Tingle, You're in the well

Woddle

There were so many people I wanted to do, Hunnymonster,RF, Sungod for comic relief and could you imagine tunney. But I don't really know Tingle and would like to know more. I hope your not some famous athlete and I should no better, sorry in advance if you are.

What distance do you specialise in ?
What PB are you most proud of and for what event ?
Do you get more satisfaction out of one of your atletes performing well or yourself ?
Who is the better athlete you or the missus ?

--amadeus--

Good choice!

• What performance are you proudest of? Not the same thing as a PB...
• Biggest "scalp" you've ever taken?
• Advice you would give a newbie
• Worst thing about Irish athletics
• Which is harder - running 9.69 in 100m or running 2:03:59 in the marathon?

thirtyfoot

Woddle wrote: »

There were so many people I wanted to do, Hunnymonster,RF, Sungod for comic relief and could you imagine tunney. But I don't really know Tingle and would like to know more. I hope your not some famous athlete and I should no better, sorry in advance if you are.

What distance do you specialise in ?
What PB are you most proud of and for what event ?
Do you get more satisfaction out of one of your atletes performing well or yourself ?
Who is the better athlete you or the missus ?

No danger, not famous except in my own head and in my parents house.

Events = hurdles

My PB in the shorter hurdles as it stills stands as a championship record after 13 years and I never trained properly for that event.

More satisfaction from myself otherwise I wouldn't have the motivation to keep training.

Underage she was much better, youth olympics and all that but she made a few mistakes with coaches and never fulfilled her potential so hard to call.

thirtyfoot

--amadeus-- wrote: »

Good choice!

• What performance are you proudest of? Not the same thing as a PB...
• Biggest "scalp" you've ever taken?
• Advice you would give a newbie
• Worst thing about Irish athletics
• Which is harder - running 9.69 in 100m or running 2:03:59 in the marathon?

[*]What performance are you proudest of? Not the same thing as a PB....

I had stopped racing for a good few years and made a comeback a few years back. In my first serious race back I won it and beat the defending national champion and a medalist from previous national champs. Thing was none of them knew me as they were still in nappies (well short pants at least) when I was racing previously.

[*]Biggest "scalp" you've ever taken?

Never beat anyone famous as was never fast enough:o. Raced Colin Jackson a few times and the closest I got to him was in the blocks. Accosted him in Heathrow a few years later but he didn't remember me:D

[*]Advice you would give a newbie

Join a club. Be consistent in your training.

[*]Worst thing about Irish athletics

-Politics and guys with egos and who want to build empires.
-Irish athletes who train 6 days a week, 11 months a year but then maybe only race 3 times a year, wrecks my head.
-Coaches who hoard athletes
-Parents who push athletes too much (same with every sport probably)
-Top Irish athletes who never race each other and avoid racing each other as if they are Asafa Powell and Tyson Gay.

[*]Which is harder - running 9.69 in 100m or running 2:03:59 in the marathon?

The only place I have got close to 9.69 in 100m is on the WII Olympics game and I got 9.85. That was hard. I did the 4 x 100 and that took 38 seconds and nearly died. I couldn't imagine doing something like that for 2 hours.

SUNGOD

do you see yourself racing/training in others events/distances as you get older?
how long were you away from hurdles? what made you take a break/return?

shels4ever

What are you current targets

• long term.
• short term.

Clum

Are you currently coaching any athletes you see as international stars of the future? (No need to give names)

TheRoadRunner

At what age did you specialise in the hurdles at ?

After hurdling what is your favourite event ?

thirtyfoot

SUNGOD wrote: »

do you see yourself racing/training in others events/distances as you get older?

I am now old;) but yes I want to do the Cape Epic mountain bike race in South Africa some day with a friend of mine and then run at least one marathon.

SUNGOD wrote: »

how long were you away from hurdles? what made you take a break/return?

It was nearly 10 years I think. Injury and then I'm not really sure why I stayed away, was always involved in various aspects when not racing. Return was motivated by my wife.

hunnymonster

-If you were starting again, would you do anything differently (either for yourself or your athletes)?
-favourite things to do, which have nothing to do with a track?
-If you could change one thing in athletics in Ireland (with notional budget €500k), what would you do?

I know the question was for Tingle, but in the 100m vs 26.2 miles debate, I kind of have an opinion having done both (was a 100m under-age athlete back in the dark ages, never spectacular but a couple of national medals). Anyway, for me, the toughest race I have ever run is a 400m. without a question!

--amadeus--

I don't think Tingle is going to get ANY work done today

- Athlete you most admire and why?
- Best place you have ever raced?
- Best book on running you've read?
- Coach you most admire?

[OT]

hunnymonster wrote: »

I know the question was for Tingle, but in the 100m vs 26.2 miles debate, I kind of have an opinion having done both (was a 100m under-age athlete back in the dark ages, never spectacular but a couple of national medals). Anyway, for me, the toughest race I have ever run is a 400m. without a question!

At under age my favourite events were 400 and 800m. Long enough to think about it, short enough you had to concentrate and put effort in the whole way. Unfortunately our schools club was in it's infancy and we only ever raced other clubs / schools at X-Country (which I hated) and never track.

[/OT]

shels4ever

hunnymonster wrote: »

the toughest race I have ever run is a 400m. without a question!

Only ever raced one, track was mostly 1500 or 3k for me , In my later teens moved to 800m and found that a very hard event.

Stupid_Private

--amadeus-- wrote: »

I don't think Tingle is going to get ANY work done today
[/OT]

My question was going to be "do you have to take a day off work to answer all these questions?"

Why in god's name would you contemplate a marathon? Is it because when you tell people you do athletics you want to some day answer "yes" to their follow up question of "have you done any marathons?"

TheRoadRunner

will your planned marathon have hurdles every 100 metres ?:)

thirtyfoot

shels4ever wrote: »

What are you current targets

• long term.
• short term.

Long Term goal is to become a good coach and learn from the many coaches I know and get athletes to the best they can and also get more of a sprints/hurdles/jumps/throws culture in my own club.

Short Term will be to run my fastest race this season in the national championships in August.

thirtyfoot

Clum wrote: »

Are you currently coaching any athletes you see as international stars of the future? (No need to give names)

Yes, I think they could be great. Maybe not medalists or anything like that but qualify for future championships at Euro level maybe whether seniors or underage. But who know, lots of things must be factored in and the priority for me is to keep them in the sport and ensure they don't drop out in their 20's. We are seeing examples in Ireland where athletes are making later breakthroughs - Marian Andrews is a great example and Paul Hession to a much lesser extent.

--amadeus--

Stupid_Private wrote: »

Why in god's name would you contemplate a marathon?

If you want to win something, run 100 meters. If you want to experience something, run a marathon.
Emil Zatopek

thirtyfoot

TheRoadRunner wrote: »

At what age did you specialise in the hurdles at ?

After hurdling what is your favourite event ?

Think I dabbled when 12 or 13.

Would love to be a miler. That feeling of coming to the bell, sitting on a guy's shoulder, ready and waiting to make your move. Unfortunately, I was usually swimming in lactic at the bell in my 1500's.

Krusty_Clown

How does training for hurdles differ from training for an equal distance event without hurdles (apart from the obvious lack of hurdles!).

thirtyfoot

hunnymonster wrote: »

-If you were starting again, would you do anything differently (either for yourself or your athletes)?
-favourite things to do, which have nothing to do with a track?
-If you could change one thing in athletics in Ireland (with notional budget €500k), what would you do?

Starting again I would have mastered all the relevant skills and techniques at a younger age. I would then have found the best coach possible in late teens/early 20's. Also, appreciate and enjoy it more.

I like to travel and usually hike. Been to various spots down through the years, Alps, Himalayas, Kilimanjaro, Yosemite, New Zealand, Atlas in Morrocco. Watching sport is my other pastime.

€500k - I'd build/upgrade our existing indoor stretch in Santry. Turn it (somehow) into a 100m 8 lane track with a seperate section for jumps/throws. Also, if anything left, I'd recruit a globally recognised coach and base them in Santry working the hours that most athletes are there - evenings and weekends. This person would not only coach the athletes, but coach the coaches.

Or, invest the money into creating a domestic competition structure that ensures our top/developing/club athletes race each other regularly on home soil.

thirtyfoot

--amadeus-- wrote: »

- Athlete you most admire and why?
- Best place you have ever raced?
- Best book on running you've read?
- Coach you most admire?

Athlete - is a tough one and I don't really know. Probably Michael Johnson because of his application and consistency over all the years and how he says it as it is on the BBC:D. If I was old enough when Ed Moses was in his prime it would probably be him as he was a legend and Mr Consistency and was beautiful to watch because he was ragged and controlled at the same time. I loved watching Coe too when younger, so classy.

Raced in this place in France last year in the foothills of the Alps, can't remember the name but was between Chamonix and Geneva.

Favourite book is by no means a classic but probably the Men of Oregon as the running stories are great.

I'd admire Clyde Hart the most because of the athletes he has coached.

thirtyfoot

Stupid_Private wrote: »

Why in god's name would you contemplate a marathon? Is it because when you tell people you do athletics you want to some day answer "yes" to their follow up question of "have you done any marathons?"

Yes, thats one of the reasons:) Also, because its such a classic event.

shels4ever

What was the hardest part about making your return from your 10 year break?
If you were to make your comeback again what would you change or advise others.

Peckham

- Irish athlete you most admire
- What's your typical training week?

Woddle

What session do you hate doing but have to do ?
Any Tingle juniors and if so, if they showed any signs of talent would you coach them or pass them on ?

thirtyfoot

Krusty_Clown wrote: »

How does training for hurdles differ from training for an equal distance event without hurdles (apart from the obvious lack of hurdles!).

Much of it is the same. There will be obviously extra work on technique which is more so for the shorter hurdles. For longer hurdles its more about stride pattern and being able to judge hurdle distance on approach. In winter especially, most sessions will be the same with maybe 1 or 2 being different and hurdles only.

thirtyfoot

shels4ever wrote: »

What was the hardest part about making your return from your 10 year break?
If you were to make your comeback again what would you change or advise others.

Hardest was the first race, very nervous. Also, running slow in training and trying to judge myself on previous times from years ago.

Advice would be to don't set any targets, just get training and start enjoying and appreciating it much more. Make every session count and don't just go through the motions.

thirtyfoot

Peckham wrote: »

- Irish athlete you most admire
- What's your typical training week?

Paul Hession. Consumate professional, loves racing the big guns like the americans and jamaicans. Will always say hello to an athlete if he knows them.

Typical training at the moment is:

Sat - Plyos, Med Ball, Speed, Weights
Mon - rest
Sun - Tempo on the track
Tue - Speed Endurance and Weights
Wed - Balance work, Med Ball, Flexibility, Mobility, Conditioning
Thu - Hurdles and Weights
Fri - rest

thirtyfoot

Woddle wrote: »

What session do you hate doing but have to do ?
Any Tingle juniors and if so, if they showed any signs of talent would you coach them or pass them on ?

Wednesday is the most boring as there is no running involved and its all conditioning stuff. Used to hate weights until this year but now its great craic for some reason and I love it (even though I'm not very strong in the gym).

No juniors as yet!

MCOS

Which Olympic moment would you replay over and over again?

shels4ever

Last question from me.
Do you find that as you age your ability to put in the hard sessions has deminished. I've read somewhere before that as you get older your ability to take the pain reduce a pure mental thing.
It is something i'm working on in my own training and wondered if i'm working hard enough on sessios or just going through the motions.

thirtyfoot

MCOS wrote: »

Which Olympic moment would you replay over and over again?

Probably Bolt in the 200m in 2008.

Peckham

What one realistic athletic achievement would you most prefer over the next few years?

BeepBeep67

How did you figure out that you were a good hurdler - avoid the obvious answer. it's like what attracts someone the the polevault - I'd never even think of trying it!

thirtyfoot

Peckham wrote: »

What one realistic athletic achievement would you most prefer over the next few years?

To get a PB this season as its my last that I'll be competing in.

thirtyfoot

BeepBeep67 wrote: »

How did you figure out that you were a good hurdler - avoid the obvious answer. it's like what attracts someone the the polevault - I'd never even think of trying it!

I'm not the greatest hurdler technically but usually its by chance. When you are younger you try everything. One guy would always beat me in my teens at county level. One day both of us did the hurdles and he fell and I beat him. I decided to train for them from that stage on, while still doing a bit of cross-country in the winter, the usual craic.

Its probably best to give everything a go if you have the opportunity. I have done every event from 60m to 10k except the Walk, Pole Vault and Hammer:D

Peckham

Tingle wrote: »

I have done every event from 60m to 10k except the Walk, Pole Vault and Hammer:D

Never mind pole vault and hammer, they look fun. How does someone decide to give the walk a go? Top class distance runners make marathons etc. look easy (even though they claim to be in pain underneath their facade), top class walkers just look like they're having a miserable time!

Fast_Mover

Hi there Tingle.
What I know of you: You seem to know alot about athletics nationally and internationally. You give great advise to everyone and anyone who comes on this forum.
What I didn't know: That you once competed yourself. You've competed to a very high standard. You've CR's to your name. You specialised in the hurdles.

By any chance does your first name begin with 'P'? If so I know who I have! Seen you run aswell! Remember one from my first time competing at National Seniors..not sure why! My event was the hurdles too!

Anyway, my questions:
-You right or left leg lead?
-Worst fall taken in competition? Not in an injury sense, but in a felt really good/felt you going to win/medal/PB kinda thing, then BANG all over!
-Ever get disqualified?
-How tall are you?
-Perfer outdoor or indoor competiton?

cfitz

When Rashid Ramzi pushed his "fellow Bahraini" in the Olympic 1500m final, did you think:

a) You do what you gotta do to win gold

b) Quick thinking, no way Bahrain will lodge a complaint against their own star athlete

c) Scumbag cheater

thirtyfoot

Fast_Mover wrote: »

very high standard.

Not too high a standard to be honest, maybe ok in Irish terms but not internationally:o

-You right or left leg lead? Left but can hurdle ok with right
-Worst fall taken in competition? Not in an injury sense, but in a felt really good/felt you going to win/medal/PB kinda thing, then BANG all over! I've never fallen, touch wood.
-Ever get disqualified? Never DQ'd
-How tall are you? 1.92
-Perfer outdoor or indoor competiton?[/ Outdoor

thirtyfoot

cfitz wrote: »

When Rashid Ramzi pushed his "fellow Bahraini" in the Olympic 1500m final, did you think:

a) You do what you gotta do to win gold

b) Quick thinking, no way Bahrain will lodge a complaint against their own star athlete

c) Scumbag cheater

Probably a mixture of all 3, if thats possible.

Think I'm finished now, somelse's turn:p