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

Wednesday, December 31, 2014

2015 Goals

HAPPY NEW YEAR friends!!!! I don’t know about you, but I am ready to start this year. Don’t get me wrong 2014 was a great year, but I have my eyes set on 2015. Like last year I set some goals for myself. The difference this year though is I actually sat down and planned out a way to reach my goals. Just like last year I am setting the bar high. Like I said before, you have to dream big, set big goals in order to accomplish big things. I plan on accomplishing some big things for myself this year. So without any further ado here is my goals for 2015.

The first and main goal is obviously to make it through the 2015 year injury free. Now I know that some things are unpreventable, hell even Olympic athletes are not above an injury. What I can do though is take the best measures. I will be stretching more pre and post runs. I will dedicate a few minutes each night to roll out my muscles with my massage stick, and I will use my compression socks to help with recovery time.

Goal number 2 is going to be run under 1:30 for the PGH Half Marathon in May. This goal is the one that I am working on right away. I have come up with a training plan that will help me get faster and help me with my endurance. Starting on Monday I will be waking up before work and going to the gym every day to do my normal body workout, which consist of lifting and using the synergy machine to help with obstacle races. I will start bringing my running clothes to work and I will do runs as soon as I finish work. This is going to give me an extra hour of sunlight and it will give me some new courses during the week. I also have already started a diet. My plan is to drop 15 lbs. before the race and go into it the lightest I have been in years. This goal is very doable for me and I figure it will be my determining factor on how I want to play out the fall. If I hit my goal and go above it, then I am signing up for the Erie full marathon in hopes of Boston. If it is a total failure which I am already saying it won’t be, then I will stick do doing more half’s and working on my speed. I also plan to bump my speed workouts a lot this season. Last season I feel I didn’t give it my all on the track. So this season it is time to go back to the basics of what I know and do the speed workouts from the ground up.

Goal number 3 is to continue to drop my 1 mile time. Last year my goal was to get back under a 5 minute mile. Well I haven’t done that since high school and I need to realize I am no longer in high school. That ship sailed in ’97. However I did manage to drop 15 seconds from two seasons ago to last season. At the liberty mile I finished with a 6:01. My goal is drop at least another 15 seconds this season. I am going to be doing a lot more speed workouts for marathon training and hopefully this will help in this area. One problem I had last season was going to the track and it being full with people and kids on the field. For some reason I would get nervous and hold back on what I was doing. I need to get over that this season and just focus on myself.

Goal number 4. Do more obstacle races. What can I say I am hooked on these races. As a kid growing up I was always climbing and jumping from things. These races are built for me. My running background gives me an advantage on the endurance part, now I just need to focus on the strength part. Once again my marathon training is going to play right into this. I am already signed up for a few races and I even have some friends doing them with me this season, so I am looking forward to that.

Goal number 5 and probably the most important to me, I want to help other runners get better. The main reason I even started this blog was to hopefully inspire someone who may be on the fence about running to at least give it a try. I want to share any knowledge I have from my 20 years of running and help other runners reach their goals. I have already started the year off by doing this. During a #runchat session a fellow runner asked if someone would help her with a 10K training plan. I happily said I would make her up a plan. I plan on checking in on her and making sure things are going good and I will alter the training plan if need be based on her progression. I also was just contacted and I have been hired as the running specialist for the PGH Marathon. I will be able to help many runners from January 3rd up until the marathon.( I will post more details later)I am hoping I get to help a few others this season as well, even if it is just on a run together or something I can tell them to motivate them. If you haven’t set your goals yet for 2015 I recommend adding this one to your list as well. Even if you don’t think you have that much knowledge, you probably can still help someone who has never ran before. Sometimes all it takes is for a person to see someone who used to be in their position succeeding.

So there you have it my five main goals for 2015. I am sure throughout the year I will have a few more goals. I like to set a goal for every race I run. I will continue to share those goals with you as each on comes up, but for now these are my main ones that I am working on. I know this season is setting up to be one of my hardest season yet, and I am more than ready. So I leave you with a quote as we set out on a new year with new goals and adventures.

“IF you plan on taking the hard road, then you have to cherish the ride!”


What are your goals for 2015?

10 comments:

  1. I wish you all the best for 2015 and hope you can reach your goals! I love (and share) goal #5! Happy running!

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    1. Thanks and I am glad to see that other runners who have such knowledge as yourself are always willing to help a fellow runner! Good luck in 2015

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  2. Happy New Year! You have some great goals set out for yourself and a plan in place! I know you'll have a great 2015!

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  3. Great goals! I really like your idea of devoting mornings to strength & then running right after work. I live less than 4 miles from my office so have thought of doing a running commute home. Might have to look into that. Your half & 1-mile goals sound really challenging, but you definitely seem up to the challenge. And congrats on the Pgh Marathon work! I can't wait for the details. I always need help. ;) Happy New Year! See you on Saturday (I registered for the 8:30 wave)!

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    1. I will look for you on Saturday. I think since I am working it now I will be around the dicks sporting goods area. Hope to see you and have a great new year

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  4. These are great goals! Staying injury free is always a good goal to shoot for - I'm hoping for the same!
    Your half marathon goal is AWESOME and I am excited to follow along!
    Congrats on working with the Marathon! That is super exciting news - I can't wait to hear all about it!

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    1. Thanks, I think the injury free goal might be top on all of our lists. Looking forward to following you in 2015 and all your stories

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  5. Happy New Year, Shaun! Nice set of goals and I'm looking forward to see you work toward and accomplish them. Two biggies for me this year: stay injury free and keep working on getting some of my pre-injury speed back.

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    1. Happy new year to you as well. I hope you reach your goals and stay injury free in the process

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