Water Bottle Woes

As part of the Team in Training program, all participants are REQUIRED to wear a water bottle belt. I'm not sure how many of you out there are runners, but you might say that the simplicity of running is the appealing part. Put on shorts, t-shirts and shoes and you are out the door. These days, I look more like I'm on some sort of mission...cap, ipod arm band, headphones, water bottle belt with pouch for power gels (saving that for another time), cell phone, shoe tag with runner info, etc. It's kind of like preparing for a back country trip with no mountains in sight. In fact, I think I look even more out of place than the sunburned tourists who wander the DC mall area. Back to the point...

On a recent trip to the local running store (I'm starting to know the employees by name), I purchased the REQUIRED water bottle belt. Warning bells should have gone off when the employees (all frequent marathoners - who actually run the ENTIRE marathon) sort of looked down at their feet, possibly trying not to grimace. Well, I tried the water bottle belt - 4 times. The last time, it ended up on the side of the trail with a sign attached saying "please, someone steal me." You see, it's just not possible to run with a holstered water bottle and belt. Each step you take causes the bottle to bounce up and down, which causes the belt to loosen, which causes the belt to slide off the hip area, and you get the idea. I'm sure it works for some, but my advice: Do not buy this kind of water bottle.

The good news, I went to another running store. After explaining my problem, the guy says to me "yeah, we don't normally recommend that kind." Hmmmm...interesting. He did redirect me to the FUEL BELT. Sounds like something an astronaut would wear, right? I put it on and ran around the entire store. No bounce. No loosening. Bought it, ran 5 miles with it, and love it! The point of my story... if you ever decide to run a marathon, read my diary first. You'll save a lot of money not making my mistakes!

Despite the sometimes fun and funny experiences of this training program, I am frequently reminded of why I'm doing this. As some of you know, my husband, Steve, is currently doing rotations for the physician assistant program. Sadly, many of his patients are HIV positive. His message to you is this...these are real people, real lives that have been completely devastated by this disease. Often, the stigma of HIV/AIDS creates losses that are more painful than the physical. People lose jobs, financial security, friends, family members all because of this stigma. Please, please take a look at the website for the Whitman Walker Clinic by clicking on the link on the right side of the page. You are supporting a great cause!