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A/R/tist in the spotlight - Testosterscone
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1. When you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up? and have you achieved this?
When I was in primary school I had my heart set on being a volcanologist. Admittedly I did not think this through given the island we live on
I had plans on going into Primary teaching but wound up in current job by accident. Went back to study while working for a couple of years for the therapy but have yet to pluck the courage to go at that full time for a number of reasons (as I mentioned before I am not a great salesperson)2. Dessert island - 3 things you could not live without?
To be honest I am easily pleased, a pair of runners to run in and after than I would survive and work with what I had. Have always found a peace in solitude so wouldn't bother me to cut ties with the digital world once the withdrawal face passed.3. Favourite children's TV program, from your childhood?
Dragonball Z. Looking back now I can kind of see why I was attracted to it, the Japaneese culture and the idea of perseverance and toiling to improve is always something which blended well with my personality (I was that kid who always invested hundreds of hours into completing computer games like Pokemon and Final Fantasy (7) ) by levelling up to the absolute limit4. If you could have 3 sports people as dinner guests who would they be and why?
- John Landy (his phenomenal work ethic towards the sub 4 mile as well as anecdotes of the legenedary Percy Cerutty)
- Andre Agassi (was immensely interested in his love hate relationship with Tennis)
- Arnold Schwarzenegger. some of the most eloquent descriptions of sport I have heard have been from him speaking about the sport of bodybuilding. His passion really shines through.5. If you could have 3 non sports people as dinner guests who would they be and why?
Gonna go a little philosophical heavy on this one with Plato and Nietzsche. Might melt the brain a little but I think it would be very interesting to delve into their minds and idea's (my philosophy minor in college coming to the fore)
To mix it up Joe Satriani, a man who has influenced so many of the worlds top guitarist over the years while still producing phenomenal musicWhat would you cook for your dinner guest - a Starter, main course & Dessert?
I like to cook but wouldn't consider myself a great cook so i'll keep it simple
Starter - Spicy fish cakes
Main Course - Duck Fillet with rosemary baby potatoes and asparagus
Desert - White Chocolate Cheesecake6. Favourite post race meal?
Partial to a pizza, used to be Domino's till I was introduced to Base Pizza. The last 2 years though with the huge increase in racing I try to not indulge to often as I would be racing myself out of shape very quickly haha7. What are your current PBs and which one are you most proud off?
Probably my 5 mile (26.35). It was a 46 sec PB at a distance I ran every year It was also a race where I seemed to do everything right and was holding on for dear life in the last mile and left absolutely everything on the course.8. Will I ever learn to like cross country (after 1 race ) or do you just learn to tolerate it for the sake of benefits gained
I think you can grow to love it and the purity of it. Not one everyone will warm to but one I do think everyone should do (If it makes you feel any better one of the guys I grew up training and racing with was still moaning after All Irelands last year 20 years on from when he started but stood to him as he also picked up a National Senior track medal off the back of a cross country winter season)9. Can you imagine the names some of your coachees have called you while doing a session(not me obviously as I don't use bad language!!;)
Haha I am pretty sure what ever people have called me, TbL has probably already got there first in person back in the day when we did a few sessions
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Ok I've come up with a few too if I may
1. You get to the chance to travel to one race outside Ireland. Money, travel time, qualification etc no object. What would you pick?
2. You have a day & night off (no work, baby is being looked after elsewhere, house is already spotlessly clean...) to spend entirely as you wish. What would you do?
3. You get picked to represent Ireland in the Olympics, but it can't be for running. What sport would you compete in?
4. Favourite book / book that's had the biggest impact on you (if any)?
5. Any race mantras?0 -
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Ok I've come up with a few too if I may
1. You get to the chance to travel to one race outside Ireland. Money, travel time, qualification etc no object. What would you pick?
Fukuoka Marathon, one of the purest marathon races in the world without the Kamakazee element of Lake Biwa (well at my standard anyway I don't think I have a 10 mile PB in me at the start of a marathon haha)
The Cinque Mulini (Italy) is one of the few true Cross Country races with a deep tradition still around.2. You have a day & night off (no work, baby is being looked after elsewhere, house is already spotlessly clean...) to spend entirely as you wish. What would you do?
Always partial to a good hike or a walk. Have managed to get a good bit with the young lad as of late but still a bit young to hit the mountains too much just yet.3. You get picked to represent Ireland in the Olympics, but it can't be for running. What sport would you compete in?
Hmm I would probably say Slalom (Canoe). Developed a bit of a bandwagon interest for it as through family friends (as well as ties to their family being heavily involved in running which struck up a few conversations at family occasions) who were heavily involved (multiple Olympic appearances and gut wrenchingly close to medalling). Find it a hugely interesting sport to watch ever Olympic cycle.4. Favourite book / book that's had the biggest impact on you (if any)?
Probably Stormrider by David Gemmell. It's a good fantasy by no means a classic but it stoked my love for reading beyond academics.5. Any race mantras?
Race the man not the clock. Majority of my better races have come from when I have refused to look at the watch and just faced what was around me. If I saw that the group was gonna be small I would take the front of a group to keep them in it for as long as possible to work off him in latter stages, likewise I have known people that I could beat with a sprint and saved it for a short but decisive burst.
At the end of the day you are never gonna beat the watch. Every minor slip up in a race the watch will punish you for, a PB is only resetting the bar for next time where as people will drive you on to beyond what you thought was possible.0 -
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Great thread so far. Thanks for taking the time. I'll get in with my last questions. I feel somewhat guilty so only 50% are for selfish reasons and the other 50% are actually to get to know the man behind the emails
1. How far in advance do you know a coachees training i.e are your coachees in training blocks that are planned far in advance and adjusted accordingly from feedback or is it purely week by week?
2. How would you recommend a general Joe Bloggs should structure their year? Someone who has no specific long term goals in mind.
3. If someone has specific goals eg wants to improve at 10k do you have a clear idea of how to structure things for the year or do you play it by ear and determine it from feedback? I often wonder should the coach determine the structure of the year or is it the coachee who should push the plan and say what races he/she wants to run. Reason I ask is I would imagine coachees sometimes don't know what's best for them. I might suggest I'd like to target a HM next when in reality speed training would serve me better long term for example.
4. Do you have some sort of Master Excel file with all the runs and sessions everyone you coach has run since you started coaching them with comments on their progress and observations?
5. What's the biggest challenge as a coach?
6. Greatest achievement in life?
7. Biggest regret?
8. First car?
9. Most scared you have ever been?
10. When were you last in a scrap? And did you win?0 -
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Swashbuckler wrote: »
4. Do you have some sort of Master Excel file with all the runs and sessions everyone you coach has run since you started coaching them with comments on their progress and observations?
Yes - this has me interested too - how you manage information with the number of athletes you have and as per the previous Q, is it a set plan that's tweaked from week to week
I imagine a filing system, a dark room, leather bound books on dusty shelves, stretching back years that has taken up numerous boxes when L moved house recently........... 0 -
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1. Do you like the newly launched Dublin jersey? Are two tone shorts a step too far for GAA?
I do think the going back to the navy collar was a good move however I missed the shorts when I glanced at it at first. Mother of God :eek:2. Have you ever asked a coachee to run a race of 5k or over without a watch?
Yes, rarely worked. Half the time it's why I push for XC just to nulify the watch. Not against wearing one (do it myself) but it takes a hell of alot of discipline to wear one and not look at it so would advocate to not wear till you can get that confidence. In an ideal world I would love to not wear one in a marathon (or atleast get to that stage)3. Are Vaporfly 4% the running equivalent to the titanium headed golf driver? Are €250 shoes the future for PB chasing?
Not in the slightest. Yes Kipchoges exploits are impressive and Ross Tucker would argue his improvements correlate with the shoes and yes the data supports improvements across various levels of ability but for me the two biggest caveats are;
1. Kipchoge is the greatest marathon runner ever. He ran 2.04 back in 2015 to win when his shoes were literally falling apart from 10k in
2. For the average punter if you are gonna invest $250 in shoes then you are gonna bother your h0le actually getting out and doing a bit of training and improve.
There are still plenty of runners performing that are non Nike athletes
(And I am not just saying this because I refuse to wear Nike shoes out of principle)4. Do you prefer hard or soft boiled eggs?
Soft boiled every time5. If Ireland had a Grand Slam to compare to the 4 golf or tennis majors what 4 races should they be?
I would aim to have one in each province and vary distance without putting in a marathon (keep the distances close enough to increase competition
Dungarvan 10 mile
Armagh 5k
Dunshaughlin 10k
Fields of Athenry 10k6. Has the Kia Race series been a success? I know this can be answered considering different metrics but the answer is up to you.
I think it has helped the races that are involved. All these are seeing record numbers. I don't think it has taken off yet in terms of promoting the high quality at the top end just yet but I think this will probably happen over the coming years. All in all I think it has been successful enough to continue and grow organically.0 -
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Ha your inbox will be full after this threadTestosterscone wrote: »Just for clarity I have received gifts etc from people and people I work with have been very generous over the years (and I do thank them for that) but from the start it is made clear that I am not looking for anything and even am initially reluctant with gestures as I don't want anyone feeling like they have to give me anything. The only thing I expect from people is full commitment to the training and to not waste my time.
In terms of charging for coaching there are a few reasons for this;
1) As I said I am not a great salesman never have been and probably never will be. I like to let my record speak for itself and a bit like when I said I do take bad performances to heart to an extent I would probably feel guilty to the point of refunding if someone missed there target race goal etc, could probably implement a no PB no fee style lawyer claim but that in itself has a host of problems which brings me to my next point
2) I am not comfortable with the buying success mentality. I think there are many in Ireland who have a mindset where there is a relationship between price and value. If x charges twice as much as y then x has to be twice as good. This is a dangerous mindset to be in especially when it comes to coaching as the price is seen as assuring success which puts all of the onus on the coach which is all well and good but in a remote setting if you are drinking 4 nights a week, takeaway every second day and getting the sessions done as prescribed you won't see the value from the training and ultimately these factors ignored due to the price. A bit like the Vaporfly phenomenom where people are buying left right and centre and almost ignoring the other positive tenets which drive performance improvement
As for Kurt's point on an almost double standard view of coaching in club via remote in terms with payment this is actually part of the reason as well. There are plenty of very good coaches who show up at club week in week out working with people for no money showing up to races and getting damn good improvements. For me many of these are deserving of getting paid to the point where I would feel guilty charging when I know there are so many so much more deserving of this. The standard of remote coaching in this country (and in general) is relatively poor (I include myself in this) on a whole and well below the smaller pool of active club coaches who are getting real meaningful results.
This inverted revenue vs value aspect in some ways motivates me to not be financially driven (lucky enough in the sense that I have had secure long term employment for over 10 years as well as the supplemental therapy work)
Who knows that could change in time depending on circumstances and there may possibly come a time when this is feasible but the security of a full time job is something which I have always be conscious of as I am not the greatest risk taker in any aspect of life and only further compounded with a family now. 0 -
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