Monday, February 6, 2012

Trail Running

This week training went pretty well.  Most of my runs were only 3 miles and by the end of the week I was ready for my longer runs on the weekend.  Saturday was a 10 mile run and since I really wanted to test out my new pack I was excited for this run.  Up until that point I was taking it on runs that didn't even really need it.  I wanted to get some miles on it though so I was the dork doing a 3 mile run with 2 liters of water on his back!  Anyways I went to the local state park for some trail running.

It's harder than you would think to take a steady picture in the middle of a ten mile run.
So the original goal was to run the 6 mile loop and then do another 4 mile turn around.  Unfortunately the trails are not marked very well and I ended up getting off the 6 mile loop somewhere and ended up on a shorter trail that ended in a parking lot.  The nice part is I got to see a lot of different terrain.  This park had pretty much everything Virginia Beach has to offer in terms of terrain.  There were parts of the trail that went by the Chesapeake Bay which was beautiful to look at.  This area also had a lot of sand on the trail which slowed me down a little, but it wasn't enough to complain about.


One of my favorite parts of the trail was the moss covered trees.  You come around a corner off the beach and there they are!  It was one of those moments where verbal "wow" came out of my mouth.  It was entirely unexpected and a nice treat.


There was also a section of marsh with dead trees everywhere.  It was beautiful to look at but man did it smell funny.  All of this was on a short 1.7 mile trail and even though it was short it was definitely worth it.  It was pretty cool to see all these different types of terrain in such a short area.


                    
Once I got back to the trail head I decide to hit up another trail that had a lot of people on it.  This one was wooded and wide.  It looked more like a road than a trail, but the terrain was nice and I still enjoyed it.  I saw more hills in this park than anywhere else, but it was by no means hilly.  My run wasn't to bad except for the last mile or so.  It's the furthest I've run this season and I was feeling it towards the end.  There were even some points where I wanted to walk.  Once I finished I felt incredibly happy.  I hadn't missed a run since last Sunday and I was tired, but still felt good.  Having so many places to explore has really helped with motivating me to get out the door and with the weather being so nice I really don't have an excuses
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Saturday, February 4, 2012

Nathan HPL #020 Review

So here it is, my next review!  I've been wanting a hydration pack for a while now.  I hate to admit it, but some of the main reasons I want one has nothing to do with water consumption.  I've found myself in multiple location where I just really wanted a camera to capture how beautiful it is.  A light pack could solve this issue.  Now that it's getting cold out I finding myself starting runs with more layers on at the start of my run than at the end.  A pack would be a great place to put all this extra gear.  Now that I'm going to be having 2-3 hour runs it would be nice to have a pack with water in it.  Plus what if I find some cool stuff on the side of the road that I want to take home... ok maybe not so much that last reason, but it could be a valid point.  I've never been a big fan of running with water, but I have noticed when I do I feel better.  There's a common saying that you should train like you race, and if I plan on drinking water while I race I should probably get use to doing it while I train.  So all the above considered I started my quest to find a pack that fit my needs and this is what I came up with.


The Nathan HPL #020 is marketed as a race vest.  It's light, coming in at 10 oz without any water in it.  It's compact so it doesn't feel like your going on a 3 week hike through the mountains when you go out for a run.  It has a couple extra pockets for gear, camera, phones, keys, ect.  It also has a really cool sales pitch; a 3-way propulsion harness.  I mean come on that just sounds cool!  The idea behind it is that it moves with you and helps to eliminate pressure points on your shoulders.  It's suppose to go back and forth with your shoulders and torso so you don't get any bouncing or swaying from side to side.  It's a pretty cool concept and though I've never run with a hydration pack before I could only image the swaying you could get.  I mean come on who hasn't had to run to the bus stop with their book bag on?  Not the same thing? Well whatever you get the point.

This is the core of the 3-way propulsion harness

Without ever trying other hydration packs I would still have to say this pack lives up to it's claims.  It feels very light on the shoulders.  Almost too light.  It took me a while to get use to not having any pressure on my shoulders even with the 2L bladder completely full. It took me a couple runs to get it fit just right.  There were no fitting instructing that came with the pack and the website didn't have any so I had to do a couple trail fits before I found that perfect fit.  Once I got it fit just right, it didn't feel like it moved back and forth at all, and if it wasn't for the swishing sound of the water in my pack I would have forgotten it was there.


It has an vertically adjustable sternum strap which is a cool idea, but it doesn't lock in place.  So when you find where you like the strap it inevitably it can ends up sliding out of that position.  I may just superglue it in place, but I would rather not have to do that.  I did notice once I got the fit a little more "tuned in" the strap hardly moved at all, though again there are no instructions on how to fit the pack just right.











The pockets on this thing are awesome!  It seems to have just the right amount.  The largest pocket on the back fits keys, phone, ID, and some extra cash with room to spare.














The other pockets are on the shoulder strap and though I thought they could end up in my way they didn't.  I put my camera in one pocket and my sunglasses in the other pocket.  There is also a convenient pouch for gels and the such.

























The last thing that really stand out on this pack in the bite-valve.  I've seen some where they are really difficult to bite down on and get water out of.  This one works great.  It takes some pressure, but not so much that you feel like you're chewing on a rock and no so little that it feels like the water could drip out.

I still haven't gotten to use the shock cord with one-pull tension lock, but it's another feature I'm excited about.  It's just been to warm here for me to use any of my winter clothes yet.  Overall I am very happy with this pack.  It's light, it doesn't move around that much, it's compact but still has storage room, and it feels like it's very well constructed.  I'm hoping to have many more miles of enjoyment out of this pack!