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, August 16, 2015

Buffalo Creek Training Week 6

Welcome to my week 6 training recap for the Buffalo Creek Half Marathon. If you read my post from earlier in the week you will see that I decided to change up my training a bit. After talking to a few people I made the decision to lay out a new plan that will not only help me with road races but will get me in better shape for obstacle races. I got a lot of mixed reviews on switching up my plan, some people thought I was being hard on myself for my progress, while others totally understood what I was trying to do. The easiest way for my to say this is, I am a competitor and love being able to compete with the best in races. I know what I am capable of and I know that I am not where I want to be, changing up the routine is going to get me a lot closer to hitting my goals.
One thing I really started to reflect on this week is how much heart a person can have. When I was watching Ryan Atkins, the winner of the Battle Frog and every Battle Frog event this season I kept thinking this guy has so much heart. He never quits, he always finds a way to conquer the obstacle that is in front of him. I started to think about running and that point where your body tells you to shut it down, the people who fight through that are the ones that usually win or run their best race. My goal for this week besides doing the new plan was to make sure that I keep telling myself "run with your heart". Here is how this week played out.


MONDAY: Recovery run- I did 4 miles at a nice and easy 9 minute pace. I ran around my neighborhood which tends to be a bit on the hilly side, but it made for a great run.

TUESDAY: Speed day- I headed to the track and did a mile warm up, followed by 8x200's with a 200 meter rest in between each set. I finished with a mile cool down. Normally I would do a longer distance but I was reading an article that said doing the shorter speed workouts can actually be a big benefit to distance runners. I am on the fence so far about how it will work, but I am open to trying. I was almost sprinting and I really never got out of breathe, I did however feel my legs turning over a lot faster as the workout went on.

WEDNESDAY: Gym and Strength- I did 4 miles on the treadmill in 33:13. I felt really good and what was once a nightmare to be on the treadmill has actually became one of my favorite workouts. I get to just zone out to my music and I just run. Wednesday's also call for strength training so I did a hour long leg workout. 

THURSDAY: Trail day- I headed to Frick Park to hit the trails and ended up running 4.5 miles. I actually ran most of the course that I will be running this week during a race. I will be honest the trail running did not come easy to me. I first realized I need to actually invest in a good pair of trail shoes if I want to get the most out of the trail. Second I realized that I need to actually get a map of the trails, I found it extremely difficult to know what the elevation would be for the up and coming part of the trail. If I know what to expect then I will be able to adjust my speed and how hard I push, but the pro of the unknown is just what I could expect in an obstacle race.
 
FRIDAY: Rest Day- Normally I would of made this my strength day and make Saturday my rest day, but as I was checking my fellow bloggers post I came across something very interesting. Jennifer  has been using the Hanson's method for her training and has been posting some really good weekly training tips for the method. This week she posted about the long run and how you shouldn't rest the day before a long run. Crazy idea is the first thing I thought when I read that but then it hit me, if you can do a long run with tired legs then you will be able to mimic what its like on race day when you get fatigued. Sounds pretty damn smart to me.

SATURDAY: Gym day- Saturdays will be my cross training and lifting day. Wednesday will be on legs at the gym and Saturday will be used for a total body workout. I did some circuit training and then hit the synergy machine and did some workouts designed to help with grip strength.

SUNDAY: Long Run- Today I am heading out for an 11 mile run. My whole body is sore from yesterday so this should be a challenge. I will have to run with my heart and it will be hard, but I am up for the challenge.

Overall I feel like this was a great week and I am really happy with the adjustments I made in the plan. Onward and upward is the only place to go.

How was your week?
Are you planning on running the Run Around the Square on Saturday?
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6 comments:

  1. Gretchen BraunAugust 17, 2015 at 4:56 AM

    I usually do a short run the day before my long run, and I think it definitely helps having to run on tired legs. Hope that your run went well, and I'm definitely doing the RATS this weekend! See you there :)

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    1. UnknownAugust 17, 2015 at 5:50 AM

      My long run went great, I actually went longer than I set out too go. Find me after the race on Saturday at the finish area.. I will be the guy wearing a Battlefrog headband with no less than 2 beers in my hand :)

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  2. UnknownAugust 17, 2015 at 6:58 AM

    What obstacle course will you be doing this fall? I've been curious about training plans for them. Do any exist like they do for road races or do people just make up their own? Good luck at RATS!

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  3. UnknownAugust 17, 2015 at 7:49 AM

    I am doing gladiator rock and run next month, it's only a 5K course but is still pretty good. There actually is training plans, just go check the bigger races websites and usually they will have something..I suggest checking Spartan. I take it you will not be at RATS this year :( ?

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  4. NicholeAugust 18, 2015 at 7:16 AM

    If there's anything I've learned in my years of training/running it's that you gotta do YOU. Generic "out of the book" or off the web plans are made to be guidelines and give you a general outline/idea not followed like the 10 commandments. At the end of the day only you know what you need and what you're capable of and what your on goals are. So I'm not one that's going to slap you on the wrist and go tsk tsk on you for changing your plan. Own it and rock it, man! I'm a competitor too (at least with myself) and when I'm not out there throwing down what I know I can it bothers me and I try to fix it. It sounds like you really honed in and had a good training week. I have never ran the trails at Frick and I want to. It's part of my 2016 goal list - more trails/get over my fear of woodland critters.

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    1. UnknownAugust 18, 2015 at 9:17 AM

      Even though I am only 1 week into running the trails, I really enjoy it. Maybe we can do a run together there and watch each other's back for the critters. Lol... Thanks for understanding why I needed change, it's always good to see people who are like myself and understand that competitive nature that makes you want to keep uping the game

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