Week 10: Magic Mile + 3 miles

20:40 sec run/walk ratio
1:12 hours
4.70 miles
15.4 minutes/mile
14:09 minute Magic Mile

Magic Mile wasn't quite as fast as last time, which didn't surprise me—for one thing, it was hotter, and for another, I was trying out a new running belt with a water bottle and I kept trying to adjust it while I was walking, and I'm sure my walk intervals were slower than they could have been with all the fiddling.

Still and all, it was a decent run. I got to the Park by 8 AM, remembered to turn the GPS on for a change, wore the right clothes for the weather (capri tights and short-sleeved shirt), and felt good on my run.

The new running belt is an Amphipod Full Tilt Velocity Plus (whew, that's a mouthful!). It has a pack that goes in the back that holds a slightly flattened water bottle sideways, with a mesh pad against your back for comfort. It has two pockets, one larger one that fits my phone, and a smaller one for ID, keys, handkerchief. I can also stuff some GU packets in it. Both pockets are stretchy, so they can be stuffed as full as you want. The belts are also stretchy.

The problem I had was that the belt was too loose at first and the bottle was bouncing around—not so much while I was doing my slower warm-up run, but once I started the Magic Mile it was moving a lot. And it just happened to sit right at the waistband of my tights, so it was gradually pushing my waistband down as it was making my shirt ride up and it was very annoying. It was also really hard to tighten the belt—which is a good thing, in a way, because once you've got it adjusted the way you want it, it won't loosen up on its own while you're running, but it also makes it very hard to get it adjusted in the first place. I eventually got it tight enough around my hips to hold the water bottle firmly against the small of my back. It's not perfect, but I think it's as good as it's going to get. Maybe it would help just to wear different tights or shorts while I wear the belt.

It was nice to have water with me while I ran. Even though it was only four miles today, I drank a couple of times. I will really need it next week on my 12-mile run! It's supposed to be 88 F next Saturday, so it will be a hot one.