Um. oops.

I have a saying: "A little bit of paranoia can go a long way." I always like to check that I have my spare car key as I go running- it's disconcerting to get midway through a run and not find it. Or completely done with a run- that's not so good, either.

So I was trying a new Christmas Present: Nathan's HPL 20 race vest which may be my favorite hydration system evar. And I've used a few. But in playing around with it, I somehow managed to lose my key.

This wasn't necessarily a bad thing- It was 10 miles into a planned 15 mile run, and I was just going back to my car to grab my headlamp. Home wasn't *that* far away- a modest 5-6 miles, I figured. So it might work out well. the only issue is whether I had a spare key anywhere, and if I'd be able to find it.

turns out I did. And I was only mildly uncomfortable running around at night with a modest amount of reflective gear.

As for the backpack/hydration vest/whatever thing, it was super comfortable. Most of the time, I forgot I was wearing it. the only thing I didn't like was the complexity of the bite valve. I've always subscribed to: "the more moving parts, the more things can go wrong" philosophy.

So I substituted my camelbak bite valve to see if that goes any better....