Friday Spotlight: Punkrock_runner
Note: Our featured athlete is a bit busy today so please be patient, as his response time will be delayed.
Being that yesterday was Cinco de Mayo I'm sure some of you know all too well how the tacos and margarita pool treated you, so we're gonna speed things up a bit to help clean out the system. Today's Spotlight Athlete is venturing out of r/advancedrunning to grace us with his presence and I'm glad he did. Another older wiser, member of the running family, he's got some pretty sweet PR times and the experience to back it up. I've not gotten to hear much about today's featured runner before so it was fun for me to learn more about him this week. So without further hesitation, I bring to you u/punkrock_runner!
Let's roll...
###The Runner:
First Name?
Roger
Age?
Really? (late 50s and not getting any younger)
Where are you from?
Colorado, but have lived all over the US (from Massachusetts to Alaska). Keep cycling back, this is now the fourth time I've lived here.
Occupation?
Environmental/natural resources. Formerly research, but planning for the past 15 years.
###Running Q&A's:
What are your PR’s?
3K - 8:54
5K - 15:34
10K - 32:11
1/2 Marathon - 1:13 (at altitude)
Marathon - 2:34 (at altitude)
50K XC ski marathon - 2:29 (in my 50s)
What is your distance PR?
Probably about 27.5. Short warm up plus marathon.
How long have you been running?
40 years (but had a year or two with little or no running due to injury)
Briefly explain why you began running?
I always liked running and loved doing the 50 yard dash for all-school's field day in 5th an 6th grade. But I didn't continue. Senior year of high school I went out for the track team, and lasted just one day. I didn't think I'd be any good--not fast enough to be a sprinter and not enough endurance to be a distance runner.
But as a way to contract out of gym class for my last term, I ran 30 minutes 3X a week. Classic jogging protocol. Enjoyed it, and kept going after the school year and started doing summer track meets (sprints though!), and decided to give college track a try.
Most memorable running moment?
Maybe my first marathon, way back in 1983. I ended up doing much better than expected.
Do you have a running mantra?
I remember my first "distance" run back in 1977. I had just finished indoor season, doing mid-distance races, and training mostly indoors. I went out for an 8 miler on a nice spring day and The Who's "I Can See for Miles" was running through my head the entire way. Other than that (which went for a few months), nothing that sticks.
What’s your highest recorded weekly mileage?
116, back when I was in college. I have not exceeded 100 since then. Maybe 85 has been my highest, and I've run about 80 on a couple occasions at age 50+.
What time of day do you prefer to run?
Training - Usually mid day or afternoon. Would prefer about 9 AM, but that's work time.
Any big races coming up?
Bolder Boulder 10K; hopefully a relay in Norway coming up this summer.
What are your short-term running goals?
Get back on "track." I've enjoyed a pretty good string of running and racing, going back decades. And the past 10-12 as a masters runner have been very good, but have been off in 2016. Not feeling well in races, and not recovering from training and racing. Working on that.
What are your long-term running goals?
I've been at this a long-long time, and there will be a day when I can't or won't keep at this. I do have some big goals for turning 60.
What’s one piece of running advice you’d give to the younger version of yourself?
Volume not intensity.
What is something you need to work on to become a better runner?
I think it's my diet. I eat pretty well, train an hour or more a day, but can't escape the genetics. As I mentioned, I'd been feeling off in recent months so I got a blood test and my blood levels showed some issues. Go figure. So I'm really focusing on diet. Running was the canary in the coal mine, and the feeling of fatigue can probably be linked to diet. So it's whole grain everything, more fish, no pizza, etc.
What is your current shoe choice?
Asics GT 2000 for most training, DS Trainer for tempos and speed work, and Adidas Response Boost for racing 10K and up.
What’s your comfy pace?
Nothing is comfy anymore! But about 7:50 to 8:30/mile. If I'm tired it's more like 9 minute pace. I like long tempos of 40-50 minutes at 6:30-6:40 pace (actually feels better than easy pace), but then I feel beat down for the next week (at least it's been that way for the past year or so).
Trail? Road? Track? Or Treadmill?
XC is my favorite and my passion. Other than that I mix between trails and roads. We have lots of good trail running in my area.
What is your ideal running weather?
Racing - in the 50s. Just running anything from 40s to 70s, but without much wind.
Do you have any social media accounts you’d like to share? [Facebook, Strava, Twitter]
I've gone underground in that. I used to blog and had an active Facebook presence but have stepped away from that.
###Just For Fun:
What’s your spirit animal?
Wolf. I took one of those goofy online tests, and that's what came up. And there's some truth to it I guess. Also, my first job out of college was doing research on wolves.
What hobbies and interests do you have besides running?
Reading, XC skiing. I used to do more. Writing, coaching, and a long time ago a lot of fishing.
Do you have any hidden talents?
Not sure.
Biggest pet peeve?
McMansions. And while I respect longer distances, I must admit at being a bit peeved at everyone going gaga over ultras over the past decade. Sorry, and more power to those who want to run 100 or 200 miles at a crack, but imo a fast 10K beats a slow ultra.
Favorite Quote or Poem?
Twenty-twenty-twenty four hours to go I wanna be sedated Nothin' to do and no where to go-o-oh I wanna be sedated Just get me to the airport put me on a plane Hurry hurry hurry before I go insane I can't control my fingers I can't control my brain Oh no no no no no
What songs have you been listening to recently?
Alt J, Death Cab for Cutie, soundtrack from Interstellar
What are some of your favorite non-running subreddits?
No idea. I don't venture out much, but spend most of my time on reddit/Advanced Running.
###One Final Question:
What is the origin of your username?
Last year I got disgusted with Letsrun and started looking for Kona, because they said Paulo would meet us there. So in a flash I made up a name. I was thinking Red Rocks Runner but that would tie me to a location. So punkrock came to my head. I'm not a punker, but did listen to some of the music back in the day (see above). I did The Clash at what I believe was their only showing at Red Rocks.
I really appreciate u/punkrock_runner taking the time to let us know a bit more about him. It's cool to find someone with similar interests (except for that ultra running part which I chose to ignore, lol). As usual, please tag u/punkrock_runner's username when personally asking him a question in this thread! Also, if I see that you've failed to tag him after asking him a question, I'll try my best to respond to your question by tagging him myself. So be aware. Tagging his username alerts him that his attention is needed. This way, he doesn't have to sift through all of the comments one by one, which can be a rather daunting task when there is a lot of traffic to the thread. Please don't forget that all of our Friday Spotlight athletes may need time to respond to your comments and questions so give them some time to reply.
####Thanks for reading everyone!!!
Previously Featured Spotlight Runners:
ATTENTION READERS!
I've been getting messages weekly from a lot of people asking to be featured in the Friday Spotlight Thread. My response to them is the same every time. I do not get to personally choose who is chosen for each thread. With exception to Palindrome27 (which I randomly chose to get this started), every runner thus far has been selected by the person before them. It's one of the perks of getting nominated. There is no list of names. No spreadsheet with columns and columns of usernames. Nothing. So for those confused, users like Philpips was chosen by Despoena. Despoena was chosen by Craigster38. So on and so on. You get the idea. Doing it this way eliminates the hassle of having to personally pick someone every week. This keeps me neutral. Some of you have expressed your opinion (via PM) on who's been featured this far claiming that I have only chosen runners who are fast, have been running for a while, or compete in longer distance races. This is simply luck of the draw. There is zero favoritism here. Each featured runner gets to personally pick someone they find interesting. I apply no pressure to the runners to pick a particular skill level of runner. This is the beauty of the process. If you want to be featured, you can up your chances of being chosen by being an active member of the subreddit. Comment as much as possible. Submit quality content. Provide as much as you can as a runner to help keep this community growing and I'm certain your efforts will not go unnoticed. Just keep tuning in and making friends and eventually it'll pay off if you want to be featured. Thank you.
Posted May 6, 2016, 11:41 AM UTC · edited