Linked Fitness

Alison, from Linked Fitness, contacted me the other day about writing up a quick Q/A covering a few questions.  I thought it sounded like fun so today we’re going to be answering the two questions she asked.

Before we answer the questions, though, I need to give a shout out to Alison and the people at Linked Fitness.  They’re terrific people there and I thoroughly enjoy them!  You can find them at linkedfitness.com on Twitter @LinkedFitness_  and FB at Linked Fitness.

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The first question we’re going to look at is my personal hydration pack and why I like it.

Choosing a hydration pack isn’t as easy as it sounds!  There are a lot of terrific products on the market and finding the one that’s going to work for you takes a bit of detective work.

You need to take into consideration what kind of running you do, ie: Half Marathons, Marathons, Ultras…What kind of fuel will you be using?  Do you want it for water or a specialized fuel (I’m a #TailwindNutrition girl myself).

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How long are your training runs?  In what kind of weather do you train?  Do you prefer bottles or bladders on your back?  How much storage do you want in your pack?

Lots and lots of questions!

The last, well maybe the first question for me was, is this thing going to bounce on my  4’11” frame and chafe me to kingdom come?

I did a lot of asking around on different Ultra Running forums.  I asked women, petite women, what they preferred.  To a person, it came down to one serious option and that is what I ended up buying.

Two years ago, Christmas, MFH (My Favorite Husband) bought me the Hydration Vest I’d selected.  After all that research, I’d selected an Ultimate Direction (UD) Jenny Vest.  I was in heaven!!!

This thing fits like a dream!  It’s not overly hot.  It would let me carry the kitchen sink if I wanted~it has lots of storage!  No bounce.  No chafe.  It’s perfect!

When racing, I carry a 70oz bladder in the back and two 10oz bottles on the front.

At first, I thought the bottles on the front would be kind of….weird?  You know, bottles over the “girls” and all?  Nope!  Super comfy!  This is a sweet vest!

Heads up, though!  When I went to order, I had a difficult time finding the extra-small.  If you’re needing that size, you might have to be tenacious. It’s worth shopping around to find it!

*Pic of me wearing the UD Jenny Vest at an Ultra earlier this year.

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The second question was about running shoes.

This question made me giggle because I’m an #AltraRunning Ambassador and love these shoes!!!  I even wrote a blog about them a few weeks back talking about my transition to wearing these shoes and why I started wearing them:  http://w0ep.us/TM/?p=4772

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Just this past week, I received two new pair of Altra’s.  The shoes on the left are the newest Torin (3.0).  I’ve completed two runs in them, yesterday and today (15 miles) and they’re my new best friend!

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The pair on the right are the newest One (V3).  I have a speed workout Tuesday so I’ll be putting some miles on those Tuesday.  I plan on wearing them at the Peachtree 10K in Atlanta, Georgia, on the 4th of July.  ZOOM!!!

Altra has some fabulous trail shoes!  They’re terrific!!!

My favorite Altra trail shoe is the Lone Peak.  I wore those just this past Sunday at a Birthday Party.  I had a friend turning 40 so he asked a few of us to meet at the trails for a 40M run. How awesome is that!?!  The running~40 miles each~was the party!!!  EPIC!!!  I’m sad to say I only ran 30 miles but it was tons of fun!

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The Lone Peak are my “Go-To” trail shoe.  I have happy feet every single time!

You can throw anything at these shoes and they’ll get you through it.  I’ve run on flat, dry trails.  I’ve run on muddy trails with lots of water crossings.  None of that phases these shoes.  They’re that good!

That answers Alison’s two questions so to wrap up this blog, I’ll just fill you in on my current racing/training schedule.

As I mentioned above, I have the Peachtree 10K in Atlanta on July 4.

Chicago Marathon in October.

Brazos Bend 100M in December.

Bear Bait, 50M in January.

Phoenix Marathon in February.

I think I’ll be due for some down time/recover miles after that race in February. LOL!!!  The February marathon will be my birthday race!  I’ll turn 56 four days before the race~Happy Birthday to me!!!

I wish all of you many happy miles!!!

#IRun4Aiden

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