AR/tist in the spotlight: 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:

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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?

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.

annapr wrote: »

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

first 5k race

Hey Ray,

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

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.