Day 185.

Well, I did it...another 13.1 miles under my belt.  It was tough.  I didn't run the 1/2 marathon route this time, I just ran a loop from home that took me the distance, allowing for a little walking at the beginning and the end for warm up and cool down.  I woke up again at 5am, did 20 minutes of Pilates, then headed out while it was still a little dark.  On today's run I tried GU for the first time.  A friend of mine and marathoner said she likes the Vanilla Bean flavor of GU, and she had tried others that she thought were gross, so that's what I bought.  She did warn me that it's kind of like squeezing frosting into your mouth, and she was right.  It's a little weird, the flavor was okay.  I think I preferred the flavor and texture of the Clif Shot Bloks I used last week, but I actually think the GU worked better as far as giving me an instant energy boost.  I took the GU around mile 6, and today I felt like I could've used another one around mile 11.  Unlike the 1/2 marathon route I will be doing (in two weeks - eeeek!!),  which is mostly flat, with a few rolling hills, the loop I ran today has at least 4 pretty good sized hills on the second half, and boy could I feel it!  My legs were soooo tired.  My time felt it, too.  It took me about 7 minutes longer to do today's 13.1 miles than last week's.  Oh, well.  It's good practice for the Rim Rock Marathon, which is all uphill on the first half.  When I got home I felt like I was dying, and I was super thirsty.  I had finished my water bottle while on my run, so as soon as I walked in the door, I headed straight for some ice water.  I did 30 minutes of Yoga Meltdown as a cool down and stretching, but it was hard.  I really just wanted to lay on the floor and moan.  ;)