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, October 11, 2015

It's Race Week!!!!!!

First I hope everyone that ran the Chicago Marathon today had a great race. Well this is the week, 6 more days and I will be running the Buffalo Creek Half Marathon. This past week was my last full week of training and I want to get in some really solid runs. I also wanted to do my second dress rehearsal since the first didn't go to my likings. 

MONDAY: 8 Miles: I have a really hard 8 mile course that is nothing but hills. You are going up a huge hill or coming down one. I decided to use this course as my dress rehearsal for a few reasons. First if my clothes don't bother me on the hills then I think I will be good on a flat or slight downhill course. Secondly I knew this course would really make me sweat and I needed to see how much weight gets added on the gear with extra water on it.  I am happy to report I have everything picked out for the most part. I checked the weather today and they are calling for 53 degrees and rain as of right now. I am hoping that changes before the race though, but then again I have ran some of my best races in the rain.

TUESDAY: 5 Miles: The goal for this run was to go at 75 percent of race pace. I ran the 5 miles in 40 minutes and felt really good. My legs are no longer sore and the shin splints are all but gone. I will still be icing down my legs all this week just to be safe though.

WEDNESDAY: 4 Miles: Normally I would head to the track for a speed workout but I wanted to stay on the road and work on my foot strike. Some of my previous runs I noticed I would start to change my strike for no reason and it would tire my legs out quicker than normal. I made sure on this tempo run to keep the same strike through out the entire run and it really helped.

THURSDAY: 6 Miles: This run was more of an easy run. I just wanted to get in the miles and not do anything stupid. I finished with a 8:32 pace.

FRIDAY: REST DAY

SATURDAY: LONG RUN- 15 easy miles. I had a little trouble getting loose and it felt like my left knee was tighter than normal but I finished the run.  I wasn't really worried about the way my knee felt. I think it may of had something to do with not being hydrated. The leg felt fine later in the day.

SUNDAY: 5 Miles: I headed to the track and just wanted to get in a run on some flat ground that isn't cement. I had no intention of running negative splits but ended up starting at a 9:30 pace and dropping to a 7:20 through out the run.

This up and coming week I plan on doing a run on Monday and Tuesday, something easy and no more than 5 miles each day. Wednesday and Thursday I plan on heading to gym and stretching my legs out.  Friday will be a rest day and then it's race day on Saturday!!!!

Sorry for the quick post. I seem to have caught a cold today, which I am fine with. I would rather be sick the week before than rather on race day. 

How did your week go?

4 comments:

  1. Good luck, I am sure you will do great!

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    1. Thanks!!! After this race I am gonna need to get with you and discuss training for an ultra

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  2. Feel better soon, and good luck with final week of training! You got this...good luck!

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