Fuel Belt Revenge R2O Review post 15km run

The Lululemon Sea Wheeze Half Marathon is less than 7 weeks away. So it's time to seriously step up the training. Yesterday I hit the Bow River Path for a 15km long run, and took my new fuel belt along for the ride.

I picked up this belt, the Revenge R2O in Hybiscus Pink at the race expo for the Calgary Marathon last month, and yesterday was my first time trying it out. My route, 15km along the Bow River, up a trail to Spruce Cliff, down through Edworthy Park and back along the North side of the Bow.

My GPS watch needed charging so I mapped the route on Map My Run. The 122M elevation gain both sucks and is empowering (especially when you manage to pass a couple people on bikes).

As for the Fuel Belt? This was a new experiance for me. I am usually the type of runner who can't stand to bring anything along with me. I've only just gotten used to running with my ipod. Usually I just take my house key in my bra. But for long runs, you need water, and fountains seem to be few and far between in Calgary (I did find one in Edworthy Park to refill midway through my run). So a fuel belt like this one seemed like a good idea.

I carried the two full water bottles with me, and put my blackberry, credit card and keys into the side pouch.

To be honest, the first 3km running with the belt were a bit of an adjustment. The woman at the Running Room booth advised me that while men can wear it around their waists women should strap it round their hips. So I strapped it in place, and adjusted the belt a couple of times, but it still wanted to slip up and jump around.

So I thought I wonder if I can kind of roll the top of the waistband of my shorts down over the top of the belt. And poof, it stayed snug and didn't move for the rest of the run. The belt was lightweight, even with the water's full and I was certainly glad to have it with me. I highly recommend trying one out, and will be using it for my future long runs!

As for the run itself... it was a bit slow and tough... I walked the full last kilometer, not so much because I needed a cool down, but more because my body was just done. I made it home round 8:30, and crashed pretty hard (was asleep by 10pm! pretty good for a Saturday night). The 15km distance puts me a couple weeks ahead of the Sea Wheeze Tacklebox, so I think I'll repeat this run next week (hopefully improving the time).

Until then, I'm off to try a free yoga class at one of the Lulu stores in town, and then head in to the lab for a bit....maybe hit up stampede later tonight. How's you're weekend treating you?