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

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Sleeping And Running

     The last few nights I have had trouble sleeping.  I still haven't pin pointed exactly why, but I am starting to get frustrated.  I will go to bed and like clockwork I am waking up every hour on the hour.   At first I blamed my dog Kia, who unintentionally likes to make our bed hers as well.  She will sprawl out wherever she pleases and god forbid you touch her by accident in your sleep or you she will kick you.  If you roll over she thinks you are giving her more space to stretch out.  Some how I always find myself with no blanket and I am usually hanging off the side of the bed.  Last night though she bothered my wife instead of me and I still slept like crap. I have tried sleeping in different positions and still nothing. So I am still searching for what the cause is.
     Most runners know that sleeping and running go hand in hand.  Normally running should make you tired, which it does until it's time for bed then I am eyes wide open.  Having adequate amount of sleep is very important to your body for running for many reasons.  
Focused= You are more focused and aware of everything when you are not tired.
HGH= When you are asleep your body produces and releases HGH into your body. HGH or human growth hormones are vital for muscle recovery.  If you are not getting enough sleep your muscles will take longer to recover. Some runners and other athletes take a HGH supplement to help muscles recover faster. I myself take deer antler extract spray.  I spray it under my tongue 5 times in the morning and 5 times at night to help with muscle recovery.  It seems to help a little( could be a mind thing though ).  It has no effect on my running, I didn't buy it with the intent of going faster from it.
Rest= When you are sleeping your body is basically getting the time it needs to just relax.

     6 to 8 hours is the recommended amount of sleep a person should get to let their body reenergize.  Most of us know that is not always possible though, and many of us have felt the effects during a race or training.  Before a big race I always try to lay down knowing I will wake up like a little kid on Christmas a few times during the night.  Giving yourself that extra time will make up for all the waking up you might do from the excitement.  Most runners seem to run their best when they are fully rested.  Even the night before long runs you should get good rest, it will make the run easier.
     I am not saying you won't run a good time if you didn't get good sleep. Some people say when they are tired they don't think about the race as much, as if they aren't fully focused on the outcome and run their best time.  I am just stating if I was playing the odds, the odds say being well rested is what is best for you.

Has sleep or lack of sleep ever dictated an outcome of a race or training for you?

7 comments:

  1. Sleeping is very important to me and lack of sleep can trigger a lot of problems. So, I try to do my best to get at least 6 to 7 hours per night and potentially more. Also, beyond running,putting enough sleep has a great impact on my work and relation with others (including friends). So, definitively, sleeping is useful!

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  2. My training suffers if I don't get enough sleep. I travel a fair amount for work so I will take melatonin if I am having sleep issues. I will try and take a nap on weekends if I can because I only sleep about 5-6 hours a night.

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    1. I will have to look into melatonin. I average about 6 hours during the week so I try to sleep in a bit on weekends but it never works out that way

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  3. Supposedly, using an illuminated display device (like iPhone or tablet) within an hour before bed can cause trouble. Something about the type of light they emit triggers something in our eyes that takes an hour to wear off and interferes with sleep. I don't know the science but I have been avoiding electronics before bed time and I can say I've noticed a difference in higher quality sleep.

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    1. Funny you say that because I am basically playing with my phone up until about ten minutes prior to bed.. I may have to stop and see what happens

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  4. I say this while knocking on wood, but I rarely have trouble sleeping. When I do, it's because I can't fall asleep after I get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom. I try to limit drinking anything in the evenings so I don't wake up at night, but that's tough! Good luck figuring it out.

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    1. Normally I have no problems, I am a light sleeper so I usually wake up when I hear anything but normally I can dose right back off. I may buy a new mattress and see if it helps

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