Interview with Will Seidel

Will: Fire away.

MaT: Excellent. Just so you're aware of the format and themes, I'm going to ask you questions about running and life, and you'll have however long you need to respond. I always feel the need to be clever when I get interviewed but usually fail to do so. Don't succumb to that pressure for my sake.

Will: OK, I will be straight up.

MaT: What have you been up to since Ross and Gordon left Cornell?

Will: I first spent two years in NYC working as an architectural consultant, and running for the Central Park Track Club. After that I went off to Madison, Wisconsin to do my MS in mechanical engineering, running slowly and getting injured a lot. Now I've finished that and am about to head to Denver to work in the solar industry.

MaT: I'll get back to grad school in a bit, since I want to ask about your defense, but comparing NYC and Wisconsin from a running perspective, which atmosphere was more productive?

Will: I think I sort of skewed the comparison somewhat by being drastically busier in Wisconsin - and I think the stress really took its toll there in terms of the two cities - I can compare them in a few categories:
1) Weather - NYC wins easily, Madison is incredibly cold in the winter and this outweighs the awesome summer/fall.
2) Routes - Madison isn't as great in this category as you'd think (I was hoping for Ithaca-like trails) but it still easily trumps NYC.
3) Running 'scene' - I'd say NYC takes this one. Madison has a good number of studs - but they all tend to do their own thing, and few cohesive training groups exist (at least for the journeyman athlete). Both places have decent racing opportunities - but NYC's proximity to the east coast corridor means more is within reach.
So if you're a huge stud who needs trails, has money to pay for flights to big meets etc. etc. I'd say Madison wins out. If you're a weekend warrior who wants to have fun racing with your friends, NYC.

MaT: Which one are you?

Will: I'm basically the latter trying to be the former. I think running-wise I had more fun in NYC. But who knows - that might be because I have run terribly since getting here.

MaT: So, in terms of Ross, Gordon, and me, would you give the edge to Gordon when it comes to running cities?

Will: Hmmmm. Well I know NYC can be supportive of running fast if you have time to engage in the running community - so I think the potential would be there for Gordon to take advantage of that. With his time commitments though - he basically never had the chance, although in fall 2008 he actually got in quite good shape in about 2 months of half-assed training - even running 1:57 in a ladder workout in practice. Pittsburgh I'm not really sure about as a city - I guess it produced Sam Bair, but on the other hand it kept Sam Bair above 4 minutes for quite some time. Hard to say there. Syracuse seems like a tough place to train - just from what I've heard about it: Cold, snowy, isolated. But I bet it's nice in the summer.

MaT: That sounds about right. I want to go back to something you said about hopes and dreams. Have yours essentially been dashed at this point in that you're happy with your current PR's, or do you still see Future Will as being the most fit version of yourself?

Will: I still think I can go faster. In January of 2009 I went from 1:59 to 1:55 in two weeks, then got the flu and missed indoors. The first weekend in April I ran 4:00 1500m closing in 60 to win my heat, then tore my hamstring and missed the outdoor season. I don't think I'm old enough that those performances are irrelevant - and I believe that if I am healthy and train smart I should be able to recapture that kind of fitness. Recent workouts suggest I am getting close. Of course - this is always the lament of the washed-up runner: 'if I could just get over XYZ injury and XYZ obstacle I know I could be the champ again...'

MaT: Oh Lil' Brudder…

Will: Exactly. I guess I'll find out in the next few years - but I don't think I could walk away now and be certain I got everything out of myself. You're only young once - my dad is forced to always wonder how fast he could have run if he'd really tried. I don't want to be in that situation.

MaT: But what's better? A 30-year-old who has run professionally since college and maybe made an Olympic Trials on $20k a year or someone who's furthered themselves professionally in some significant ways while half-assing the running?

Will: The problem with the 30 year old is he may have given up a lot of chances to realize his potential in the rest of his life. If most of his potential lies in running - it might be a good decision to follow that path. I think my running potential is very limited in the big scheme of things - but I don't think I need to give up much in terms of the rest of my life to try to run fast. Training for running doesn't take too much time - and if I didn't train I'd just be spending more time messing around on the internet.

MaT: That's true, I suppose. Maybe we use life as an excuse more so than we should.

Will: I think in lots of cases there are life situations which make it almost impossible: Med school, i-banking, etc. But I don't do either. The past two years I've worked ~12hours a day, averaged over a 7 day week. That leaves plenty of time. 9-5 leaves TONS of time, though the mental fatigue is a factor. And darkness. It is hard to finish work and head to the track for a hard workout.

MaT: Speaking of darkness, I feel like this is a good time to ask you about your thesis Just so the readers know, you were involved with discovering piezoelectric property changes in barium titanate upon mechanical deformation. Why don't you take us through the experience and tell us how much you ran in the days leading up to your defense.

Will: I'm impressed you know what piezoelectric properties are! But no, that has nothing to do with my thesis. My thesis focused on the simulation of the Supercritical CO2 Brayton Cycle for application in concentrating solar power plants. Basically simulating the performance of a different power-block for converting thermal energy into electricity. The experience of the research itself was very fulfilling, though the writing or reports/thesis was pretty terrible. I had two advisors who were constantly re-revising everything in minute and unimportant ways. I spent huge amounts of time late at night waiting for revisions - and then making them the process was hugely stressful - I am glad it is done.

MaT: Sounds like a big drag. Do you regret doing it?

Will: Nah I'm very pleased with what I did. I just a spent a lot of time doing unproductive things, but I got a ton done - I'm very proud of the research, I think it's important.

MaT: Do you think it's possible that human beings will one day be able to live on solar energy (i.e. not have to eat food)?

Will: I think if we've learned anything from that arsenic-eating bacteria - it is that anything is possible. We could certainly live for some period of time on just solar energy - might be days, might be weeks - depending on how fat we are.

MaT: Right. Have you ever watched The Biggest Loser?

Will: I saw it a few times in college, yeah.

MaT: Do you think its safe to lose 168 pounds in five months? I ask this because Oliver was thinking about running the marathon with us.

Will: Now I must emphasize that I am not a doctor. But I see no reason why Oliver couldn't lose 168lbs in that time. In all honesty, I very much believe Oliver has what it takes to run fast again with focus and lots of weight loss.

MaT: Emphasis on "lots."

Will: Yeah, he needs to get down to 175 or so

MaT: Is there any truth to the rumor that you two have got a bet about whether he can run a 2:08 800?

Will: $100. Very true.

MaT: What is the deadline?

Will: Physically I think he could do it pretty easily. It has to be done during the Boston High Performance meet season. I doubt his ability to focus and get it done though

MaT: So he's got 8-9 months?

Will: More like 7, though maybe 9 months when we made the initial bet.

MaT: What are your predictions for marathon times in Pittsburgh?

Will: It's tough to predict because that requires me to predict what you guys are physically capable of assuming you train at capacity and secondly, predict how much training you will do. I'd guess you'll all run 2:55-3:10 type times. I'd expect Mackenzie to be somewhat ahead due to guile and maybe more training

MaT: I was thinking about a bet of our own, based on one that friends of Steve Hicks had made for New York but never acted on. What do you think about the winner being able to punch the loser in the face at the finish line?

Will: I think it's a safe idea if you can avoid hitting the nose. Maybe a punch in the side of the head? Or a really aggressive open-handed slap.

MaT: Yeah, nose would hurt. The slap might be a good idea.

Will: Luff and I had several bets whereby the loser would get punched in the stomach IMMEDIATELY after finishing a race.

MaT: Right, that's the idea here.

Will: I once punched him incredibly hard in the stomach right after he missed the IC4A standard in the 10k at a home meet

MaT: Did he cry?

Will: Nah, he was a good sport. Sad about missing the standard of course, but he ended up doing alright later on.

MaT: Can you imagine getting punched in the stomach after a race that really mattered to you?

Will: Yeah, I bet it would barely figure in when you consider the pain of the race failure.

MaT: Alright, let's switch gears for a minute. 2010 saw Ross and I get married. Gordon is getting married next summer. What gives?

Will: I'd expect it all follows in the same vein of Gordon's life, that is, trying to measure up to Sammy Mack. I've heard he is applying to med school

MaT: I was trying to get him to apply to Syracuse actually. But what I meant, I suppose, is what's the deal with marriage itself?

Will: I'm maybe not the one to ask about this, but I guess if you're sure you're sure.
I'm not really ever sure about anything.

MaT: Wives can be annoying sometimes. Like when they make you clean instead of writing on your blog. I'm pretty sure about that. My better half is certainly a better journalist than I am, but I have to say I think I'm doing pretty well. On the other hand, I'm running out of ideas for questions. Do you have any questions that you'd like Marathon a Trois to answer?

Will: Why are you running a marathon? Versus say a more traditional distance for you guys?

MaT: Well, I think it boils down to fear of failure and a desire to explore some unknown territory. I think it would be pretty hard for us to be disappointed with the result, and it seems like the sort of event that precludes half-assing it on the preparation side. Gordon ran New York and pitched the idea of running a marathon to us via email.

Will: Yeah I can see that. Do you guys plan to run together - or are you guys gonna go solo?

MaT: I think if one of us is grossly undertrained, it'll be hard to stay together. Staying together is the ideal, I guess, but I think we could split up after a while if the pace demanded it.

Will: I worry that the wear and tear on Gordon could be enormous.

MaT: He's already breaking down. He hasn't posted anything on the blog in like ten days.

Will: Not unexpected. A lot of weight on a lot of long levers

MaT: What has been your favorite blog post in the early going?

Will: Hmm. I like ross's big posts, but only for entertainment. Honestly I would like to see more posts about what you guys are doing for running. Very little in that vein
so far.

MaT: Yeah, I think more graphs would be nice. We'll work on it. Anything else you'd like to ask or say before we conclude?

Will: I think you've got it all!

{At this point in the interview, I tried to drag Will through a Mad-Lib. He was a good sport and filled in answers through about half of it, at which point I could tell he was getting tired based on his answering "apple," "fencepost," and "CD-ROM" for three verb spots. Then Will got a phone call, and I tried to have Natalie fill out the rest. She just yelled at me, forcing me to extract words from her self-righteous oratory. The result of this disaster is published below:

Dear Will,

It seems like only yesterday we installed, but soon we'll put away our helmets and caravans. We'll go on with our lives once we have parted, but how can we say farewell to our pineapples? Wow! I can't believe it's finally time to go. I'll miss the fun times we had together training, appleling, and fenceposting. I'll never forget the time you CD-rommed that phone until you graded stories. What I'll miss most is the way you sat around. It always brought out the work in me. You've changed my life; you've made it frustrated. Leaving makes me feel strangely lazy.

Farewell dear friend,

Sam}