Friday Spotlight: Fobo911
Hope you're all excited to finally learn about one of r/running's most neurotic runners. The ever-polite, a little quirky, and always persistent Fobo911. I don't need to make this intro any longer than it is. Let's get rolling!!!
###Who's Fobo911?
First Name?
Huy David - that’s my legal first name. I didn’t even know David was part of my legal name until around 2000. I’ve always gone by Huy. It’s pronounced ‘hwee.’ I only use David for giving a name on orders at restaurants. My younger brother and sister also have two-word first names, but they go by the non-Vietnamese name because that came first in the first-name box. Thanks Mom and Dad.
Age?
25
Where are you from?
Houston/Tomball, TX
Occupation?
Clinical Research Assistant trying to get into medical school
###Running Q&A's:
What are your PR’s?
5K: 19:20.5 (second half split of
10K9.88K PR - first half split was 19:27.8 and definitely not a 5K) - I’m only taking this because Strava’s “best effort 5K” agrees as well
10K9.88K: 38:43.3 - DARN YOU RACE DIRECTORS THAT KNEW THIS
“12K” - 48:35 - not sure if course was certified
Half Marathon - 1:33:28 - first half of Houston Marathon with the 3:10:00 pace group
Marathon - 3:08:36 - Houston Marathon this past Sunday
How long have you been running?
Brief period from May 2012 - August 2012, brief period from May 2013 - July 2013, brief period from August 2013 to October 2013, got slightly more serious from October 2013 - May 2014, got even slightly more serious May 2014 - August 2014, became uber serious August 2014 - January 2015, came back from lazy break and became uber duber serious April 18, 2015 - Present on a nice ol’ running streak.
Briefly explain why you began running?
I originally started running for the healthy lifestyle thing. Even went to the local running store and got fitted for a pair of Kinvaras. Then senior year of undergrad came and I stopped. Then I started again after graduation and stopped for a vacation. Then I returned to martial arts for training and teaching, so I did a little running again to supplement strength training and me waving a heavy sword around, surprising fellow instructors in wrestling, etc. in preparation for a December 2013 examination. That December 2013 test got pushed back all the way to June 2014 and guess what, I started grad school out of town in May 2014. Since I knew I wouldn’t take the examination, I signed up for a triple summer half marathon challenge right before I started grad school and trained stupidly (i.e. too many hard miles in the stupid Texas summer) while completing all three. I signed up, the week before the first half, for my first marathon on New Year’s Day 2015, so I accepted my fate.
Snapped out of my stupid training at beginning of marathon training, managed a successful first marathon, mildly strained hamstring, then found myself in a hole at school, so I took three months off for rest but mostly laziness. Once I triumphantly saved my grades, I returned and have not missed a day since. I now run because it’s an everyday routine activity and because I love it. It’s my way to meditate.
Most memorable running moment?
Do you have a running mantra?
Something along the lines of Jack Daniels’ “always know the purpose of your workouts.” Especially recovery runs. I wouldn’t have survived Pfitz’s 18/85 plan without keeping this in mind. And don’t get dehydrated.
What’s your highest recorded weekly mileage?
87.7 during marathon training. Thanksgiving week. Thanks, Uncle Pete.
What time of day do you prefer to run?
Between 5-6AM, but thanks to work commute in Houston, I’m starting runs between 3:30-5:00AM. I like to beat some traffic and then nap in the car before work to celebrate beating some traffic but not really.
Any big races coming up?
Metal Saw Texas Marathon on January 1, 2017, a return to my first marathon site. Assuming I don’t take a giant break again, that will be my first BQ attempt. I may end up winning or sitting in the top three (I finished a distant 14th in 2015 with a 3:33 while the winner ran a 2:42, 23 minutes ahead of 2nd place. My Houston Marathon time would have been 3rd place in the 2016 race.), so that will be an interesting mental battle. I’ll also most likely be running this (again) with only the support of the other runners because everyone else cares too much about the Houston Marathon later that month to actually want to sit by the course and cheer on their runner eight times in the same race. My father and brother went to my first one, only to sleep in the car the entire race. My parents and siblings didn’t even show up to the Houston Marathon.
What are your short-term running goals?
Stay conservative on marathon recovery, keep the streak going, and then maintain the base until I start Pfitz 18/85 again in August. Pray I will be in med school by then so I can be in peace.
What are your long-term running goals?
Reach my max potential in the marathon. I’d love to travel to big marathons and play around with 100+ mile weeks once I have my career set. Also play around with other distances occasionally, maybe ultras.
What’s one piece of running advice you’d give to the younger version of yourself?
Slow down you stupid ass. Then you won’t need the iPod. Also the iPod won’t help you when you bonk heavily on dehydration and go out too fast in the shadeless sun in the Hottest Half on July 26, 2014. And don’t overload on fiber before your first marathon; you will become a Real Runner^TM at Mile 9. And you would have had a chance to BQ last Sunday if you didn’t lose the five months of potential improvement you stupid ass.
What is something you need to work on to become a better runner?
Getting back to doing core work more than once per week, preferably after coming home from work. Foam rolling after work. Finding a way to do lactate threshold workouts when it’s 85F outside at 4AM… probably by driving to the gym.
What is your current shoe choice?
I currently rotate between five pairs of Brooks Ghost 6 and one adidas Breeze 101m. Once my fifth Ghost pair is demoted from the long run, I have a couple of Hoka One One Huakas waiting.
What’s your comfy pace?
All of it determined by heart rate, no pace indicator on my screen.
Non-workout and non-recovery: whatever pace I’m running at 141 bpm (max HR 194, average resting HR 43), incrementing by 1 bpm every mile up to about 156. In the few Texas-winter weeks prior to my marathon, that would be 8:30-8:40/mile at the slowest and 7:25-7:40/mile by the end. I don't fret if I feel slower than usual on a tough day. It usually takes me 5-6 miles to get completely in the groove.
Recovery: Whatever pace with heart rate in the low 130s, as close to 130 as possible. That’s a blissful 9+ minute mile, sometimes going into the 10 minute territory, sometimes going in the high 8s. I appreciate these super easy runs a lot because it reminds me of where I was when I came back from the break, averaging 11+ minute miles at average HR of mid 150s.
Trail? Road? Or Treadmill?
The road is all I have with the time I have.
What is your ideal running weather?
40F, no wind, no sun, no rain.
Do you have any social media accounts you’d like to share? [Facebook, Strava, Twitter]
Strava. I’ll follow back if I know your username. Hope you like my routes and occasional multi-kudoing.
###Just For Fun:
What’s your spirit animal?
“My friend”, Greninja. My number one partner in my Pokémon Y Nuzlocke playthrough.
What hobbies and interests do you have besides running?
Video games (mostly Nintendo), listening to Nintendo and video game news and podcasts, watching YouTubers play some of my favorite story-oriented video games like Telltale Games’ “The Walking Dead” and any game in the Ace Attorney series.
I’m also preparing myself for a future visit (not scheduled yet) to the Harry Potter amusement park, so I’m listening to the audiobooks on my long commutes. I finished the first book right before I heard about Alan Rickman. :(
Do you have any hidden talents?
When I’m in a groove, I type ~130-150 words per minute. An official typing test I took two years ago had me at 115 words per minute over five minutes with two mistakes.
I have perfect pitch and use it to finger my car’s steering wheel as if it was an oboe when listening to soundtracks. I haven’t played the oboe in nearly nine years and still remember those fingerings perfectly.
Biggest pet peeve?
Giving me tasks to do at the last minute with little time left. When I’m in a super rush, I tend to forget little details.
What songs have you been listening to recently?
T-ara when foam rolling and stretching. The Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire soundtrack and every OST in the Ace Attorney series during my commutes. Any of the courtroom themes in Ace Attorney makes the drive much less boring.
###One Final Question:
What is the origin of your username?
Being all weird and stuff, I typed, “WHAT’S A FOBO?” on a TI-83 calculator to one of my friends in pre-algebra in 7th grade. He looked, chuckled, and reacted, "Heh, what's a Fobo? What?" I did that multiple times because weird Fobo. 7th grade was also the time I got a computer for gaming, so Fobo came to mind when creating usernames for AIM and forums. The 911 was to be hipster and not use my birth year in my username.
Oh, and I also go by FoBo and u/ForwardBound
That's it readers! Really digging all of the feedback this thread is recieving. Shout out to Fobo911 for being featured today. Also, please tag u/Fobo911's username when personally asking him a question, all responses come to my inbox and if you've not tagged him personally, he has to search each comment one by one which can be a daunting task at times when there's a lot of traffic. Please don't forget that Fobo might be busy running laps around the block so be patient in allowing him time to respond...because apparently he's like a humming bird and if he stops moving he dies! lol
####Thanks for reading!!!!
Previously Featured Spotlight Runners:
Posted Jan 22, 2016, 12:45 PM UTC · edited