Friday Spotlight: Stan_Leeway
It's FRIDAY! Let the weekend crash upon us. Today, we're shining the spotlight over the midwest as we highlight yet another runner for the collection. A newer name around here that I'm sure you'll all enjoy learning about. So let's get to it as we dig in to find out a bit more about.... u/stan_leeway!
Let's do this!
###The Runner:
First Name?
Will
Age?
30-34
Where are you from?
Missouri
Occupation?
I handle accounts at a marketing firm. I believe an early episode of Mad Men referred to people in my role as “good at… something, but I’m not sure what exactly.”
###Running Q&A's:
What are your PR’s?
Mile: 5:29
5k: 22:13
10k: 44:31
Half: 1:32
Full: 3:57
50k: 5:29
Sprint Tri: 1:04
Olympic Tri: 2:54
70.3 Tri: 5:09
What is your distance PR?
While training for my 50k I did a 34-mile run on the Katy Trail, a cross-state trail in Missouri that's also a long, narrow state park. Sometime in the future I’d like to take some time off work and run the entire 240 miles.
What’s your highest recorded weekly mileage?
77, that same week as the long run above!
What’s your comfy pace?
I can hold an 8:00 pretty comfortably if it's not screaming hot out, then up or down from there depending on time, temperature, or distance.
How long have you been running?
I was last or near last in cross-country through middle and high school. I was lucky to have a coach who never made me feel like being slow meant I was any less valuable to the team. She since passed on, but that balance of competition with fun is a lesson that's stuck with me. Thanks Deb Christopher -- you're missed. After high school there was a pretty sizable gap in my running career where I was a pretty unhealthy person. I decided to do a local sprint triathlon, thinking it would be a one and done thing. Crossing that line felt fantastic, and soon after I met a very talented runner and triathlete who inspired me to re-calibrate my expectations of what was possible across athletics and other areas of life.
Tell us why you began running?
First time, as a kid: I wanted to do a sport of some kind to be more than a nerdy kid in drama and debate. I also grew up in a family that didn't have a lot of money, so anything requiring much in the way of equipment was out. For a long time, my street/school shoes were my running shoes. Then, as an adult: Pics of a friend’s wedding where I was a groomsman. I was 65 lbs heavier than I am now, and decided that the pain of continuing to live that way was worse than the pain of change. So I slowly started to change things — it took years, but eventually I got a lot healthier and have now logged over 600 miles of run and triathlon racing.
Most memorable running moment?
It happened on a treadmill at Planet Fitness, a couple years after I started my weight loss journey. I had a medical scare one day and went to the emergency room with some gnarly abdominal pain. They couldn’t land on a diagnosis, and the on-call surgeon said he’d have to open me up to figure out what was wrong. When I pressed him for a guess, he told me it was possible I had intestinal cancer, and that I might develop sepsis and die, or have to use a colostomy bag for the rest of my life. It ended up being something minor. Still, I spent a week in a hospital bed with a big incision across my abdomen. I couldn’t sit up for a few days, or walk, and it made me feel vulnerable and interdependent for the first time in my adult life realizing that if I were out in nature I would die.
When I was recovered from the surgery enough to get on a treadmill, I blasted Linkin Park’s “Waiting for the End” in my buds while walk/jogging a mile. And I knew the hardest part of my running career was over, that I’d been given the gift of mobility after expecting to lose it, and that every step was its own victory lap.
Do you have a running mantra?
Not quite a mantra, but before each race I go through some self-talk where I remind myself that I’m here to do a victory lap. All the hay is in the barn, for better or worse, and while I control my intent and my actions, I don’t control the race outcome. So while I might want to win, or podium, I don’t get to decide who shows up that day; instead, I’m going for good execution of performance. Also, I will count steps when a workout or a race gets hard over long distance. 1-2-3 and so on up to 10, then start over. Because while I may not have it in me to run 3, 6, or 15 more miles, I can count to 10. So I do, then I do again.
What time of day do you prefer to run?
Sunrise. I like starting out when it’s pitch black, headlamp shining on the street that I get temporary custody of. Then the sky comes to life, traffic picks up. Like, because I made a stir this morning, the world followed. It’s also the only uninterrupted period I get, and I think a morning run sets me up for a good trajectory the rest of the day in terms of mood and stress reduction. But anytime is a good time. One thing I don’t shy away from is heat this time of year, I like to say that furnaces are hot, but they’re also where swords get made.
Any big races coming up?
I’m going for my first BQ later this year at Run for the Ranch, a Missouri marathon I selected for its December weather and a flat course.
What are your short-term running goals?
What are your long-term running goals?
My Boston goals are a side quest of sorts, and if I succeed at those I’d like to set my sights on doing a full Ironman and qualifying for the world championship race in Kona. Right now running is my weakest of the 3 triathlon sports. I’d also like to do more ultra marathon events at longer distances.
What’s one piece of running advice you’d give to the younger version of yourself?
Not that I would have listened, but I switched to eating a plant-based diet a little over a year ago. I dropped 7 lbs without trying, and found that I had more even energy across my workouts and the rest of the day.
What is something you need to work on to become a better runner?
Diet. Despite the plant-based thing, I don’t always fuel as well as I should, choosing chips and salsa or Skinny Pop over foods that aren’t processed/packaged. I’ll make what I think is a good race weight for me when I get close to priority races, but it’s more of a struggle than it has to be.
What is your current shoe choice?
I’m in the market for my next pair right now. I ran in Lunarglides for several years, which aren’t well-regarded by many runners to begin with. But the most recent version of this shoe traps a small playground’s worth of rocks in the soles each time I run in them. I have a pair of Hoka Clifton 3’s I use once or twice each week to give my feet a different feel, and those are great as long as it isn’t too hot out. And I’ve been pleased with a pair of Adidas trail runners I bought on sale to try out too — I face plant a lot less with those vs the road shoes.
Trail? Road? Track? Or Treadmill?
I have a treadmill at home, and even though I haven’t used it in a year it’s vitally important to my running since it takes away any excuse I have not to train. Too hot? Too cold? Fine, get on the treadmill, I’ll tell myself, before concluding that maybe it’s not so bad outside after all and going anyway. The trail only comprises ~10% of my current mileage, but I treasure that time spent in the mud, crossing wadis and jumping logs. It’s primal and meditative.
What is your ideal running weather?
For training I’ll take just about anything; I’m just happy to be here. For racing, I do best in weather that starts to be uncomfortably cold for some. My most well-executed race was a half that was in the high 30s F at the start.
Do you have any social media accounts you’d like to share? [Facebook, Strava, Twitter]
Not after looking at my comment history sorted by “controversial.” But my Insta is mostly training-focused, so PM me if you’re not a weirdo and I’ll probably give it out.
###Just For Fun:
What’s your spirit animal?
Can I widen out the category from “spirit animal” to “spirit living thing?” If so, it’s a redwood tree; they take life as it comes, standing stoic for centuries, perfecting the art of not giving a fuck about the trivial.
What hobbies and interests do you have besides running?
Meditation, cooking, and reading. Volunteering does for the soul what running does for the body, but the effect is a lot more instantaneous and lasts longer.
Do you have any hidden talents?
Deep down inside, I think there might be a talented writer trying to emerge. But if so, that’s currently hidden from me as well.
Biggest pet peeve?
Having to rely on people who embody the Dunning-Kruger effect.
Dream job! What would it be?
Working as a mental health provider, or starting my own organization that provides strategic planning / consulting for nonprofits.
Favorite Quote or Poem?
You can’t win a farting contest unless you’re willing to shit your pants.
What is your favorite movie?
2001: A Space Odyssey. I saw it for the first time a couple of years ago and I kept having my mind blown by the idea that this movie was made 10 years before the original Star Wars.
What is your biggest character flaw?
Impatience, often with myself.
What songs have you been listening to recently?
While running, the album Brace by Birds of Tokyo.
What are some of your favorite non-running subreddits?
###One Last Question:
What is the origin of your username?
Honoring the man, while trying to give myself a little bit of room.
That's it folks! Have a great weekend and enjoy the miles.
####Thanks for reading everyone!
#Please tag u/Stan_Leeway when asking a question in this thread.
Previously Featured Spotlight Runners:
##ATTENTION READERS!
I've been getting some more messages recently from a lot of people asking to be featured in the Friday Spotlight Thread. My response to them is the same every time. I do not get to personally choose who is chosen for each thread. With exception to Palindrome27 (which I randomly chose to get this started), every runner thus far has been selected by the person before them. It's one of the perks of getting nominated. There is no list of names. No spreadsheet with columns of people. Nothing. So for those confused, users like Philpips was chosen by Despoena. Despoena was chosen by Craigster38. So on and so on. You get the idea. Doing it this way eliminates the hassle of having to personally pick someone every week. This keeps me neutral. Some of you have expressed your opinion (via PM) on who's been featured this far claiming that I have only chosen runners who are fast, have been running for a while, or compete in longer distance races. Quite frankly, you're wrong. Just browse the table of previous athletes above and you'll see that a wide variety of runners have been on display. Being chosen is simply luck of the draw. There is zero favoritism here. Each featured runner gets to personally pick someone they find interesting. I apply no pressure to the runners to pick a particular skill level of runner. This is the beauty of the process. If you want to be featured, you can up your chances of being chosen by being an active member of the subreddit. Comment as much as possible. Submit quality content. Provide as much as you can as a runner to help keep this community growing and I'm certain your efforts will not go unnoticed. Just keep tuning in and making friends and eventually it'll pay off if you want to be featured. Thank you.
Posted Aug 4, 2017, 11:57 AM UTC · edited