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, July 27, 2014

Columbus Training: Week 5

     Like most normal marathon trainings I have done, I am finding once you start the training the weeks start to fly by.  I am already in my fifth week of training and I can not believe how quickly this race is approaching.  Last week I ended with 29 miles and the goal for this week was to get somewhere around 33 or so.  Lets see how I did......

MONDAY: I did 5 miles at a 8:30 pace.  It seems like I have adapted Mondays as my day to work on form. I am gaining some time and my times seems to have picked up with less energy being used. However I am still far from perfecting this.  I noticed when I run up hills I revert back to my old form.  Being short for a distant runner I have always struggled with my stride. I have what is known as quick feet.  I take short strides but can go at a much faster speed than most people.  I have said before in a sprint there is very few distant runners that can beat me.  It's a curse, if a race comes down to a sprint I feel I have an advantage. On the other side though, it takes me double the effort to go the distance as a person with a 5 foot stride.  When I start to tire on runs I forget about the form and soon start taking short steps.  I will perfect this over time!!

TUESDAY: I was at work and I debated all day whether or not I should run with the heat and humidity being so high.  I even tweeted "tonight's running forecast calls for sweaty balls and a drenched tank top." After going back and forth I decided to take on the weather and run outside. I even threw caution to the wind and decided on a tempo run. If I was going to push it the limit what a better way. I did 4.5 miles and I was really happy with the results. My first mile was a 8:45. My second and third mile I dropped down to a 7:15 and finished with my last 1.5 miles at a 8:35 pace.  I was actually surprised with how good I felt after the run.  They say fall PR's are done by running through the heat of the summer. I am hoping I can bring some truth to that statement.

WEDNESDAY: I ran 6 miles at a 8:35 pace. One thing I did with this run was I chose a course that was very hilly.  There was very little flat land on this course.  My legs were screaming when I finished, but I really challenged myself with the run and look forward to adding some miles onto the course and making it harder.

THURSDAY:  I used this day as my rest day, I desperately needed this too.  My shins were starting to get sore and I was afraid of the dreaded shin splints.  When I went to bed that evening I put on my Zensah Compression calf socks and when I woke up I felt a lot better. 

FRIDAY: I didn't want to go for a real long this day because I knew I would be running a 5K race on Saturday morning and wanted fresh legs.  I did 4 miles at a 9:00 pace. 

SATURDAY: When I woke up I debated on running the Turtle Trot 5K, but after talking to my friend Anna I decided I would run it.  Since the race was only a mile from my house I decided to jog down to register as a warm up.  It noticed the humidity drastically increased from my jog down to the start of the race. My goal was run somewhere in the 21 or 22 minute mark.  I ended up with 23:32, I was unhappy but I quickly realized the humidity affected a lot of the runners and I still took 2nd in my age group.  One nice thing was the course was all flat with just one small upgrade.  The winning time was 14:34, so you can see just how fast the course was.  I will post a recap of the race on Thursday.  If you live in Pittsburgh and want a fast course I highly recommend you add this to your list next year.  The competition was very good and it is a well organized race.  Instead of running home I decided to just catch a ride with my friend Anna.  The heat beat me down and I was ready to go home and rest.  I still managed to get 4.5 miles in with the jog down and the 5K race.

SUNDAY:  Today I am planning on doing my long run of 12 miles however the weather looks like it may be throwing a monkey wrench in my plans. If I can not get my run in outside I will go to the gym and do a little less and add some strength training in as well.  No matter what I will run at least 6 miles though.

Total Mileage for the week: 24 plus whatever I do today.  Not bad but I am disappointed I didn't get my real long run on the rode.

Next week: goal is to be around 38 miles for the week.  Also the Liberty Avenue Mile is Friday night and I am excited to see some of my twitter friends at the start.  If you are there look out for me, I will be wearing the outfit I have in the picture above.  I am shooting for around a 5:30 mile.

If you are training for a fall race how is your training going?
Does the heat and humidity affect your runs?

4 comments:

  1. Awesome tempo run for a super hot and humid day. I give runners who go out after work when the heat and humidity is at its highest so much credit. Congrats on your age group award! I hope to meet you Friday at the race.

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    1. Thank you!! I hope to meet you too. Running in the humidity sucks but if you have a fall race I do see how it can be a benefit. Hopefully though there isn't to many more days like that though

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  2. If fall marathon PRs are made by running through summer heat...I should have NO problem. LOL. Looks like you're hitting some solid paces with consistency - nice job!

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    1. Thank you!!! The heat we have had we should all be running a PR in Columbus

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