IT'S Almost SNOWSHOE SEASON!
2.2 Mile Snowshoe Hike/Run at Five Rivers EEC
Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Turned out we had too much snow for me to run comfortably through it - so I pulled the snowshoes out of the closet and today's short run turned into my first snowshoe trek of the season (if 2.2 miles can be considered a "trek".)


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I ended up circling the Beaver Pond and then followed the trails along the Vloman Kill. Ran a bit (primarily downhills) but mostly I hiked. Pretty tough going in spots - the snow was wet and heavy and I'm definitely out of shape. My knee was pretty sore by the time I was done and my legs were definitely out of juice.


click for larger image

Not much wildlife out and about today... the ponds were mostly frozen and I suspect most of the birds stayed under cover. I did see a couple of deer down by the creek, but the snowshoes make so much noise that they headed off into the woods before I had any hope of getting close enough to get a decent photo.





On the positive side - over the past few years the first couple of times I've gotten out on my snowshoes at the start of the season I've always been a bit surprised at how tough it is... don't know whether I've finally lowered my expectations to realistic levels or if it was just that I walked most of the time today, but it wasn't as bad as I expected. Of course... I have a long way to go before I'll be ready to run some of the races I hope to do this winter (and if my knee doesn't stabilize as much as I want it to, I may be walking most of them anyway.)

JMH

It's Almost SNOWSHOE SEASON!
Tuesday, December 8, 2009

3.2 Mile Walk on the Walkway Over The Hudson
Sunday, December 6, 2009

Southern NY Is Going To The Birds...
Sunday, December 6, 2009



There's a small parking area near the entrance/exit to the Ward Pound Ridge Reservation that usually has a car or two in it, I assume folks who don't want to pay the entrance fee though given that Cross River is right near by it could also be a paddling access. In any case, today as I was leaving the park I was surprised to find it empty - except for half a dozen crows perched on the railings and prowling around.





I stopped to take some pictures and had fun watching them stalk around with a fairly clear "we own this spot" attitude... I was especially impressed that they didn't seem at all bothered by my car, at least not until I finally started it moving again, at which point they flew across the road and into a tree.





A while later I stopped at a grocery store in Sears Corners just north of I84 to buy some lunch and as I was leaving noticed a large group of gulls hanging around in an empty section of the parking lot. I drove to a spot near them and stopped, expecting them to run away - instead they started flocking toward the car, squawking and screeching! Apparently someone parks there and tosses them food on a regular basis, because they seemed a bit miffed that all I did was take pictures. Almost made me wish I had something to give them...











JMH

LEATHERMAN'S LOOP OR WINTER WONDERLAND?
NOT-SO-LONG ANY DISTANCE 2009 - Race #29
Gail's Trail Run 10k
Sunday, December 6, 2009

When the alarm went off this morning I realzed that I'm very much out of practice when it comes to getting up and heading off to a race... it's been over a month since the last one I did! I was briefly tempted to crawl back into bed like I did last year, but fortunately I reminded myself of how much I regretted skipping other races this year - and how many I had to miss over the past month due to either injury or lack of a car - and kept myself on track to getting my gear together so I could head out the door and get on the road to Cross River, NY down in Westchester County.







The first part of the drive down was in the dark, but as the sun came up I was treated to the sight of all the trees along the Taconic Parkway covered in snow... very pretty! Unlike two years ago, the drive down was uneventful (this year the snow hit the day before!) and I pulled into the Ward Pound Ridge Reservation with plenty of time to check in and figure out what I wanted to wear. Went through several combinations of tops, but finally settled on two long-sleeved shirts with a jacket just in case (and the expectation that I'd probably end up wishing I'd skipped the jacket...)

The start was delayed while a few folks came in at the last minute, then we gathered in the corner of the parking lot and the RD talked for a bit about why the run was started (in memory of the wife of the Team Mossman swim coach who died of pancreatic cancer) and also mentioned other folks who'd lost their fight with the disease this past year. Tony Godina, RD emeritus of the Leatherman's Loop, said a few things about the course... and then it was time to go!









As I expected the group disappeared pretty quickly... I'm slow at the best of times and I had already decided not to push it today, given the state of my knee. Stopped a short ways in to tie my jacket around my waist (hate it when I'm right) and generally took it easy, walking when I needed to and stopping to snap photos whenever I wanted. The woods were absolutely gorgeous - a light layer of snow everywhere and blue sunny skies above. Made my way through the woods up and down hills to the first stream crossing. Getting in without jamming my knee wasn't easy; I ended up sitting down on the bank to lower my feet into the water, which was about knee deep and, no surprise, cold (but not stunningly so - maybe I'm finally at the point where I know what to expect.) Getting out on the far side was tricky - the big rock going up to the back was very slippery, and I didn't really want to end up getting dunked. But eventually I made it and headed off down the trail running along the stream.









Lots of varied terrain after that, and lots of mud close to the stream - guess that's one of the disadvantages to all the warm weather we've had, the mud isn't frozen yet. Eventually passed through the picnic area at the end of the open section of the park road, then back along the stream some more. Up hills, down hills, through fields... one of the fun things about the Leatherman's course is that it has a little bit of everything. Eventually the path came out on the closed end of the park road, which offered a short bit of pavement before we headed back into the swamps. This stretch was even trickier than some of the earlier bits, because in many places the path is bounded by bushes and they were all bowed over with the weight of the snow, creating tunnels to run through. Nothing for it but to put my head down and just push on... eventually reached the roughly halfway point - the long, steep climb up the sandy wall of the old quarry. I made my way to the top and took a brief breather, looking forward to somewhat less tricky trails for a while.









The next bit runs through a section of forest sprinkled with lots of cool rock outcrops... and even more hills. Lots of water today too - sections of the trail were more stream than trail. The initial parts were mostly downhill or level, though after a nice stretch of evergreens the trail started climbing again - a fairly long, gradual uphill which took me back over the ridge and down to the stream again. At least I've done this course enough times now that I know there's almost a mile and a half to go at that point... the first few times I ran it I was always disappointed when my memory played false and the path across the field to the second stream crossing wasn't just around the corner.









More climbing, more woods, and another stretch of evergreens, this one in rough shape from a storm that hit there sometime in the past - last of trees down on either side of the trail. Finally I hit the last downhill and came out in the field. Of course, that meant I was almost to the tough stream crossing - the one some folks end up swimming in the spring! I stopped before entering the water to pack my camera in a ziploc bag and secure any gear that might float away, then carefully made my way out into the water. That stream crossing is tricky because the water runs pretty fast and there are a couple of spots where the bottom drops off. Today it wasn't as deep as I'd expected - maybe mid-thigh - but it was running fast enough that every time I lifted a foot the current tried to sweep me off my feet. Took my time crossing and even went back in a little ways so the fellow waiting on the bank (apparently the race time keeper) could take two pictures of me.









From there it was just a limping jog across the field to the remains of the old oak and the finish line. My knee didn't feel too bad, probably because of the dunking in the cold stream. I came in at a little over 1:55, right around where I expected given the state of my knee, and happily under 2 hours, even if only just.

After that it was just a matter of changing clothes - fortunately, just about everyone was gone, so I was able to completely change into dry clothes in the car. Unfortunately, I still haven't put all my gear back in the car, so my towel was sitting at home, but no big deal. Since I don't know when I'll be back to the Res, I decided to explore a bit and drove down the park road to the picnic area I passed through during the run. Clouds were rolling in which unfortunately meant there weren't many nice pictures to be taken, but I did manage to pick up a park brochure and trail map. Then I drove to another picnic area that I'd never been to before, all the while really wishing my knee was in better shape so I could either do some hiking or some more running... the Ward Pound Ridge Reservation is just a very cool place with a lot of trails I still haven't explored, and I definitely missed being able to do so today. But at least I made it to the run and got to spend some time out in the woods on an absolutely beautiful early December day.

JMH

2009 Event Totals
Run 279.1 mi, 69 hr 8 min
Bike 58.6 mi, 4 hr 29 min
Snowshoe 54.6 mi, 13 hr 05 min
XC Ski 3.3 mi, 1 hr 2 min

states visited: CT, MA, ME, NH, NY, PA, RI, VT

Weekly Training Summary
11/29 - 12/5/2009

running (1x) - 4.8 mi
riding (1x) - 11.0 mi

Given the snow yesterday (and more winter weather forecast for later this week) I think I should have gotten out on my bike more this past week. My knee seems to be stabilizing again - my one run was merely slow and painful instead of downright impossible.

JMH

FIRST SNOW OF THE SEASON
11 Mile Ride Along the Mohawk Hudson Bike Path
Saturday, December 5, 2009

Since I finally have my car back I had originally hoped to go someplace a bit further away to do some riding - possibly the Ashuwillticook Trail over in Pittsfield - but snow falling fairly steadily from late morning on (with calls for heavier snow in the Berkshires) persuaded me to stay closer to home. I even spent some time considering skipping my ride altogether and maybe going for a walk instead. In the end, two things got me out the door for a ride. First, not wanting to strain my knee before tomorrow's run down in Westchester, and second, the thought that now that the snow has started it's not all that clear how much I'll even be able to ride over the next couple of months.

It was cold and wet when I finally got out on the bike path... definitely a very damp day despite to being cold enough to snow. Fortunately it wasn't accumulating on the path, but it still made it difficult to see, both because of the actual blowing snow and because my glasses kept getting wet and blurry. For the first time this season I was definitely underdressed... while I was fine up top, I should have worn a pair of windpants over my tights, and I definitely needed thicker socks. I think more than anything else that underscores how warm it's been so far - ordinarily that would have been a no-brainer for a ride in early December. In the end, I cut my ride shorter than I intended because my fingers and toes were getting wet and cold and it just wasn't much fun anymore.

Not a lot of folks out on the path... a few people walking, with and without dogs, and a runner or two, but I mostly had it to myself. I stopped at Lock 7 because the water sounded higher than it was last week, and startled a flock of pigeons that was roosting on the railings of the bridge across the lock. Heard a few geese on the river, and saw a number of ducks, but not much else. Despite the lack of wildlife and the cold and wet, it was still a pretty cool day to be out. I would have rather been running in the snowstorm... but riding was certainly better than sitting indoors on my backside grumbling about my stupid knee.

JMH

OW. OW. OW.
4.8 Mile "Run" in the Pine Bush
Wednesday, December 2, 2009

More of a hobble than a run, really... I pulled on the heaviest neoprene brace I own and stumbled around the Pine Bush trails in the light rain we had tonight. It was nice to be out in the woods, but other than that it wasn't much fun. Very slow going and, no great surprise, my knee hurt. I remember abandoning that heavy brace after a few runs last summer because it was so uncomfortable... I may end up ditching it even sooner this time around.

Now to see how long it takes to bounce back after tonight's round of possible stupidity... who knows, I may be telling the Gail's Trail Run organizers on Sunday not to bother waiting for me because I'll be hiking the course rather than running it... but I'm hoping my knee cooperates enough for me to at least run parts of it... very... very... slowly...

JMH

On the Road Again!
Tuesday, December 1, 2009

O Frabjous Day! Callooh! Callay!
Tuesday, December 1, 2009



If all goes well I'll be getting my car back this afternoon... while I don't think I'll be dancing when I pay the bill, it's going to be great having my own vehicle to drive again!

JMH

1.4 Mile Walk at the H.G. Reist Wildlife Sanctuary
Sunday, November 29, 2009

1 Mile Walk at Ann Lee Pond Nature Preserve
Sunday, November 29, 2009

Another gorgeous November day, sunny and much warmer than we were expecting. After breakfast Ann and I headed over to Ann Lee Pond so we could walk around a bit and I could show her the "crazy bridge" across the back end of the pond. We walked along the shore of the pond and then through the woods back to the bridge. I was a bit surprised at how few birds and squirrels we saw along the way, though we did see a large group of mallards in the swamp at the back of the pond and another group paddling around the crazy bridge. (I'm sure it was level when it was first built, but since then the supports have apparently shifted in various ways resulting in several unusual twists and tilts to the bridge surface. Ann expressed a certain amount of surprise that it hasn't been condemned and torn down, through it certainly seems pretty stable despite its odd configuration - I have to admit, it has a certain bizarre charm the way it is and I would be sorry to see it leveled out.)

As we walked through the fields back to the car, we spotted goldfinches, chicadees, bluejays, and cardinals zipping around through the weeds and trees. Ann also spotted a pair of hawks off in the distance, though they flew off before I spotted them. It would have been nice to walk back into the woods to see if the beavers were out swimming in their pond, but while the main part of the preserve is off limits to hunters I'm not sure of the status of those "off trail" woods and we didn't want to risk possibly getting in trouble for trespassing or worse get shot at by someone mistaking us for deer rustling through the fallen leaves.

JMH

Weekly Training Summary
11/22 - 11/28/2009

running - 0 mi
riding (3x) - 60.9 mi

A good week to be out on my bike, but a poor one for running... my knee was killing me all week after I re-injured it during last Saturday's run. It seems to finally be stabilizing, which gives me hope I might manage a bit of easy running this week...

JMH

0.6 Mile Walk Along the Mohawk Hudson Bike Path
Saturday, November 28, 2009

After dinner we stopped at the Niskayuna Lions Park for a short walk along the bike path under the light of the waxing moon. Unfortunately, my left calf was developing a cramp (undoubtedly from trying to protect my bad knee during all the walking we did today) so we didn't get far before we had to turn around, but we did hear geese and ducks honking and quacking out on the water in the dark, and even spotted a heron down at the edge of the river near the path. As it turned out, we came back at just the right time, since a few briefs spurts of rain came down just as we got back to the car.

JMH

Customer Service Done Right
Saturday, November 28, 2009

First, a bit of background - Ann is allergic to shellfish, and most types of fish give her an upset stomach, which led to a very unpleasant experience several years ago when we had dinner at the Miyako Japanese Steakhouse in Guilderland. We made a reservation for one of the hibachi tables not realizing that all the food would be cooked together, and several folks at the table ordered dishes that included shrimp. After seeing the food being cooked Ann let the waitress know she would need hers cooked separately and got a very negative reaction - not only did the waitress grumble repeatedly that she should have been informed of this ahead of time, she also charged us extra for Ann's original portion of food that needed to be discarded and when we objected to that became fairly nasty, insisting that it was all our fault and we were the ones who were being unreasonable. Needless to say we decided never to eat there again, and whenever I hear one of my friends discussing the possibility of going there I make sure I relate our experience. (In all fairness, I have to say that everyone else I know who has eaten there has had a very positive experience, so maybe we just caught them on a bad night.)

In contrast to that very poor dining experience, our meal tonight at Outback Steakhouse in Clifton Park was a fantastic example of how to keep customers coming back. Ann's dinner came with a ceasar salad, which when she tried it had a slightly fishy aftertaste. She asked the waitress about it, who said that the dressing included anchovies, apologized profusely, and immediately offered to replace it with another salad with a different dressing, then apologized again when the she brought out the new salad and checked that Ann was all right. A little while later one of the managers came out and also checked that she was going to be OK, apologized yet again, and made it clear that she would do anything reasonable to make it up to us. Rather than take advantage of that, we thanked her for her concern and spent a few minutes after she'd left commenting on what a nice contrast it was to our experience years ago at Miyako's, and how great it was to find a place that actually treats customers well rather than as an inconvenience to be endured for as little time as possible. I have no doubt we'll go back there at some point in the future, and I will happily recommend them to anyone I know looking for somewhere to eat in the Clifton Park shopping district.

JMH

4.5 Mile Walk at the Vischer Ferry Nature Preserve
Saturday, November 28, 2009

Since I couldn't get out to Rochester with my car still in the shop, Ann decided to come down to Albany for the weekend, even though the weather forecast (wind and rain) for Saturday wasn't too promising. Happily, while we did get the wind, today proved to be a gorgeous sunny day, and I decided we'd go to the Vischer Ferry Nature Preserve today rather than tomorrow. Ann had never been there and it's usually a good spot to see lots of waterfowl and other birds.

We parked at the main entrance, near the restored Whipple Bridge, and immediately spotted a Great Blue Heron across the road in a little marshy area on the corner. Then we headed east along one of the old towpaths, with the water on either side of the path. When we reached the access road we briefly headed toward the river, then back west along the other side of the canal. Along the way we spotted lots of ducks and geese out on the water. I was a bit surprised at how few birds there were in the trees and bushes along the path, but maybe the wind had them hunkered down waiting for better conditions.

Back at the bridge we headed west along the towpath. We walked out to old Lock 19, where we took a short break (I'm glad they hauled the picnic table back up out of the lock where the idiot kids had thrown it a few years ago) and then continued on to the access road and down to the edge of the river. Ann was surprised to learn that we were right across the road from the bike path and just a short distance west of the Niskayuna Lions Park, and she was really happy to find a rope hanging from a tree branch on the edge of the river - I guess in the summer somebody must enjoy swinging out into the water. Naturally she had to swing on it for a bit!

My knee was getting pretty sore and we were starting to get hungry (we had a late breakfast and then skipped lunch while we were walking) so we headed back the way we came, spotting more ducks and geese and a hawk as well. I kept hoping we'd see some of the less typical waterfowl, but it really looked like all the visible birds were mallards and Canada geese. We did see a pair of muskrats in the old canal, first swimming around and then crouched on a deadfall munching on something green.

Since we were right there, after we got back to the car we drove down to the remains of Clute's dry dock, and Ann walked out on the floating dock that's used as a canoe/kayak launch. Then we drove east the Mohawk Towpath Scenic Byway until we were driving parallel to the river in Halfmoon. I was particularly interested to see a new stone dust path between the road and the edge of the river - I had read that work had been done along that area but hadn't really been through there since the 2008 Mohawk Towpath Duathlon, so I'll definitely have to get back there with my bike sometime soon and check it out more closely.

I think we made a good choice in going to Vischer Ferry today... while the preserve isn't quite a pretty as it is in the summer and fall, it was still a great day to be there and Ann really seemed to enjoy our walk (possibly because for once I wasn't dragging her up and down some mountain somewhere.)

JMH

13.7 Mile Ride at the Corning Preserve & Schuyler Flatts
Friday, November 27, 2009

Since I'm not not ready to risk running, I hustled my backside out the door this morning to get in a short ride down at the Corning Preserve and Schuyler Flatts before the predicted rain blew in (as it turned out, the rain never amounted to more than a few spatters.) I seemed to be moving at a better clip than yesterday, though it was also definitely a bit colder - still, I got used to that fairly quickly. Took a few photos along the way, though the grey skies didn't really lend themselves to much in the way of sunning scenery.

Last year the Watervliet section of the bike path was repaved, and it was always a rude jolt to go from the nice smooth new pavement to the crumbling, bumpy old path in the Albany portion of the trail. Apparently this summer Albany finally got with it and repaved their section... and also decided to spend a bunch of money on a huge sign letting everyone know that they're entering the Corning Trail and the Albany section. I like the repaving but the sign seems like a waste of money designed more to trumpet "Albany!" and Mayor Jerry more than anything else.

After riding through the two parks, I headed south along the river to the riverfront park and then down to the dock where the retired destroyer escort the USS Slater is docked. I've driven past it dozens of times and find it even more interesting after reading about it in Jessica DuLong's captivating book My River Chronicles (DuLong is an engineer on the fireboat John J. Harvey out of NYC and describes visiting the Slater which has a similar powerhouse.) One of these days I think I'm going to have to do the tour, maybe sometime when Ann's down here visiting, since she'd probably be interested too.) I rode a bit further hoping to see Island Creek Park, but stopped when the sidewalk ran out and I didn't feel like risking riding in traffic.

JMH

29 Mile Ride Along the Mohawk Hudson Bike Path & Through Colonie Mohawk River Park & Cohoes Falls Park
Thursday, November 26, 2009

"Hydrate Or Die!"
Part 2 - What Works (For Me, At Least!)
Wednesday, November 25, 2009



Last time I wrote about a number of bottle carriers and packs that I tried which never quite worked as well as I would have liked. Other than some of the cheap department store equipment, it's all good gear... just not for me when I'm running or snowshoeing. I've been really pleased to find some gear that works great in the last year or so - that's what I'll be describing this time around. But first...

All products mentioned in this post were purchased by me; none of the companies mentioned have provided me with any gear, for review purposes or any other reason. (Nor do I expect them to ever offer to do so, given the very limited readership of my rambling writings...)

Now back to what works for me...

Last spring I read some reviews for GoLite's products which intrigued me sufficiently that I decided to try their HydroSprint single bottle carrier. I loved it right from the get-go. First of all, GoLite advertises this as a "no bounce" waist pack - and for me at least it actually is! There are two pockets with sufficient room for keys, a powerbar, handkerchief, electrolyte capsules, etc, and the belt is sufficiently long and wide enough that I can also attach a separate pouch for my camera. In addition to the water bottle holder, there's also a gel flask holder which I used to carry powdered sports drink mix during really long races. I've used the HydroSprint on countless runs, rides, hikes, walks, and snowshoe outings in the last 18 months and not only does it still perform as advertised, nothing has broken on it yet. This is probably my best all-around bottle carrier.

Since the HydroSprint worked so well, I eventually purchased a HydroClutch handheld. I will say I'm still not crazy about handhelds, but this one is pretty comfortable and I'll use it sometimes when I'm either doing a short distance and don't want to bother with a waist pack or if I want a 2nd bottle along and don't want the weight of a double bottle carrier. I also picked up a HydroSwift double bottle pack for longer runs or ones where I might need more gear or fluids. While it's a good deal bulkier than the HydroSprint, it still works great and is pretty much bounce free.

One of the things I'd been looking for was a hydration pack that also includes bottle pockets - so that during really long runs I could carry both plain water and bottles of energy drink. There didn't seem to be much available and nothing was in stock locally (so I could actually check out fit, comfort, and so on) but this past spring I read a review of the GoLite Rush pack on Donald's Running & Rambling blog that, combined with my other experiences with GoLite's packs, got me to bite the bullet and order one on sale from Zombierunner. While injuries and general laziness have kept me mostly out of the really long run business since June, I've used the pack half a dozen times and been very happy with it. I've got two Camelbak hydration bladders I use with it - a 2L and a 3L - because my experience with them has been very good and the general buzz about Camelbak bladders is that they're pretty much bomb-proof. There's enough cargo space to carry all the gear I can ever imagine needing on a run or hike, and for a big bulky hydration pack it's surprisingly comfortable. Best of all, there's even room for me to carry one of my collapsible hiking sticks in the main compartment (it sticks up about 8 inches above the top of the pack) which is great when I'm on a route that involves some serious uphill. With one exception, I love all of my GoLite gear.

The one exception is the bottles, and it's a fairly quirky gripe that only popped up once I started using Nuun for electrolyte replacement on shorter runs (again, mostly as a result of one of Donald's reviews.) As he mentions, Nuun is slightly carbonated (which I actually like) and my GoLite bottles all ended up leaking, especially once I'd get runner and start them moving around. I eventually managed to minimize the leaking by keeping the valves slightly open (presumably to allow the gas pressure to escape without carrying much fluid with it) but it's always been a minor annoyance.

Which is why I'm very happy with my latest gear purchase, several Ultimate Direction sports bottles, based on a recommendation from Sherpa John, a very talented ultrarunner/outdoorsman over in nearby New Hampshire. When I first got my Ultimate Direction bottles, I wasn't entirely sure what to make of them. Instead of a traditional valve, they have a rubber "kicker" valve which you open by pulling up into an extended position with your teeth and then close by simply tipping the valve to the side, which causes it to collapse back down. After several decades of "traditional" (ie cheap) sports bottles, it's a pretty strange design to get used to, but having used them three times now - it doesn't take long to get the hang of them. And so far - no leaks! If they keep working this well I may invest in a few for my bikes. (I also use an Ultimate Direction add-on pouch to carry my camera with most of my packs - it's exactly the right size, and I can easily remove it to carry the camera with me without a pack. Unfortunately, they don't seem to make it any more... guess it's a good thing I bought a spare!)

So far that's what works best for me - GoLite packs and Ultimate Direction bottles, with a little Camelbak magic added to my hydration pack. If they keep working as well I really don't anticipate making any changes until they wear out... I'm not someone who has to have the latest and greatest of everything, and when I find something that works I tend to stick with it until I can't use it any more.

JMH

"Hydrate Or Die!"
Part 1 - What Didn't Work So Well
Wednesday, November 25, 2009




I first read the title of this post on the very first Camelbak I ever owned, and thought it was a bit overdramatic at the time... then again, I suppose "hydrate or vomit", "hydrate or feel really lousy", and "hydrate or really wish you had" aren't nearly as catchy and memorable. And having ended up dehydrated on more than one occasion, I can definitely attest to the importance of getting enough fluids... unfortunately, the task of actually carrying those fluids with you can be a real challenge, and that's the focus of what I'll be discussing today - the gear that I've found that works best for me (so far...)

I feel a little bit silly writing the following, but apparently it's become an "issue" with blogs that discuss consumer products, so - All products mentioned in this post were purchased by me; none of the companies mentioned have provided me with any gear, for review purposes or any other reason. (Nor do I expect them to ever offer to do so, given the very limited readership of my rambling writings...)

We now return you to the regularly-scheduled post about hydration...

When I first started running back in 1997, there were two things I never would have predicted - that I'd still be running in 2009 (and in fact be missing it terribly while injured) and that I'd end up aquiring some much stuff to use while playing outdoors. So much so that I suspect I could easily fill a closet with all my outdoor gear. And a good-sized chunk of that gear would be related to hydration. Bottles, waistpacks, hydration packs, hydration bladders, plus a few items to help keep them clean and ick-free. A quick glance shows somewhere around 2 dozen bottles of various sizes and shapes, three hand-held bottle holders, half a dozen or more waist packs, three hydration packs, and three bladders... and there are probably more that are buried out of sight. Not to mention gear that I've thrown away because it wore out, broke under the tough use I tend to put my gear through, or just plain didn't work the way I needed it to.

I started out holding a bike water bottle in one hand, but then needed to put it somewhere else when I began using hand weights, so I picked up an inexpensive waist pack at either K-mart or Ames... that worked great for shorter runs or ones where I could somehow refill the bottle. I tried an inexpensive two-bottle waist pack for longer runs but was never particularly happy with it, because it tended to bounce around a lot. Then a friend gave me the Camelbak I mentioned a few paragraphs back - that worked a lot better, though it was far from perfect (this was in the days when Camelbak was just getting established and as present day hydration packs go it was pretty primitive.) In the end, though, it was a moot point, since I moved to Albany and cut way back on my running... I used the single-bottle pack when I did run and the Camelbak mostly ended up gathering dust in the closet.

Initially I stuck with my old bottle carriers and Camelbak when I started running "seriously" again in 2005, but it became clear pretty quickly that I would need something better, especially for long distance. I experimented with a variety of inexpensive waist packs for short and medium distance; most have long since gone into the trash. The best I found was one from Fuel Belt, similar to their current Crush bottle carrier, but I was never 100% satisfied with it - it still bounced a bit (though it was better than the cheap carriers) and had very little room for carrying anything else. For longer distances I followed up on a recommendation to check out North Face waist packs, and ended up with three - a small two-bottle carrier with a modest amount of cargo room, a huge two bottle carrier with tons of cargo room (the Mountain Biker), and finally a happy medium (a later model Mountain Biker.) I also tried a Nathan hand-held and was never particularly happy with it. And somewhere along the line I picked up a Camelbak MULE hydration pack on sale, which I've honestly mostly used for riding - it's big and bulky and not terribly comfortable to run with, plus there's no easy way to carry a bottle of sports drink and actually access it without taking the pack off.

Of all these products, the only ones I tend to still use are the North Face packs, mainly because they're decent for hiking or riding, can carry lots of gear, and so far they're incredibly durable - I've had one belt clip break when I shut it in a car door, but that's it. I don't run or snowshoe with any of this gear any more, because in 2008 and 2009 I found products that work much better for me...

JMH