Jess Barnard Professional Runner Workout Wednesday

I have been following Jessica for a while now! I am always fascinated what a day looks like to be a professional runner. When you sleep, eat and breath running! There is a lot more than just running that goes into training full time. Nutrition is a big factor so you can not only feel great but prevent injury and recover faster from your workout. Thats why I am so excited to have Jess on my blog today so we can all see what a day in a life of a professional runner looks like 🙂 Here is a photo of me and Jesse–and I had no idea how cool–Check out her photo in the banner in the background My name is Jess, and I am a professional runner for Oiselle and Team Philippines specializing in the steeplechase. I just moved to Bend, OR to train full time with the Oiselle group Little Wing. We are in our fall base training phase gearing up for the Olympic year! Hell yeah! It’s been an exciting move and I so happy to be here. Most of my day is planned and routine and I absolutely love it. BTW — I eat A LOT. You may think I am just saying that.. well take a look…
7:30am Wake-up. Right when I wake up I brush my teeth and then drink a big tall glass of water. I started doing this a few months ago and I love the difference it has made. I used to be horrible with hydration. I could go an entire day off of one glass of water. Yeah, I know… that’s not right! A big glass of water to start your day is the best way to start your day.8:00am Breakfast. First things first… coffee. Black. Am I hardcore? Why ruin the perfection that is black coffee? So, my breakfast is always one of two things: a bowl of cereal with almond milk or a piece of sprouted toast with peanut butter & honey. Just depends on what I am feelin that morning — and today it is cereal! I always mix honey nut o’s and a granola or clusters type cereal. Cereal rocks my world and is my favorite pre-workout meal. 9:00am Warmup time! Our warmup consists of dynamic drills and a 15 min run (12min easy + 3min up-tempo). After the run, we follow up with some more drills to get our bodies ready for the workout (high knees, butt kicks, leg swings etc.)

9:30am Workout. Today was a doozy. 1000, 1200, 1600, 1200, 1000, 1200, 1600, @ tempo pace with 3min jog recovery in-between. On grass loops! Smells like cross country!11:00am Post-workout snack. Picky Bars are my go-to. (Top three faves: “Need for Seed”, “Ah, Fudge Nuts!” and “Blueberry Boomdizzle”). I am lactose intolerant and I don’t like soy.. finding a bar that has natural ingredients and tastes good is freakin hard, man! Picky Bars = real ingredients, easy digestion, gluten/dairy/soy free. Yes, yes and yes. Get in my belly. A bar + a banana is my favorite post workout snack. Oh, and more water, of course! I also really love rehydrating with Nuun (watermelon flavor forever!).12:00pm Lunch. Bagel sandwich — let’s go. I’ve been on this bagel sanny kick for a few weeks now. They’re just so good. Here’s mine: whole wheat bagel, pesto, fried egg, spinach, tomato and turkey. With some raspberries on the side!2:00pm Snack time! Two baby gala apples and a few handfuls of popcorn. I am a snacker, yes I am. Notice that I don’t measure my food or count calories? I used to. And it was terrible (for many reasons). Mainly because I don’t believe athletes should count calories or be on “diets”. We should eat nutritious foods and lots of them!

3:00pm Sports Massage. Ahhhh, relax time. Just kidding, it was really really painful.

4:30pm Yoga. I just started doing yoga three weeks ago when I joined Little Wing. I could tell you how amazing I think it is but I’m gonna be real… I don’t enjoy it. It’s tough and painful and ugh. It gets better each time and I do feel a hell of a lot better the next day, so it’s all worth it of course! Maybe one day I’ll be a total yogi. 5:00pm Another snack. I can never wait till dinner.. snap peas and hummus, please and thank you.6:30pm Dinner. Craving comfort food tonight. I am not a pasta person.. I usually stick with    zucchini and squash “pasta”.. But, I just recently discovered the magic that it gnocchi. I went to Pinterest a few weeks ago to find a recipe and have already made it three times! It is gnocchi with chicken sausage and kale. Recipe here. It is to die for. Adding more roasted veggies is a plus!

7:30pm Dessert. I have a serious sweet tooth. I want to thank Lottie for her dessert creations because it has helped me realize that I can satisfy that sweet tooth craving without reaching for junk food! Usually I will have a glass of chocolate Zico or some dark chocolate covered almonds. Chocolate + hydration = WIN! Dreamin’ about Lottie’s flourless fudge chickpea blondies.. I think I will make those tomorrow.9:00pm  Bedtime prep. I am winding down with Netflix (right now I am watching Jane the Virgin, it’s amazing). I pop back my Vitamin C and Iron supplement and get ready for bed! Every night I wear my gel toe spacers for 30-60min. I had a neuroma in my foot a couple years ago due to not properly taking care of my feet. Our feet take a serious beating all day, we should really pay more attention to them! These toe spacers essentially stretch your entire foot. It helps with   plantar fasciitis, neuromas, bunions, etc. I got mine off Amazon and highly suggest these ones.10:00pm Sleep. Another big glass of water then… ZzzZzzz. Like most people, I love sleep. I usually get around 9 hours of sleep a night. Sometimes it doesn’t seem realistic to get that much sleep, but really.. make it a priority. Your body and mind will thank you.

Thank you, Lottie for letting me share my day. And thank you again for being such an amazing resource for athletes and people everywhere. My nutrition isn’t exactly where I would like it to be and I am so glad that I have your recipes and help to create a more clean and diverse menu for myself. Eating right does not have to mean boring veggies! xo 

Keep up with me on Instagram and Twitter @jesssbarnard

Keep up with Little Wing on Instagram and Twitter @runlittlewing