Water Stops

I joked during my last marathon that we should have "water stop practice". Actually, I was only half-joking. I don't think this is necessarily a bad idea, especially if it's someone's first race. Maybe incorporated into a longer pace run... that also features consuming an energy product of choice to get used to that...

Anyways, I can really only manage to drink water effectively at marathon pace (until I get too tired and end up dumping the water on myself in a half-hearted attempt to get the cup all the way to my mouth), and I can throw it somewhere near my mouth and choke some down at half marathon pace. So, the people at Running Times suggested carrying your own water. In fact, they say that this is a good way to PR. To me, this seems weird. I mean, you don't see any of the elite athletes carrying water bottles, people hand them theirs just like everyone else. I have to think that there is a reason for this. They address some of my "concerns" at the bottom of the article (for example that 21oz of water is only 1.3lbs, which is nothing). And, I do see their point about drinking when you want to, as well being able to drink what you want (especially if you have a sensitive stomach).

Having said that, I'm still not sold... I think I'll stick to drinking the water on the course!