AR/tist in the spotlight: RayCun

Dubgal72

Thanks to jebuz for a really interesting, honest and insightful *week* in the spotlight. RayCun has kindly been press ganged agreed to step up this week - thank you - so here's a few questions to get the ball rolling.

You came to running around midlife crisis time when past the first flush of youth...can you tell us a bit more about any previous involvement in running or sport in general?

It's very nearly the five year anniversary of your log. You've come a long way. Care to include a table of PBs five years ago, now and in five years' time?

Your children are involved in running. Pushy father or too laid back to clap?

Does your wife still run? Who gets the lion's share of get-out-to-run cards if so?

I'm going to leave the current running approach questions to someone else

RayCun

Dubgal72 wrote: »

You came to running around midlife crisis time when past the first flush of youth...can you tell us a bit more about any previous involvement in running or sport in general?

Very little. I ran in the school sports day in 5th? class, came last in the mile?, that's the only running I remember. Ha, now that I say it, I remember deciding at one point that I was going to be the youngest kid ever to run a marathon, and started training by running laps of the school. That lasted for at least one lap :pac: Must have been 1980 or 81

I played badminton for 2/3 years starting when I was 11/12, and on again/off again for another few years, but I was never any good I had no upper body strength - still don't! - so my game was very limited.

Apart from that, not much. The mandatory minimum GAA and rugby in school, golf for maybe a year? with my dad, and the usual random football games.

Dubgal72 wrote: »

It's very nearly the five year anniversary of your log. You've come a long way. Care to include a table of PBs five years ago, now and in five years' time?

2009 my only race was the Jingle Bells 5k. 29:39 (but this was back before chip timing, I was at least a minute getting to the start line)

2010: Jingle Bells 5k again, 21:55, 39:59 in Sportsworld 5 mile, 53:45 in Great Ireland Run, 80:55 and 1:48 in race series 10 mile and half, 3:58 in the marathon

2011: 19:39 in Rathfarnham 5k, 34:24 in Sportsworld, 46:39 GIR, 73:51 and 1:36 in 10 mile and half, 3:29 in the marathon

2012 raced a lot of different distances. 17:55 in Rathfarnham 5k was my PB for ages, 38:07 in a BHAA 10k in Firhouse and 1:24 in the race series half were the other highlights

2013 29:14 in Raheny and 1:22 in Bohermeen, then injured for ages

2014 the two marathons were the main ones, 2:59:06 in Limerick and 2:56:42 in Dublin

This year 17:41 in the Tom Brennan 5k and 28:46 in Raheny

Dubgal72 wrote: »

Your children are involved in running. Pushy father or too laid back to clap?

Pushy in that I will usually drag them to training over any complaints (but only because they enjoy it once they get there)

It wasn't ever a question about if they would start running themselves, they both joined the club as soon as they were able. (I set up a whole Little Athletics programme so she could join a year earlier :pac:) That's one of the reasons why I started getting fit myself, so they would see it as an entirely natural thing to do.

At races, they demand that I watch and cheer, get very annoyed with me when I'm looking after another age group or event and miss their races.

Dubgal72 wrote: »

Does your wife still run? Who gets the lion's share of get-out-to-run cards if so?

No, she kept getting injured and stopped. She did Crossfit for about a year, and got injured doing that, so she's doing what she can to stop from going insane.

My own training is generally not a problem - I run in and out of work, or first thing in the morning on weekends, so usually there's no impact. And bringing the kids to training 3/4 times a week earns points. But the endless meetings are a pain in the arse - Little Athletics, juvenile coaches, adult training, club committee, various other bits and pieces - and the problem with all of the groups is that the longer you put off a meeting the more problems build up. So at least, sometimes twice a week, I'm out after training. And then there are training courses, or juvenile competitions, or my own races... so all of that takes some shuffling.

on the other hand, I'm in work and she's at home on the couch eating chocolate and drinking wine all day, so ... :pac:

overpronator

Great choice, Heya Ray.

What's your favourite specific race and what's you're favourite/least favourite distance?
Dream PBs before hanging up the runners?
Is there anything that can be done to get the public at large into elite athletics in Ireland outside of the potential bandwagon effect associated with some major championship success? Is it even possible with that kind of success?
What do you really think of Tallaght AC :pac:?
Favourite tipple?

Dubgal72

Great answers thanks but you missed a question "PBs...in five years time...."*
Bit like your wife, I'm just going back to lounging on the sofa and finishing my bottle of red





*Adrian, table help!

RayCun

overpronator wrote: »

What's your favourite specific race and what's you're favourite/least favourite distance?

Dublin marathon is out on its own. The numbers, the spectators, and the neverending agony of it all :pac:

For the shorter distances, the Raheny 5 mile and Rathfarnham 5k are great. Raheny has a real event feel about it, Rathfarnham is fast and local, and both are very well-organised. Two races I'd like to run every year.

overpronator wrote: »

Dream PBs before hanging up the runners?

I don't think that far ahead.

16:xx for the 5k this year
2:4x for the marathon next year
Reassess then

overpronator wrote: »

Is there anything that can be done to get the public at large into elite athletics in Ireland outside of the potential bandwagon effect associated with some major championship success? Is it even possible with that kind of success?

I don't think so.

If we had a steady stream of people winning Olympics and World Championship medals, setting world records etc, ... they'd get publicity, the sport would get more coverage and more kids would take it up - maybe then. But we're not going to have a steady stream of Coughlans and O'Sullivans, we're a small country where athletics is a minority sport, that kind of success is out of reach.

Most people watch team sports, football, gaelic, rugby and I think sports like that have an advantage in building an audience. You might be a particular fan of certain players, but you cheer the team as players retire and come through. And there's a match every week in the season, so there's a routine of support. It's hard to be a fan of 'Irish hurdlers' in the same way.

I don't think athletics is as visually appealing as a lot of other sports either. Pole vault is spectacular, for example, but there can be a long time between attempts. Distance races are often lap after lap of incremental changes. Sprints and long jump over too fast to see anything. Throws too hard to see the difference between attempts.

I'm speaking relatively, of course, and I always enjoy watching athletics live or on TV (well, not the marathon on tv, or walks anywhere). But I honestly don't think it will ever capture a large audience of people who haven't been involved themselves.

overpronator wrote: »

What do you really think of Tallaght AC :pac:?

are you trying to get me banned? :pac:

overpronator wrote: »

Favourite tipple?

I don't drink much, and when I do I'm not fussy Guinness in a pub, wine anywhere else, anything as long as its red. I have started drinking cider more often in the last year - some sort of reversion to adolescence :pac:

adrian522

Dubgal72 wrote: »

Great answers thanks but you missed a question "PBs...in five years time...."*
Bit like your wife, I'm just going back to lounging on the sofa and finishing my bottle of red





*Adrian, table help!

Something Like this I guess? But we need PB poredictions for 2020,

Year|5k|5M|10K|10M| Half|Mara
2009|29:39
2010|21:55|39:59|53:45|80:55|1:48|3:58
2011|19:39|34:24|46:39|73:51|1:36|3:29
2012|17:55||38:07||1:24
2013||29:14|||1:22
2014||||||2:56:42
2015|17:41|28:46
2020|??|??|??|??|??|??

IvoryTower

what do you do in the line of mobility and strength work? (if anything)

RayCun

Dubgal72 wrote: »

Great answers thanks but you missed a question "PBs...in five years time...."

really, no idea

BeepBeep and aero2k just keep getting better so maybe I can keep improving too, or maybe my legs will fall off or I'll plateau or I'll lose the will to keep training hard and shuffle more into coaching...?

I don't have a long-term goal, either a race or a time

paddybarry

Hi Ray,
You have made huge gains in the 5 years you have been running, from what it seems a 'traditional' approach to training. With that in mind, what is the thinking behind your new approach to training and where did this inspiration come from?

RayCun

IvoryTower wrote: »

what do you do in the line of mobility and strength work? (if anything)

I'm very inconsistent.
After a functional assessment back in December I was good for a while, 15 minutes of flexibility work most days, 15 of strength work (plank variations mainly) about half the week. That petered out in January.

At the moment (ie. for the last week ish) I'm doing 10-15 minutes of stretching most days. Foam roll, squats, calf, quad, hamstring stretches. Doing that in the morning before work, on the days I don't run in, seems to be working okay. It's the evenings when it is harder to set aside the time.

walshb

Hi,

would you ever consider adding a 't' at the end of your username?..:)

Two questions: 1. Your single biggest reason for getting your 5 k down from 29 to 17 mins?

2. How important weight loss was in your PB improvements?

RayCun

paddybarry wrote: »

Hi Ray,
You have made huge gains in the 5 years you have been running, from what it seems a 'traditional' approach to training. With that in mind, what is the thinking behind your new approach to training and where did this inspiration come from?

Rush of blood to the head

I don't think the gains I've made have been particularly impressive. I may have finally made it to 'average' :pac:

I suppose for the first few years, I basically did two things - kept increasing mileage and started adding proper sessions, on my own or in the club.

2010 1000 miles, 1600 in 2011, 2600 in 2012 and 2300 last year. So I could have done that again, aimed for 3x00 miles this year. But I'm not running a marathon this year, and while I understand the gains of more mileage are not limited to marathons (and I do expect/hope to run more this year than last) that didn't seem like the right approach to take for a 5k year.

As far as sessions go, I was enjoying the club sessions, they were good training. But I didn't feel like I knew what I was doing the other 6 days of the week, and it was annoying me. I could have picked up a plan from a book, and I was thinking of asking a coach from the club to draw up a plan for me, but I never got around to either. Chris Jones came out to the club to give a talk on training at around this time, and I thought, well, obviously, if Maria McCambridge does it, so should I. Part of that was getting my lactate and VO2 measured, and when I did that I got a plan, so...

It boils down to - I wanted someone to tell me what to do, and I got it, so I'm happy

annapr

adrian522 wrote: »

Something Like this I guess? But we need PB poredictions for 2020,

Year|5k|5M|10K|10M| Half|Mara
2009|29:39
2010|21:55|39:59|53:45|80:55|1:48|3:58
2011|19:39|34:24|46:39|73:51|1:36|3:29
2012|17:55||38:07||1:24
2013||29:14|||1:22
2014||||||2:56:42
2015|17:41|28:46
2020|??|??|??|??|??|??

Very impressive progress... it's so heartening to see your first 5k time

tang1

Do you miss being a mod, honestly?
Favorite place to run?
Do you do any coaching?
Up and coming athlete in your club we should look out for?
What do you believe is your strongest distance?
Why do you always look so cross at races?

Hannibal Smith

Those improvement in times are amazing! How? Just how?

Nevermind just got to paddybarrys question and answer

Chivito550

Back when you started being a mod you were not shy in mentioning your lack of interest and knowledge in elite athletics. Fast forward a few years and you appear to now be a genuine fan of the sport at all levels, from elite to club to recreational. What brought about what has to be called quite a dramatic change? It's good to see, and if you become a mod ever again I promise not to give you quite as hard a time as before

What are your track PBs? Any plans to bring them down this year?

What is your involvement with the graded meets?

Have you ever been tempted to run a 400m race? What's the fastest all out effort you have done over one lap?

Will come back with more when I think of some.

RayCun

tang1 wrote: »

Do you miss being a mod, honestly?

I sometimes miss being able to move threads around and edit stuff, but that's it

RayCun

tang1 wrote: »

Favorite place to run?

Because most of my running is commuting, and I've never been one to drive somewhere for a run, the possibilities are very limited. I've worn a rut into Tymon park and the path along the Dodder. Both are perfectly fine for running in, and very boring. Phoenix park is not an exciting answer either, but it is fantastic to run in.

chickey2

Hi Ray,

You've mentioned before that you drink beetroot juice, do you take any other foods/drinks specifically to help your running? Has your diet has changed much since you started running?

How often do you log on to this forum and how long do you spend on it?

Thanks!

Pink11

Hi Ray,

1. Really cool to see how you improved your timing. Very inspiring and gives us all hope! If you had to pick ONE change you made that had the most impact or contributed most to your improvements, which would you say helped you the most? e.g changes to training or diet?

2. What are your top 3 pre race AND post race foods to fuel up for long runs?

Running Fool

Your mention of mainly running as a commute is interesting.
But it's hard to see times as good as that coming from just running to and from work. What plan gave you the major jump to achieve such great times.

demfad

Hi Ray

You mentioned that you started running as a pre-emptive good example for your kids and this led you into coaching. You even set up the a little athletics program so your daughter could start club running a year earlier.

Obviously youre someone who has succeeded in converting your consideration of your kids health and fitness into healthy and fit kids.

Would you be able to share some of your knowledge, tips and tricks in the area of growing fit kids?

e.g Practical Nutrition, other healthy enjoyable activities for kids, footwear etc.

Anything you could share there would be great.

RayCun

tang1 wrote: »

Do you do any coaching?

Yeah - my current schedule is u9-11 on Tuesdays, u12/13 on Thursdays, some of those ages on Saturday, and sometimes on Sunday. Last year there was Little Athletics most Wednesdays.

I wouldn't say I'm a good coach. I'm picking up the technical stuff as we go along and doing the courses, so I usually know enough to instruct at least the younger groups. And I enjoy it, get on well with the kids. But I don't put a lot of thought into it.

There's another guy (ex-juvenile member) who started coaching at the same time as me. He knows all the school competitions that are going on, has targets for all the kids in his group, has the sessions planned out a couple of months in advance... (they're all middle-distance sessions :pac: ) and he fits in his own training around the kids training. He has barely raced at all in the last three years. Or letyourselfgo on here, who has his gang of kids he trains and took a long break from training himself.

I don't mind arranging my training to make time for coaching the kids. And while last year I made a point of not coaching on Tuesdays so I could run with the adults, I'm okay with going back to coaching now that the training plan I'm on doesn't fit the adult sessions. But my own running is my focus. I spend much more time thinking about my own training, my own races, than anything the kids have on. I start thinking about their stuff in the car on the way to training/races So I won't be a good coach (if ever) until I stop competing myself

aero2k

RayCun wrote: »

really, no idea

BeepBeep and aero2k just keep getting better so maybe I can keep improving too, or maybe my legs will fall off or I'll plateau or I'll lose the will to keep training hard and shuffle more into coaching...?

I don't have a long-term goal, either a race or a time

Cheers Ray,

Your progression has been an inspiration to me especially during those long months when I actually did believe one of my legs was about to fall off. I have kept an eye on your log and race results, but the table above really puts it in perspective.

If you were only allowed one more race, which would you pick and why?

RayCun

tang1 wrote: »

Up and coming athlete in your club we should look out for?

In the juveniles... letyourselfgo would know one of the girls in the club. She's good at everything - high jump, long jump, distance, sprints, hurdles, throws. National medals in some, Dublin medals in the others. But at that age you just don't know what will happen. Maybe she'll remain good at most things without really progressing in one event, and develop a weakness in one that will hold her back in multievents. Maybe we'll lose her to camogie, or she'll go off sport altogether as so many teenage girls do.

tang1 wrote: »

What do you believe is your strongest distance?

Don't think I have one, all my times are roughly in line

tang1 wrote: »

Why do you always look so cross at races?

Game face :mad::mad::mad::mad:

RayCun

annapr wrote: »

Very impressive progress... it's so heartening to see your first 5k time

first 5k race

annapr

RayCun wrote: »

first 5k race

Which one is you? None of those guys look cross!

sideswipe

Hey Ray,

Enjoying the Q&A's. Do you think not running marathons every year has been important to your progress?

menoscemo

RayCun wrote: »

first 5k race

Good to see you learned to ditch the tracksuit bottoms and earphones

RayCun

Chivito550 wrote: »

Back when you started being a mod you were not shy in mentioning your lack of interest and knowledge in elite athletics. Fast forward a few years and you appear to now be a genuine fan of the sport at all levels, from elite to club to recreational. What brought about what has to be called quite a dramatic change? It's good to see, and if you become a mod ever again I promise not to give you quite as hard a time as before

:pac::pac::pac:

While you started running because you watched people on TV, I watch people on TV because I started running

On my own, I probably would not have bothered going to the Morton games, Athlone meet etc, and I wouldn't have been at cross country races. But I'll bring my son (daughter too when she's a bit older) to them - it's an event for him, we enjoy the time, and I'm happy to develop his interest like that. I don't track how international athletes are performing, I tend to pay more attention to the people I've seen in person.

Chivito550 wrote: »

What are your track PBs? Any plans to bring them down this year?

Very few track races.

Mile PB of 5:32 in a BHAA race in 2012
1500 of 5:09 in another BHAA race around the same time
800 is 2:27, making up the numbers in last year's national league
and the DNF in the national masters' 5k last year

This year I'll be running most of the gradeds (distance option in each one), national league again (if selected!), Leinster and national masters... all injury permitting

Chivito550 wrote: »

What is your involvement with the graded meets?

None, but they're organised by the Dublin Board and there's a report to the board meetings every month so I hear what's going on.

Chivito550 wrote: »

Have you ever been tempted to run a 400m race? What's the fastest all out effort you have done over one lap?

Not in the slightest
I learned (the basics of) how to throw a javelin, enough to compete badly, so I could coach it. There's a small possibility I'd do the same for the other throws, for the same reason. (I'd never be any good, no arm strength and no desire to develop it)
We have plenty of coaches for jumps and sprints, I've no ability in those areas and that's fine with me. I don't see the point in doing something badly so I could say I've done it - checkbox mentality!

So I've never run an all out 400, only ever as part of a session or a longer race. The closest would be the first lap of the 800 last year, which I think was 67 seconds.

Chivito550

RayCun wrote: »

:pac::pac::pac:

While you started running because you watched people on TV, I watch people on TV because I started running

On my own, I probably would not have bothered going to the Morton games, Athlone meet etc, and I wouldn't have been at cross country races. But I'll bring my son (daughter too when she's a bit older) to them - it's an event for him, we enjoy the time, and I'm happy to develop his interest like that. I don't track how international athletes are performing, I tend to pay more attention to the people I've seen in person.



Very few track races.

Mile PB of 5:32 in a BHAA race in 2012
1500 of 5:09 in another BHAA race around the same time
800 is 2:27, making up the numbers in last year's national league
and the DNF in the national masters' 5k last year

This year I'll be running most of the gradeds (distance option in each one), national league again (if selected!), Leinster and national masters... all injury permitting



None, but they're organised by the Dublin Board and there's a report to the board meetings every month so I hear what's going on.



Not in the slightest
I learned (the basics of) how to throw a javelin, enough to compete badly, so I could coach it. There's a small possibility I'd do the same for the other throws, for the same reason. (I'd never be any good, no arm strength and no desire to develop it)
We have plenty of coaches for jumps and sprints, I've no ability in those areas and that's fine with me. I don't see the point in doing something badly so I could say I've done it - checkbox mentality!

So I've never run an all out 400, only ever as part of a session or a longer race. The closest would be the first lap of the 800 last year, which I think was 67 seconds.

67 seconds followed by an 80?? That's the type of pacing you'd expect from a 100m sprinter attempting an 800

RayCun

chickey2 wrote: »

You've mentioned before that you drink beetroot juice, do you take any other foods/drinks specifically to help your running? Has your diet has changed much since you started running?

How often do you log on to this forum and how long do you spend on it?

I used to, back when/before I started running, have a mixed bowl of M&Ms on my desk all the time, a can of coke every evening with dinner, a serious chocolate chip cookie habit, and a bottle of wine most weekends, accompanied by a big bag of crisps and those cheese-stuffed mini-peppers whenever I could get them. (Love those yokes!)

Now, breakfast is muesli and two boiled eggs, with beetroot juice and an iron tablet. Two pieces of fruit during the day, and ham, cheese, oatcakes with tea, usually soup for lunch and plenty of water during the day. Post-run chocolate milk and flapjacks.

Too much! I'm easily distractable, and boards is the latest in a long line of online distractions :pac: I try to stay off the computer when I'm at home, and when I'm busy in work I don't start chrome to avoid the "has a been updated? how about b? let's try c.... hey, by now there may have been an update on a!" cycle

RayCun

Pink11 wrote: »

1. Really cool to see how you improved your timing. Very inspiring and gives us all hope! If you had to pick ONE change you made that had the most impact or contributed most to your improvements, which would you say helped you the most? e.g changes to training or diet?

2. What are your top 3 pre race AND post race foods to fuel up for long runs?

Oh, training without a doubt. The diet changes are for general health and because you feel pretty stupid after a while working hard in training and then undoing the work with bad food. But I got better at running because I ran more and ran faster sometimes.

Pre-race, just my usual breakfast. Sometimes a bottle of lucozade on the way to the race
Pre-long run, sometimes breakfast, sometimes nothing.
Post-run/race - whatever is going, as much as possible I used to get headaches after long runs from not eating or drinking enough, but I'm getting better at stuffing myself when necessary

RayCun

Running Fool wrote: »

Your mention of mainly running as a commute is interesting.
But it's hard to see times as good as that coming from just running to and from work. What plan gave you the major jump to achieve such great times.

Commute on weekdays, plus Saturday and Sunday mornings
For the first marathon I used the Hal Higdon Novice 2 plan
Early 2011 I followed a 5k plan from Pfitzinger and Douglas, then joined the club in April so was doing sessions there, and the P&D plan for the marathon
2012... don't think there was a plan? Tuesday club sessions, lots of races, long runs most weekend, gradually increasing mileage
Injured a lot of 2013
2014, Daniels plan for Limerick marathon, overdid that one. No real plan for autumn, just Tuesday tempo sessions, longish runs on Wednesday and longer runs on the weekend

RayCun

demfad wrote: »

You mentioned that you started running as a pre-emptive good example for your kids and this led you into coaching. You even set up the a little athletics program so your daughter could start club running a year earlier.

Obviously youre someone who has succeeded in converting your consideration of your kids health and fitness into healthy and fit kids.

Would you be able to share some of your knowledge, tips and tricks in the area of growing fit kids?

e.g Practical Nutrition, other healthy enjoyable activities for kids, footwear etc.

oh yeah, let me just move this easter egg and ask my daughter to turn down the TV

Honestly, no real tips come to mind. Just obvious stuff - do outdoors things, encourage them in activity, try not to spend too much time sitting on the couch. But the kids haven't taken any persuasion, I don't know any great methods for getting kids off the couch if they don't want to go. And they both spend their fair share of time watching tv and playing computer games anyway

Same with nutrition. My wife does the shopping and cooking, she has more input into what the kids eat. We try to tick the usual healthy boxes and limit the number of treats, nothing out of the ordinary.

As for the kids in the club... :pac: my main contribution to their diet is buying Haribo as treats for after races, getting cakes for the christmas party, and arranging to meet in McDonalds after competition :pac:

More generally... most kids like to run around. Give them an environment where they can run around and they'll be happy. If they see older kids doing something similar, they'll want to do the same thing. The kids (in the younger ages) that drop out of the club seem to either
have another sport or similar activity that is taking their time
have parents who don't support them, aren't interested in bringing them to races :rolleyes:
or some of them just don't like the training from the start.
The last group would be the tricky ones, but you'd hope that there's some other activity that they would enjoy.

RayCun

aero2k wrote: »

If you were only allowed one more race, which would you pick and why?

of the races I've done? Dublin marathon

any race? London marathon maybe, it's on the list. Or Comrades - if there's only going to be one more might as well make it a long one

RayCun

sideswipe wrote: »

Enjoying the Q&A's. Do you think not running marathons every year has been important to your progress?

Doesn't seem to be hurting Krusty's progress

Back in 2011 it felt like spending every summer/early autumn in marathon training, probably running the race series every year, could get boring. And that if I kept doing that, the progress I'd be making each year (maybe 3:10 in 2012, close to 3 in 2013?) wouldn't feel like enough to justify it. So I thought, feck it, keep building up the miles but race shorter distances, try to get faster, and then go back to the marathon. Same thing I'm doing now really, 5k this year and marathons next year, in theory each cycle supporting the next one.

I could do six month cycles instead I suppose, but I like that there's a bit more variety this way. And if all goes well there'll be a decent improvement in my marathon time when I next run one, more than if I ran one this year, and that will be more of a boost, will help me push on more in training

RayCun

Chivito550 wrote: »

67 seconds followed by an 80?? That's the type of pacing you'd expect from a 100m sprinter attempting an 800

oh yeah, it was my first 800, I'd no idea how to pace it. I thought I was holding back in the first 400, but obviously not enough...

Dubgal72

Now Ray, back to class Tell us about your latest PB?

Deedee2012

Did it hurt as much your face was saying it was?

ThebitterLemon

Hey Ray "15 mins run into work" C,

Fairly decent chunk off your marathon PB between Limerick and Dublin (and Dublin was probably a lot harder) over a short period of a few months, why?

I didn't notice huge changes in your training, was it a mental thing or some other tweaks?

You're going well for an auld lad!

TbL

RayCun

Dubgal72 wrote: »

Now Ray, back to class Tell us about your latest PB?

Not a lot to tell - I haven't raced in aaages, not since Raheny, so decided to get in a bit of practice in a parkrun. This always feels like 'a run, not a race', because I run around Tymon every weekend. Literally. Every weekend. And Tymon is small enough as parkruns go, about 100 people.

Anyway, got up late, only had time for a short warm-up jog before the start. Went out fast enough hoping that someone would go with me but no luck. 3.28 for the first little loop and a good lead already. 3.27 on the downhill k and 3.32 on the flat. The rest of the run was just a pain in the arse. Uphill drag, no-one in front, no-one chasing, and getting tired. 3.39 and 3.42 for the last two.

It's only a second faster than my Tom Brennan time, so not very exciting. On the other hand, my last parkrun was a week before the Tom Brennan and 30 seconds slower, so I think I'll do okay in a real race. The main reason I ran was as a tester for the graded meets - I should be okay to run under 37 in the 10k. Might be last and lapped by everyone but if I can run 36.xx it'll be okay.

Deedee2012 wrote: »

Did it hurt as much your face was saying it was?

The scowly face was from the voices in my head saying "**** it, you've won anyway, its just a parkrun, what difference will a few seconds make" and me going shutupshutupshutupshutupshutupshutupshutupshutup

RayCun

ThebitterLemon wrote: »

Fairly decent chunk off your marathon PB between Limerick and Dublin (and Dublin was probably a lot harder) over a short period of a few months, why?

I didn't notice huge changes in your training, was it a mental thing or some other tweaks?

I was following the Daniels plan for Limerick, got injured about 6 weeks out, and the last month or so of training was hit-and-miss. The first couple of months of Dublin training were poor too, didn't get into a groove until July or August. It was fairly simple for the next few months - tempo Tuesday, medium long run Wednesday, long run on the weekend with PMP miles every few weeks - nothing exciting, just consistency.

RayCun

while I find the next person to go in, here's a bunch of previous threads

Jebuz
Netwerk Errer
Dubgal72
ultraman1
Tunguska
careermove
ultrapercy
Timmaay
Oregano_State
Menoscemo
theboyblunder
BeepBeep67
digger2d2
Kiely Unusual
smmoore79
Gavlor
RunForestRun
Yaboya1
AuldManKing
pconn062
Marthastew
drquirky
Blockic
ThebitterLemon
pa4
Abhainn
MCOS
el director
TheRoadRunner
Krusty_Clown
Seres
interested
Rainbow Kirby
T_Runner
Mick Rice
ecoli
claralara

pconn062

Tell us a little about Bros Pearse Ray? How long is it around, club structure etc.

Any upcoming juniors likely to make a splash at national level?

How does a club like BP work on getting top class senior athletes? I've seen a few clubs that have gained huge numbers in the last few years but have no real top level senior runners at national level (not a criticism, just an observation). Must you wait for junior runners to progress through the ranks?

Your role within the club?

Was there much disappointment when Michelle McGee decided to transfer? Do you feel that something within the club needs to change in order to keep/attract runners of that caliber?

RayCun

pconn062 wrote: »

Tell us a little about Bros Pearse Ray? How long is it around, club structure etc.

60 years next year. I think the formation of the club is a bit of a grey area, it wouldn't be as clear-cut as a club formed today where you set the date from registration with AAI. It was started by a bunch of hurlers, and back then there was a GAA cross country championship in Dublin - they discovered they were much better at the running side than the hurling side and won that race a few years in a row.

The club stayed on the NACAI side for a long time, only joining AAI in the last twenty years I think. I'll have to go dig up the NACAI archives some time, while they exist, and find out more about the club history. Or get one of the juniors to do it!

pconn062 wrote: »

Any upcoming juniors likely to make a splash at national level?

Hard for me to say. 1) I don't work with the juniors and older juveniles, and 2) I don't have the experience to see what kind of gains are possible at those ages, and how much they'd need to improve to do well nationally. I know at least one junior in the club who won a rake of medals nationally as a juvenile, but hasn't quite pushed on. (Still a very impressive athlete, in a range of events) But at that age I think they're capable of breakthrough seasons, where things start going right and they step up to a new level. There are two or three around that I think can make that jump.

pconn062 wrote: »

How does a club like BP work on getting top class senior athletes? I've seen a few clubs that have gained huge numbers in the last few years but have no real top level senior runners at national level (not a criticism, just an observation). Must you wait for junior runners to progress through the ranks?

That's my guess. I think the chance of people starting to run as seniors/masters and reaching the top level - national senior medals, international competition - is very slim, particularly on the men's side. It's not something you can plan for either.

At the same time, we want all of our senior/masters runners to achieve all that they can, we're not hanging around waiting for someone better to arrive I don't think anyone in the club could win a national senior medal this year - well, maybe in racewalking :pac: - but masters medals, team medals, Dublin and Leinster medals... sure, why not?

But if you asked me what the long-term plan for winning more national medals was, I'd say its to keep juveniles in the club, and have them make that transition to junior/senior. We're also trying to improve the level of competition participation in the club - we had a men's national league team last year, for the first time in I don't know how long, we want a women's team this year too. To have teams in all the cross country championships, and the road relays, and whatever else. So that better runners as they develop - whether from kids or arriving as adults - have a competition structure and team targets to achieve.

off for lunch now...

Chivito550

RayCun wrote: »

I don't think anyone in the club could win a national senior medal this year - well, maybe in racewalking :pac: -..

Surely the women's 400m is a good chance, given that she managed to medal the past 2 years.

RayCun

Chivito550 wrote: »

Surely the women's 400m is a good chance, given that she managed to medal the past 2 years.

Oh, of course, and I was actually going to mention Shauna when talking about people having breakthrough years. She balanced athletics and GAA for a while, but then decided that she would focus on athletics and see how far she could get, and that focus and determination lead to a great improvement.

Murph_D

Hi Ray,

Interesting thread.

You strike me as one of the more cerebral people around here - favourite book, film, music?

What would you do to improve the DCM course, if anything?

What effects do you think parkrun is having on the running scene generally?

Thanks

menoscemo

Raycun
Jebuz
Netwerk Errer
Dubgal72
ultraman1
walshb
Tunguska
careermove
ultrapercy
Timmaay
Rainbow Kirby
Oregano_State
Chivito550
Menoscemo
claralara
theboyblunder
digger2d2
BeepBeep67
Kiely Unusual
smmoore79
Gavlor
RunForestRun
Yaboya1
AuldManKing
pconn062
Marthastew
drquirky
Blockic
ThebitterLemon
pa4
Abhainn
MCOS
el director
TheRoadRunner
Krusty_Clown
Seres
interested
T_Runner
Mick Rice
ecoli


Added walshb,Chivito and raycun and attempted to put them in a bit of Chronological order.
This list is quite useful I think to choosing a new candidate, any chance of putting them at the front of all spotlight threads?

RayCun

pconn062 wrote: »

Your role within the club?

Chairman. My predecessor was in the job for 12-15 years and she really wanted to step down, so I couldn't refuse. I was picked because I was involved in both the juvenile (my son and some coaching) and adult sides of the club. Been doing this for two years, and we've introduced term limits, so a max of three years more. Not quite counting the days yet

pconn062 wrote: »

Was there much disappointment when Michelle McGee decided to transfer? Do you feel that something within the club needs to change in order to keep/attract runners of that caliber?

Yes, of course there was disappointment.
We're already changing/have changed, in that we have more runners at around her standard (I mean male runners running similar times) than a couple of years ago, and (thanks to theboyblunder) have added a lot of structure to our distance training. At the same time there aren't any women in the club close to her standard. That would be true of most clubs.

I think in general, the better you get, the harder it is to find suitable training within your own club, and athletes tend to either move to a bigger club or work with a group drawn from different clubs.