Steve Weaver 2012 Napoleon
Personal Bests
· 1600 Meter Run 4:16.46
· 200 Meter Dash 24.51
· 3200 Meter Run 9:29.90
· 400 Meter Dash 56.08
· 5000 Meter Run 15:21.90
· 800 Meter Run 1:54.70
· One Mile Run 4:19.17
Napoleon's Steve Weaver is the D2 defending state 1,600m champion and the highest returning finisher from last years State CC Championship. He's gained in experience and confidence, more mature and now comfortable running out front. He has a high respect for his comeptitiors in a very competitive D2 boys division. His expectations are high, not only for himself, but for what all of the D2 boys will do at this year's State meet. He see's the race as a challenge with the D2 boys "getting after it" at State and setting high standards on the new National Trails Raceway course.
New Haven Invitational, 1st 15:33.60
Tiffin Cross Country Carnival, 2nd 15:33.29
Napoleon Wildcat Run, 1st. 16:38
Defiance Early Bird Open, 1st 16:36.69
Upper Sandusky Icebreaker Invite, 1st 15:52.00
https://oh.milesplit.com/articles/71443-catching-up-with-ohios-top-returning-boys
OHRunners: Congratulations on your season thus far. Before we talk about the remainder of this season, let's go back to last year's D2 race. Can you take us through last year’s State Championship run and your second place finish. Michael Bradjic ran a very determined race in setting a new course record. What were your thoughts going into the race? Did you have a race strategy? From the gun through each mile, what were your thoughts?
Steve: Going into the state meet, I knew it was going to be a challenge. I knew Michael was going to do his thing and the rest of us would have to battle for that 2nd place spot. My only strategy was to hold on to the pack mile by mile and hope to have a kick at the end. Going out the first mile hard really wore me down. I tried staying comfortable but in a race like that, it’s difficult. Through the second mile we started to push the pace even more and it became a battle between Adrian Ross, Dan Kuhlman, Abel Flores and I. The last mile is where I really started to feel it. Adrian started pulling and pulling and I just knew I had to hang on, and luckily I had enough sprint left in me at the end to get that 2nd place spot.
OHRunners: There is a very talented field in Division 2. You have had a very successful CC season thus far, coming off of your 1,600m winat State last Spring. In my opinion, the D2 boys division is perhaps one of the most competitive in the State this year. You are the highest retruning place finisher from last years's State CC meet placing 2nd to Michael Bradjicin a very fast 15:21.9. In additon to yourself, in your division, as you mentioned above, is Adrian Ross of Chillicother Uniot, who was 3rd last year in 15:29.5 and 2nd to you in the State 1,600m. He's also just won the Midwest Meet of Champions, besting a very strong field that included Tsehaye Hiluf of Reynoldsburg. Two other strong contenders are Sam Wharton of Tipp City, who was 8th last Fall and won the State 3,200m last Spring and Abel Flores of Defiance who was 5th last Fall and just one second back of Wharton in the 3,200. In light of your competitors, how do you view the D2 individaul race? What are your expectations?
Steve: There is a very talented field in Division 2. On any given day one of us can have a standout performance. Though our times are neck and neck, our race styles are very different. Some of us have more foot speed than others, some like taking the race out hard and leading, while there’s some that sit tight in the pack. I have pretty high expectations for what all of us Division 2 boys can do at this year’s State meet.
OHRunners: After Track season last Spring, did you take any time off?
Steve: I trained for a whole week after the state meet to prepare for the Midwest Distance Gala, and then after that I took about 8 days off.
OHRunners: At the Midwest Distance Gala in the B race you placed 23rd in the mile with a time of 4:23.32. What were your feelings about your performance in this race?
Steve: I was pretty disappointed with the time I ran at Midwest Distance Gala. Going in, I was hoping to go sub 4:12 and qualify for the national meet and it was really a let down for me. I was on pace after the first 800 meters, and then I just started to fall apart mentally. After winning State, it was pretty hard to come back the next week and be with it mentally.
OHRunners: I'm sure you were confident going into the race after a great Spring season, but why do you think that you mentally beat yourself or had a mental let down after winning State? Do you remember what the 1/2 pace was. Tell me about your position in the first half and what you were thinking at the 1/2 and on the 3rd lap? In other words why did you not commit to the race at that crucial point?
Steve: In race B, we were around 2:05-2:06 after the first 800 meters. I was sitting in the top two positions, but my body just felt like it couldn’t take it anymore. It seemed like I just couldn’t push any harder and the last two laps broke me down mentally and then physically. At that point, I just didn't commit to the race.
OHRunners: Last summer you ran 60-65 miles per week with some tempo runs and fartleks. Were most of your summer training runs on your own or do you have some others to run with? How far was a typical tempo (pace) run? What pace do you normally run in these workouts? On your fartlek runs, what distance is your accelerated run for and how much interval do you do between the accelerations?
Steve: Many of my faster paced runs, such as the tempos, I would go out on my own, but as for my longer, slower runs, I would run with a couple guys on my team (Matt Rosebrock, and Clay Hunter). A typical tempo run for me is anywhere from 6-8 miles and the pace is normally around 5:20-5:40. As for the fartlek’s, the distance is about the same as the tempo runs. I typically go 3 minute intervals with 1 minute rests.
OHRunners: We are in the middle of the CC season and getting close to Districts. What type of workouts are you doing now? Take us through your typical week now. Monday through Friday with a race on Saturday.
Steve: Right now, I am starting to decrease my mileage from the 60-65 mpw that I was putting in. I’m also decreasing my interval workouts from the 1 mile and 2 mile intervals to more 400’s and 800’s. My typical week right now usually looks like: Monday- distance(8 miles), Tuesday- 400/800 intervals(400’s@67, 800’s@2:22), Wednesday- distance( 7-9 miles), Thursday- tempo (6-8 miles @5:40),Friday- easy distance (6 miles) ,Saturday- Race, Sunday- Distance (13-15 miles).
OHRunners: How comfortable are you with pace in a 5K when you are out front, running alone, and in a competitive race?
Steve: For the most part, I am comfortable with being out in front and putting myself right on pace, or setting the pace. Until this year however, I never really went out as the “lead guy.” I would just sit back with the rest of the pack. Now, with more experience, in my more competitive races, I stay right up front with the lead runner or runners and try to pull away or hang with them as they push the pace or try pulling away.
OHRunners: The day before a competition, how do you prepare for a race in terms of your workout and your mental preparation? How do you prepare for a race on race day? What is your typical warm up?
Steve: My workout the day before a race, as I mentioned, is a 6 mile run at an easy pace. This type of relaxed run gives me time to think about the next day’s race and strategize how I will run against my competitor’s racing style and the pace I need to be at for each mile. On race day, I try to hydrate as best as I can. My warm-up consists of running 1.5 miles of the course easy, picking up the pace for 1 mile and then running the last portion of the course pretty hard. I then stretch and hydrate some more.
OHRunners: Do you visualize your races in terms of the course and the competition?
Steve: Once I learn the course and know the runners I am competing against, it is a lot easier to visualize the race mile by mile. I try to become familiar with where I believe my competitors will be the strongest during the race so I know when to push the most.
OHRunners: Do you prefer to run out front and try to control the pace, or are you more comfortable just running as the race develops?
Steve: Until this year, I never really went out in front and pushed the pace, but this year, with a lot more experience and maturity, I feel comfortable taking a race out and leading the whole race if I have too.
OHRunners: You have run a 1:54.7 800, but your recorded PR in the 400 is only 56.08. I suspect that you have better 400 speed. In a large invitational or at Districts, Regional and State, how important is your speed at the start of the race?
Steve: My actual PR in the 400 is a 50.9. It wasn’t posted on Milesplit. My speed is very pivotal in a big post season race, because if I don’t get out to the front right away, it seems that it is much more difficult to get back up to the pack.
OHRunners: What is your general strategy in a 5K race from start to finish? i.e first 400, mile, 2-mile, 3-mile and finish?
Steve: My general strategy in a 5k race is the first 400- sprint out at a good enough speed to get in the front pack. Mile one- the pace usually comes to us this first mile, meaning with all the adrenaline from the race, when we finally settle into a comfortable position , we’ve already hit mile one, so it’s usually a quick time. Mile two- I try to push and separate myself from others. I try to push harder and harder, trying not to give many runners a chance to make a move at mile 3. Mile 3- is more pure guts. I try to stay with it mentally, even if I’m getting beat because I always believe that I still have that chance to win.
OHRunners: In every middle distance and distance race there is a point in the race where the mind says “I don’t really want to do this.” How do you push through that moment?
Steve: At that moment, it is very difficult. You keep telling yourself to quit but you know if you stop someone else will get all the glory. I just think about how great of a feeling it is to win and keep getting after it. I think that not wanting another competitor to get the glory goes hand in hand with how competitive we are. You work so hard for that one race and you don’t want anyone to take the victory from you. I only accept being beaten when I know I put everything on the line and the other competitor or competitors were simply better that day. I would rather lose to a great runner than dominate average runners.
OHRunners: The State meet will be run on a new course this year and we will see six new course records. How much of a factor do you think that running on a new course will have in the race. You ran your best time last season at Scioto Downs, and knowing that course would have been a huge plus and very positive for you mentally. Will it take a little more pre-race preparation to see the entire course before the start? If the race was at Scioto Down's again, I would think that your concentration in warm up would be different than on the new course. In a very competitive D2 division, how important do you think that running on a new course will be?
Steve: My preparation for this year’s state meet will definitely be different than the past. I'm going to have to go out and spend some time on the course to see which parts are more difficult and the points where I think may really have to work hard. I plan on coming down the day before the meet and running the course. This should really help me start to strategize.
As for running on a new course, it is going to be very important. Being the first year on the new course, we will be leaving huge marks. That being said, hopefully Division 2 gets after it and has some of the top times
OHRunners : Steve, thank you so much for your time. Stay healthy the rest of the season and we’ll hope to see you at State.