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, March 29, 2015

5 Week Countdown Begins

We can now count the weeks until the PGH Marathon with one hand. Time has just flown by, and if you aren't ready by now, you may want to get your ass in gear. Most people only have a few weeks left until taper time. My taper won't be a major one, but it will give my body enough time to recover for race day. We can talk about that later though. This week I had a race on the schedule so it wasn't about the miles this week and more about preparing.

MONDAY: In the last few weeks I have been breaking my schedule and doing 4 miles instead of the 3. This week I decided to go back and try the 3 again, but do the run a little different. I started out by running an easy pace to get warmed up. My second mile was all up hill and I pulled back a lot and took it very slow. The final mile was a speed mile and I really kicked it into high gear. It was nice to be able to hit hills and speed in a workout.


TUESDAY: Rest Day

WEDNESDAY: Speed Day- Now that I have a clear track to run on these days have become my favorite. I know most people don't like speed workouts, but not me I feel at home on the track. It makes me think of where I got started. The workout called for 3X1600 at race pace.
My splits were 7:03 first one is always the slowest because It takes me at least one to get going.
Mile 2: 6:49
Mile 3: 6:33 I felt really good, but I kept noticing my form was off, I will be getting this in order over the next few weeks.

THURSDAY: cross train:  mostly stretched and foam rolled, I did throw in some ab workouts and even did a few push ups.

FRIDAY: rest day before race day

SATURDAY: RACE DAY- Friday night I had a gout attack. If you don't know what this is all I can say is pain. I woke up Saturday with a swollen ankle, and I wasn't sure if I would even be able to run. I was scheduled to run the 8.1 mile race at "Just a Short Race" (Review to come Thursday) I tried a warm up run and knew it wasn't going to happen. I decided to drop down and do the 5K. I figured since I paid I would just jog it out.  I ended up running 8:30 splits and still managed to place second in my age group. I am happy because I didn't even break a sweat. I can really tell I am ahead of where I was a year ago.

SUNDAY:  I headed out to North Park to run with Amanda. She was planning on doing 20 miles and I figured I could tag along for a few. I ended up running 12 miles with her.  We ran a nice easy pace and for me it was about getting the miles in rather than the time. It was a really good run and the weather started freezing but quickly warmed up.

How did your week go?
Do you like Speed Workouts?

Until next time stay safe on the roads

12 comments:

  1. Speed workouts are my favorite! I did mine of treadmill this week and it just wasn't the same!

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    1. I tried a speed workout one time on a treadmill and it was just awful. Never again

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  2. "if you aren't ready by now you may want to get your ass in gear" haha, it's true but I love it! I do like speed workouts. I don't do them as consistently as I should and often find it easier to do them on the treadmill as well.

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    1. Sometimes you just have to tell people the way it is. By now everyone should know where they stand. I just started to do more speed work and I am so glad I did. It is really helping

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  3. Awesome that you can see the improvement over the past year. I'm in awe that you still ran the race (and kicked ass) when you were in so much pain. That's total beast mode!

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    1. Thanks, I have a pretty high pain tolerance but I am smart enough to know what my limits are. I just played it safe.

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    2. Forgot to mention--have to admit I'm a little jealous that you ran with Amanda this week & I didn't, lol!

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    3. Lol, I didn't mean to steal your friend for a day

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  4. Sorry about the gout flare up, but wow you really crushed your training this week! And congrats on the AG award at JASR! I don't mind speedwork, and I always feel great when it's done and I've met my paces. I've been trying to be more mindful of my form as well because I notice when I'm really pushing the pace my form tends to go to crap and if I'm conscious of it and correct it - what do you know, the pace is easier and I feel better. It's just one of those things..

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    1. I agree if you actually watch and correct your form when it goes to shit it makes the run so much easier

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  5. Great week minus the gout attack. Sounds like no fun at all. Congrats on second place! That's pretty impressive:) I also love speed workouts on the track! They're hard and kinda suck but make me feel like a stronger runner in the end.

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    1. Thanks Gretchen, I feel the same way about speed workouts. In the end they make me feel like I am so much stronger

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