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, November 15, 2015

Getting To The Core

What a weekend! Before we jump into the normal blog stuff let me just say I am praying for everyone that was affected in the Paris attacks. It is a sad world we live in when people believe that killing is the answer. 
So I don't know if any of you got to catch the Ronda Rousey vs. Holly Holm fight on Saturday night, but I think there is something that can be taken away from that fight that carries over into all sports. Stay humble when you are on top. I wouldn't say I was a Rousey fan going into the fight, but I respected her for all that she has done. The more and more I got to see interviews of her going into her most recent fights I would say to myself "she is getting to cocky". Last night when the fighters came out and the ref was going over the rules, the ladies were doing their normal stare down to try and intimidate the other. After the ref gives his speech most fighters will touch gloves and head back to their corner. Holm raised her fist to touch gloves and Rousey just backed away into her corner. At that point I said that is a classless and cocky move, especially when you are fighting a champion boxer who can throw some good leg kicks. I am sure you probably heard the outcome and if you haven't let me fill you in, Holm's knocked Rousey out in the second round with a vicious leg kick to the head. What I took away from the fight was, whenever you are the top dog people are gunning for you. There is always that one person who is training harder and putting in the work just waiting for their chance. When you do something good in any sport cherish it but don't let it get to your head. Stay humble because you don't know when it can all come crashing down.
So now I can talk about some running now that we have gotten all the weekend things out of the way. Since I only have 1 more race this season I am already looking into the 2016 season. One thing I really want to work on before any big race in 2016 is working on my core. Having a strong core is important for a runner because it sets a solid foundation in the rest of the body. So I thought I would share my 7 minute workout with you. First I downloaded an interval timer app. This way I can set my workout to exactly the time I want. I start with a minute warm up exercise, jumping jacks. This gets the heart rate going and gets my body loose. I then do a 30 second rest period followed by 1 minute of burpees. Then another 30 second rest followed by 1 minute of crunches, then its another 30 second rest into 1 minute of leg raises. Then it's another 30 second rest and my last exercise is a plank. I will hold it at least for a minute, but I try to hold it for as long as I can. I finish up with a 30 second rest, but you are done so you can rest up as long as you like.  It's a 7 minute workout that is easy to fit into the day and really works the core.  

Do you do any type of exercise to work your core? If so what do you do?
 

4 comments:

  1. That sounds like a great core workout! Thanks for sharing. I will try to incorporate some of these into my regular strength routine or just tack this on to the end.

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  2. I just started doing it recently and I can already feel the difference it makes on my breathing and stamina.

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  3. It's amazing how things are just 7 minutes and I still have a hard time fitting something like this in. But since you mapped it out so well, i think I will give an honest effort. Thanks!

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  4. I had to find a 7 minute thing because anything longer is so hard to fit in the day, and 7 minutes is tough sometimes. Hopefully it works for you.

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