Ok so I bought it.

I bought it. The stupidest contraption known to the running world, in my opinion. I bought the parachute I was talking about, the "Power Chute". (Not for skydiving, but again - for running)

I was so excited. The first thing I did when we got home from my son's cross country practice was watch the "how to" dvd. Ok whatever. A dvd full of stretches basically. Five minutes on how to use your chute. Which, Ok - it was easy enough. As my son rolled his eyes, I dragged him outside to help me out. Wind was not an issue, they were topping 30mph that day. I got all geared up and I was ready to go! My son stood there, hat pulled down, head held in shame. I can only imagine his thoughts.

Back to the parachute: So I try it, and nothing. No resistance. Try again. Nothing. Try again. NOTHING. I would be better served using a tire like Ray Zahab does at the beginning of Running the Sahara. And it would be cheaper. So today, the useless chute went back to Dick's Sporting Goods. When asked why I was returning it, I almost blurted out "Because it just sucks!" My money will go towards buying that water/fuel belt that I need. Truth is, I should have bought that first anyway. Lessons learned.