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, August 7, 2014

Earning Your Spot

     So I am hoping that my fellow runners will be able to help me with some idea's.  August 14th is my fathers birthday and I am clueless on what to get him.  Normally I like to get him something that has to do with running, but I am starting to run out of things to get him.  Last year I got him a pair of running shoes so that is out.  For fathers day I got him a nice frame that had a picture of him running on one side and me running on the other and my marathon bib in the middle. It said "4 u dad" instead of going with writing my name on the bib.  I have gotten him different shirts before in the past, so that is starting to get old too.  I am starting to run out of idea's all together. Now all I picture is whatever I give my dad he is going to have a face of disappointment. I need some help here people, any idea's would be great, still would like to keep it running related though if possible.

Someone gave me the idea of giving him one of my race shirts that I haven't worn.  This sounds like a great idea only there is one problem.  I once told my dad I would give him my New York Marathon shirt and he looked at me like I said I was going to give him the Ebola virus.  His exacts word and I quote were "I am not taking that shirt, I didn't earn it!" My father believes you don't wear the actual shirt that you are given from a race unless you earned that shirt.  Sure you can buy one that has the name of the race on it, but you don't even think about wearing the actual shirt unless you crossed the finish line.  What is weird though is when my father was heavy into running he and his friend who lived in Florida would trade race shirts with each other.  So I guess as long as your doing a trade it's okay. 
    
     This brings me to my next topic, Earning.  I am like my father, I believe you don't wear the race shirt of a race unless you have earned it.  Last year Boston released their jackets a few weeks before the race and you could buy them online. My first thought was I need that, but then I thought how dumb am I going to feel wearing a Boston jacket, the most known race in the country and having people ask me how I did.  What the hell would I say, umm I didn't qualify for it but I did buy the jacket to look cool, just doesn't sound right.  When I see a person wearing a race shirt I assume they have run that race. I assume they earned the shirt. Imagine you finish a marathon and look over and some guy smoking a cigarette is wearing the medal. How would you feel then?  A friend of mine told me that he has a person in the Boston area that could get him in the marathon.  I told him I would not do that because when I go I want to be able to say I earned my spot.  I know some people will get into a race using the charity or team option.  Listen I am all for charity and I think running on a team is great, but once again for a race like Boston I want to earn my way in.  I know some people say that could be the only way they will ever have a chance of running that race so they will take it.  There are tons of people that I talk to that say I will never qualify for Boston so if I can get on a team or run for a charity I am going to jump on it. Listen you may qualify and you may not, but unless you really try how do you know? Some of the most inspirational stories are people saying they started running to lose weight. From there they fell in love with running and after so many years got into Boston.  Before you throw in the towel and say you know you can't make it in, really try.  If you don't see results and you still want to run it then I guess go for the charity or team. I however would rather watch from the sidelines and cheer everyone on. 

 
Because I asked for some feedback I feel like I need to explain how to post on this blog if you don't have a google account.  People have said in the past they have left a comment and it didn't show.  All you have to do is pull down the bar under the comment box and find name/url and pick that. Just put in your name, you don't have to put anything in the URL section.  


8 comments:

  1. Well, for your dad, there are different options:
    1. A trip to rivertown brewery for a beer tasting. They have tickets for a tour of the brewery. You can say this is for "carb-load". I am sure he will love it (as long as he likes beer).
    2. Get him a ticket/trip to go with you to your next race to make a father/son experience. He can then cheer you and you can spend some time together
    3. If he his a runner - a running rain jacket. Check at True Runner, they have wonderful gears on sale now. You can get running rain jacket at 70% off - the one I paid $130 last Winter :/

    Sorry, I do not have more ideas ...

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    1. Take him on a race cation and run it together

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    2. I would love that but unfortunately he doesn't run anymore, he walks but he got injured and had to stop running. Maybe a run cation where he just watches

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  2. My first idea wouldn't work if he's no longer running--a goodie gift basket filled with gels, chews, a new water bottle, and post-run snacks like chips, pretzels & cookies. Does he read? The book A Race Like No Other about the 2007 NYC Marathon is awesome. A new pair of shoes?

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    1. He is a book aholic, he reads more books than anyone!!! That is an awesome idea.. Thanks

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  3. As for the gift-I'm all about gift cards though some think them impersonal. I 100% agree with you on the "earning it" philosophy. I hate this fucking entitlement society we live in. (Holy hell- did I just drop the "f" bomb? What is this world coming to)?

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