Today’s run

Went about five miles outside and didn’t have to take as many breather breaks as before. For some reason, I felt self-conscious today and found myself counting (oh for the love, not the running/math thing again) how many people were looking at me as they drove by and then performing analysis on what kind of people seemed to be taking notice of me. Here’s what I found.

In my mind I think I thought that fit people were looking at me and judging me on my form and jiggly stomach. Amazingly, people who from the steering wheel up look like fine athletes weren’t even looking my way. Apparently they seemed to thing that keeping their eye on the road was more important. I was surprised at who did look at me as they drove by.

• - The lady on the Jazzy scooter on her way back from the farmer’s market. I know she was thinking that I was going to snatch the beets right out of the front basket as I sped by.
• - People who looked like they are the presidents of the office donut club, and have held various club leadership positions since the club started. Much like myself, they are not only the president, they’re also members. I started fancying myself as being a role model for them and that I was inspiring a group of people to change. Speaking of donuts, we found a great new donut place this morning, Steve’s Delicious Donuts in Lenexa, Kansas. The lady even gave us (me) a bag of free donut holes. This was all pre-run; I needed energy.
• - Mall walkers. These are easily identified by the Buicks they’re driving. If anyone should be watching the road and not me, it’s this bunch. However, as their heads turned toward me I think I could read their lips saying “Wow, Mable, that youngin’ is walking at a pretty good clip.” No, George, I’m actually running.

I now need some input from other runners. I need to come up with a solution to my hydration needs. When I run on the treadmill, I have all the cold water I want at my fingertips. When I run outside, though, I obviously need to stay well-hydrated. We have plenty of wide-mouthed water bottles, but the water just splashes all over and aren’t easy to hold onto. I stole/borrowed Eli’s Jump Rope for Heart water bottle with a pull-up top, but it’s pretty flimsy plastic and is a little too small (10 oz.). Today the water in it got quite warm about half-way through my run and 10 oz just didn’t last long. Then I ran by the Taco Bell, so I went in and asked if I could refill it with water from the fountain. Si. Between the ice-cold water and the hot water bottle, steam actually rose from it as I filled it. Luckily I didn’t have any money or else I would have stayed for a Crunch Wrap Supreme. I then had to stop at the library a couple of miles later for another fill-up.

So, what I want to know is what kind of hydration device do you prefer and why. I went to the running store the other day and also looked on-line, but can’t really decide for sure what I would like the best. They’re all somewhat pricey, so I want to be sure I get the best one for me. I’ve looked at Camelbacs, running belts that hold multiple plastic flasks, fanny packs that hold regular water bottles, and the ones with a foam strap that goes around your hand/has a mesh pocket for keys, etc.