We caught up with Mt Ararat freshman Lisandro Berry-Gaviria who is off to a great start during his freshman campaign. Berry has finished first once, and has been the runner-up in two other races.
Tell us how your summer training went?
My summer training went well. I wasn't doing as much mileage as usual for the first half of it or so because I was still recovering from high hamstring tendinopathy in my right leg and I wanted to be cautious about that. But after summer track championships I started cranking up the mileage and I'm now running more than I ever have in my life, which makes me really happy. I've also been doing a lot of cross-training, especially in the pool, and stretching to prevent injury.
You have started off your HS career with back to back runner-up finishes, did you expect to have that kind of success already?
Absolutely not. It's completely blown away my greatest expectations. I won't lie, I had dreamed of being 2016's Wyatt Lord or Luke Laverdiere, but deep down I never had any confidence that I could ever match their freshman times. Now I do. But I hope it doesn't make me too cocky because that's the last way a runner should act.
What has been the biggest adjustment going from middle school to high school running?
I think the biggest adjustment is definitely the intensity of the training. In middle school cross country the workouts we did were admittedly a lot easier and we weren't expected to run outside of practice. But in high school, coach Fournier is a lot more serious about training; the workouts are pretty tough for one thing, and if we run our workout splits faster than she told us to, she expects us to race at that pace. We also incorporate a lot more weightlifting and core into our practices, which are longer and more often than in middle school, and she expects us to train on our own during the weekends. Not that I'm complaining about this, because in middle school I was always that one kid who trained way harder than everyone else, so I actually really welcome the intensity of Fournier's program.
What is your favorite type of workout to do?
My favorite workout is whichever one brings the most pain upon me (barring real overkill stuff...you have to draw the line somewhere), because that's probably the one that'll help me improve the most as long as I do it in a reasonable way. Of course while I'm doing it, I'll hate it and wonder why I put myself through this kind of stuff, but in the end it's always worth it. I guess if I had to pick a specific workout, Fournier had me do an 8 x 1000 meter workout at about 3:27 pace on our course last week, with a 2-minute recovery in between reps. That was brutal, but really rewarding.
What are your goals for the upcoming season?
Before the season started, my goals were to be the #3 runner on my team and run a 5k in 17 flat by the end of the season. But judging from how my season's gone so far, those goals are too low. So I'm thinking that I'll give 16:30 a shot on the Belfast course at states, since I've heard that it's a super fast course, and I'll try to possibly qualify for New England's too.
What shoes do you race/train in?
I train in Asics GT-2000's and up until recently I also raced in Asics Gel-Nimbus's, but I just got my first pair of cross country spikes this week, a hand-me-down pair of New Balance Kick XC 900 V2's. I didn't feel like middle school competition was really intense enough for spikes to make a significant difference, but the upperclassmen on my team have really made it clear to me that spikes are necessary now that I'm in high school.
What is your favorite prerace meal?
I love carb loading before a race, so I usually have a pesto pasta dinner on the night before. My friends and I have a thing for pesto, it's hard to explain...I also try to have some form of protein too. I've heard that bananas are supposed to be really good as pre-race meals, but I've never gotten around to trying them out for that.
What was your favorite Olympic Moment in Rio?
My family doesn't have cable so unfortunately we weren't able to watch the Olympics, therefore I don't feel like it would be fair for me to pick a specific favorite moment since I didn't actually see any. But I guess I thought it was really cool that the US won gold in the 1500 for once.
What professional athlete would you most like to meet?
I think it would be awesome to meet Bernard Lagat. Anyone who can nearly medal in the Olympics at age 41 has my utmost respect and admiration.
What is the best advice ever given to you?
My favorite advice wasn't given to me directly, but it's a quote from a motivational video that my friend Lucas Bergeron and I really like: "Success cannot come to be without adversity...How you handle yourself in these adverse situations, that is what defines a person." The first time I watched that video - it's called "Running Through Hell" - I set a mile PR by 13 seconds a couple hours later. That was this past spring. I'd say it's a must-watch video for any serious runner, but that's just my opinion.
If you could go anywhere in the world where would you go?
My top three choices would probably be the Great Barrier Reef, the Giza pyramids, and Yellowstone National Park. Not sure which would be my #1.
