Water, water everywhere

I've read all the websites and books that say that water is really unnecessary if you are running under an hour, but I wonder if any of those authors have ever been to DC in the summer where the heat and humidity is so oppressive you barely want to leave your house, let alone go running.

I was trying to explain to a friend how miserable and sticky DC was in August and the best analogy I could tell him was this; slather on some heavy lotion, wrap yourself in a thick blanket and then turn up the heat and go sit in your bathroom with the steam full blast.

Bottom line: DC in the summer can be miserable. Which is why I was so upset when I *thought* my Camelbak had sprung a leak. I spent the rest of the day searching for a replacement only to learn that no stores in the DC area seem to carry the waist model, just the back-pack version. No need to despair, I logged onto Roadrunner and used an almost-expired coupon to order a snazzy new waist model.

A few days later, as I contemplated said snazzy new model, I saw that the Camelbak people offered a lifetime warranty on their products so I decided to give them a call and tell them about my leaking problem and see if they would live up to the warranty, especially since I had only been using the Camelbak for a few months.

Luckily before I gave them a call, I decided to give it one last try, just to make sure. Imagine my surprise when I realized it didn't have a leak at all! Yay! and also Booo! I missed out on my last long run for no good reason.

So why had the Camelbak leaked that fateful Sunday? I am guessing it was because I was trying to fill it with as much water as possible and I probably over-filled causing the water to leak from the cap. Also, just for good measure, I had gone ahead and stuffed a few ice cubes in there.

I'm not sure those extra few ounces I would have gained were worth the aggravation but I'm glad the 'bak is back!