Who Am I?

I am an avid runner and have been running since I was 15 years old. I began running low to medium distances while on my high school track team, running the 800 meter and 1600 meter races (I was a sub 5 miler and a 2 minute 800 runner). In addition to the track team, I also joined the cross country team. After high school I still wanted to run and decided to start doing road races. I have probably ran a couple hundred 5k races (16.29 PR)along with many 10k's as well. In 2009 I decided to step up my game and try to tackle my first marathon. I will be honest; the only reason I did this was because my father ran a few and I wanted to show him that I could do what he did. I trained poorly for my first one and regret it. If you are going to run a race, train like you want to win. I still continue to run marathons and other distances as well, and every race is a chance for me to better myself.
I started this blog to hopefully communicate with other runners and to shed any knowledge I may have about the sport that can help other runners. I believe running is the best sport and can be a great stress reliever. I encourage all runners to spread the word of our sport and show people why running is so good and why the community of runners has such great people. You can follow me on twitter @byrne1324 or find me on facebook- Shaun Byrne

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Night time running

     Living in Pittsburgh we get to see beautiful changes in the weather. The fall brings leaves turning from green to orange and red. We also get to see our sunset go from around 9:00 pm to around 5:00 pm.   The Pittsburgh marathon is ran in early May. This means most runners, like myself, are forced to train in the dark night or the dark early mornings.  There are many things you can do to help with running at night.  Wear bright colored clothes so you will be visible to cars in the dark. If you are going to wear your head set while running, listen to the music at a low volume so you can hear the traffic around you. Some drivers have trouble seeing at night so you want to make sure you are aware of your surroundings. Technology has also helped night time running.  There are many little gadgets and lights you can purchase from blinking red lights that clip on your clothing to hand held neon lights that give off a fluorescent glow. I recently purchased knuckle lights from TRUE RUNNER. These are LED lights that you strap to your hands. These lights allow your hands to still be free to run, yet they illuminate the path you are running on and allow cars to see you. I was also informed by the employee assisting me at TRUE RUNNER that there is also a head band with a built-in light and an Under Armour hat that has small lights built into the brim. Prices range from $40 to $55 for these products. These prices might seem costly, however after using the knuckle lights I purchased, I believe they are worth every penny. A way to completely avoid night running is to use the treadmill. I suggest running on an incline of 1 or 2 to simulate the various elevations of running on pavement. The question is, can you stand to be on the treadmill in one spot for a long period of time. My preference is to invest in a gadget that will help when I run at night and get out on the pavement.  However, each person is different so run anyway that makes you feel comfortable, just do it safe.

Do you prefer to run on a treadmill or on the pavement? Share your opinion in the comments.
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