Friday Spotlight: Zwingtip
It's Fri....wait? What the hell? No, unfortunately it's NOT Friday...yet! This week's Spotlight is getting posted a day early. "But why Shoes?" Well I'm on my way out to a big race here in a couple of hours and I might not survive the night so I thought it would be best to get this posted so you could all have something to remember me by. Anyways, not to distract from this week's athlete, we've got ourselves a pretty cool cat. No, not an actual cat. Calm down! Yet another interesting runner I've been curious about myself. Let us get to it. Ladies and gentlemen... u/zwingtip!
Let's do this...
###The Runner:
First Name?
Eric
Age?
26
Where are you from?
Near Boston
Occupation?
Astronomy PhD student/teaching fellow/researcher
###Running Q&A's:
What are your PR’s?
5k — 19:18 (Nov. 2016)
10k — 43:29 (Aug. 2016)
HM — 1:33:01 (Sept. 2016)
What is your distance PR?
18 miles (at ~7000 ft altitude) back when I was still marathon training. Ended up running my PR half for that race instead.
What’s your highest recorded weekly mileage?
Last week I accidentally ran 54 miles because of a scheduling issue. Other than that, 53 miles back in October
What’s your comfy pace?
Anywhere from 7:50-8:30/mile depending on the day
How long have you been running?
Started as a treadmill runner in July 2013. Moved outside in ~March 2015 and never looked back
Tell us why you began running?
I quit fencing after freshman year of college because I hated our coach, so I hadn’t done much physical activity for a while aside from a couple of long bike rides every once in a while. Then the summer after my junior year of college and therapy wasn’t working anymore to manage my anxiety and depression. I had a mentor at the time whose response to everything “I am so stressed” related was “go to the gym.” Now, I despise lifting things and I’m not coordinated enough to do things like rowing well. College fencing coach was still an asshat, so that was a no-go. So I went to the gym and ran 3 miserable miles on the treadmill in 30 minutes and the rest is history.
Most memorable running moment?
Not really “memorable” in that I don’t remember any specifics of distance or even what month it was, or maybe I’m just projecting multiple runs onto each other? It was back in the day when I ran with Google Maps and a Timex Ironman, so I can’t even look at my training log to find it.
There was this one run when I was living in Scotland, probably in the late spring of 2015. I remember being about halfway into a 7-9 mile run along the River Clyde, just east of Glasgow Green where there’s a bit of a wooded area with a drizzle on my face and the runner’s high kicked in and I just felt like I was flying. That was the first time I can remember really believing that I’m a real runner.
Do you have a running mantra?
Not really. At most, I do math to pass the time when I’m having a difficult day like u/brotherbock said the other day.
What time of day do you prefer to run?
Late morning 9-10ish AM. I’m a grad student, so I can. Second choice is early morning. During the summer I get up at 5 AM to run because I hate the heat.
Any big races coming up?
Boston’s Run To Remember HM on May 28. This was my first race ever last year because I had been convinced I was irredeemably slow. I’ve changed so much since then, so it should be interesting.
What are your short-term running goals?
Break 90 minutes in the half, 40 minute 10k, don’t get injured.
What are your long-term running goals?
Don’t get injured.
Don’t get injured.
Don’t get injured.
Oh, and run a BQ
What’s one piece of running advice you’d give to the younger version of yourself?
Run outside! It’s 10x easier than the treadmill. Also, don’t kill yourself going all-out on every run even if it makes your brain shut up. You can’t run if you’re injured.
What is something you need to work on to become a better runner?
The mental game. When I’m running a LT workout or at a small local race where there’s no one within 15 seconds of me I mentally check out way too easily. I probably need to do nonzero strength work too so I can fend off the ghost of ITBS past.
What is your current shoe choice?
Currently doing all my mileage in the adidas Tempo 8 because I’m coming off an achilles injury. I race in the NB 1600v2 and 1400v3 depending on distance. I’m possibly the only runner in the world who is a fan of the Nike Free 5.0.
Trail? Road? Track? Or Treadmill?
Road all the way. I'd like trails if not for the elevation.
What is your ideal running weather?
High 40s/low 50s with no wind and a light mist. So basically, I miss Glasgow and wish to return there. Controversial opinion: rain is air conditioning from the sky.
Do you have any social media accounts you’d like to share? [Facebook, Strava, Twitter]
Smashrun: http://smashrun.com/zwingtip
###Just For Fun:
What’s your spirit animal?
As a non-indigenous person I’m uncomfortable calling anything my spirit animal. However pulling from my own heritage, I’m pretty sure I’m a reincarnated pony because I’m small and pissed off at the world.
What hobbies and interests do you have besides running?
I’m trying to be an independent scholar of middle english literature. I have a master’s degree in medieval lit, but went back to physics because it comes more easily and there are more job prospects for a mediocre astronomy PhD than for an excellent medievalist. Getting back into it without departmental support is challenging, but it helps to have awesome mentors.
Aside from that, I really love to cook and bake bread and annoy my dog. I would probably be riding horses competitively, but my horse is retired 500 miles away and I don’t have the funds as an adult to keep a horse in the Boston area where board costs more than my rent.
Do you have any hidden talents?
I can drive stick. Which is hidden because I generally walk or bike everywhere and not-so-hidden because I’ve become one of those obnoxious Americans that drives stick and wants everyone to know.
Biggest pet peeve?
Entitled drivers who blow through stop signs and crosswalks. People using semicolons incorrectly.
Dream job! What would it be?
I’d love to have a tenure-track job as a medievalist. Alternately, open a vegan pizza place.
Favorite Quote or Poem?
“When I was in the ambulance I could hear the song ‘Heroes’ playing in my head. I kept flashing in and out of consciousness, everything was really bright and I remember thinking, ‘Wait, is David Bowie really God?’” -Garcia on Criminal Minds, S03E09
The first 15 lines of Canto X in Dante’s Paradiso are a breathtakingly beautiful piece of poetry.
What is your favorite movie?
Return of the King Extended Edition because ~
Aragorn is so dreamy~I’m nerd and Mamma Mia, because I am in fact that gay.
What is your biggest character flaw?
I have a fairly low tolerance for what I perceive as stupidity, and so can be quite rude and abrasive towards people I care about. I use the word “so” as a sentence opener too much, but then again [if it’s good enough for Beowulf](https://www.mhpbooks.com/did-everyone-get-the-first-line-of-beowulf-wrong-or-did-seamus-heaney-get-it-right/) it’s good enough for me.
What songs have you been listening to recently?
Not much of an individual song-listener. I obsess over full albums or nothing at all. So rejecting the premise of the question and substituting my own, the following are frequently in rotation:
- Madonna — Ray of Light
- AFI — Burials
- Queen — Queen II
- Suede — Bloodsports
- David Bowie — Station To Station
What are some of your favorite non-running subreddits?
Not a huge redditor. r/Breadit and r/pitbulls are fun. Sometimes I read r/relationships to feel smug and superior about my reclusive hermit-y ways.
###One Last Question:
What is the origin of your username?
My horse’s Jockey Club registered name is Zircon and back when I was in high school I stole a pair of [wingtip] brogues from my grandfather which I wore all the time because that’s what 14 year old me thought was dapper. Around that time I was looking for a username, so I tacked the “z” on the front of “wingtip” and the name stuck. It could be worse. I used to wear a fedora at that time too (Not the douche-y kind. I was obsessed with the book *Phantom of the Opera*)
That's it folks! Have a great weekend and enjoy the miles.
####Thanks for reading everyone!
#Please tag u/Zwingtip when asking a question in this thread.
Previously Featured Spotlight Runners:
Posted Mar 30, 2017, 11:01 AM UTC