Interview with Julia Lucas

By Shannon Martin Morehouse

Julia Lucas, 23, of Mammoth Lakes, CA, showed promise as a collegiate runner for North Carolina State. She placed fourth at the 2007 NCAA 5000-meter Championship and fifth at the 2006 NCAA Cross Country Championships. Her PRs included a 9:03 in the 3000 meters and a 15:50 in the 5000 meters.

In her first national championships race as a Team Running USA member, Lucas placed ninth in the 2008 USA Cross Country Championships on February 16 with a time of 27:13. Next up for Lucas is the NYRR Women’s Invitational, part of the Central Park Challenge in New York City on March 15.

New York Road Runners spoke to the enthusiastic Lucas about how she evolved from an injured post-collegiate athlete to a Team Running USA member who is preparing for the upcoming U.S. Olympic Team Trials – Track & Field.

New York Road Runners: I’d like to start out by asking you about your introductory journal entry. It came as no surprise to me that you were an English major. What an eloquent entry—please do elaborate on the fact that “six months ago I had just graduated from college, signed with Reebok and faced my first European racing season. I also had three days left on my apartment lease, 14 dollars in the bank and a torn abdominal muscle.” I’m assuming you had to make some quick decisions.

Julia Lucas: Yes, I did! Through the last part of my senior year, I was working my way through certain injuries. I was sometimes successful and sometimes not, but I made my peace with it. So, when I was in pain at the end of my track season, I just pushed it to the back of my mind because I was so excited to go over to Europe and race and so excited to wear a Reebok uniform. I booked my ticket and signed with my agent, Ray Flynn, and scheduled a few races. And then running actually became too painful. I’m really thankful that it happened then and not a week later when I would have been in Europe, in another country where people did not speak my language. I decided then that I needed to get this taken care of, so I canceled my ticket, lost a lot of money, and prioritized my health. I really wanted to be on the top of my game for the [Olympic] Trials .

I worked with a physical therapist who suggested that I might have a sports hernia, so I spent a week with him, and then a week in Raleigh [North Carolina], and then I had surgery. I tried to come back for the next three months. I thought I would be healed, but essentially found out that I had more problems going on than I realized.

I moped around for a while. Then I ended up sleeping on people’s couches for a while. I’m so glad that I’ve been nice to people in the past, so I was taken care of. My former college coach, Laurie Henes, then put me in touch with Dan Pfaff and Justin Whitaker. I borrowed money from my parents, went across the country, and split time between Portland, Oregon [where Justin Whittaker works], and Oakland, California [where Dan Pfaff works], sleeping on couches. Between these two therapists, they pretty much reworked the way I ran, sat, and slept. I learned that the way I ran was really tearing me up. So, for six months I thought about every step I took as I ran, the way I was holding my hips, my arms, everything. Those two men are so gifted at what they do and they are so willing to help. I’m so thankful for them.

All this time I had been trying to convince Terrence [Mahon] to take me on. I told him I wasn’t always in pain, and I wasn’t always falling to pieces, and I was willing to prove to him how well I could perform. I was determined! After forming relationships with Dan Pfaff and Justin Whittaker, they vouched for me, and Terrence gave me the go-ahead. And now I feel so honored and blessed that it worked out!

NYRR: Obviously, something at Team Running USA is going right—the athletes out of that group are performing phenomenally well. Is this why you were so persistent in pursuing this group?

JL: My thinking is that you’ve got to have a rock in your training. For some people, it doesn’t matter what or who that rock is, but for me, I want to believe in my coach unwaveringly. I want the coach to be my rock, and what I had known about Terrence is that he really coaches the whole athlete, right down to the athlete’s spirit. He takes into account your physical state and your history, your mental training, what is important to your emotional state outside of your running. He’s just extremely intuitive when it comes to training and when it comes to relationships. His relationship with each one of us is really individualized and he just feeds the athlete of a person—he nourishes me.

NYRR: So would you say that you have successfully changed your gait?
JL: To change something like that you have to have the right people looking over you. It’s too easy to do something wrong and re-injure yourself, so it feels great that I have people I trust to look over me.

Everyone has always told me that I ran funny and when I see pictures or videos of myself running I think “Ewww. . . I don’t feel like I’m doing that at all.” So I knew that it was something that needed to be addressed, and I’m glad that I had the resources to do it. I can’t see the changes myself, but ever once in a while I’ll have this moment of clarity where I’m feeling that I’m running the right way. It’s a remarkable thing, to be able to feel and see the changes that you’ve created in yourself. It’s like a work of art, watching yourself evolve and pushing yourself to higher levels in sports.

NYRR: And are you still doing particular things for rehabilitation besides being mindful of your gait?
JL: Constantly. I spent three days in Portland with Dr. Whittaker again. I just got back last night. I had some irritation from the old injury. I do a lot of work with strengthening my lower abs. I always run with kineseotape in an “x” across my stomach. It goes from one hip and crosses to my ribs on the other side. It pulls my pelvis forward a little to prevent another injury. It looks really odd. It’s the color of my skin, so from far away, it looks like I don’t have a bellybutton [laughing].

My teammate Steve Slattery picks on me about this. My teammates are wonderful. They’re just such a great group of people. Ian Dobson is like my older protective brother and Steve is like the older brother who makes you eat weird things [laughing]. And he calls me a jalopy because if something is wrong with me, I just tape it back together.

NYRR: Was the USA Cross Country Championships your first race back since your surgery and subsequent rehabilitation?
JL: Yes, it was my first race back in nine months. It was my longest period ever away from racing. So it was strange coming back. For the first half of the race, it was like I had forgotten how to do it, but I did feel bits of my competitive fire in practice and in daydreaming. But I did forget the hurt of racing, so it took me a bit to get going. I hate using the cliché phrase “rust buster,” but that’s what it was for me.

I worked my way up through the race. At about the halfway point, I was 23rd or so and I worked my way up to ninth. Terrence was happy with my performance. It was a fine first race in my eyes, but it was missing the craziness that is common among all distance runners. I went into it a little too ho-hum and even keel [laughing].

NYRR: I think it’s totally understandable it to feel a little off on your first race back, you probably had no idea what to expect!
JL: No, I didn’t. I wasn’t really that disappointed, but I needed that first race under my belt and I’m really excited for the 8K because I’ll have more of a handle on myself.

NYRR: So how do you feel about racing on the roads and the upcoming 8K road race in Central Park?
JL: I’m so excited! I’ve never done any real road racing and it just seems like a lot of fun.

NYRR: Do you have any strategy going into the race?
JL: Terrence has been working with me on the way I do my workouts, helping me with negative splitting, so I think that will carry over into how I run this race. We haven’t discussed this specifically, but I think for the first half I’ll be more alert than I was at the cross country championships, but I’ll hang back and try to work my way up in the second half. I’m so excited to race in New York though—the city treats me well. My 5K PR was from New York and my 3K PR was from New York.

NYRR: Speaking of road races, I have a question about that for you. Last year, I spoke with Renee Gunning, who I believe you were close friends with at North Carolina State. She explained that she wants to work her way up to the marathon for 2012. Have you thought about doing the same or are you only thinking about 2008 right now?

JL: Renee is one of my best friends. I’m focusing on 2008, but I can’t help but fantasize about the distant future every once in a while [laughing]. I really like the idea of the training for the marathon. I’ve tossed around the idea of doing one, but I’ve never really vocalized it. I can see myself running the marathon, but I do want it to be a natural progression. I don’t want to push myself; I certainly do not underestimate the distance, especially after training with some of the girls up here and seeing some of the workouts they do.

One of the attractions of the marathon is seeing how much your body can handle. It’s been neat seeing Kate [O’Neill] take the steps into becoming a great marathoner. And when Deena [Kastor] is doing marathon simulation runs where she’ll run 10 miles at a normal pace and the next six or seven miles at more of a tempo pace, we’ll all be done with our workouts and will cheer her on from the van, blaring music at her, and we all get goosebumps because her intensity is overwhelming. You can feel the excitement pouring out of her and all the other marathoners. But I see how hard they work! So, maybe one day. I hope by 2012, that it is at least something to be considered.

NYRR: What’s next on your agenda after the 8K?
JL: I need to get out on the track and lower my 5K PR, so I’ll probably do a race at Stanford and then next is the Trials.

NYRR: With your 15:50 PR, that meets the “B” standard. Are you going to try for the “A” standard, which is 15:28?
JL: That’s the goal. My 15:50 PR is from three years ago. It’s frustrating; I’m so tired of that being my PR. I’d like to lower it significantly.

Interview conducted March 7, 2008, and posted March 12, 2008.