Do you train full time? If not how do you balance working and training?

I’ve never trained full time.  Balancing work and training is about give and take. At the moment I work as an IT project manager for a big global bank, and there are days when I can’t leave at 5pm. I try to keep these days to the minimum and work weekends or work at home in the evening if necessary. In general, I get my head down when I get in the morning, have lunch at my desk, and do everything I can to get out the door by 5:30pm. Having a training group that expects me to train at 6 every evening motivates me to work quickly and efficiently during the day. 

What are the difficulties facing you as a full/part time athlete?

Sometimes work can be really stressful. Short term stress is OK, and I’ve noticed that on some of my most stressful days I’ve put in some really great sessions. But prolonged stress is a killer.

Another big difficulty is getting time off to compete. Aside from the European Cup, I almost never compete mid-week for this reason, and I never get to have a good run of competitions in a warm place with lots of rest etc, all the components you need for good performances. 

Do you get sponsorship?

Unfortunately no, so a large percentage of my disposable income goes on training, equipment and travel for competitions. 

Where do you train?  Why did you choose this location?

I train in Edinburgh, usually in Meadowbank stadium. Very simple reason for choosing this. In 2002 I tore my hamstring and decided to back off athletics a bit. I was offered a secondment to Edinburgh with work and I took it. Through good luck I met my current coach (who turned me into a long jumper at age 30!) and decided to see out the rest of my jumping career there. Happily, my boss was OK with that so I’m still there.  

Describe previous coaches and how the training helped you or not? 

At UCC I trained with Ray Shanahan’s middle-distance crew. It didn’t do much for my speed but it taught me a lot about hard work. I now believe that the work I did there has helped me to continue training at a high level for so long.

When I went to Dublin for work, I was coached by Gerry Ronan, and tried out the 400m. Gerry taught me a lot about speed and race preparation, and it’s no coincidence that I won my first national title that year – the 400m indoors in Nenagh, I must say, I hated the 400m and retired from the sort a year or two later. Gerry talked me into trying out the triple jump (I agreed if I didn’t have to train hard) and in about March of 2001 I took up jumping.

I then went to Edinburgh, again for work, and presented myself to John Scott (coach of an 8m long jumper). He said I could join in with the group if I wanted, but to be honest I don’t think he was overwhelmed with excitement! I turned up every day from then on and I think John got them message that I was keen. He and his wife Anne got me through my injury sneakily turned me into a long jumper. In my second ever long jump competition I jumped 7m23, won my first LJ Irish vest, and decided to stick with the event. In Edinburgh, long jump training turned out to be harder than I remember 400m training being and I struggled for the first couple of years. But hopefully all that work will now start to produce results.   

Can you describe the atmosphere in your training group?

My training group is mostly made up of talented jumpers from Scotland, ranging from young teenagers right up to myself. I think we’re known as the noisiest group in Edinburgh, constantly laughing, joking and messing about. We’re also known as one of the hardest working. I like that contrast. The results also speak for themselves as just about everyone has represented their country, and a few are national champions and national record holders. 

What are your favourite sessions?

Short sprints < 40m. Jumping. 

What is your least favourite session?

Anything involving lactic. 

Training tips

Take us through your  typical warm up for a track session, weights session, etc

Track Session: dynamic warm up. 

Weights session. Some light cleans, squats or snatchs. 

Talk about mental concentration in training.

I switch on and off. I joke around in recovery periods then snap into focus for jumps/lifts/runs.  

What kind of things should a young athlete do? In gym, on track, type of sessions etc

Always warm up. 

Don’t expect too much too soon.

Have fun. 

Long jump technique

Look at Ivan Pedroso or Irving Saladino. Both are perfect models of how to get height without losing speed. Relaxation across the board means that your muscles work elastically. Don’t force it. Don’t over adjust on the last 2 strides.  

Anything else you can think of that might be useful to people training for your event?

The most important factor in performance is getting to the start line healthy, happy and relaxed. Try not to do anything that will get in the way of these.

Other than that, long jump requires a number of components: speed, power, eccentric strength, mobility & rhythm. You need to develop all of these. 

Check out Steve's Blog for more info on training.