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| Will Leer at the 2013 USATF Outdoor Track Championships Photo by Gene Niemi |
Will Leer had a season to remember in 2013. Below he talks about last year, his plans for 2014, his "brand," and his perspective on the sport, major championships, and racing.
Down the Backstretch: 2013 was something of a breakthrough year, two national championships, nine PRs, and Asbel Kiprop asking you to have a picture taken with him because you look like Jesus. What factors played a role in it all coming together last year?
Will Leer: The running wasn't really all that tough. Now, getting to the point
looks-wise where someone like Mr. Kiprop asks to take a photo with me (even
though it is now common knowledge that I only resemble the anglicized image of
Jesus) was a real challenge. It took a lot of patience, persistence, dedication,
and sacrifice. But then again the same could be said for the
running!
In all seriousness, I was quite surprised with how well my racing
progressed last year. Moving to Los Angeles and training alone raised a bunch of
red flags. There has been so much written lately about the benefits of training
in group atmospheres. But in training alone (and constantly in the sunny, warm
Southern California weather) I became better at pushing my body in workouts and, at the same time, listening carefully when I needed to back off. This allowed for
an entire year of uninterrupted and well structured training, thanks to my
coach, the legendary Ron Burgundy, I mean Ron Warhurst.
The 2013 indoor season went really well and reaffirmed all of the
hard work I put in through the fall. The positive race results led to more and
more confidence in my fitness level. Being healthy, strong and happy allowed me
to race well from February through the end of September. The smattering of
personal bests (1,500m, mile, road mile, 3,000m, indoor 3,000m, indoor 2-mile,
5,000m, road 5,000m) you mentioned didn't hurt the motivation to get out there
and lace up the spikes either.
DtB: It was a long season last year, going from indoor
track to the European circuit. Was that by design or part of the
plan?
WL: The length of my season was most definitely NOT by design. It was more of
an evolving race schedule. So long as I was racing well (there were a few
hiccups along the way) the perspective from Coach Warhurst and my agent, Chris
Layne at Total Sports US, was "Let's keep racing!" It was certainly wearing
towards the end of the season but when you continue to run well and set personal
beats, you might as well ride the train. After all, I train hard to race
hard!
DtB: Aside from
probably some increased confidence, what did you learn from last year? What
have you incorporated into this year’s plans from those
lessons?
I believe that each year of consistent training adds to an
athletes foundation and overall strength. Ron and I took from last year, as we
took from the year before, that I can handle a larger workload. So we increased
my mileage a bit (I top out around 110 right now), increased some of the volume
in my workouts (if I was doing 8-10 1K reps, now it's 10-12), but still think
it is very important to keep and eye out for signs of over training/excessive
fatigue and restructure accordingly. One of Ron's favorite slogans with coaching
our group of professional athletes is "Flexibility within the Structure."
DtB: You had a lot of
variety. Indoor track. Road Miles. 5K on road and track. Again was this by
design or did these races just happen as things developed throughout the
year?
WL: I like racing. It's the reason I am still in this sport. Last year a lot of the races just happened. I was trying new things--primarily referring to the longer distances and roads--to see if I liked it. I did! At the end of the day, as much as I love running, this is also my livelihood, and there is a lot of money to be won on the roads.
DtB: 2014 is an open
year in terms of major championships with the IAAF Indoor Champs being the only
“major,” so the US indoors is likely to be the focus
for a lot of athletes who want that international championship experience. Your
thoughts on defending your title or titles, the impact it being at altitude
again on pre-race planning and how and what you
run?
WL: I think you hit the nail on the head: Indoor World Champs is the only major competition of the year, and I hope to be there! My former training partner, and good friend, Lee Emmanuel, already blazed the trail to Sopot by winning the UK Champs last weekend. That gives me a lot of motivation.
With the US Champs being in Albuquerque again, I have been
preparing for the altitude by training in Flagstaff, AZ, (7,000ft elevations vs.
5,000ft in ABQ) since January 1. I am currently entered in both the 1,500m and
3,000m but will make the final decision next week as to whether or not I double
or focus on a single event.
DtB: Do you plot out a
season beforehand or just have some general goals and take the rest as it
develops?
WL: I have tried before to strictly plan out a race season and it
never goes to plan. There are certainly races I would like to run and others I
would rather avoid. This outdoor season, more than some of the previous, I am
hoping to race in some new places (Asia, the Caribbean).
DtB: Aside from
staying healthy and avoiding injury, do you have a set of things you’d like to
accomplish this year?
WL: This
year I would really like to run a fast 5,000m. I'd also like to continue to drop
my 1,500m PR as I think there is quite a bit more room for improvement there.
Other than pure time oriented goals I am looking to race as much as possible and
really enjoy this year!
DtB: The stache has
become something of a brand of its own. Still having fun with it or will there
come a time to move on and branch out to other sartorial/fashion
statements/symbols.
WL: I am currently sporting a beard that has taken the better
part of three months to grow. But to be honest, the mustache will make a
comeback. You're right, it has become my calling card. And I'm fine with that.
Strong mustaches run in my family, no pun intended, and I fully accept the
responsibility of carrying on that tradition and wearing my 'stache' with
pride.
DtB: The sport
puts a premium on being ready at the “right time,” i.e. peaking or performing
well in qualifying for events such as the Olympics and being ready once you get
to World Championships or Olympic competition. Your approach has been more of a
one race at a time thing. Go out and race and the times will come. That can
cause issues if you don’t get into fast races to get qualifying times for major
championship events. What are your thoughts on “peaking,” making the big
events the symbols of success?
WL: Having missed out on two Olympic and three World
Championships teams is definitely something that haunts my running career.
However, if you omit the 2012 Trials, I have missed four teams by a combined
total of 2.25 seconds. So as far as peaking for the US Championships goes, I
think my coaches and I have done a very good job. We place the highest
significance on the major Championship, with the plan always being to make the
team.
That being said, I think there is a lot more to the sport of
professional track and field than simply racing at the "big events." I have had
the honor of representing Team USA at one major championship - Indoor World
Champs in 2010. But I have also had the pleasure of representing our country on
a number of different occasions (Penn Relays, Chiba Ekiden, DecaNations)
throughout the world.
Yes, the major championship is the primary goal of each
season, but there are also many other factors by which an athlete's
season can be judged.
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