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 1, 2015

Week 4 Training with Higdon

     We are just a bit over 60 days until the Pittsburgh Marathon. I may be only in my 4th week of using the Hal Higdon method, but so far I am feeling this is my productive training session to date. Last week I had to miss a day or 2, so I decided to amp this week up in order to make up for the lost time.

MONDAY: I was fooled by mother nature this day. As I was at work I kept looking out the window to see sunny skies. I somehow tricked myself into thinking it was warm out. WRONG!!! The temperatures were only in the single digits. I headed out for a 3 mile run, and it didn't take long until my head was freezing. I guess this is where having hair would of came in handy. On the positive side though I ran my miles in a comfortable time of 27:16 with a pace of 9:05. For being really cold this was great for me.



TUESDAY: This day called for 8 X 400's. I headed to my local track in hopes that maybe there would be at least one lane cleared off. No such luck though. Luckily I am very familiar with the school and knew that the back parking lot could be used with the street that runs next to it, to make a perfect .25 mile course. Even better it added a 200 meter hill. This is exactly what I needed to help make up for missing my hill workout last week.
Lap1: 1:51.     Lap2: 1:43.  Lap3: 1:52.  Lap4: 1:52.   Lap5: 1:44   Lap6: 1:42.   Lap7: 1:38.    Lap8: 1:42.
It calls for you to do these at your 5K pace. I figured out 21 minutes is my
5K time. So each lap should of been right around a 1:45. Now take into consideration the hills and I think I nailed it.  It was a workout though.

WEDNESDAY:  I had to switch my rest day from Friday to this day in order to get some running around done.

THURSDAY: 40 minute tempo run. I went a bit faster than I normally would since I wanted to make up for lost time last week.  I did 15 minutes at a 8:53 pace. I then dropped down to a 7:00 minute pace, followed by 15 minutes at a 8:53 pace. It was very hard since I was on a treadmill. The treadmill is still doing a number on my shins. The weather looks like it might be warming up so that is a positive.

FRIDAY: 3 miles at a 8:49 pace on the treadmill. It actually wasn't too bad on my shins. I am still amazed at just in the short amount of time what my comfort level has become. Sub 9 minute miles are hardly making me sweat. For once in a training session I can clearly see results and I look forward to the next week.

SATURDAY: Everyone in Pittsburgh was running the Spring Thaw at North Park. I really wanted to run this, but was scheduled to work for DICK'S and the Marathon. Due to some complications the weekend was cancelled. I didn't want to risk driving out to the park and not being able to register. I decided to just do my scheduled 3 miles outside like everyone else. DAMN was it cold! I had trouble breathing and just felt so sluggish. I was really surprised when I finished and looked at my Garmin to see a time of 27:10. A 9:03 per mile split. Once again even when I think I am going slow I am still in at a decent pace.

SUNDAY: Today mother nature has decided to show her ugly face once again. I had all intentions of waking up and heading to North Park. Unfortunately I couldn't get up my hill to get to the main road. I have decided to hold out until later today and head to the gym and use the treadmill for my long run. The 7 day forecast is looking positive and hopefully this will be my last treadmill run for the season. 

Next week my run schedule looks familiar to this week with some small changes. Hopefully the improvements keep coming.


How has your week gone?  Did you make it to the Spring Thaw? 


















10 comments:

  1. I'm not going to say anything else about the weather because I keep saying it's supposed to get better but then we just get hit with something else. Sounds like your plan is really working for you. It's such a huge motivator and confidence booster to see improvements like that. Great week!

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    1. Thank you, I just said the same thing about the weather to someone. It's like we are getting our hopes up for nothing.

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  2. Nice job this week. Those are a great set of 400s. I always fear them and hate them until they're done. haha

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    1. I do hate doing them but when I am done I am so glad I did because I know the benefits of them. Adding the hills in though was a bit rough and beat me down

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  3. Hi Shaun! You had such a great week, way to go! I also follow the Hal Higdon plan and it's worked out great for me in the past (although I've never followed it 100%...maybe this is the year!) I'm looking forward to following the rest of your training,.keep up the hard work!

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    1. Glad to hear someone else has had success with it. Thank you for following me along the journey. When you used it what were you training for a half or a full? I would love to pick your brain with some questions. If you don't mind email please byrne1324@yahoo.com

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  4. Nice week!! I attempted 400's once and it was brutal!!
    It looks like you are seeing major improvements this training cycle - you are going to crush this race!

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    1. Thanks Amanda, 400's do suck but the gain from them is so worth the pain

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  5. I can't wait to get to the track for 400s and bleachers... If you hadn't heard. I am on the sidelines for now. Little bit of tendinitis in my foot. New shoes are needed.

    It looks like a solid week of training and here's hoping that weather forecast holds up. 4 days in the 40s is enough to make anyone excited!

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    1. Ahhh man sorry to hear your side lined again. I looked at next weeks forecast and I am pumped. Finally it looks like we can get in some good road running again

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