camelbak | Preppy Runner - Theodora Blanchfield

At the end of July, when it was hot as all hell, I got an email from Camelbak, asking if I’d like to review some of their products.

Feeling chronically dehydrated in that heat, I gladly accepted their offer to help me stay hydrated.

You’ve seen me post some pictures with both the Arc Quick Grip Bottle and the Marathoner Vest, and I’ve been promising reviews, but I wanted to wait until I got a few good, really long runs in with the Marathoner.

Quick Grip Bottle

Well, that’s an awkward angle.

What I like most about this bottle is the size. I used to have a handheld water bottle that could hold my phone, but then the iPhone 5 had to come out and be all long and stuff and it didn’t fit. And duh, I need my phone with me so I can Instagram. /sarcasmfont

That little pocket is really useful. I can fit my phone/cash/a credit card/subway card in the open area where my phone is, and in the area with the flap, I’ve either been able to fit my headphones or a Gu / package of ShotBloks.

As far as the actual water, the bottle holds 10 ounces, which is fine for a short run on a hot day. (I don’t usually carry water for short runs if it’s not hot out.) My only complaint with this water bottle is the angle I have to hold the bottle at. In order to drink, I have to very dramatically throw my head back to get any water in. But honestly, the storage is worth it to me for it to be a little annoying to drink out of.

Marathoner Vest

18 miles was a good distance to get an accurate feel for this bad boy.

Verdict? The first mile or so, it took some getting used to. It felt heavy, but obviously as I drank out of it, it got lighter. (Duh.) Once I was a few miles in, I didn’t really notice it moving around, and it was really easy to drink out of. I threw two Watermelon Nuun in the reservoir before I started my run and had some nice, tasty, electrolyte-y water. To be honest, I wasn’t a fan of Nuun until this year, but their flavors lately–especially watermelon!–have won me over, and I am now a convert.

Once again, I really like the storage options on this one. There are two pockets in the front, and I put my phone and a little changepurse in one and my gels in the other. After I took this picture and a gel and put my phone back in the pocket, the pack felt incredibly off-balance, but I got used to it again.

A bustier-than-me friend pointed out she didn’t think it would be a very comfy option for larger-chested women, and I can definitely see that. As a solidly in-betweenish-sized-chested lady, I didn’t find that part uncomfortable, but thought it was worth a mention.

The only place I deduct imaginary points on my imaginary hydration scorecard is for the chafing factor. I got some chafing in my cleavage that I’m pretty sure is from this pack, and I also have two smaller spots of chafing: one on my neck and one on the inside of my arm.

I was so glad to have the Camelbak with me on that long run; I’d taken the handheld on some other long runs and got really sick of filling it up so often.

What about you? How do you drink on the run?

If you are one of those people that can wear a fuel belt, please tell me how that is comfortable??

[I am sure I have used that post title before. Sorry.]

This morning, Tamsin and I woke up, checked the weather, and decided to delay our planned 10-mile run as long as possible. It was DAMN cold. It felt like 10 degrees, and it was windy. I ran in weather that cold a few weeks ago, and it was hard as hell, so I was down for any delay that would allow the weather to warm up.

So we killed some time with breakfast. (Sunflower butter, a banana and an English muffin.) We probably headed out around noon, and we both thought our run was going to SUCK. Our legs felt like lead at first, but by the time we turned around at mile 5.5 (around 130th Street), we were both feeling great.

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We stopped a minute for water, Gu and a pic, and then started going again.

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We’d been doing 10:00-10:30 miles until mile 5, but we really picked up steam afterwards. Tamsin was listening to music and she picked up speed, and clearly I couldn’t let her leave me in the dust, so I picked up my pace as well. Our last mile was 8:58!! While this is still slower than I need to be to run a sub-2:00 half, it makes me feel a little better about my goal, and that it may still be within reach.

It was really such an amazing run: decent weather, great time, great company.

All great runs call for bagels afterwards, obviously.

Tamsin ran her first half a few weeks ago, and I haven’t done a 10-mile run since before the marathon, so it took a lot out of both of us. Around 5, we finally got up and did some walking around to shake out our legs (and I got a new bedspread! Photo tomorrow.)

We debated over whether we should cook or go out to dinner again. I had a serious craving for guacamole, and I finally decided that we should stay in, and I should make tacos because they’d be both cheap and easy. I invited the lovely Ms. Emily over for dinner, and she brought us some Corona Light, which made us all feel like it was summer, and not actually the end of February.