19 clicks, ultimate direction bottle review, and some Discovery

Last night I ran 19 clicks at Mount Doug. It has been a while since I cranked out distances greater than 7 miles so it was nice to get out there and stretch the legs. The run had 8 clicks on roads which reminded me just how much I loathe the asphalt. I hate the sound of cars and waiting to cross a busy road. I don't like how there isn't anything technical to occupy my mind and to pick my way through. No steep hills or anything to really push the legs. I was extremely happy to hit the trails and start cranking through the course. I ran late and the deer were everywhere. It was really amazing the number of bucks I startled with their budding velvet antlers. Several jumping huge distances to avoid my clumsy approach. I love running at dusk! My legs were definitely feeling it by the end and even though in my last post I mentioned that all the hiking had kept me somewhat in running shape I quickly realized that I was perhaps in 10 K running shape, but definitely not 20. The last few clicks on my way home were brutal and the pavement seems to always flare up the periformis/hamstring injury. I can't wait to get back into the swing of things. Restarting is always so challenging mentally. I think that is why I ran so far last night because I have been taking it easy for the last few months and I feel it is mainly due to a lazy mindset so I decided to buck-up and give er' the onion! It felt great and was a mental victory.

I tested one of my new water bottles. It is the "Ultimate Direction Neoprene holder and bottle". I really like this bottle. It replaced my old bottle holders made from socks and orange duct tape, which don't get me wrong were actually quite good considering but the new bottles are a vast improvement. The straps comfortably hold the bottles to your hands and adjust quite easily, both to tighten and loosen. The rubber kicker valve is a nice feature and I was happy with the ease of pulling it up and closing it with my mouth. I had some issues with the cap leaking a bit and may be because I was squeezing and may not have had the lid fully threaded on. I hate leaky bottles so I stopped and readjusted the lid and sucked the water instead of squeezing the bottle and found this did the trick. Other than that these will definitely become a staple for all runs over 10 miles. I have a feeling I will get my money's worth out of the bottles which I purchased from MEC for about 11 bucks Canadian.

I recently discovered a band appropriately called "Discovery". I stumbled on them from one of my many YouTube tangents. I have really been digging a song called "Osaka Loop Line". It is very electronic with interesting sounds and tempo changes. I like most everything from the group and think they are doing many innovative ideas with their music. This song was definitely blaring in the old noggin as I cranked the 19 clicks out. Enjoy!