Mark" by Chuck Close ca. 1978-79

Me admiring Jackson Pollock's "Autumn Rhythm (Number 30)", ca.1950

The Mall

After fun at the Museum, we cut back to the West Side across the park. After some pleading on my part, Ian agreed to take a rowboat out on the Lake, something we never got around to the 2 years we lived in the city...

There's a video of me rowing here and one of Ian rowing here.

A good day all around.

Running Bébé Takes Manhattan: Days 2 & 3

2009-11-02T18:04:00.000-08:00

Day 2: Halloween

Halloween night in New York City we were, literally, the only people NOT dressed up in costumes. Check out this group on the subway platform at 50th Street:

They were good sports, they even struck a pose

Naive as we were, we thought it would be easy to take the subway down to the East Village, where we were meeting our friends for dinner. When we exited the train at West 4th, this is what we encountered:

Packed like sardines at the W.4th subway station

We were stuck in that crowd for a good 20 minutes, and then I realized we actually needt to TRANSFER, not exit. So we had to go BACK through that mess (against the crowd)!

Day 3: The New York Marathon

I got up pretty early to meet my friend (Fellow Runner, Jeannie) in Queens at Mile 14. I got a HUGE thrill when I saw the lead women run by, especially my all-time-favourite runner, Paula Radcliffe. She looked great! And tough! Click HERE for the video!

Later on we headed into Manhattan, and managed to see the elite men run down off the 59th Street Bridge onto 1st Avenue. There was a lot of loud cheering going on there, and the runners were eating it up!

Next stop was Mile 26 on Central Park South. The marathon was slower than I expected, so we were actually able to see the lead women AGAIN! Paula had dropped back and she really looked like she was hurting. Her face was the giveaway. I cheered "GO PAULA" as loud as I could, hope it helped.

Next, we got to see the lead men, Meb Keflezighi was way out in front haulin' ass! He looked quite relaxed and confident too!

Here's Meb in the lead with about 1/2 mile to go!

Amserican runner, Ryan Hall didn't look like he was lovin' life the last 1/2 mile

Here are Jeannie & I in our "Paual is NYC Marathon Royalty" crowns

Running Bébé Takes Manhattan: Day 1

2009-10-30T22:02:00.000-07:00

We had a very full day today in New York. I tried to log my miles walked on the Garmin, but I kept forgetting to turn it on and off and then it would sort of go to sleep on me. I want to say I probably walked about 4 or 5 miles. My feet are telling me that it was at least that.

Late this afternoon I headed back to hotel to meet Ian for a run. There was a little map in our room showing a 2, 4, and 6 mile running route along the Hudson River on a path. We headed out hoping to do the 6 miles, with a few walk breaks. I've been having leg issues so I wanted to be conservative.

The leg hurt right away when I started to run - mostly around the hip. After a few minutes it didn't feel too bad. We ran 1 mile, took a little walk / stretch break, then started running again. Last 2 miles we ran without a break.

It was breezy and cool. I was happy to have the arm warmers. We saw quite a few runners - and most of them were super fast. Not sure what that's all about.

Celebrity sightings: 1

I walked right past Kathleen Turner on W.70th & Broadway.

Rat Sightings: 0

New Experiences

2009-10-27T17:38:00.000-07:00

I have to look on the bright side. I've been running consistently for just shy of three years, and before this month I had never been sidelined due to illness or injury.

That's pretty remarkable when you think of it. Ok, truth be told, I had to take some rest days after the Worst Hangover Ever last July. Anyway, I was back to running no time.

Injury wise, I've had the odd ache and pain here and there. I have to ice my knees and ankles regularly to keep myself going. There have been periods in my training when I may have abused Ibuprofin just a little bit. But I can honestly say that none of these problems have resulted in a visit to the doctor or a layoff from running. If anything, they've been minor inconveniences.

Well, things took a turn this summer when I became inexplicably sluggish and wiped out. Turned out I had an iron deficiency. A few weeks of iron therapy and I started to see improvements. I was feeling like maybe it would all work out just fine and I'd be in great shape for a December marathon.

Then, out of the blue, and without warning, a couple of weeks ago I was stricken down with a severe bout of Bronchitis. It was so bad, that when I went to the doctor to have it looked at, he said I was having an asthma attack and send me home with 2 inhalers and a course of antibiotics. I was out of commission for about a week.

What bronchitis does to your lungs

Finally, last Monday, I woke up before my alarm with a spring in my step and took a deep, invigorating breath. I was ready to run! I decided to start conservatively with an easy 3 miler. It was great to be back at it, and I felt fantastic. My marathon advisor, John, had me run another easy 7 miles the next day, which also went swimmingly! Two days later I was ready for something more intensive.

I headed out for a 7 mile tempo run, with the aim to run an easy 2 miles, speed up a bit for the middle 3, and then run the last 2 miles at a fairly speedy pace. Just a little ways into the last 2 miles I felt a sudden pain in my left leg. I was determined not to fail this time, so I pushed past the pain and finished my run in the desired time.

But by the time I got home I was hobbling and was relieved to be able to lie down on the floor.

I am still struggling to figure out exactly what the heck is wrong with my leg. I can't even really pinpoint where the pain is. When I ran I could feel some achiness in my hip. Afterwards it was more mid-shin. After sitting all day it seems to be at the front of my ankle, where my leg meets the foot.

I'm heading to the walk-in clinic to see my doctor in a couple of minutes, and I'll update this after I see her. I doubt she'll be able to tell me much, but it's a first step...

THE UPDATE:
Ok, I'm back from the doctor's office with good news. Doc thinks it's "fascial pain" and NOT a stress fracture. She thinks the fact that the achiness is migrating around my leg is a sure sign it's a nerve thing and not a bone thing. This is great news! The doctor wrote me a prescription for some heavy duty anti-inflammatories which I'm to take 3 times a day with meals. She thinks the pain should go away when the inflamation dies down. I am cleared to walk and if it feels ok to try running at any time. As long as I'm pain free I can keep increasing the intensity. Best of all, the doctor felt that I should be back to normal in a week!

So I better keep my cross-training up...Sounds like I'll be back to running soon!

Guest Blog: The Portland Marathon 2009 Recap

2009-10-11T19:05:00.000-07:00

This race report was graciously provided by my fellow Team Point Two teammate, Donna, who was the first of the group to complete her goal marathon on October 4th.

Starting with the Oct 3rd race bib pickup, and Sports Expo, Portland Hilton

Drove with my family and to Parents in-law to drop off our children for the night, and my husband I and were off to Portland Oregon. We drove through Goldendale and saw lots of Indian reservations and the wild mustang horses, beautiful fall colors just starting. Then over Sates pass to the beautiful Columbia River Gorge, Dales Oregon.

The Gorge

We arrived in Portland at 6 pm and went straight to the Hilton Portland where we picked up my race bib and race chip barcode tag (new state of technology for me). We had about ½ hour to venture the sports expo before closing.

Portland

The biomechanic feedback station caught my eye, so I strolled over, put on a pair of their Nike racing flats on hopped on the a treadmill for a video analysis. The Physical Therapist studied my gait after playing it back in slow motion, she said I had a neutral foot plant with no signs of over pronation or ankles angling inward. She said, “Wow you have really strong feet”. “Thank you.” I replied, and chuckled under my breath. Little does she know I train in racing flats and run barefoot in the sand and grass. So five stars for forefoot running, Chi running, and Vibram soles.

Race Day
Well, lets get to the Nitty Gritty of the race. Race morning Oct 4th came with a bang. We stayed at a La Quinta Hotel and they forgot to give us our 5 am wake up call. Thankfully I woke up at 5:35 screeching “Yikes, oh shit…. we gotta go” they never gave us a wake up call!” So 20 min. later, my husband and I drove to downtown Portland, a damp Dewey 40 degree morning perfect for racing. We found a parking garage for $5.00 a day. I put on sweats, earmuffs, and gloves, and then trotted in the parking lot while my husband Reidar put his Mt. Bike together.

Donna could've used one of these

We both started in the direction of 1st and Salmon Ave where the start was. We were amazed to see along the way how many runners were camping out inside Starbucks for their last minute caffeine fix.

Race started at 7 am and it was now 6:30. After finding where the runners with bibs could legally enter, I hung out with my husband until the final departure. We befriended a Father/daughter couple that was both very friendly. The daughter was 28 years old and was planning on qualifying for Boston by running a 3:40. Her father was there on his Mt. Bike as well in order to support her at various spots in the race. Hence, my husband Reidar had had a buddy to hang out with.

And they're off!

I kissed my husband and departed into the chute. I found my way in the cluster of wall-to-wall runners (believe me this was tough, since I’m so claustrophobic) to the 3:40 pace group. At 6:55 the National Anthem was sung by a retired Opera Singer, now running the marathon. The gun goes off at 7:00 am and the wheel chair marathoners are off, a minute goes by and we’re off. Lots of intense cheering, three miles into the race people are tossing this and that of various clothing to the sidelines. Gloves, hats, sweats, just a heaven for the homeless that roam the street afterwards. I was happy for them.

Portland Marathon

The 9-mile mark was a turn around with bands playing. Felt amazingly well inside a pack of runners it was like being pulled along effortlessly. It reminded me of a long time ago back in the 80’s on the track running the 1500 meters and being boxed in. I never used my iPod, the entire marathon. I just soaked in the atmosphere.

An Unscheduled Stop

14, 15 miles? I was at the tail end of 3:45 pace group when a whistle blows! A freight train was coming. We had to be stopped as angry runners cry” This is insane! No way, not fair!” I was upset at first since it takes you off guard and off rhythm. So, we were told to stop our watches and account for the loss at the finish. I had a 2 min 23 sec. delay.

Example of a freight train

Pushing Through
At mile 16 I was feeling my right hamstring start nagging, right calf start twinging, then decided to wait it out. Sure enough it went away. Mile 17 was the famous ½ mile hill, up and over St Johns Bridge. I was starting to stiffen up a bit. By the 20 mile I knew the race was over for me. When I wanted to start to race and kick it in, it clearly was not going to happen. I was down to a 9 min pace, shuffling, and hanging on. I told myself if the pain is only this great and won’t get worse, then just maintain. I started to think of my teammates “TeamPointTwo.” I said now listen “D”, Susan, LJ, Chris, Jamie, Nicole, Tony and your coach John J. Ellis are pulling for you right now. So, come on girl, hang in there.

I took my first race GU from the aid table at mile 23, it was called liquid gold. It was an amazing!!!! Tasted like Amber Honey. It gave me an energy boost.

The last mile was definitely the longest and never seem to end, in fact my mantra at that point was, E.T. Phone home….. E.T. Phone home…. E.T. Phone home….

The Big Finish!

My finish was a blur muffled with cheering. My pained body hit the Finish Plate Sensor. The finished runners were guided through (what seemed to be eternity #2), wobbling another ¾ of a mile in order to get out. I asked myself, “So D would you do this again?” I answered…. Yep!

Finishing time without freight Train Adjustment: 3:59
With re-adjusted time: 3:56.23

9 Weeks to Vegas and a Lack of Motivation

2009-10-05T17:20:00.001-07:00

Lately I've been feeling a certain lack of drive to run or to reach my running goals, the most notable being a 3:45 finish time at the Las Vegas Rock 'n' Roll Marathon. I have been finding it harder, mentally, to keep running when I'm tired or sick of running. I've been tired and sick of running more often. I've been tired even when I'm not running. I've been sick of talking about running. This leaves me feeling: 1) Inadequate as a person and 2) SUPER guilty about not stepping up for the Team (Team Point Two) and my Running Advisor John Ellis. Why can't I just pull up my socks and go for it? Time and time again I find myself quitting or slowing down because it's easier than pushing through. This morning I had a stress test, which confirmed what John & I predicted: There's nothing physically wrong with me. A while back, when I was at the peak of my running "obsession", I was asked if I'd ever stop. I responded that I thought I'd stop when I stopped improving. I kind of feel like that's what's happened this year. I have been running consistently for almost 3 years now, with almost constant improvement in my race times. This was going to be my breakout year, when, with John's guidance and the support of a Team I would push my physical limits and find out what I was made of. I thought that would mean seeing big improvements in my race times and mounting enthuiasm as marathon day approached. Instead all of this training and guidance has left me with a constant feeling of inadequacy and a realization that maybe this is as good as I'm going to get. Maybe my problem is that I just don't enjoy pushing myself hard physically. I don't know. Anyway, I'm not looking for sympathy here. If anyone deserves sympathy its John, because he's doing his job week after week, and I'm not coming through. Going forward my plan is to take it week by week. This week all I can do is to try my best to hit all my targets and finish all my workouts. Oh, to end things on a positive note, I DID buy a SUPER CUTE new running outfit which I plan to wear in Vegas. I also made a groovy new playlist that should give me a bit of a lift when I'm running.

A Mini-Vacation from Running

2009-09-27T16:41:00.000-07:00

After last weekend's disheartening performance at the Peace Arch Rotary Half-Marathon, my running advisor, John Ellis, took pity on me and essentially gave me the week off. My only task was to get in 4 good workouts.

On Monday and Tuesday I rested, and on Wednesday I decided to try to swim 2000m nonstop. I completed this workout at the Vancouver Aquatic Center during one of the busiest times of the day (5:30-6:30pm). It was SO crowded you really had to pay attention to avoid crashing into people passing other swimmers! I alternated between breaststroke and frontcrawl and completed the swim in about 52 minutes.

Thursday I rested again and on Friday I decided to go for a 5K run and see how fast I could do it. I ran the first mile in 8 minutes, but then I hit some kind of wall and needed a walk break to catch my breath and get my heart to stop pounding in my ears. I ran the second mile in about 10:30 and the last in close to 11:00. There was a lot of walking in there. I just felt like I couldn't run! It was not very nice.

On Saturday I went for a really fun mountain bike ride with Ian on the Valley Trail in Whistler. I didn't wear a watch or HR monitor, all I know is we went for an hour and a half and there were some big hills in there, here are a couple of pictures:

Ian ahead of me on the trail

Here I am on my rented Giant Reign Mountain bike

Here's a bit of trail that I WALKED my bike on (chicken!)

Here's Ian checking the map

On Sunday I ran the Whistler Spirit Run in the Whistler Olympic Park. It's the venue for the 2010 Winter Olympic Nordic Skiing, Biathlon, and Ski Jumping. The point of the race from my perspective was to:

1. FINISH a race

2. Have fun running in a race

3. Get a good workout

The setting was absolutely stunning, check out the pictures we took:

I don't know the name of this mountain but it sure is pretty

This is the Olympic Ski Jump. Crazy.

First race I've been to with a Jumbotron

I'm in there somewhere

This is near the end, probably less than a mile from the finish

Here's me making a strong finish!

My final time was around 1:01. I am pretty happy with it because there were some WICKED hils on this run! I'm also happy because it was my first trail race ever, so in a way it's kind of like a new PR....

Onwards and upwards, this week I'm going to do the best I can and take it as it comes (no races planned for a while!)

My So-Called Race Report

2009-09-20T20:40:00.000-07:00

This SHOULD be a light-hearted description of a triumphant half-marathon performance. Instead it is another tale of failure. Yes, I dropped out of a race for the second time this morning after running all of 4 miles. It's the fourth bad race experience I've had in a row. I have to be honest. I'm not keen to sign up for another race at this point. Next week I get the pleasure of my annual performance review at The Office. I will be asked why I haven't finished my professional exams (which was my stated goal last year) and I'll be faced with the prospect of telling my boss I'm too busy playing make-believe-athlete to spend extra time on my career. In case you are really curious what happpend today I can't really say, other than that I felt fine in the morning. I arrived early to the race site. I warmed up and stretched dutifully before the start. I ran the first mile at my intended pace (8:33/mile) and expected to do so for all 13.1 miles. The pace felt a bit fast, but I kept telling myself I just had to get used to it. By around mile 3 I felt the need for a short walk break, hoping that just catching my breath would be enough to get me back on track. I started running again and noticed my time getting slower and slower. By the time I got to mile 4 it was clear that the only way I would finish would be at a 10:00/ mile pace. I was too upset to go on and decided I would rather not finish at all if that was the best I could do. Right now I'm not even sure I want to run any more, much less train for a marathon. I really wish I hadn't gone and told EVERYONE on the planet Earth I'm trying to qualify for the Boston Marathon. Who's idea was that?!? Am I feeling sorry for myself? Yeah, a bit.

X-Training: Second Beach Pool

2009-09-10T13:21:00.000-07:00

On Monday, August 31st I took my last swim of the summer at the outdoor Second Beach Pool. Swimming at Second Beach was one of the hightlights of my summer this year. After living in Vancouver for over 10 years I had never swum there until I was required to add cross-training to my marathon training plan - thanks to my TEAM POINT TWO marathon advisor John Ellis. It was so great to ride my bike on the seawall along the shores of Vancouver to Stanley Park, where the Second Beach Pool sits on the edge of the park, right along the Pacific Ocean.

As you can see, the pool temperature is kept at a compfortable 20C / 80F.

Here's a shot looking at the swimming lanes from the pool deck.

This was an unusually hot summer in Vancouver, with 2 days in a row setting all time temperature records. That put the wildfire risk to EXTREME.

Here's another shot of the swimming lanes. The pool is HUGE and there are fast, medium, and slow swimming lanes roped off. The lanes are 50m in length.

Sunset on the pool and the seawall and ocean beyond. There are a couple of slides for kids, one of which you can see on the far end of the pool. Note the runners in the foreground.

Here's a shot on the waterfront side of the pool. This is the Stanley Park seawall, which I frequently use as a running route. The fence on the right surounds the pool. There are a few freighters in the background, which are common in the English Bay area.

I'm sad to see this part of the summer go, but I do prefer to run in cooler temperatures and luckily there are plenty of indoor pools I can use.

Pumping Iron

2009-08-18T16:41:00.000-07:00

In recent weeks, especially during the month of July, I did not feel like myself at all. Despite my best intentions I could not, for the life of me, stick to my training schedule. Runs that were easy only a short time before seemed impossible. Running at anything faster than a 10:00/mile pace seemed outrageously hard. After a few days like this I started to take notice of a whole cluster of "symptoms", including:

1. Weakness (i.e. muscles felt tired, weak, powerless)
2. Tiredness (needing to take lots and lots of naps)
3. Dizziness (only on a couple of occasions, but still, it's not normal!)

4. Grumpiness (some might say this is not so much a symptom as a personality trait, but whatev)

5. Headaches

6. Paleness (especially my gums and the red part of my lower eyelids)

7.Shortness of breath (especially during workouts, but also climbing hills or stairs)
8. Trouble concentrating ("What was I going just doing?")
9. Loss of endurance (not feeling like I could finish a workout that was easy a couple of weeks prior)
10. High exercise heart rate (I mean, like running at a 13:00/mile pace with a HR of 153 bpm!)
13. Loss of interest in exercise (Do I HAVE to!?)
14. Poor appetite (this is SOOOO not normal for me!!)

A visit to my doctor, and a blood test or two later, and there you have it: I was iron deficient! Why, you might ask, would iron deficiency be such a big deal for a runner like me?

Because:

1. Iron makes red blood cells.

2. Red blood cells carry hemoglobin.

3. Hemoglobin carries oxygen around to different parts of your body.

4. If there is less oxygen transported through the body, your athletic performance drops.

Imagine the iron in your body is the steel that is used to build a ship.

This ship is very important because it's carrying containers (hemoglobin) which are loaded with food (oxygen) to feed the city (your body).

If there isn't enough food (oxygen) to go around, the the city (your body) will suffer from a famine (a drop in performance).

I'm not sure if this is a very good analolgy, but my point is, this explains why I've been feeling so rotten for the past several weeks! Not enough oxygen!

Once my diagnosis was confirmed, my doctor prescribed a course of iron therapy, which for me means taking a 300mg ferrus sulphate tablet once a day for 3 months. (Note: Iron pills, if not needed, can cause major issues like too much iron in your blood and irreversable damage to your body. So don't take iron unless your doctor prescribes it!!)

I've been doing some reading up on iron deficiency, and it turns out that I was at particularly high-risk because of my low-fat, high carb, no red meat diet, being a female of child-bearing age, and endurance training.

Here's what I am planning to do to prevent this from happening again:

1. The iron in red meat is more readily absorbed by the body than the iron found in plants, so I'll be eating it twice a week from now on.

2. Taking vitamin C with my iron pills or my iron-rich foods, which will help my body absorb it better.

3. Tannins in red wine, coffee, and tea can allegedly make it harder to absorb iron, so I need to at least TRY to cut back on the wine with dinner and the caffeine.

4. Use my cast-iron pots and pans more often. Iron in the cookware will leach into foods (especially acidic ones like spaghetti sauce). Normally things "leaching into foods" is a cause for alarm, but in this case it's a good thing.

So far so good, I've been taking the iron for a few weeks now and am feeling way more like myself. Hopefuly my NEXT race will be a raging success! No more bad race reports!!!

Anatomy of a Bad Race

2009-08-10T10:40:00.000-07:00

This partiualar "bad" race took place yesterday, Sunday, August 9th, 2009 in Delta, BC (about an hour south of Vancouver). Here's what it was made of: 7:00 am - Arrived at race site,the Ladner Leisure Centre, and picked up my race number. Noticed firetrucks outside the building and wondered how this would affect the bathroom situation. 7:10 am - Listened intently as the race director announced that the bathrooms inside the rec centre would not be available due to a major flood inside. Not to worry, "A" port-a-potty was on the way. 7:30 am - Officialy start time delayed due to lack of potty. 7:35 am - Lined up for the long awaited potty. 7:43 am - Queued up at the start line. 7:45 am - Start of Race My goal was to run at an average pace of 8:45/mile. The first three miles I actually had to slow myself down as my pace was closer to 8:30. Felt confident this was doable. 7:53 am - Mile 1 in 8:46, average HR 169 bpm 8:01 am - Mile 2 in 8:46, average HR 178 bpm 8:10 am - Mile 3 in 8:47. average HR 179 bpm Between Miles 3 & 4 I felt I needed a walk break. Nothing hurt at this point, but I felt the pace was getting to me a bit. 8:20 am - Mile 4 in 9:10, average HR 178 bpm I don't recall what happened between Miles 4 & 5. I either took another small walk break or ran a bit slower. 8:30 am - Mile 5 in 10:03, average HR 172 bpm 8:39 - Mile 6 in 8:54, average HR 178 bpm I took a walk break after passing the Mile 6 marker, and when I started to run again my right knee FAILED. In other words, it hurt too much to run. At this point I changed my goal from a 1:55 finish to finishing upright. 8:52 am - Mile 7 in 12:44, average HR 157 bpm Started joggging super slow, then a bit faster, and after a few false starts I found my knee felt ok once I got up to a certain speed. Thought a decent finish time was still possible! Started "reeling in" all the folks who'd passed me while I was walking one after another... 9:01 am - Mile 8 in 8:50, average HR 177 bpm Got tired again. Took a short walk, started super slow jogging, got up to a sustainable pace. Gave up on catching all the people in front of me. Settled in for a LONG 4 miles. Thought about quitting, but decided it would build character if I continued. 9:12 am - Mile 9 in 10:49, average HR 166 bpm 9:23 am - Mile 10 in 11:21, average HR153 bpm Took comfort in the fact that I was now in the double digits. Knee felt OK, but I was bored with the scenery. Time slowed down. 9:33 am - Mile 11 in 10:03, average HR 162 bpm Overheard a woman behind me ask a volunteer if it was much farther. Tried to block out the answer. Succeeded. 9:44 am - Mile 12 in 11:27, average HR 156 bpm Ran by a volunteer cheering "you're almost there". Wanted to shout back, "No I'm not! It's over a mile away you idiot"! Didn't. Passed a family with a sign that read "YOU ROCK" on their driveway with big smiles. Sped up. Got back to familar territory, realized the finish was not too far away. Spotted Ian. Made eye contact and picked up pace more. 9:54 am - Mile 13 in 9:54, average HR 163 bpm 9:54 am - Finished in 2:10:51. (NOT last) Took a couple of minutes to take some photos of the bunnies which were ALL OVER THE PLACE. They seem to have taken over the grounds around the rec centre. Drove to my sister's house with Ian and on to a breakfast place where I ate a grotesquely large pancake, 2 paoched eggs, and a single slice of bacon sporting my finisher's medal.

Guest Post: Trail Mix by Nathan

2009-07-27T14:31:00.000-07:00

This post was contributed by my good friend and fellow runner, Jeannie. Please check out Jeannie's own blog, here: "Somewhere There is Jeannie". You can also follow Jeannie on twitter at: http://twitter.com/whereisjeannie

And now....Jeannie's post!

I finally found a fuel belt that I am very pleased with after some research and unsatisfactory trials with other belts. The belt is Trail Mix by Nathan. I couldn't ask for a better fuel belt.

My main criteria for the belt is that it needs to have a sizeable storage for my iPhone, keys, chapstick, ID card, Metrocard, and some emergency cash.

The large pocket on the Trail Mix is able to do that comfortably. In fact, you can fit almost any handheld device in the main pocket. You can hold your cell phone, Blackberry, and iPhone or iPod Touch. There is an outer mesh pocket; where I stored my chapstick or hard candy for easy access.

It's very roomy but you don't necessarily want to pack the mesh pocket full of stuff; it then becomes an unsightly bulge.

There is an inner pocket for storing your ID card and money with a Velcro closure. There's even a clip for your keys, which you can tuck into the inner pocket.

The belt also features two holsters with two 10 oz. water bottles; which lasted me during my one hour run. The holsters held the bottles in place during my run. I was able to grab the bottles and return them to the holsters. The bottles did not leak during the run.

Another feature of the belt are the adjustable ties for holding towels or jackets. That's where I secured my little hand towel to wipe away the sweat from my face.

When I first put it on and ran with it, I noticed a bit of chaffing and the belt would begin to shift. I realized that I probably didn't tighten the belt enough. Once I adjusted the belt, the chaffing and shifting stopped. I wear mine with the pocket to the side as opposed to the back; it is a snug hug.

The Trail Mix is only available in grey with yellow accents. The color works for both men and women. I would have liked the belt to come in a variety of colors like magenta, or black.

Storage wise, the Trail Mix fulfilled my requirements, and then some more. I highly recommend this belt to runners who are looking to keep their hands free and are looking to hold a little more than something larger than a credit card. For longer runs two 10 oz. bottles may not be enough. Nathan does offer belts with 4 bottles are a single large one.

Check out their website here for other products by Nathan.

http://www.nathansports.com/index.html

For more information about Trail Mix, click here

http://www.nathansports.com/our_products/hydration_nutrition/trail_mix.html