The Green Girl's Latest Nathan Speed 4 Hack

The Green Girl loves her Nathan Speed 4 hydration belt.

My first Nathan Speed 4 got me through my very first marathon. I had used Goody StayPut Thin No Slide Color Headbands to secure the bottles and keep them from popping out.

In between the bottle holders, I had added a small pouch to carry my camera and another to hold a spare pair of socks and BodyGlide.

Eventually, I had to replace my hydration belt because despite the fact that I didn't lose any pounds, my waist became smaller and the large was too big.

Believe it or not, the medium was smaller and there was no longer enough space between the bottle holders for the pouches. Disappointed, I settled for stuffing the pouches into the front bottle slots.

This solution has worked well for me but lately, as I've increased my mileage, I've been struggling to fit enough nutrition in my belt for the long runs. I'm a hungry Green Girl and I eat a lot.

I also realize sports nutrition tends to be more compact and portable but I'm just not a huge fan of gels and gus.

I mulled over this issue and then it came to me - I could add some elastic loops to stick additional snacks in.

I took another one of the Goody StayPut Thin No Slide Color Headbands and cut it into quarters. I folded over the edges of two elastic segments and sewed them to prevent fraying. Once the edges were secured with my sloppy stitches, I looped the piece through the side of the bottle holder and sewed it together.

I rotated the elastic to hide the messy connection.

All things considered, I'm pleased with the outcome.

I'm grateful to Goody for making headbands that almost match my hydration belt and I'm glad my new loops match the elastic I added around the bottle holders.

I am anxious to try out my new fangled hydration belt on my next long run.

This solution is making me feel more confident about carrying all the nutrition I will need for the Athens Classic Marathon.

Marina Run and Phiten Necklace

The Green Girl went on a night run with one of the Sole Runners, Michelle, after work yesterday.

We both wanted to get some mileage in last night because neither one of us were going to be able to make it to today's Sole Runners run. I was registered for a Project Management Institute (PMI) course on Complex Program Management this morning.

We ran along the Shoreline Pedestrian Bikepath towards Shoreline Marina.

Right before we reached Shoreline Village, we followed a narrow peninsula out into the water. I never realized you could get so close to one of the whimsical oil rig islands. I marveled at the colorful waterfalls.

Back inland, we heard lively music and spotted the giant tents from the Long Beach Lobster Festival

We followed the path around Marina Green Park. We were soothed by the patterns of the rolling ocean waves in the water.

We paused at the end to stare back at the Downtown Long Beach skyline. It felt so good to breathe in the cool ocean air.

At Shoreline Village, we stopped for a bathroom break right next to the Marina Showers.

It actually worked out perfectly because we ran out of steam at the same time. At around 7 miles, neither one of us had any run left so we just walked the rest of the way.

After my class this morning, I stopped by my favorite Phiten store. They had a special promotion giveaway going on where they provided you with a token to insert in a giant gumball machine and depending on the color of your gumball, you won different prizes.

I got a pink gumball and ended up winning a navy blue and green Phiten necklace. Whoo hoo!

The Green Girl's Wednesday Night Marina Run

Abhorrent to the heat as usual, the Green Girl waited until the sun went down to go for a run last night.

On my way down to the Shoreline Marina, I called one of the Sole Runners, Michelle, to see if she wanted to join me. She had just gone for a run with another friend but she agreed to join me.

We parked across from Shoreline Village and followed the bike path out to Marina Green Park.

It was an ineffable night for a run. The city lights reflected off the water and danced on the gentle waves.

In the distance, we could see the Shoreline Aquatic Park with the Long Beach Harbor Lighthouse shining like a blue beacon in the night.

As we ran along the marina, we admired the majestic beauty of the Long Beach skyline. A plane flew over the horizon and appeared as a dot of light over the buildings.

From dusk to night will always be my favorite time to run. I find a certain comfort in the solitude of the darkness.

The Green Girl's Bolsa Chica State Beach Run

The Green Girl went for a run at Bolsa Chica State Beach last night.

Bolsa Chica State Beach is known for its year-round surfing, bonfire pits, RV camping, and bare-handed grunion fishing.

The cement fire pits are on a first-come, first-served basis and beach goers will stake their claim early in the day.

Unfortunately for me, the wind was blowing all of the smoke from the bonfires in my direction last night and I ended up having to cut my run short. I had no idea the fumes from the bonfires would make me so nauseous.

It was so bad that breathing through my mouth didn't offer any relief. I had to stop multiple times in stretches without fires to get some fresh air. Folded over, I'd concentrate on not puking all over the bike path.

At each break, once I'd managed to settle my stomach, I stood up and took some time to admire the beautiful sunset before I continued running.

Even today, my stomach feels uneasy. I guess I just inhaled too much smoke as I was running.

The Green Girl Witnesses A Running Epiphany

After nearly melting in today's heat, the Green Girl waited until the sun started to go down to go for a run with one of the Sole Runners, Michelle.

We headed down to the Shoreline Pedestrian Bikepath and headed east.

The hazy sky muted the sunset colors into a beautiful pastel palette.

We passed a handful of beach volleyball courts with games in progress. We saw sailboats and cruise ships.

To the west, we saw a sliver of a crescent moon.

A runner shuffled by and I commented to Michelle that I thought if she ran like that, she could probably go a little faster. We're both back of the packers but she's significantly slower than me so I usually run ahead and then take pictures until she catches up. This arrangement works well for us.

She stopped to observe his technique and then tried to imitate his movements.

She commented that she wasn't used to lifting her knees up so high. I fell in sync with her stride and compared our knee heights. It didn't seem like she was going unusually high to me.

As an experiment, we continued at this pace. All of a sudden, Michelle exclaimed that for the first time in her life, she actually felt like she was running. I looked over at her and quickly realized I'd never seen her look like this before. I blurted out, 'You look like a runner!'

Michelle's running epiphany was our primary source of entertainment and amusement for the remainder of the run.

Before we headed home, I snapped a shot of the Grissom Island off-shore oil rig for my friend, Kitzzy. I always think of her and her boyfriend when I see it because like everyone else who sees it, they couldn't believe it was an oil rig.

Grissom is one of four oil islands named after the first four NASA astronauts to die in the line of duty - Freeman, Grissom, White, and Chaffee.

The artificial islands house oil and gas production equipment. The brightly colored facades designed to disguise the facilities make them look like they could be part of Pleasure Island.

The Green Girl Runs For Her National Holiday

The Green Girl went for a short run this evening in honor of her National Holiday.

Of course, I had to sport my green Bondi Band.

St. Patrick's Day makes me one happy Green Girl. There's nothing like seeing everyone dressed in the far superior color. I don't understand why we don't all wear green every day of the year.

I love running in the city. As you pass the businesses and residences, you catch a glimpse of people's lives. Tonight, I experienced so many different smells - both good and bad. I got a whiff of cherry scented car freshener as I ran by the car wash. The smell of grilled carne asada reminded me how hungry I was. The exhaust from a truck made me choke a little bit.

I ran by the same motorcycle cop pulling over cars two times.

I love to peek into the windows as I go by. I ran by a nutritional center that had lots of information for families in Spanish.

At Joe Jost's, I saw all the green-clad bar goers getting their drink on.

The Green Girl's Short Evening Run

The Green Girl went on a short, easy 4.5 mile evening run (with walk breaks) after work today.

I had hoped to visit the Earl Burns Miller Japanese Garden but I discovered it closes at 3:30 PM on weekdays. I jogged by the Parkside Commons on-campus housing just as one of the school shuttles pulled up. Watching the students exit and walk towards the dorms brought back a lot of fond college memories.

I am really partial to running in the evening. I learned to like running in the morning when I trained with groups but my preference is still at night.

I think a lot of it has to do with the fact that I started out running late at night. When I was in graduate school, I decided I wanted to run a 5k. I followed the Cool Running Couch-to-5k Running Plan and did my runs after I got out of class at 9:45 PM. I was one of those people who 'hated' running but I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it. Somewhere along the way, I fell in love. After a stressful day at work and sitting in class, running outside just made me feel so free.