Yoga is hard

A couple of training updates from the last few days:

Cross-training:
Cross-training is coming along - I did a cardio/weight training interval class followed by a yoga class at the gym. There was actually another lady wearing ballet flats in the cardio/weight class - I wonder if this is becoming a new "thing"? Maybe I've just been spending too much time at the Running Room and I've become out of touch with the latest gym trends and fashions.

The yoga class was my first one in almost 5 years. I've been meaning to give it another try since yoga is supposed to be good for runners. Yoga is HARD. I'm used to high-impact, high-intensity cardio workouts and I found the slow, gentle and controlled movements to be quite difficult. It was still a great workout and I will do it again. I kinda want to get my own yoga mat, since rolling around on the communal mats grosses me out a bit.

Running:
On schedule for this weekend is an 18k run. I'm going to do it tomorrow since I'm still feeling sore from all of the warrior poses at yoga. I have an issue with hitting the wall at 16k, so I've been told that taking gels/chews on my long runs might help. I'll be experimenting with different gels/chews over the next few months to see what works for me and what doesn't. I took my first eload gel on my long run last week, it was green apple flavoured, the taste was inoffensive and my stomach tolerated it pretty well. I feel like it helped, since I didn't get that tired/hopeless feeling I usually start to get at 15k. My only problem was that I just couldn't get the technique down. I tore off the top and then squeezed...and got nothing. I squeezed a bit harder...and still nothing! I had to squish it slowly up, the way you try to get the last bit of toothpaste out of the tube. Everyone else in my running group just tears off the top and slurps it down in less than a minute. Anyway, it seems like this is going to have to take a bit of practice. This week I'm taking a break from the gels and I'll try a chew - cliff shot bloks (strawberry).