TEN QUESTIONS WITH...

Through three events this season, both you and your team are off to a solid start. How important is it to have success this early in the season?
Our first meet - the Tommy Evans Invitational - was a smaller event. At the following week's Miami Invitational, there was more competition. Last weekend's Iona Meet of Champions involved the biggest field of runners we've seen this season. Although we didn't all place as high, most of our times were better. It certainly gives us a confidence boost to do well in the early season.

Does an event with a bigger field usually yield better times?
It helps a lot to have more people around. During a race, you separate into a lot of different packs. After you get into a groove and settle in with a pack, you have to challenge yourself to move into the next pack ahead - we call that group hopping. With a bigger field, there are obviously a lot more of those packs.

What are some of the other factors involving the times you post?
In cross country, the times continually fluctuate. You can't have records like you do in track, because every single course is different. Some of the factors include how the grass is cut, how many hills there are and how steep they are both up and downhill - it all plays a role in the race. It depends how well your body handles the environment.

What are the running conditions you prefer to have?
Ideally, I would look for an overcast day without a lot of sun. The temperature would probably be in the 60s and there would not be a whole lot of humidity. I also like a slight breeze, but not too much wind. The ideal course would be flat, similar to a track.

On October 11th, you get a chance to run at home during the UB Open. What advantages does running at home bring about?
Actually, it will be similar to a course we run on the road, because we have a new course this year at Beaver Island. It's exciting because we won't just be doing loops around the Lake LaSalle; we'll be running on a real course. We're hoping that despite the travel, we get as many people out there as we have in the past at our home meets.

The cross country schedule includes both 5K and 6K races for women. How does the difference in distance affect your approach?
I personally prefer the longer distance races, so I get pumped up about the 6K races - especially since they are less common. Although you may ease up a little more at the beginning, it's basically an approach where I run a 5K and then see how much energy I have left over the additional 1,000 meters.

During a race, do you run with any teammates or is it a case where each athlete runs their own race?
We have training groups in practices. You basically know what pace both you and your teammates run at, so you also stay around those same people during a race. What we like to do is to connect with someone that is a little bit faster and then keep up with them. We all run our races a little bit differently, though.

What goes on during a standard practice week in the cross country season?
It varies a lot. The weather also affects what goes on during a practice week. We usually have about two speed workouts per week. In between those days, we have easy runs - the distances vary depending upon where you are in your training. We also have one cross training day each week, which serves as a day for our bodies to rest. Generally we travel on Friday, so that is a light day. We race on Saturday and then usually have a long distance run on grass at some point on Sunday.

Do you take a completely different approach to the cross country season as opposed to the indoor and outdoor track seasons?
There is a huge difference between all of those seasons. During the cross country season, all of our training is done on the grass loop by the football practice fields. There are always changes to the environment that you run in during the cross country season, where as in the indoor track season there obviously aren't any hills or wind - you know exactly what you are going to get, day in and day out.

What are the differences in the races you run during the three seasons?
The indoor season is fun in that you get to run different distances - you aren’t running the same ones every meet. My main focus is still the 5,000 meters and also the 3,000 meters.

Come outdoor season, the 10,000 meters is added as an event. So the 5,000 meters and 10,000 meters are my main focus, but I also get to hop into some other events like the 800 and 1,500 meters.

-The "10 Questions with…" feature is compiled by Geoff Nason.