Wardrobe Malfunction

My running shoes seemed to be the only thing that went right with my run yesterday.

(Actually, that's not true. My run was FANTASTIC! But my wardrobe was a different story.)

I looked at the temperature when I woke up. Thirty degrees. Crap! What do I do with 30 degrees? Mid thirties, I consider shorts weather. Under thirty I consider tights weather. But I never know what to do with 30. And this was a longer run (10 miles) so I needed to consider the warm-up factor. I put on a pair of ankle socks, tights, a base layer shirt, a light zip-up top, and knit gloves. I had my winter cap in hand, but walked outside and decided on a ballcap instead. That was a good choice. Throughout the run I was warm, but got cold multiple times when the wind would get whippy (yes it's a word). The gloves came off and went back on about four times throughout the run.

Here's the real kicker. I was wearing a water belt. See, I have a rule. Any run one hour or less, I will carry a hand-held water bottle. With a long run, however, I like to wear a water belt to have plenty of water and to be hands free. I have had my water belt for nearly 10 years and it really is starting to show it's age. Two of my four bottles leak. I only wore two bottles yesterday and somehow managed to get one of the leakers. My left side was wet for the entire run. The real problem with my water belt is that the elastic is stretched and the water belt does not stay put anymore. It's even worst when I'm wearing shiny, slippery clothing, which is pretty much all running clothing. So yesterday I fought with my water belt for the entire 10 miles. It was driving me nuts. When I was supposed to be picking up the pace, my water belt was around my ribs. Seriously. I looked and felt like a total tool bag! I met Dave after the run for some hot chocolate and told him if he wasn't finished Christmas shopping for me, I'd LOVE a new water belt.

Here's what I'm thinking. I currently have a Fuel Belt brand and it has served me well. I know they have newer options, especially ones you can adjust so there's no way it could ever ride up to my ribs. But, I've fallen in love Amphipod products this year. I have the small handheld and a waist pack and they are both terrific. I wrote about my the waist pack here. I was checking out the website yesterday and there are all kinds of options for water belts, but this is the one I think I like the best. It's their trail runner's water belt, and although I never trail run, I think it would be a good option for me because it's adjustable, it's got a BIG pouch on it so I can carry all my nutrition without having to stop at my car halfway through a long run, and the two water bottles are the same volume of four of my current bottles. (I haven't determined if that's a good thing or a bad thing because I like to spread out the weight of the bottles front and back and this might be a little more than my back can handle. Although I think you can reposition where the bottles go.) I really like the bungee cords on the back too which allows me to stash things I may need again, like my gloves in the winter or a shirt in the summertime. Plus, Amphipod has this no bounce guarantee so I know this sucker is not gonna move all over the place.

Anyone have this or any Amphipod water belt? Thoughts?