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 7, 2014

Training Dec.1st thru Dec.7th

    After the last few weeks of piss poor training due to a cold, this was going to be my first full week back.  Needless to say I was super excited.

Monday:  Amanda and I headed to the gym. Amanda is not a runner and I am always telling her that with my experience I can take any person and make them a runner. So we are doing a little experiment I guess you could say. We both hit the treadmill for a half hour. I did 3.5 miles and Amanda did right around 2. I started her with a run/walk method.  I was really impressed with how well she did. After running we did a few ab machines together. I let Amanda be done for the day and I did a few reps on the monkey bars.  We recently switched gym's (same gym, different location) and the new gym has a synergy 360 machine which is great for obstacle race training. It is just what I need to train for this upcoming season.

Tuesday:  Once again Amanda and I were back at the gym. Normally I would be running this day, but with Amanda just starting I didn't want to overload her so we used it as a cross training day. I rode the bike for a half hour and did 8 miles, while she did the elliptical machine. We then finished the day out with a few arm workouts. I once again finished with some monkey bar reps.

Wednesday:  Rest Day.  We had all intentions of going to the gym but we had some running around to do. I decided to just chalk this day as a rest day.

Thursday:  Amanda was unable to go the gym since she had to get ready for a work trip. I decided to just do a quick workout around the house. I know what you are thinking, Shaun if you wanted to run so bad why didn't you run.  I am just getting back into the swing of things here. Marathon training doesn't start until after Christmas so I am not stressing out about missing a few days here and there.

Friday:  I ended up working later than I wanted to so by the time I got home and got something to eat, I was beat. I really wanted to go to the gym and get in a few miles but I knew I would make it all up over the weekend so I just rested this day as well.

Saturday: I headed to the gym and did 5 miles on the treadmill. I felt really good and I was surprised to see I really didn't lose a step at all.  After running I headed to the synergy machine and did a whole body workout. I was beat and sore but it was a great feeling.

Sunday:  I woke up today and had a terrible stomach ache. At first I thought I would just skip my run, but after dropping Amanda off at her work early in the morning (she was leaving for New York for work) my stomach started to feel a bit better. I decided to to hit the road and do 8 miles. I went slow since I haven't ran 8 miles in almost a month. For the most part I felt really good and was able to keep a solid pace. Once finished my legs felt a little sore, but that is to be expected.

TOTAL MILES FOR WEEK: 16.5

Next week I will do more running and I am setting a goal of 25 miles for the week. Also Amanda will be able to go to the gym more and I will be back training her.  I will post her progress since she reads this and now will be held accountable.

How far out do you start really getting serious about marathon training?

until next time runners stay safe.

If you are thinking about a gift for a friend or family member who likes to get dirty. You should think about an entrance to the Battle Frog Race Series.  There is many locations and this race has some good things on the horizon.  I will be doing Pittsburgh. running the Saturday 8:30 am 15K.
Promo Code: BFByrne is good for 15 percent off any race, any location. except elite heat.

6 comments:

  1. Good week for just getting back into running. Great that Amanda is starting to run too!

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    1. Hopefully I don't get another cold for a while and can get a jump on the marathon training. It felt really good to finally get a full week in

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  2. Looks like a great week! Glad your cold is finally gone and you're back at it!

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    1. Thanks. Now I just need to get back on track and start to buckle down

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  3. Good to know that others are not as aggressive this time of year. I feel the same way about extra rest days right now as my marathon training starts hot and heavy in January as well. Feels a little strange, but I know that I will come back stronger for it. Plus the fact that I was not running at all this time last year. I think it's great that your wife works out with you & that she is starting to run some. So much of what we do is mental and once she gets over the hump she just may surpass you! Keep up the good work!

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    1. I agree so much is mental. Her biggest problem is her work, she is super busy with the holiday season at work and it is making it very hard to for us to get to the gym at the same time. I can tell her what she needs to do but I feel if you have a person right in front of you that chances you will cheat your workout is less. I am super pumped for you and your marathon. I can't wait too read and follow your journey

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