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, March 9, 2014

8 Weeks Till PGH

     I don't know if it is just me but I feel like these weeks are just flying by and soon the marathon will be upon us.  Finally it seems like we may be getting some good weather, and hopefully we can all log some quality miles.  Having run Pittsburgh a few times I know the course pretty good.  So while doing my long runs now I will try to visualize the course and picture myself running the course.  I don't know if this really helps me but it takes my mind off my run and it helps me also start to get more focused about the race.
    I know some people who will be running Pittsburgh for the first time and I figured I would try to make the race a little easier for them.  I will break down the course for both the half and full in this edition of my blog.

http://pittsburghmarathon.com/Files/Admin/2014_Maps/Marathon_combined_2014_02_04.pdf

   So both full and half marathoners start the race together and will run 10 miles together before breaking off from each other.   The first 2.5 miles or so is all flat, taking you up Liberty Ave. and taking you back down Penn Ave. through the strip district.  Liberty Ave. is usually quiet with spectators mainly at the start.  Once onto Penn you will see a few more people cheering you on.   Around 2.5 you will make a right turn onto the 16 st. bridge. This is the first of many bridges you will cross and if you know anything about bridges you know they go uphill, peak and then you go down.  Once off the bridge you will go up a short incline into the Northside of Pittsburgh, before coming back over another bridge back into downtown.  Its a short stay as you quickly make your way to the Sandusky bridge and are on your way back into the Northside. From mile 5 to about 6.5 you will weave through the streets of the Northside ( mostly all flat with some good crowds ). At mile 6.5 you will go over the West End Bridge into the West End.  The bridge has a nice incline and once you get off the bridge you will go uphill just a bit as you enter the West End. Once you make a left off Steuben St. you will have a nice downhill for about 50 yards and then you will make a left and head towards East Carson st.  There is a slight uphill as you exit the West End before turning right onto East Carson.  Mile 7.5 until 10.5 is on Carson. This is all flat and the crowds on Carson will be loud as they cheer you on.  Once approaching the Birmingham bridge the half and full marathoners will separate. The half marathoners will turn left onto the bridge and the full marathoners will pass the bridge and do a one block loop until coming back to turn right on the bridge.

HALF
     The Birmingham Bridge is mostly uphill, not real steep but when running you will notice it's a hill.  As you exit the bridge you will turn left onto Forbes Ave.  This is where you will want to have some energy. Mile 11 to mile 12 is basically all uphill.  It starts steep then you will make a left off Forbes and head towards the Blvd. of the Allies. The Blvd. is a gradual uphill but at 11 miles it will be difficult if you haven't trained properly.  Peaking the hill you can rest easy because from here on out its all downhill. You will have 1.2 miles to make up any time you can.  You will be able to hear the crowd as you come down the hill and the adrenaline should carry you to the finish.

FULL
     Once off the Birmingham Bridge you will make a right and begin the longest hill in the race up Forbes Ave. into Oakland.  Once in Oakland you can take a good rest because your next hill isn't until the end of mile 14.( After Oakland you will enter Shady Side and the small hill you will run up which takes you back onto Fifth Ave. is not a steep hill at all).  Mile 15 will take you from Fifth Ave. to Penn Ave.  Penn Ave. is actually a slight downgrade and will give your legs some time to rest up.  From Penn Ave. you will turn onto South Braddock Ave. and take it to the 17.5 mile mark into Homewood.  Mile 17.5 to mile 21.5 is mostly flat with a short hill here and there through out Highland Park taking you out onto Baum Blvd. before turning onto Liberty Ave. in Bloomfield.  You will do a small incline through Bloomfield but the crowd will be amazing. Nick named Pittsburgh's little Italy Bloomfield is full of people screaming you on and the smells coming out of restaurants will make you want to finish as soon as possible.  From mile 23 basically to the finish you will be going down a nice long hill and back onto flat roads. As you get closer to the finish at Point State Park you will be able to hear the noise.  Just get to mile 22 and you can basically put your body on cruise control to the finish line.


10 comments:

  1. The hill up into Oakland is crazy! Be careful to not get psyched out with the amount of people splitting off for the half! Shadyside almost killed me last year, but it's all downhill from there. Remember to get your beer around mile 24!!!!

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    1. I forgot about about the beer at 24, lol.. Also my first year I got psyched out from the relay teams... I was dead on mile 20 and here comes a relay member flying by me. It really messed with my head. The following year It figured out how to block it out

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  2. This is fantastic, thank you! I'm running my first full marathon (and first time on the Pitt course) this year. Hearing a description like this from a veteran is great, thank you so much!

    If you're interested, I'm writing weekly reports of my training progress as a rookie over here.

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    1. Glad that I could help you out!!! I have been checking your blog and enjoy reading it

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  3. This post makes me smile! I love running Pgh!

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    1. Running PGH is great just because of the great scenery

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  4. I'll definitely refer to this when I run it--maybe the half next year. I've been drooling over the course map since I started running a few years ago. Thanks for breaking it down!

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    1. You should definitely do the half next year

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  5. I am hoping to conquer that hill into Oakland! If I run smart, I should have plenty of energy still. Nice breakdown of the course. I've been working on one as well - can't seem to get it finished. ;)

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    1. I have doing some serious hill training for the hills.. My first year I saw people walk up it and I was flying up it. So I am hoping to do that again

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