Koll Prepares for Championships

Earlier this season, women's cross country runner Lisa Koll gave an insight on her thoughts on the upcoming season and her summer training. Now halfway through the season, Koll is preparing for the Big 12 Cross Country Championships. Koll has experienced success already this season with a first-place finish at the ISU Open, a seventh-place finish at the Roy Griak Invitational and a sixth-place finish at the highly competitive Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival.

Below is an interview with Koll before her first cross country meet this season.

Talk a little bit about your goals for this season.

"My goal for this season is to make it to nationals and to have my best race of the year there."

Tell us what goes through your head as the race progresses, from beginning to end.

"I just stay focused on the race. Nothing really goes through my head, except to make sure I put one foot in front of the other. I don't really have any conscious thoughts; I just stay within the moment and really push myself towards the end of the race."

How did you feel about your season last year?

"I thought it was a really good first year. I got a lot of good experience in smaller meets which gave me confidence as I competed in larger meets, but those larger meets also showed me that I have a ways to go to be at my best. But I was happy with how the season ended, and I'm excited to see where my starting point will be this year compared to where it was last year."

Running on your home course this weekend, did you feel like there was a slight home course advantage?

"I think there was a small home course advantage, especially with my family coming and a lot of other people that I know who were there to cheer me on. I also know the course really well because we train on it so I guess you could say there was a home course advantage. But since it is a smaller meet the main purpose is to see where we are at competitively."

What was your training like this summer?

"I ran a lot more miles this summer than I did last summer or in the past. Last summer my maximum mileage was probably around 55 miles per week and this past summer it was 75 miles. So, there were a lot more morning runs and my workouts were quite a bit longer."

Who do you train with?

"This summer I trained by myself because I was living at home in Fort Dodge."

Is there a certain brand of shoes that you prefer?

"I prefer Asics, even though I'm sure I could find another brand that I could use. But Asics have always worked for me in the past, so I always get the same brand. The way I look at it, why change something if it isn't broken."

Tell me about your teammates. Do you have a lot of close friends on the team?

"I have a lot of really good friends on the team and am currently living with two of my teammates. But everyone on the team is very supportive of one another, and we do a real good job of caring about how everyone does. There isn't a group of girls that everyone relies on to carry the team and if they don't run well then the team's chances are shot. There are 17 of us and we are very close."

Do you feel more pressure this season due to the success you had last season?

"I feel like I have a lot more to prove, but then again I feel like I have done a lot more training so I have more to show. I am a lot more confident than I was last year but I also feel like I have higher expectations for myself."

During the season or even the off-season, is there any special diet that you follow?

"Not really, I try to eat smaller meals during the day but I don't change my diet during the season or when the season is over. I don't eat fast food that often and I don't watch my diet. I eat what I want when I want to; I just try to make sure that I get enough iron and protein. The most important thing is just making sure that you consume enough. I also don't drink pop, not because I think it bad for running, I just don't like it. But it is very important to stay hydrated."

What is your major? And what do you want to do when you graduate from Iowa State?

"I'm a biology major. And right now I'm also pre-vet so I'm hoping to get into vet school here and that will give me another year to compete for ISU since I red-shirted my freshman year in indoor and outdoor track but competed in cross country. I'll probably red-shirt one of these upcoming years in cross country depending on how my schooling goes. I am a junior in school but a sophomore athletically."

What do you like to do in your free time?

"I just enjoy hanging out with my friends and doing normal things like going to movies and having dinners, nothing to crazy."