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, December 27, 2015

Shamrock Training Week 3 and goals for 2016

This week was a really bad week for me. It was the first time in I couldn't tell you how long that I didn't run. The cold I had at the end of last week lingered around for a few more days and my gout really gave me problems. Whenever you get a gout a flare up, you are supposed to take pills that usually take a few hours to relieve the swelling and pain. Ya well I guess when you are sick and your immune system isn't up to par that medicine has no effect. So this whole week my left foot has felt like someone is hitting it with a hammer. I tried home remedies and nothing worked. Finally on Saturday I felt the swelling going down and it didn't hurt as bad when I walked on it. I woke up today with the intention of going for a run but my foot was still sore and I am not risking anything for 1 day of running. After walking around on it today I feel like tomorrow I will be good to go, and hopefully start the week off right.
So as far as training I really don't have anything to report. The only miles I logged were from walking about 2 miles. I am happy to report though that I am down 2 lbs. since the start of training.  You would think during the holiday season I would of gained weight, but my gout medicine had my stomach in knots and I really had to watch what I ate.
Since I don't have much to report on the running home front I thought I would tell you all my 2016 goals since I didn't post anything on Thursday.
Goal 1: Make it through the year injury free- Injuries are the one thing that really killed my 2015 season. It seemed like every big race I ran, I got injured right before. I honestly feel that if I can stay healthy I can really throw up some good times.

Goal 2: Sub 1:30 half- This one means the most to me. I know I can do this and I feel like if I hadn't been injured in races I would of hit it. I have 3 half marathons lined up, 1 month apart for each and I plan on knocking this out early.

Goal 3: run another full or do a Tri in the fall- Since I am planning on hitting my 1:30 time for a half early in the spring I plan on chasing the Boston unicorn in the fall, but I have never did a Tri and part of me really wants to give one a go.

Goal 4: Run a sub 20 minute 5K- It's been a while since I did this but I feel that if I can drop some weight I will get back to my old times.

Goal 5: drop 15 pounds- I have wanted to do this for a while. My best times were when I was running in high school and I weighed a lot less than I do now. I can tell though that having extra weight is what is holding me back.

Goal 6: Meet and run with people I talk to on Runchat- The Runchat people are a huge part of what keeps me motivated and there are so many of them I would like to meet. I don't care if it is for a quick run or a few beers, I would like to just meet a few of them who motivate me.

Goal 7: Help other runners- Anyway I can help someone better their running skills is a plus for me. I love seeing people hit their goals and if I can help them do that it would mean a lot.

What are your goals for 2016?

3 comments:

  1. Wow..these are some pretty insane goals! Hope you feel better soon...maybe it's all the cold meds that are giving you these crazy running goals but good luck next year!! My goal is just to finish a marathon..hopefully with some good training! I'm also getting married so those are my only real goals.

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    1. I always say make the goals super hard. This way you have to work your ass off in order to get to them. I honestly believe I can hit all of my goals. Congrats on getting married in the upcoming year. Planning the wedding is never a fun thing though

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  2. That's a lot of goals! I know you can hit them for sure! I have no goals for 2016, 2015 was way too draining! Time to regroup! Hope we can race a few times in the coming year!

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