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

Monday, September 28, 2015

3 weeks until Buffalo Creek Half Marathon



The excitement inside me is really starting to build up, as we are now just 3 weeks away from the Buffalo Creek Half Marathon. This week was a great week for me to see exactly where I stand with my training. I had 2 races that couldn’t have come at a better time during my training cycle. I will do a recap of both races I did later in the week for you to read. So here is how this week played out.

MONDAY: 4 miles: I was dealing with some shin splints and I wanted to run a course that had some hills and would test the pain threshold of my shins. I felt really good for the run and was able to hold an 8:20 pace.

TUESDAY: 3.2 miles: I originally went to the track for a speed workout, but after watching a cross country meet I knew the track was going to be in use for a bit. Lucky me though, I happened to know a 5K course that started from where I was at. The course is flat and fast so I figured I would try The excitement inside me is really starting to build up, as we are now just 3 weeks away from the Buffalo Creek Half Marathon. This week was a great week for me to see exactly where I stand with my training. I had 2 races that couldn’t have come at a better time during my training cycle. I will do a recap of both races I did later in the week for you to read. So here is how this week played out.

MONDAY: 4 miles: I was dealing with some shin splints and I wanted to run a course that had some hills and would test the pain threshold of my shins. I felt really good for the run and was able to hold an 8:20 pace.

TUESDAY: 3.2 miles: I originally went to the track for a speed workout, but after watching a cross country meet I knew the track was going to be in use for a bit. Lucky me though, I happened to know a 5K course that started from where I was at. The course is flat and fast so I figured I would try and see what my time was going all out. I finished in a time of 22:32 and felt really good. Last time I ran that course I was around a 23:35, a big improvement.

WEDNESDAY: 6 miles: My shins were still sore but I wanted to run a course that always gave me problems because of the huge hill at the finish. I killed this course and my legs felt really good for most of the run. I ended up running a time of 51:24.

THURSDAY: GYM DAY: LEG WORKOUT and 6 miles on the bike.

FRIDAY: REST DAY

SATURDAY: Gladiator Rock N Run 5K Obstacle Course. There was about 20 or so obstacles and I ran the course in just over an hour. I felt really good though and one thing I noticed was when a lot of people were walking the course I felt fine and was able to run. It was a huge confidence booster for me. Last year it took me almost 2 hours and I really struggled on the course, but this year I was more prepared for the obstacles and the hills. My half training has been a lot of hills and I think that is the reason I did so good on them in this race.

SUNDAY: Great race 10K: I was not running this race for time, but I wanted to shoot for 45 minutes. I went in with the mindset that if I was able to get away from the crowd during the first mile that time would be no problem. I was stuck in the middle of the crowd and had a lot of problems getting around people. After the first mile I realized it isn’t worth it to push and try to get the time and I would just use this race as a dry run for my half. I now wanted to pick up speed each mile. I also wanted to make sure I took some water at each mile marker. I had my hand held bottle on me for this reason. I ended up running an injury free, smart race and finished at 53:04. Very far off a PR and very far off my normal times but I was pleased that I was able to do what I wanted to get ready for my half.


How was your week? If you ran the Great Race how did you do?



2 comments:

  1. Sounds like a really tough week! Can't believe you did two races and a timed 5k...you're crazy haha! Glad to hear you're injury free and you did great for a jog at the Great Race! I think you're in excellent shape for the half!

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    1. Thank you, it was a hard week but at the same time it was what I needed to get my head right

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