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

Sunday, January 5, 2014

A New Year with New Goals

     As we start 2014 a lot of us will be setting goals for the upcoming year. I will share my goals for the year with you and tell you how I am training in hopes of accomplishing them all. I feel that if you tell people your goals or at least write them down, you will be forced to work a little harder to accomplish them. Before every race I run I tell my wife the time I would like to get. At the end of each race she is there to tell me if I got the time I wanted of how far off I was. She even will throw in her opinion and tell me why she thinks I did not accomplish it. Sometimes it is hard to hear that she thinks that I didn’t train hard enough or that I just didn’t put in the effort. Its “tough love” but sometimes that is what I need to hear to motivate myself.

                                                             MY GOALS FOR 2014
 An injury free season (I think this is something we all want)

 Run the Pittsburgh Marathon in a certain time.(this is the only time I will not share, I always set my goals high for myself and the time I would like to get is going to be very hard. Not impossible but I want to keep the time to myself. Put it this way it would qualify me for Boston with no problem.)

 Run a sub five minute again (I run two 1 mile races a year and I would like to get back under that time. It has been since high school 17 years ago that I was able to do this.)

 Run at least 2 marathons Place in my age group for at least 50 percent of the 5K races I run Help other runners accomplish their goals( I am always open to peoples questions and will try to do anything I can to help a fellow runner out)

                                                               MY TRAINING
      My main concern right now is the Pittsburgh Marathon in May. So all my training is being directed toward that. I would say I am ahead of my normal schedule since I ran New York in November and didn’t back off too much after the race. I try to run at least four days during the week. Most runs are 5 or 6 miles with a 7 thrown in on occasion. One of the five mile runs is used for speed. The fifth day is used for cross training at the gym. Usually riding the bike or doing some core workout. Last year I never crossed trained and I believe that is what hurt me a lot. Since starting the cross training I can already see my time dropping and the long runs are becoming easier. My long run is done on either Saturday or Sunday. Whatever day I run I use the other day as a resting day. My long run right now is 10 miles and I will hover around 10-12 miles for the month of January then bump up to 15 for February and March will end with a 22 mile run before I taper off. I honestly believe with the training I am doing now my 5K times will drop drastically and my 1 mile time will also drop. When those races come up I will throw in a extra speed workout.
      One good thing about where I live is no matter where I run it is all hills. Today when I did my long run it was filled with hills, some real long and steep and some short and easy. I will not shy away from running the hills because I think this is going to give me and edge on other runners that don’t train on them as much.         Hopefully this training will help me accomplish all my goals. I always said I don’t go into a race thinking I am the best but I do believe that if you want to beat me you are going to have to work your ass off to do it. I am always up for a challenge and will put myself to hell and beyond to accomplish my goals.

What are your goals for 2014 and how will you try to accomplish them? Also if you have any tips for me on my goals let’s hear them!!!

2 comments:

  1. Love the secret PR time at the Pittsburgh Marathon! Tough race for sure, I'll go after the full again in a few years.

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    1. Hopefully this is the injury free year.. In November at NYC I was on pace for my time and then got tripped up and stepped on

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