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, January 3, 2016

Shamrock Training Week 4

I hope you all had a great new year. My night was kind of chill and involved a few drinks at a friends house. As I get older I am starting to realize that I like to just relax on new years and not do it up the way I used to. Don't get me wrong I will still throw down a few beers, but I don't need the big crazy crowds anymore.
I am happy to report that my 2016 is off to a great start. I am sure you remember me bitching about my foot and the pain I was in. Well have you ever had one of those moments where you just want to slap yourself in the face? Let me explain this one, so Monday I felt a little bit of pain but felt that it wasn't painful enough to keep me away from running. I went to the gym and jumped on the treadmill and set the speed for a 9:30 per mile pace. The run was hard but I managed to get through the 5 miles. On Tuesday I woke up and headed back to the gym and once again used the treadmill. The pain was the same as it was the day before, but I pushed through and got another 4 miles in. 
On Wednesday when I woke up the pain was back at full force and I was having trouble walking. I passed on the gym and was starting to get really frustrated, then I started to do some thinking. My gout pills were not working. Cherry juice, which is the number one home remedy was not working. Days that I wore my running shoes all day the pain seemed to be a lot better. After thinking about all of these things I came up with the question, maybe it wasn't gout and actually it was from wearing my work boots everyday. See as winter comes I tend to wear boots not only to work but I will put a different pair on when I get home and go out.
On Thursday, new years eve I had a half day of work and instead of wearing boots decided to put on an older pair of running shoes that were still in great shape. As the day went on the pain was getting better. I didn't do any running that day but I did do some cross training, just some light circuit training and some burpees. Since Thursday was new years eve I knew the big test on if I had gout would be how my body handled alcohol. Alcohol is the one thing you want to stay away from if you have a gout flare up. 
Friday when I woke up the pain was no worse than the day before, and that is when it finally hit me that it wasn't gout this whole time. I really wanted to run but thought maybe if I hold off for one more day and continue to wear nothing but running shoes the pain would be gone completely. I did do some burpees though just to make keep my mind from thinking I am missing out on too much training. 
Saturday the pain was just about gone and I finally was able to get back to my normal speeds on the treadmill. I started with a 9 minute mile and dropped down to an 8 over the 5 mile run. I still have a cough that just wont go away so my breathing was giving me problems, but overall I thought I did really good. After going to the gym I went out and bought a new pair of running shoes. These shoes will not be used to run in but they will are all white and look good with jeans and will take the place of wearing my good boots when I go out. I also plan on wearing my running shoes to work a few days a week. I will still wear my boots just not as much. I am so relieved to know that I can get back to hardcore training.

Today I decided to take a rest day. As much as I want to be back everyday, today was the first day where my cough wasn't bothering. I figured if it means not running today and starting fresh tomorrow, I am okay with that.  Tomorrow starts getting back to the grind of everyday and really going hard from here on out.

How did your new years go? 

2 comments:

  1. Nice that you found the culprit of your foot pain! When I retire my running shoes, they become my walking shoes. I wear them to work and anytime I'm walking. I figure they still have a bit of life to be used for walking, and they still feel really good on my feet. It's worked for me so far!

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    1. That's just it, when I retire a shoe they are still in great shape. I only wear boots to work because at times I can drop something on my toes. I am just going to be extra careful and keep wearing my running shoes

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