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, December 25, 2014

My Christmas Gifts

     Instead of doing my normal Freak Out Friday Rant, today I have decided to do a special post on what I got for Christmas. I figure since we are in the holiday spirit, why ruin it with a rant.

     So normally every Christmas Amanda and I will set a limit that we will spend on each other. Usually it is a low number since we both just buy something whenever we want it, so there isn't much we want that we don't have.  This year though we decided to set the limit a little higher. We made a wish list for each other in order to help out.  Try and guess what was mostly on my list? That's right running apparel and gadgets.  So the first gift I open was a massage roller. This was not on my list, but I did post about some gift idea's and had one on the list. I was pretty pumped to get it. I have a foam roller but I wanted something to get into the deep tissue. Good to see Amanda actually reads my blog.

      The second gift I opened was a box filled with 2 pairs of running shorts and a tech shirt. I am not a fan of the low cut shorts with built in underwear, so I wear tech shorts and buy compression underwear to wear under. So the shorts she bought me this year were perfect for me. She even went as far to buy me 2 packs of compression underwear. SCORE!!!!!!
      I was on my last gift and at this point I had already had it in my mind that the shoes I wanted were a no go, so maybe a gift card would of been thrown in the box with whatever it was. Little behold Amanda took the shoes out of the box and placed them in another box to throw me off. My Brooks PureFlow 3's.  I have wanted these shoes for a while now. I have had 3 pairs of shoes since my PureFlow 2's and I have not been able to find a shoe that matches them.  I can't wait to get out and start the marathon training in them. Good things are going to happen in those shoes, I can tell.

     I was happy with all my gifts I got. Not all were running related, but they were all still things I wanted.  After unwrapping the big gifts I grabbed my stocking and found a few more small things that I had no clue I was getting.  We usually just throw basic stuff like shaving cream and razors in the stocking.  I don't even wrap what I throw in them. Amanda on the other hand likes to make me work for the gift.  First thing I grab out and unwrap was a tree ornament. I am not a big fan of ornaments, but I have one ornament that is a shoe and says my New York Marathon time. Well now I have 2 that I can say I am happy to own. This one just says marathon and is a pair of shoes, but it doesn't need to say anything else it is awesome and will look great on the tree.
    The last few things in the stocking were packs of GU. I am a huge fan of these and use them every Saturday on my long runs. She wasn't sure what flavor I liked so she got me a few. Little does she know I like them all. Notice the 6 pack of beer in the background of the picture. That was a gift too. I wouldn't call that running related, but hey who doesn't love a beer after a nice long run.
      All in all this Christmas was probably the best. I got everything I wanted and I even was told I did good shopping too. That is huge for me because normally I make someone come with me and help. I however know these are all materialistic things and do not tell what the true meaning of Christmas is. Family and friends is what it is all about. Spending Christmas Eve and Christmas with the people who are closest to you.  I hope you all had a great holiday season and got everything you got.

Tell us what cool running things you got this season?

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4 comments:

  1. AnonymousDecember 26, 2014 at 6:36 AM

    Wow-your wife is awesome! Brooks pureflow 3 are my fav shoe for speed. I love the 4 mm foot drop w/o the bulk of my Hokas. That ornament is the bomb! I got some Nike headbands with cool sayings on them. My son has challenged me to wear the one that says, "Run Like Hell" at Boston & wants pic for proof. The other son & wife got me a Dicks sporting goods gift card so I hope to catch some after Christmas sales. Here's to the end of a fantastic running year!

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    1. UnknownDecember 26, 2014 at 7:17 AM

      Isn't it funny though that our gifts have all been geared around running. I think you should wear that headband for Boston. I plan on stopping at Dicks to catch some of those sales myself.

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  2. UnknownDecember 29, 2014 at 6:39 AM

    Great gifts! My husband wears the Brooks pure flows, I think, but his is an old pair (and he doesn't run much.) I actually got him a pair of Brooks this Christmas, but they're the throwback shoe that's based on an old running shoe but isn't really meant for running. They look pretty cool though.

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    1. UnknownDecember 29, 2014 at 9:42 AM

      Now that I am back to the Brooks I think I am staying with them. For me they are the best shoes

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