ART-ist in the Spotlight - Treviso

crisco10

After my fun session a few months ago, I finally got around to picking the next willing participant for this in the guise of Treviso.

Here's his log if you want to admire his story....Link

I've followed his log with interest since around spring last year, as someone who was a sub-18 for 5k which is my current goal! It's amazing to read the dramatic improvement from >20 mins when he started logging in only 2019. A real demonstration of what consistent mileage can do.

He's also not afraid of a "mundane" update in his log, but the session he did last week here brought him to my attention as someone I wanted to know more about!

So I'll take the first swing as nominator:

1) Favourite type of session? lots of short hard reps, or long threshold style?
2) Do you train with your wife much? (I know you used to race with her back in the day)
3) Do you miss football?
4) Favourite running shoe?
5) Where are you going on holiday when Covid is "over"?

Treviso

Thanks Crisco for the nomination and yes I will continue the mundane theme here with my answers. I'm guessing this thread won't go past 1 page

Thanks for the link to my log, it was funny rereading the first couple of pages with the following quotes.

In relation to wearing the Vaporfly 4%s for the first time "They'll just be used for races from now onwards, today was just breaking them in I suppose" To Sweatlicker's joy, they are now being used for hill sprints

"Kudos from Skyblue on Strava - what more could you ask for!" Little did I know that he gives them to everyone

1) Favourite type of session? lots of short hard reps, or long threshold style? You guessed it, lots of short hard reps are definitely my favourite (not 45 mins worth though) and suits my strengths. They are very similar to the type of training in soccer - short sharp sprints, short recovery, go again.

The long threshold runs are still my weakness so I don't like them. I keep reminding the coach that it where my weakness lie so I get more of them. Have to suffer more to improve I guess. I've seen him give me the longer type reps to me for that exact reason - so I would get 4x8', whereas others would get 8x4'

2) Do you train with your wife much? (I know you used to race with her back in the day) Never trained with her as we've totally different works schedules and have 2 kids to rotate the supervision. She's a primary school teacher so has to run early mornings, whereas I work for a US tech company so have the flexibility to run after dropping the kids to school.

We've run 3 races together and hopefully that will happen when they start up again. We've over a year's worth of grandparents' babysitting duties to catch up on. Will probably send them down to their house for a month once they are fully vaccinated!!

3) Do you miss football?
Honestly, yes I miss it terribly. But I'm realistic to know that a) I wasn't really that great b) I would injure myself in the first 5 mins and c) I actually didn't enjoy playing it that much. It still doesn't stop me from daydreaming about joining in with a game that might be taking place in the Farm as I do endless loops around it

4) Favourite running shoe?
No surprise here for those who read the log but it's the Nike NEXT%. Overall the most comfortable shoe that helps you achieve the necessary pace. No difference between the version 2 and the original, just some fancier upper and laces. I do think the Alphas are faster so will judge on their comfort when I start using them for the long marathon paced runs in the summer

I am open to other brands despite what people may think, but haven't found a match to them as yet. The MetaSpeed Sky didn't match up

5) Where are you going on holiday when Covid is "over"?
Define "over" We're booked to go to France on the 3rd of July (rescheduled from 2020) and honestly think we'll be able to go with a negative PCR test. But we're still weighing up going or not as it may delay us getting our second vaccine shot, the quarantining after the holiday will be hard, plus they're may not be a lot of things open in France should we go. We'll decide early June on that one.

If we don't go, then a week in Killarney will do. I'll have a few trips to the US with work as well so will look into bringing the family if they don't interfere with school. Our HQ is right next to the Great America Amusement park in Santa Clara

Swashbuckler

Great choice!

1. Probably in your log but what directed you towards your new coach? Did you investigate other options and what was it that led you to your choice?
2. Do you have a favorite distance to race? I expect its the marathon?
3. If you could have your choice of picking any race in the world which would it be?
4. Do you have any favorite post race treats?
5. Do you ever treat yourself to a pint or two?
6. Long term goals in running?
7. When will the 4% be consigned to purely a shoe that you only use for mowing the lawn?

Treviso

Thanks for the questions P, you couldn't resist the last one

1. Probably in your log but what directed you towards your new coach? Did you investigate other options and what was it that led you to your choice?

Long short story. After DCM19, I followed my OH's training plan the previous year from GOH, it was free and also a chance to see how I could handle his training plans. I really enjoyed the intensity of the plan and decided to go with him fully after Dungarvan.

Same time I join Eagle AC to get the whole club racing experience (just before the whole pandemic started!). For about 4 months, training was going great in lockdown. I think the intensity of the training started to take it's toil and I could sense the legs were on the brink of injury.

Noticed Stazza commentating on a few of Eagle's athletes during my Strava stalking and had a look at the training plans he dished out. Didn't really look at anyone else really. Made a quick decision to change over and the rest is agony history. Seriously though, best decision I've made - I could go on and on about how great the training/group/experience is but I don't want his ego to get any bigger

2. Do you have a favorite distance to race? I expect its the marathon?

I don't know how to class a favourite distance. Most common is 10 miles, marathon seems to be the distance I aspire to, but I think the 5k is where I will perform best. I need to actually race more before getting a favourite. At this moment I've raced 13 times, versus something like 8 TTs - depressing

3. If you could have your choice of picking any race in the world which would it be?
At this moment, the Bweeng 5k in North Cork - it's a course profile I think I could do damage in. I'm hoping that myself and the OH get some qualifying times for Berlin this year, so we can run it together in 2022

4. Do you have any favorite post race treats?
Used to be chocolate milk but have found a better recovery drink thanks to the coach. I remember having two doughnuts with cream and jam down the center with a cup of tea, after a recent TT where I literally inhaled them. That would be followed up that evening with a large Apache pizza to myself - a bit like man versus food that one

5. Do you ever treat yourself to a pint or two?
So I haven't touched alcohol since July but I never went off drink if that makes sense. I love pints, and love drinking, just made a conscious decision not to drink at home whilst pubs were closed. I found early in the lockdown that I was consuming way too much alcohol at home and needed to reduce it.

I'm the sort of person that if I had 6 bottles of beer in the house, i couldn't have 2 only. I would continue drinking the 6, then buy more the next day and do the same thing again. I'm making myself sound like a recovering alcoholic here! The minute pubs/restaurants are opened again I'll be back drinking but think I'll give up drinking at home for good

6. Long term goals in running?
There is a strong group of runners under Stazza that would be around the 2.30 marathon mark (Aoife Cooke included). My aspirational goal is to get somewhere near that level and get the opportunity to train with them. I do think it's possible if I continue to improve and keep avoiding injury. I won't be disappointed if i don't, at least it's target to focus on

7. When will the 4% be consigned to purely a shoe that you only use for mowing the lawn?
Well I think I'll get another year out of them for the hill sprints. Knowing them, they'll probably fall apart before I'll get the chance to improve my lawn mowing PB time. I'll always think fondly of them, they were my first marathon shoe.

Comic Book Guy

Good man T, this thread should be a good read!

1. Do you have any technique to get through the hurt locker in tough solo training sessions?
2. What world sporting event would you most like to attend?
3. What A/R boardsie would you most like to race against?
4. Favourite ever footballer?
5. Weirdest/Funniest thing to happen to you or that you've seen while out on a run?
6. A/R boards karaoke night! Who sings a) Vienna, b) Bohemian Rhapsody, c) With or Without you?

AuldManKing

One of the most improved athletes on Boards.

(1) When you read this post back - whats the 1st thing that goes through your mind?

(2) Cork seems to have a huge cohort (isn't that the buzzword nowadays) with the coach - how many do you typically run with on easy days / session days.

(3) What 5k time would you happily retire with?

(4) Cork GAA - "2021 will be the return" - discuss.

(5) Best restaurant in Cork City?

(6) Whats your current running shoe rotation.

Treviso

Thanks for the questions J, you must've sensed me struggling in today's session to ask the first question!

1. Do you have any technique to get through the hurt locker in tough solo training sessions?

I have a few that spring to mind.
- I try to compare how I'm hurting to previous sessions and convince myself that it's not as bad as that time
- I say to myself that pain will be over soon and to keep going. Hurt is temporary but the PB is eternal
- Swear at myself and call myself/coach every name under the sun. Throw nasty looks to passer bys if they're walking on the wrong side of the walkway, think about kicking some small dog that gets in the way - unreasonable things like that!

2. What world sporting event would you most like to attend?
Growing up watching Italian football and developing a love for Inter milan, it was always a dream to go to a Milan derby. Now with the state of Italian football and the fact that the San Siro is too big for both teams, it wouldn't be as appealing now. The normal ones like SuperBowl or Formula one race would be nice - how about cheeserolling, does that count? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-ai0GGeRjs

3. What A/R boardsie would you most like to race against?
Hmmm, its a choice between yourself and Lambay island. The only caveat would be racing against Lambay as he is now, not when he's recovered fully - my only chance of beating him. For yourself, it'd be a 5k so you finally run that distance! You'd need to remove all bags of sand before the race

4. Favourite ever footballer?
I will go with the original Ronaldo. It's a shame that he suffered so many big injuries during his career, he would've had similar stats to Messi and CR7

5. Weirdest/Funniest thing to happen to you or that you've seen while out on a run?
Im struggling on this one - nothing really springs to mind. The usual people falling over, being caught going for a pee in the bushes type of stuff. The strangest behaviour was running around the Farm during the first lockdown when it was supposedly closed. Runners were constantly trying to avoid the grounds folk cutting the grass. Constant change of directions and warnings to other runners made it feel like we were avoiding the police or a teacher while bunking off a day of school - silly really looking back now

6. A/R boards karaoke night! Who sings a) Vienna, b) Bohemian Rhapsody, c) With or Without you?

Thankfully I won't have to sing - never sang a song in my life! I will go with the running theme
Vienna - I can imagine Healy1835 singing this song in this scenario. He's signed up for the Vienna marathon and just received it's cancellation notice. This would be the mournful song he would sing going around his beloved bog loop during one of his many long long runs
Bohemian Rhapsody - TheBitterLemon, with help from OONegative and MurphD for the middle section
With or without you - SkyBlue - His constant battle on whether to wear carbon plated shoes or not

ReeReeG

Nice choice! A few Qs from me

1. What has been your most memorable race experience to date?
2. What's your least favourite thing about running?
3. What sportstar do you admire most?
4. Your favourite piece of Cork slang? (it's like there's a different language down there altogether sometimes )
5. Where is your favourite place to run?
6. How has your running club experience been?
7. Does your love of running extend into reading running books, following running social media accounts, and if so, any recommendations?

skyblue46

Treviso wrote: »

"Kudos from Skyblue on Strava - what more could you ask for!" Little did I know that he gives them to everyone

You see beneath this teak tough exterior is a very giving person....except to bell ends who I have a habit of ignoring :pac:

I am open to other brands despite what people may think, but haven't found a match to them as yet. The MetaSpeed Sky didn't match up

I get that they didn't suit you. Actually, the more I read about super shoes the more I realise there is no 'best' shoe. There is a much used word in relation to the carbon plated shoes which is 'responder'. Simply put.... the different geometries, plate positioning, plate characteristics, foam characteristics of the shoes can elicit a different response dependent on the individual's weight, footstrike, cadence, vertical oscillation etc etc. A shoe that works fantastically for one person may not for someone else. It renders reviews fairly pointless at the moment.

With or without you - SkyBlue - His constant battle on whether to wear carbon plated shoes or not

Being the proud owner of 2 pairs of carbon plated shoes I can now put that battle behind me. Now they are not top of the range models but it's a start. I'd probably take a plunge on something premium fairly soon except that the Metaspeed Sky is still unavailable and the Fuelcell Elite V2 isn't out yet. I'm tempted by the Craft shoe so might risk that.

As for the singing....you have heard me speak! My singing voice doesn't change. :pac: Maybe I could stretch to this! https://youtu.be/-jYk5u9vKfA

Laineyfrecks

What's your fav Race distance?

What was your best performance in a race in your opinion & why?

Did you enjoy your 1st marathon & were you happy with your performance?

Why did you start running?

What was your worst ever race performance & what did you learn from it?

Where are the nicest places you have ran?

King or Tayto?

If you had to organise a boards dinner who would you invite & why?

What's your favourite film/book/music?

Do you have any weird or unusual habits/talents that you would like to share with us?

Treviso

Thanks for the compliment A, I'm sure to quote that when the end of year A/R award voting commences

(1) When you read this post back - whats the 1st thing that goes through your mind?
First thought is that seems like 5 to 10 years old at this stage! Second thought is those PBs are a bit soft. Seriously though, I've come a long way since the DCM novices 2019 group (who were and continue to be a great bunch of peeps) and have really enjoyed the experience to date. Hopefully anyone seeing those PBs can see how much improvement can be done if training is consistent

(2) Cork seems to have a huge cohort (isn't that the buzzword nowadays) with the coach - how many do you typically run with on easy days / session days.

I'm still a solo runner for all my runs. When I first joined the coach, I had one or two to train with for the weekend sessions but as my training progressed, there wasn't anyone in Cork running at those paces. I'm hoping that will change for the upcoming marathon training as there are a few people catching up to me that I hope to form a marathon training group with.

For easy runs, I don't think I'll ever have people to run with at 10am on a weekday - its not a common time to run. The club group running is returning as well so might get a chance to run with them

(3) What 5k time would you happily retire with?
That's a really tough one to judge. I do think I could sneak into the high 16.xx at the moment but obviously have to back that up first. The next natural target would be sub 16 which would be a time I would happily retire with

(4) Cork GAA - "2021 will be the return" - discuss.
Controversial, and much to my wife's annoyance, I have zero interest in all matters GAA which is just as well given our county's recent record. You can tell the interest in GAA around the city has reduced dramatically, with the reliance now on the county's communities

(5) Best restaurant in Cork City?
Market Lane is the best all round restaurant in the city. My personal favourite is Haveli in Douglas, a really authentic Indian restaurant

(6) Whats your current running shoe rotation.
Finally an easy question, just copy and paste Nike
Easy grass days - Nike pegasus turbo 2 (old mileage shoe but has the zoomx foam)
Easy road days - Nike Invincibles, I see you bought a pair yourself - great for the legs i find
Sessions and weekend long runs - NEXT%, two pairs of those. Picked based on the session difficulty
Hill sprints - VF 4% - just finding a use for them

Also have the Nike Tempo that I used to wear for sessions but find them quite hard on my feet these days

Treviso

Thanks for the questions V and hope the injury is recovering well. Is there anything to be said for another walk!

1. What has been your most memorable race experience to date?
Two that spring to mind are the finishes to DCM2019 and Charleville HM. I think I enjoyed the Charleville finish more for some reason (think I was in a state of disbelief in Dublin). I was targeting a sub 1.35 and everything was going to plan up to mile 10. I was with the pacer but found myself striding away from the group. I was able to blast home for the last 3 miles and passed so many people in that time. So many people suffered in the humidity that day, so that made me feel even more proud of the finish.

2. What's your least favourite thing about running?
The recovery run the day after a tough session. The legs are normally sore when starting the run and you question how you're going to get through it. You learn from experience that you feel so much better after the run than before you started. I also hate: S&C (will never do it), stretching, GI distress during a run, politics of saluting a fellow runner, Strava cyclists that wreck segment times etc.

3. What sportstar do you admire most?
I'll have to go with Aoife Cooke as I've gotten to know more about her since joining the same club and coach. When you learn of the difficulties she went through in her early running career, and was able to bounce back and qualify for the olympics this year. Some achievement. She is also a great champion for the LGBT community and is always helping out in communities around Cork

4. Your favourite piece of Cork slang? (it's like there's a different language down there altogether sometimes )
Sometimes it's the phrases that I use that I didn't even know were Cork slang. I wonder how many I use when on Zoom calls with US folks!
You have the obvious langer, boi, feen etc I love gawks (getting sick) or gatting (going drinking)
"I went gatting last night with some langer boi, drinking some dutch gold. I got the gawks the following day. Me olde lade killed me"

5. Where is your favourite place to run?
You can't beat the Blackrock walkway loop in terms of scenery but I have to go with the UCC sports ground aka Farm. There's a 2.25 mile loop there that is great to run. I do all my easy runs there when possible, but I've never gotten sick of doing the endless loops there yet. People that follow me in Strava must think I'm sticking the same picture up for every run there.

6. How has your running club experience been?
In terms of racing I don't know, as I've yet to run a race with them For training during the lockdowns they've been great. Organised a lot of events like a Summer series, 12 runs of Christmas and track sessions (all within the COVID guidelines) to keep things ticking over. Looking forward to wearing the singlet for the first time though

7. Does your love of running extend into reading running books, following running social media accounts, and if so, any recommendations?
I don't read books in general so cannot advised on this one. I did go through the P&D fast road running and advanced marathon books when following those plans but that was just to get know how to run particular run types. I'm also not big on social media - no twitter, instagram etc. I have a FB account for some reason, but will probably remove that. Through my line of work, you get to know how these social media platforms are tracked so I wouldn't be a fan.

Treviso

Cheers for the questions E

What's your fav Race distance?
As above, I think the 5k will be the distance that will become my favourite. I'll still plan on doing a marathon every year though. Have a certain running calendar in mind where I start the year with a few 5ks, move up to a few 10 mile races, then a HM in summer, before switching to marathon training for the autumn/winter. Not sure where 10ks fit in here

What was your best performance in a race in your opinion & why?
My first Half marathon in Cork when I was only running properly for about 7 months. It was my 4th ever race and wanted to do sub 1hr40. I kept with the pacer religiously. It's the only race where I really suffered with a good chunk of the race left to run, think it was about 4 miles left. I was able to grit through the pain and scrape under the time. So I'm proud of getting through that one

Did you enjoy your 1st marathon & were you happy with your performance?
Yes and yes. The whole training and buildup to the race was a great experience, especially being part of the mentored novices group. The marathon day itself couldn't have gone any better than it did - great conditions, plan of a negative split went to plan and sub 3hr30 was achieved. I especially enjoyed feeling so great for the last 4 miles and being able to push on for those. I maybe could've went for 3hr25 or 3hr20 with the training I did but my race experience would've been a lot more of a painful one - so no regrets at all

Why did you start running?
My football activity gradually went from 11 a side games once a week to 5 a side every other week. I could feel my fitness (at that time) was declining and I was getting injured a lot. My feet were killing me from the astroturf surface (which later was diagnose as Mortons syndrome). My weight was gradually increasing too and I was unhappy with the whole situation.

I had given cycling a go a few years earlier and was tempted to go back to it but truth is I didn't like cycling at all. In my mind, that left running as my only option. I didn't like it at the start, struggling to do 3 miles at 10 min pace but I soon got hooked

What was your worst ever race performance & what did you learn from it?
I've been generally happy with every performance so far but will say my very first race, which was my one and only parkrun. Rocked up way too early, wore big chunky Adrenaline GTS shoes and generally didn't know what I was doing. Finished in 23 minutes and my legs cramped up big time the minute i stopped running - felt like two knives digging into them. Things I learned, that I didn't have a clue what I was doing and needed some help

Where are the nicest places you have ran?
Apart from Cork, obviously, my only foreign running was in France when we went there on holidays in 2019. Some lovely country running was done there, very scenic but very hilly. My glutes were in bits after the 2 weeks

King or Tayto?
Torn on this one. King were the brand that my parents used to buy us as kids when we were in the pub, so they bring a certain memory to me. Tayto wins though, for the tayto sandwiches that I used to live on for lunch for about 10 years

If you had to organise a boards dinner who would you invite & why?
I'm going to omit all the regular AR posters as I know they will just have a big argument over this fictional dinner. I would invite the more outspoken posters from boards - stockshares, walshb, suspectzero, stazza, a few others etc - throw in a few topics to discuss, sit back and watch the fireworks

What's your favourite film/book/music?
So many favourite films but will pick the one I tend to rewatch the most and that is Interstellar. It's a love it or loath it movie and I just find it fascinating. Find something new every time I watch it. Not much of a book person really I'm afraid. I love rock & metal music and my favourite band is Tool. I would listen to all types of music though, but always return to the hard & loud stuff

Do you have any weird or unusual habits/talents that you would like to share with us?
None that I can think of to be honest, even asked F if she could think of anything. I'm just ordinary I suppose I've a bit of OCD about me so have some weird quirks but nothing major

jackc101

I think you have been getting away with a quiet weekend of no questions (but badly needed running recovery)
1. Best advice, running or otherwise, you got?
2. Are running shoes your one vice / splurge?
3. What'll you do if the Farm ever gets developed, as has long been threatened?
4. What is your drink of choice when the opportunity strikes?

Treviso

Thanks Jack for the questions, just when i thought I was out.....:D

1. Best advice, running or otherwise, you got?

Apart from the usual running stuff i.e easy running, slowly building up mileage etc. the best bit of advice I got was embracing grass running for most of my easy miles. My OH was the one to suggest it when I started running to help prevent any injuries. In the 2 plus years I've been doing it, I'm surprised by the lack of people that run on grass. I've read logs where people seem to do it when injured, recovering from injury, have a niggle etc. but seem to ditch it when they recover. I think it's been a huge factor in my injury free running (so far!!)

I won't advocate barefoot running for everyone, but I find that it really helps my delicate feet. I'm lucky that I can trust the Farm to be free from hazards (except pine cones)

2. Are running shoes your one vice / splurge?

They are my biggest splurge alright, but it's more in terms of quality versus quantity. I don't have boxes of unused shoes lying around, I will spend the max amount on shoes that I will use straight away. I've found with the lockdowns that I've been able to save loads and not spend money on anything major. I haven't even purchased normal clothes (why would you for spending all day at home and on zoom meetings). I'm due a splurge on clothes as most of them have gotten too big for me now, or have worn away. A charity shop wouldn't even take them, the state they are in

3. What'll you do if the Farm ever gets developed, as has long been threatened?

Get injured!! The plans for the new dental hospital out there have been floating around for years and years, but did get some movement before the pandemic started. I do think UCC will delay the construction for another couple of years as they'll probably need to finance other areas first. Worst come to worst and they build it, it will only mean one of the pitches will be unavailable and I'll need to do more loops

4. What is your drink of choice when the opportunity strikes?

Used to be, as Ted hastings would say, a pint of cat piss that ye fellas seem to like so much - Carlsberg or Heineken. But I moved on to craft beer, sampling whatever IPAs (or eye catching label) were on offer. Would always go for a pint of Chieftain (http://franciscanwellbrewery.com/en/our-beers/core-range/chieftain-ipa) if it was available in the pub. Also like a glass of red wine with dinner at a restaurant, whatever bottle the wife picks

AuldManKing

Adding another Q and a comment.

Q: Why the barefoot running - I've noticed this a bit in your log?

Comment: Brewdog Nanny State - is one lovely beer - the fact that it is also non-alcoholic is a bonus (or not.)

Note: I'm aware my younger self would look with scorn on this.

Treviso

AuldManKing wrote: »

Q: Why the barefoot running - I've noticed this a bit in your log?

When I first started running, my feet (especially my left) used to hurt a lot. It was the same when I played 5 a side. I tend to land on my second/third big toe area instead of the big one, which puts too much pressure on those bones. Scar tissue builds up and makes it uncomfortable to run or even walk sometimes.

Insoles helped, along with rolling a golf ball under the base of my foot but it was still there. My OH went to a talk in CIT (now MTU) on the advantages of barefoot running, one of which was building/strengthening the foot muscles and also correcting running form. I started off running half a mile and built up to running 1-2 miles at the end of every Farm easy run. I found that it helped tremendously with everything really, plus it's quite fun running with no shoes on. My feet hurt from time to time but nothing like they used to.

Comment: Brewdog Nanny State - is one lovely beer - the fact that it is also non-alcoholic is a bonus (or not.)

Note: I'm aware my younger self would look with scorn on this.

My first thought was to to scoff at this as well but no doubt I will be sampling this in due course. The lack of alcohol would not be seen as a bonus though

longrunn

Treviso wrote: »

Our HQ is right next to the Great America Amusement park in Santa Clara

Been there a couple of times myself.

McAfee?

Treviso

longrunn wrote: »

Been there a couple of times myself.

McAfee?

No, Cloudera. Our HQ used to be in Palo Alto but moved during the pandemic to Santa Clara. Close to Levi stadium as well, so would love to get a 49ers game in