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 16, 2014

The Countdown Continues: 7 Weeks

    Seven weeks, seven weeks, seven weeks, no matter how many times I say it the times is not going to get any longer.  The weeks are just flying by,  and soon we will all be standing in our designated corral waiting for the gun to go off.
     This week I felt my training went really well. The sun graced us with it's presence a few days and made training a bit more easier.  Finally my new shoes are starting to get broken in and they feel light on my feet.

MONDAY:
                      Unfortunately I had a funeral viewing to attend so I had to get in a quick work out.  I ran 4 miles at 8:30 pace.  Felt really good and did not have any pains and didn't get winded at all.  The only thing I did notice was my shins were a little sore later after the run.

TUESDAY:
                      Did 6 miles at 8:50 pace.  The 6 mile course I did though was full of hills and made it a very hard 6.  Not complaining at all though, I look forward to the hills now. How we train on the hills is what is going to separate the people who trained poorly on marathon day.

WEDNESDAY:
                       Took this day to rest and do some foam rolling followed by a massage on my calf muscles.  As the days go on I noticed more and more my shins were starting to hurt a bit more. Shin splints is the one thing I do not enjoy. The next few days would call for a lot of ice.

THURSDAY:
                        Did 5 miles at 8:00 pace. My legs felt great for most of the run and my shins didn't hurt when I ran, only after.  This is right around the pace I want to run my first half of the marathon, before dropping down into the 7 minute range for the second half.  So even though it was only 5 miles I was just trying to use this a feeler run to see where I was at. I have to say the training I have changed up has really helped me out a lot and I can see the time dropping, and I can see how much easier the runs have been.

FRIDAY:
                       Cross trained at the gym... First did a quick 2 miles on the treadmill at a 7:30 pace, followed by a half hour ride on the bike. Then I worked on my abs for about 15 minutes.

SATURDAY:
                       This was my long run day. I set out for 18 but only made it 16 because the wind was ripping and I felt my lips getting severely chapped.  I had my Nike run on and on mile 10 as I made my way back to where I started I took my headphones out and it paused my workout.  I saw someone I know running and pulled the headphones out to give some words of encouragement.  Oh well shit happens, so I didn't get to track the whole run.

I was not going to push myself real hard on this run.  I wanted to just do a nice slow run and get in the miles.  next time I will have to remember that when I pull my headphones out it will not record the rest of the run.  But I basically held a 9:40 pace for most of the run.  Felt really good and my shins did not bother me too much.

Also I am sure like me a lot of people did their long run in the morning so they would be able to enjoy the St. Patty's Day festivities.  In my younger days I would be at the bar at 7 am.  This year though I didn't get there until noon and I only stayed for a few drinks.  I have really made it a point to not drink a lot during this year of training.  I don't want to be able to have any excuses on race day.
But even my short time at the bar I had a really good time drinking with my friends and seeing people I only get to see once in a while.


SUNDAY:
                   Today I will be going to the gym and doing some more cross training.  Mainly some weights with some bike riding thrown in as well.



How is your training going?

11 comments:

  1. Have you tried KT Tape for your shins? I've been using it for my feet and occasionally IT Band problems and it helps out tons! Great job getting out there!!

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  2. Steffany I have KT tape and I used it here and there but I just didn't think it was helping me too much.. Ice and my compression socks seem to be helping

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  3. This was a real tough week. A bunch of runners have been telling me to eat more. Well now i know why. I hit the wall. I tried for 8 today and stopped after 5. Im exhausted. I made a appointment with a nutitionist for tuesday. He said i need to double or triple calories. Depending on workload. Its hard for me to wrap my head around needing to eat more. But now i do.

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  4. Ya not eating enough can definitely be a problem.. People forget they are burning a lot calories on long runs and need to make up for it. I drink a recovery drink after work outs just to replenish my amino acids

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  5. What types would you recommend?

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    1. Types of foods? Well before long runs I always carb up with pasta. But main thing is too just try and eat healthy.. Your diet has a lot too do with how well you run. I eat a lot of chicken, vegetables, and fruits.

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  6. I did 17 miles yesterday. One more than 16. I always pack a couple cliff bars and banana on my long runs. I prefer leukotape to kt tape, more support. Anyways, looking forward to upcoming mud run. Talk to you all tonight on #runchat.

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  7. Your shin issue sounds like what I've experienced. They would hurt really bad after a run, and if I squat down. After countless trips to the Dr. and trying different things, I learned to keep running, but to cut out tempo and speed, only easy runs. My pain would usually last 6 weeks, (SORRY NOT WHAT YOU WANT TO HEAR, YOURS MIGHT NOT LAST THAT LONG).

    Some things I always did to strengthen my calves when dealing w/ this pain is heel walks, toe walks, calf raises on the edge of a step, and writing out the alphabet with my big toe, on each foot. Good luck! Solid week of training regardless!

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    1. They are starting to feel a bit better and I have cut back on the speed workouts... I only hope it doesn't last too long

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  8. This inspires me to add weekly hill work into my next plan, which I'll start in a few weeks after my 5K. Also...what is up with the wind??? Even when it's nicer it's been super windy. Maybe March will go out like a lamb, like they say...

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    1. I definitely recommend doing some hill work outs... Also even today the first day of spring and windy as all hell

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