The Blue-Collar Guy
Photo = my hasty 10-second art.
I recently interviewed 24-year-old Louis Serafini. He’s running the Philly Half on Saturday and is gunning for an Olympic Trials qualifier. I’ll be there to cover it for Competitor. You can read the race preview here.
Serafini is a classic underdog. If you like underdogs, if they inspire you, then read the full interview below. And if you’re so inspired and want a coach, then hire me or read my running book or my tragicomic novel.
What are your expectations for Philly? What time/place do you hope to run?
Well this one has been on the radar since late spring as the race to make a sub-65:00 attempt. The training and racing has been very good up to this point. So I would say that my only real goal for this race is simple - break 65 and qualify for the Olympic Trials. And to race smart, of course -that is always a goal of mine. I don't really care as much about place - that's something that I'll try to focus on with 2-3 miles to go.
Why are you running this race?
The time of the race and the competitiveness of the field just makes sense. Targeting a Fall half was always the plan. I ran Boston in April so I thought running an Olympic Trials qualifier over the summer was a little ambitious. Training for Philly gave me the opportunity to have a little fun on the roads this summer and take advantage perfect New England weather for some more intense training in the fall. Plus, Philly is such a cool city! I visited my buddy out there in May and pretty much knew that this was going to be the race focus on. My former teammate/coach at Boston College, Tim Ritchie, is in the field as well so we should have some great Boston representation out there.
How’s training been going?
Training has been great. Just crushing miles and trying to stay healthy by listening to my body. I've been able to string together 8 consecutive 100-mile weeks this fall and my body has responded great. Aside from the early bedtimes and needing an extra few miles to get warmed up on morning runs I would say the mileage build has been a success. In the build up to this race specifically I've tried to put the emphasis on one major workout a week - usually some sort of longer fartlek and one quality long run of 18-20 miles. Sprinkled in were a few road PR's as well including the 10k (30:22) and the half marathon (65:48). I love racing - it's the reason I got back into competitive running.
Your story as a runner is compelling. You are coming off a huge half PR (1:05:48). How did you acheive this PR? What’s the secret?
I'm glad you think so! It's been a long journey to get to where I am now. If you ask any of my friends they'll probably say my claim to fame secret to success is "eggs and beer" which has been my training philosophy post-collegiately. I eat two eggs after every morning run and drink 2 beers at the end of my really high mileage days. But looking back on my collegiate I was predominantly a middle distance guy. After getting fed up with not seeing any improvement in my mile time I decided to bump the mileage and take a shot at the longer stuff. I had a little bit of success collegiately but really didn't see any sort of major strides until after graduating. I coach myself now and I really started to notice how positively my body was responding to aerobic stimulus - lots of miles and longer workouts. So the past two years I've built my mileage from 70-75 miles per week collegiate runner up to where I am now, 110-115 miles per week. It's been a slow, gradual build but long story short I guess you could say my secret... is miles. Lots and lots of miles. And eggs and beer.
Do you consider yourself a “blue-collar” runner? If so, why? If not, why not?
I love the idea of being a "blue-collar" runner. You grind out the miles, you do the work, and you see the results. There are definitely certain aspects of my day-to-day regime that some probably consider "blue-collar"-esque. For example: I am 100% self-coached. I do almost all of my runs alone - not with any sort of elite group - with exception of some easy runs with my roommate David who ran at Cornell and the occassional workout with some of the BAA guys. I don't have as much time to ice/stretch/hit the training room as some other runners. But in the end the major key to my success has been developing a routine that works for me. I have an amazing support system in Boston. I am lucky enough to work for Heartbreak Hill Running Company, a locally owned running shop in Newton/Boston and to represent their running club, The Heartbreakers. I always have shoes to train and I have an amazing support system of teammates behind me every single day. There will always be parts of me that want to find an elite group to train with but in the end I know myself better than anyone else does. Even though I'm serious about my training I am much happier when I carry a relaxed attitude towards running and just listen to what my body is telling me. Sometimes it tells me to run 20 miles at 5:30 pace and sometimes it tells me to run 4 at 8:00-minute pace. That flexibility combined combined with the support I get from the Heartbreakers works for me - that's all I care about.
Where do you want to go in your running career? What are your dreams?
I am just so happy to be healthy and running well. I grew up obsessing over running in high school and then hating it by the end of college. Finding the joy in running again was something that I wasn't really looking for but now that I've found it I'm in such a great place. Short-term I want to qualify for the Olympic Trials in the marathon - that's the only goal I have written down for myself. Slightly longer-term I would like to take down some track PRs and see where that takes me. I had the dream of breaking 4 in the mile when I was in high school so that would be incredible. But for now I am taking it one day at a time, and appreciating how lucky I am to have found success and joy in running.
Photo = courtesy of Louis Serafini.
