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 8, 2015

8 Weeks Until PGH Marathon

Another week in the books and another week closer to race day. This week we were hit with a major storm and finished the week off with sunny skies. Mother nature is confused to say the least. Overall I didn't have a bad week even though I had to miss more days than I would of liked. I however made up for it in other ways.

MONDAY: This week I was filling in for my manager at work and needed to stay a few hours longer than I normally would.  By the time I got home from work and ate dinner it was time for me to go and take my taxes to get done.  I still managed to get in a short ab workout, but it wasn't anything to write home about.

TUESDAY:  It was raining pretty good when I left work. I kept debating with myself on whether I should go to the gym and use the treadmill for my hill workout or should I just face the cold rainy weather. I decided to brave the elements and run outside. The beauty about where I live is there is a huge hill no farther than 50 feet from my front door. The hill is a little longer than 200 meters and is way steeper than what my training plan called for. I figured what the hell, no pain no gain.  I ended up doing 8 hill workouts. It beat me down, but I was so happy that I chose to run outside.

WEDNESDAY:  Just when I thought the snow was done for the year we were about to get blasted with one of the worst yet. The news wasn't sure what we were supposed to get. Some stations were calling for 1-3 inches while some were saying 3-6. It was already starting to get bad when I left work so I decided to take a rest day. I wasn't happy about this but I made the smart move.

THURSDAY: When the snow finally stopped I would say we were left with around 4-5 inches. I knew running on the roads were out since some roads weren't even touched from the salt trucks.  I headed to the gym to do my tempo run. I started with a 8:57 pace for the first mile then dropped down to 8:00 for the next 2. I finished with a 8:57 for the last mile. My legs were sore when I was done, but I made it through the whole workout without any shin problems. That is huge for me since the treadmill usually gives me problems.

FRIDAY:  REST DAY... The schedule called for a rest day, and I was thinking I might run still since I missed Monday. I however felt a little stomach bug coming on so I decided to just listen to the plan and take it easy.

SATURDAY:  My friend Abby and I headed out to North Park for a run. My plan only called for a 3 mile run, but Abby has only ran 1 day this season and is running the 6 mile part of the Marathon Relay. I decided to let her pace me and we ended up running 5 miles. I was really impressed that we were still able to run a 10:17 pace. Not to shabby for someone who has done little training this season. If you run at North Park you may know that Ingomar Rd. is shut down. I have heard that they are very unhappy with runners going through the construction zone, and are planning to ticket runners. Just a heads up for all you runners.

SUNDAY: When I woke and looked out the window, I had to take a double take to actually make sure I was looking at the sun. It was a great sigh
t to see. I waited until later in the day to go running. I wanted it to be at it's warmest part of the day. I headed out for my 90 minute run and right away I noticed my lungs were going to need some time to adjust to warm weather now. I have no problem letting them adjust to warm weather. I would rather do that than adjust to the cold. My splits were all over the board. Some would go down into the 8 minutes and some were as high as the 10's. I still had a good run, but I am going to have to use this week to let the lungs get back to warm weather running.  The forecast is looking amazing and it looks like (fingers crossed) winter may be behind us.

After the run today I looked at training plan and I have decided this week I am going to alter it a bit. I feel that only doing 3 miles 3 days a week isn't giving my legs the strength they are going to need if I want to PR the half. So this week I plan on doing at least 4 miles on days that call for 3.  Don't get me wrong I can see that doing the 3 miles definitely helped with dropping my casual pace time, but I need to make sure I can hold my fast pace for the longer distance.

How did your week go?
Have you ever deviated from your training plan? If so how did it go?
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13 comments:

  1. UnknownMarch 8, 2015 at 4:42 PM

    I'm training without a training plan right now. It is so hard! I am starting to regret my decision. I've been spending most of the day looking for a quick plan to put into place!

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  2. UnknownMarch 8, 2015 at 4:42 PM

    I'm training without a training plan right now. It is so hard! I am starting to regret my decision. I've been spending most of the day looking for a quick plan to put into place!

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    Replies
    1. UnknownMarch 8, 2015 at 6:14 PM

      This is my first time with a plan and I am so glad I am using it. Even if I deviate from it, I still feel better knowing I have something to go off of

      Delete
    2. AnonymousMarch 8, 2015 at 6:42 PM

      If you are part of Steel City Road Runners, contact the coaches, I am sure they can find a plan that will fit with your expectations!

      Delete
    3. UnknownMarch 8, 2015 at 6:44 PM

      I like the plan I am using a lot, I just think adding a few more miles on the short days can't hurt me too much

      Delete
  3. UnknownMarch 9, 2015 at 6:25 AM

    I agree that you should alter your plan to make it work for you. I altered mine to add more miles, and that's been working for me.

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    1. UnknownMarch 9, 2015 at 8:52 AM

      Thanks, glad to see it is working for you. I plan on changing it today and seeing how this week goes

      Delete
  4. Sarah @RunGingerRunMarch 9, 2015 at 6:31 AM

    Sounds like you had a great week! We had to change up our plan this week too. We had weather, travel, and a stomach bug all in the mix.

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    Replies
    1. UnknownMarch 9, 2015 at 8:53 AM

      Jeez seems like you had a crazy week. Sometimes when things like that happen you can't do anything except adjust to it

      Delete
  5. NicholeMarch 9, 2015 at 7:53 AM

    I start with an outline for a plan. If I ever say I'm following a plan 100% I'm lying. I switch days to meet my schedule and I alter workouts based on my needs. I think I'm doing a little less of that this time around than last marathon training cycle, but I'm still at it. I don't think plans are supposed to be taken verbatim. They're only a guide. Sounds like your stomach bug didn't hold you down much if at all. You still rocked out the miles this week.

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    1. UnknownMarch 9, 2015 at 8:56 AM

      Thanks Nichole, I think that is what I wanted to hear, that it's okay to just use the plan as a guide. I mean I know what my body can handle and what works so I don't see any harm in changing.

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  6. AmandaMarch 11, 2015 at 1:28 AM

    Great week - so glad your shins are cooperating! Jen and I saw some runners sneaking through the gates at Ingomar on Saturday and we were too chicken to cut through. SO GLAD we didn't - I would have been pissed if I got a ticket...totally would have deserved it, but I'd still be pissed.

    Training plans are definitely just a guide. In fact, I normally break my 16 week marathon plans into 4, 4 week cycles and at the end of each cycle I take a look at the plan to see what needs "tweaked" - what's working, what isn't and how can I adjust. If it doesn't feel right to you, definitely make the changes you need!!

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    Replies
    1. UnknownMarch 11, 2015 at 3:45 AM

      I would be pissed too if I got a ticket. That would be a great way to ruin a run. I will stick to doing the horseshoe until it reopens. Normally I don't even use a plan but this time I wanted to see how it went. Like you said i am using it as a guide and making tweeks here and there for what works for me

      Delete

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