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, February 2, 2014

Training Review

     Normally I do not share how my training is going because I feel most people really don't care.  But recently I have changed my training up and I just wanted to share the progress because I feel that is really working.  Normally at this point in my training(13 weeks away from a marathon)I am in the best shape I have ever been in and everything is just coming a lot easier than races in the past years.So here is what I did this week for my training and maybe it will help someone out and maybe not. I do know that is working for me though.

                                                                        MONDAY
     The weather was still cold so I had to use the treadmill.  I started with a 10 minute warm up at a slow pace. Then I ran 40 minutes at a 8 minute mile pace followed by a 10 minute cool down.  Since I was already at the gym I decided to do a half hour workout of my shoulders and back.  For this I just used the machines, no free weights.

                                                                        TUESDAY
     I used this day as my cross training day.  I started by riding the bike for a half hour, did about 7.5 miles. Then I worked on arms for about 45 minutes.  Once again I only used the machines, no free weights.

                                                                       WEDNESDAY
     Once again the weather was still not up to what I would of liked so I was forced to use the treadmill.   I ran 6 miles at a 9 minute pace.   I know a lot of people will call these junk miles because they don't serve much of a purpose but I disagree.  Even though the pace is not what I would run in a race I feel these miles are just making it easier on the day of the race.  6 miles now to me is such an easy run. I don't break a sweat like I used to and eventually I will bump the mid week run up and soon running a farther distant will be a lot easier.

                                                                        THURSDAY
     Rest Day-  Normally I rotate my rest day with Thursday and Tuesday.  It all depends on which day is easier for my wife to go to the gym with me.  Some nights she works late so I will make that day my rest day.  

                                                                         FRIDAY
     The weather was actually starting to break but I ended up getting home from work late so I decided to just go to the gym and use the treadmill.  I started with a 10 minute slow warm up then I would do 2 minute intervals for an hour.  My jog pace was a 10 minute mile while my fast run was a 7 minute mile pace.  At first I was having trouble with my breathing but after a few intervals I got into the groove and it became comfortable.  After I finished running I used some machines and worked on my abs and hips.  

                                                                        SATURDAY
       With the weather finally being nice,(it's a shame when I look at 40 degrees and think finally got a nice day here) I was able to run outside.  I ran 10 miles, I had to walk 1/4 of a mile because of traffic and ice on the road.  I was very impressed with how good I felt when I was finished.  I wasn't winded at all and felt like I had just started to get really warmed up.  Even though my Nike running app shows a 9:52 pace I was probably doing a 9:20 pace. Walking that 1/4 mile killed some of the time.       

                                                                  SUNDAY
     Today I will be going to the gym and doing another cross training day.  I will use the bike and lift some weights.  mainly working on my legs.  

      In previous races I have never done a lot of cross training and I never would worry about speed workouts.  After talking to some other athletes I have realized I need to work on my speed and also worry about my core strength.   It has only been 2 weeks since I really embraced this way of training but I can see that it is making a tremendous difference already.   Hopefully as I increase the work load with each training I will begin to cut my times down a lot.  Next week I will start using the midweek run to go at race pace and see how long I can hold if for.  I have a goal in mind for the Pittsburgh marathon and with this training I believe I am on pace to get the time I want.


      Have you ever switched training up and has it helped? 
      Share any other tips you think can be helpful!!!                                                                                            

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