Jenna’s BSR Diary, Week 6: Let’s Do This!

Jenna Bergen

MONDAY
The weather was so nice today that I decided to walk home after work and go for a run outside even though I’d packed my clothes for the gym. I just couldn’t resist being outdoors. It felt great to be one of the post-work runners. The city seemed peaceful with the budding trees, the purple-pink sky and tweeting birds. I did, however, feel a little slow—sort of like my legs were filled with sand. I also sweat a lot more than I have lately, which must have been due to the jump in temperature. I did three-and-a-half miles and was very proud of myself for working out after a long day of work.

TUESDAY
I made it to yoga! My downward dogs are almost back to what they were months earlier. I can’t touch my heels down without a lot of warming up yet, but I’m hoping I’lll be back to that point soon. My hips felt so much better after pigeon, too. Running without incorporating at least a little yoga seems criminal. With all the pounding I’m putting my body through lately, I feel like it’s the least I can do to thank my joints.

WEDNESDAY
I decided to rest today since I worked out the previous two days. Four miles tomorrow!

THURSDAY
Gosh, I feel like such a complainer, but I was feeling so tired and hungry after work today that I was afraid that if I didn’t go directly to the gym I would start snacking when I got home and never make it out for a run. (You know how it is: You eat one thing, which leads to one more thing, and then you have to wait for both things to digest, and then you get sucked into something awful on TV, and so on and so on.) So, to preemptively dodge this awful fate, I ate half of a protein bar that I grabbed on the way to the gym and did four miles on the treadmill. All in all, my legs felt strong, but halfway through my stomach didn’t feel so hot. I either didn’t leave enough time after my snack, or I’m fighting off the nasty spring bug that’s going around the office. Hopefully it’s the former! Either way, I toughed it out and was really glad that I did.

FRIDAY
Today is an official rest day. I’ve got a long run tomorrow, which makes me feel a little less guilty about eating greasy pizza for dinner!

SATURDAY
The schedule calls for seven miles today, but I decided to push myself a little and run the 8-mile Schuylkill River Loop. (The novice schedule I’ve been following only takes me up to 8 miles before race day, and I know I’ll feel a lot more confident on May 1st if I run 10 miles beforehand—which means I need to do 8 miles this weekend and 10 miles next weekend before I start the taper.)

The weather couldn’t have been more perfect! Lloyd* (who, as you know if you’ve been reading, is also training for Broad Street) decided to run with me. As it wasn’t a super-hot day, we were able to sleep in and didn’t start our run until a little after 1 p.m. Lloyd’s been parodying the 5-Hour Energy commercials, so right before we broke into a run he adjusted his imaginary tie and said, “Let’s do this!” We took it slowly, careful to pace ourselves, and chatted back and forth most of the time. Around mile 7, we ran into a co-worker and his son. They were out biking on Kelly Drive, set on doing three full loops that afternoon. It looked like such fun that it made me want to buy a bike!

For the last half mile, Lloyd kicked into personal-training mode and started cheering me toward the finish, encouraging me to up my pace. Of course, I wanted to kill him, but I dug in and finished at a good clip. As soon as we got home, we pulled four bags of frozen vegetables out of the freezer, collapsed on the couch and draped the icy packages over our knees. I couldn’t have been happier! What a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

* Name has been changed to protect the innocent.