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, December 14, 2014

Training Dec. 8th - Dec. 14th

When this week started I had a goal of 25 miles I wanted to hit. I figured that number isn't really hard but would still make me work to get it.

MONDAY:  Whenever Amanda is out of town for work I normally stress about running. After work I have to come home and let my dog Kia out. When we leave for work Kia is in her cage, so as soon as I get home I like to leave her out of the cage as much as possible. After sitting around a few hours I was going to head to the gym, but then I looked over on my dresser and saw my knuckle lights. I figured what the heck might as well use them, plus this way Kia would only be back in her cage for a short time. I headed out for a 4 mile run in the cold, and dark.  When I finished I was wheezing a bit, but for the most part felt pretty good. I didn't time the run, but I know it was a nice, casual pace.

TUESDAY:  Amanda was coming home from New York and needed me to pick her up from her work. I decided to use this day as a rest day.

WEDNESDAY:  After doing on run in the dark on Monday, I kind of got the urge to be back on the road rather than the gym. I headed out for another 4 mile run, but this time I decided to time it. I wanted to run a decent speed but didn't want to push myself to hard. It will take a few more runs out in the cold to get my lungs use to it. When I finished my run I looked at my Garmin and was pleasantly surprised to see I ran a 8:40 pace. I was not wheezing and I felt really good. It was probably the best run I had in a really long time.

THURSDAY:  CROSS TRAINING DAY:  I did a chest and back workout at the gym. One thing I am trying to figure out is how to incorporate more things in one day of cross training. This will be a work in progress and will take some experimenting. I want to still do cross training that my running will benefit from, but I also want to incorporate exercises that will benefit obstacle races.

FRIDAY:  Since my legs were feeling pretty good on my previous run and I was not wheezing I figured what the hell I am going to throw caution to the wind and do a speed workout on the treadmill.  I started by running a half mile at a 10 min. pace then I would run for 3 minutes at a 7:30 pace then go back to a 9:30 pace. I did this for half hour and every once in a while I would do an extra minute at the faster pace.  I ended with the last five minutes being a cool down at a 10 minute pace. I finished with just a bit under 4 miles.  I felt really good and there were times I wanted to just keep the fast pace. Now that I am starting to get back into the gear of things I will do my speed workout weekly.

SATURDAY:  I wanted to use this day for my long run, but I decided to use this day as a rest day since I had a lot to do.  Every year on the second Saturday in December there is a bar in the town where my friends and I grew up that does a fundraiser for Children's Hospital. They make hot sausage and all money made that day goes toward the charity.  Every year they usually raise around seventeen thousand.  We all joke and say it is the one day of the year when we can get as drunk as we want because it's for the kids. It's always a great time and I get to see people I haven't seen in years. The one nice thing is my father and his friends all still go so you have different generations of people all there to help a great cause.

SUNDAY: I woke up early and headed out for a slow ten miler. I probably won't go above ten until January when I really get into marathon training mode.

Last week I mentioned I was training Amanda. Well this week was really bad since she was away and then super busy with work.  I figured I will train her when she is able to make it to the gym, but she may have to wait until after the new year when she is less busy.

Total Miles for the week:  21  I may have finished a few short of my goal but It was the quality of the runs that I am happy with.

THIS WEEKS GOAL: 25

Do you use any special running equipment for running at night on the roads?

2 comments:

  1. Nice work this week. I feel your pain about the "off" season. I get all up in my head about what I should be doing & stress when I feel I haven't ran enough. That is so cool about your annual get together at the bar. Community is important. When I run at night (which is seldom), I wear fluorescent jacket & light vest with reflective stripes & a head lamp. Here's to a couple more weeks of "rest."

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    1. A few more weeks of rest for all of us and then let the madness begin. I try not to let the off season bother me but I always get afraid I will lose a step.

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