December 29, 2007 at 11:31 AM

While running for Pomona-Pitzer, Will Leer was an 8 time track and field and cross country All-American, a 4 time National Champion (2 x Mile, 1500, and 5000), and ran the 4th fastest 1500m in Division III at the Occidental Invite last spring when he ran 3:41.98. After graduating, Will competed in the USATF Outdoor Track and Field Championships, lowering his 1500m pr to 3:40.06 in the prelims and eventually finishing 10th overall. Recently, Will sat down and talked about running for the Oregon Track Club - Elite (along with former D3 runners Nick Symmonds and Ryan Bak), his transition from collegiate to professional running, and his goals for this year.

What has your training been like since the USATF Outdoor National Championships this past summer?

After USA’s I was pretty burned out and in serious need of some down time. A little “R and R,” as they say. I think I took about 2.5 weeks completely off, using that time to gather my thoughts and reflect on having graduated from college and embarking on a whole new period of my life. I worked my way back into training pretty slowly, hitting around 25 miles for my first week back. I steadily increased my weekly mileage (5-10 miles per week) until I finally reached my goal of 75-85 miles. It was definitely hard to increase mileage at such a slow pace but I was constantly being reminded that I am aiming to run well in June, not August.

Since moving to Oregon and beginning to train with the OTC - Elite I have been maintaining 80-85 miles per week, hitting a high of 92, in 7 or 8 runs per week.

On a typical easy day of training...

 

The writers of this article also have a website dedicated to D3 athletes. They are currently revamping the site, but check back once the indoor season starts! D3Running.com