Hydration Vest? I'm Diggin' It!

I tried out my 2011 Nathan Intensity Women's hydration vest for the first time yesterday morning and I was quite pleased with it! Plenty of pockets for food, keys, an extra drink, and more. I'll probably never use the full water capacity (72ozs), and not sure I'd want to as it would weigh at least 2 extra pounds I'd imagine.

It was extremely humid (over 90%) with rising temps, so I was able to put it to good use. I was surprised that I didn't get hot with the vest on. And maybe it was because I'd read previous reviews about the sloshing water being bothersome, but I had no problems at all. The big benefit I found with a hydration vest in comparison to the regular hydration belt was easy access to water. No pulling the bottle from behind you, opening it up, then having to put it back blindly and hoping it will stick. That wastes a lot of energy and is impossible for me to do while running. I was able to run through two water breaks with this vest, which for me is really impressive.

After nine grueling miles up hills and down, I was finished. And even though I had easy access to water, I still found myself in desperate need of liquid after the run. Darn. So the vest doesn't cure my bad habits for not hydrating properly, but it's a good start.