C25K Week 5: Get Your Drink On

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Larry: Week 5 done! Only four more weeks to go before Judie and I are officially 5K runners.

Judie: W00t! :mrgreen:

Larry: This week the workout schedule got a little different, and we were both in for a little shock when we took a look at the schedule. Instead of like previous weeks where each of the three weekly workouts were exactly the same, during week 6 all three were different.

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The shocker came when we both realized that we’d go from running for eight minutes to running twenty.

Judie: Larry likes to check in with me every Monday and see if I have looked ahead to see how the week is going to be. The fact of the matter is that I don’t. It’s not that I don’t want to know, it’s that I figure if the voice says run, I will run; if the voice says walk, I will walk. It’s one of the few times in my life that I have made an effort to properly follow directions. 😉

Larry:Turns out though the plan works, and running that twenty minutes straight wasn’t bad at all.

Judie: Larry and I were discussing this, too. After this many weeks of conditioning, it almost seems better to just run (or jog, as the case is still for me!) those 20 minutes rather than be interrupted with the “Walk” command just as you are resigning yourself to the fact that the run isn’t going to end any time soon.

Larry:Judie lives in Texas. And we all know how hot it can be there. I’m in Philadelphia and our summers can be equally as brutal mostly due to the humidity that accompanies them. It’s vital they as runners we do a good job of keeping ourselves hydrated not only before and after our runs but sometime during.

Now for the short runs we’re doing now bringing water along isn’t really a must, unless it’s super hot. I’ve been doing my runs in the early morning and haven’t had to deal with that issue. Judie, however has.

Judie: On the other hand, I have had a new puppy to deal with in the mornings, and I can’t seem to get out of the house before 11:00!  There are days when I’ve finally reached a stopping point or had a free moment as late as one in the afternoon, so I have had to resign myself to learning to run in the heat of the day. Because these jaunts are only 30 minutes or so, I have tried to hydrate myself by drinking several large glasses of room temperature water before and after my runs, but I have realized that I am not being smart about it, and I should have something along to drink (especially this week when we were pushing mid-90ºs or more daily), but I just can’t see myself jogging with a water bottle in my hand.

Larry: There are several options when it comes to bringing water along with you during a run. The key is to find something that’s comfortable and something that holds enough water to get you to the end of your run. I for one hate strapping something to my waist during a run, but it’s just something I have learned to deal with.

Here are a few choices.

If you don’t like the idea of a waist solution there are a few handheld options available. You’ll generally find two different sizes when it comes to handheld water bottles. One good for short runs the other for longer.

The Nathan Sprint holds 10 oz. of fluid.

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Where as the Nathan Quickdraw Elite holds 22 oz.

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When it comes to waist belt style solutions there’s also a few choices.

The Nathan Speed Series holds two 10 oz. bottles plus it includes a small pocket for storing keys and other small items.

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The Nathan Trek features one bottle which holds up to 22 oz. It also has a larger pocket for items. This happens to be my personal favorite for long runs. I find the position this belt places the bottle into to be the most comfortable.

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Finally, if you simply can not deal with strapping a water filled belt to your waist there are plenty of back pack style water carriers. These have bladders inside that hold the water and feature a hose like straw from which you drink from while on the go.

The Nathan HPL #008 holds up to 1.5 liters of water and has plenty of pockets for other gear.

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Here’s another possible solution for getting water while on your run. If you run from home leave some water in your mailbox and when you’re thirsty loop back home to grab a drink. If you plan to do a longer out and back style run, drive the route before you go and stash some water along the way.

Judie: 😆 I like the “stash and dash” idea! Ideally I’ll start running with a water supply eventually, especially once I start running longer distances and times. Next week I will be in San Francisco. I haven’t yet figured out how I am going to tackle running in a “foreign city”; whether I will be a wuss and use the gym at the hotel, or whether I will brave the hills. One thing I know is that it is not an option to not work out — traveling is no excuse to fall off your program!

Larry: You can learn more about all of the items from this week’s post by visiting the Nathan web site.

Judie: Larry, I’ve been meaning to ask — what do well-hydrated marathon runners do when they have to use the restroom? I’ve seen Porta-Potties lined up on TV when watching, but do serious runners really stop and use those at the risk of their times?

Yeah, this is one of those questions I’m wondering about, but I almost don’t want to know the answer to! 😛

Larry: Great question Judie.  😉  When I ran my first marathon I literally had to “go” the entire time but was too concerned over my time to stop so I held it.  You end up drinking so much fluids pre-race, coupled with nerves, that you always have the urge to go.  I can also remember vividly the countless men & women who simply pulled to the side of the road during the first mile and just took care of business wherever they could, yes women too.  There are never enough port-a-potties at the start of a race and endless lines are the result so people wait and take care of it once they get out on the course.  After I’d gotten a few races under my belt I came to the realization that I wasn’t competing to win the race and I started to stop at the port-a-pottie banks that were set up along the course whenever I needed to go.

The bottom line here is this: when it’s hot you need water; find what works and go with it.

See you next week!

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1 Comment on "C25K Week 5: Get Your Drink On"

  1. In Mt. View, I just make sure to hydrate before I hit the bricks.

    I do like to know how long I’m going to be running for during the “Run” portions of the program, though. My internal timeclock is stupidly accurate, so if I’m expecting 3 minutes and get 5, my brain and body get into a nasty argument. I hate being in the middle of those.

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