FW:Based on past interviews, it seems that you’re a genuine adherent to the hard/easy credo—that is, you’re not afraid to run really, really slow, and you’re also not hesitant to push for days on end if your body has it to give, but have little use for mileage for its own sake.
LF: Philosophically, this is still true. I don’t think I’m the kind of runner who responds well to junk mileage, extra miles or whatever you want to call it. As a 3K and 5K specialist, I don’t think "excess" mileage is necessary anyway. (Some would disagree.) But I can always improve on adhering to that philosophy. Like most other athletes, I have a tendency to push hard too often, and I need a coach to keep me in line sometimes.

FW: Yet as subjective as that approach seems, you also loosely integrate heart-rate data into the scheme, right?
LF: Yes. I feel that if you have a keen sense of body awareness, you can use a heart-rate monitor here and there and benefit from it. I sometimes use it as a "leash" on easy days to prevent myself from overtraining. This became important when I first left Stanford, because training on my own tends to breed insecurity—the idea that I’m not training hard enough because I’m not with a group. So my main use for the monitor is to hold myself back.

FW: Do you still take every eighth day off?
LF: Actually it averages out to one day off every seven to ten days. I’m on a slightly different schedule now that I’m in a group setting.

FW:You were regularly doing 18-mile long runs in college. Do you have plans to tackle a 10,000m as soon as you’re satisfied with what you’ve done at 5,000, if not before?
LF: I feel that my athletic peak, if I follow in the footsteps of some of the great American women, will be in my late twenties and early thirties, and I want that peak to happen in the 5K. If I do any 10,000s, it will be for training purposes, but I will be more often racing 1,500s and 3,000s to get ready for the 5,000. I want to do this one thing really well.

FW: If forced to choose, would you fancy yourself a track runner who excels at cross-country or a strength runner who brings her assets to the track?
LF: I’d say I’m a track runner who toughs her way through cross country pretty well. The great thing about being a 5Ker is that I don’t have to choose whether to run cross country or not, because it complements my spring goals well, as perhaps marathoners like Deena [Kastor] or Jen Rhines might have to choose since it could conflict with marathon racing. Cross country is short, so it’s easy for me to transition.

I do well on the oval. I like the crowds. I guess I am kind of a ham, because I like the exposure and performing is fun to me.

FW: You’re meticulous in planning your training, even for a distance runner. At some point did you sit down and plot out a block of training aimed specifically at preparing for a national cross country championships?
LF: Yes and no. Fall and winter is generally the most flexible time of the year for me, and I like to focus on fun and go with the flow a bit more. But in terms of training specifics, I’ve taken a pretty aggressive approach toward improving my lactate threshold, and I’ve done more with drills and plyometrics. I’ve got my long run up to two hours.

FW: What kind of feedback tells you that your lactate threshold is higher?
LF: The [USA Running] group has spent the past few weeks at Palo Alto doing sea-level training after being at Mammoth Lakes before that. This means that I can do many of the same runs I did in college and, because I keep good log books, compare where I am now compared to then in terms of pace and effort.

Just the consistency with which I can do threshold runs is encouraging. I’ve definitely built a good platform toward racing right up through September, which is what I want to do. I did some physiological testing this week, some blood testing, and all indicators point to being in a good place. I feel energetic, and my enthusiasm toward training is always high. I don’t know if it’s a sense of community or something slightly different in my training, but I’m loving what I do—and it’s hard work!

FW: At cross country nationals, will you run both the 8K and the 4K again this year?
LF: I’ll sign up for both because I’m not sure yet, but would prefer to just run the 4K.

FW: You mentioned at least as far back as 2002 as having "long-term progression goals." Do these relate primarily to how you plan to structure your training over time, or what you objectively hope to accomplish as a competitor?
LF: My long-term progression goals as a competitor are straightforward—get faster, compete for a podium spot. In terms of training, I’m not looking at training harder every year, but at training smarter. The older I get, the better I can understand the language my body is speaking to me, which will help me cut down on injuries and stay healthier overall.

If I listen and make wise choices, my training should take me where I want to be competitively. Sometimes this might mean more mileage or more 1,000-meter reps, for example, or sometimes it might mean less. It’s always evolving.

FW: Thanks to a confluence of factors, you were the only representative in the women’s 5,000 at the 2003 Worlds in Paris. Did that feel strange?
LF: Yeah, it was strange—almost as if being a distance runner at the World Championships wasn’t the cool thing to do. I’ve sometimes had the same feeling in cross country—the sense of a certain indifference because of what we as American distance runners are up against. Sure, it’s no fun going and getting your butt kicked, but you have to. Look at Deena: she had a few stinkers, then figured some things out and wound up with an Olympic medal. Just getting out there and laying everything on the line will give us a better chance of eventual success; it shortens the learning curve.

FW: You have some very definite ideas regarding how you’d like to combine your education and experience and become involved on the psychosocial side of women’s athletics. Could you expand on those?
LF: I do want to become involved there, and I’m trying to figure out the best way to make an impact on the sport right now. I think that, for the time being, the best way is to continue leading by example and improving my performances.

I’ve been documenting my ideas and thoughts on this for a while. One thing I have in mind for post-collegiate runners is to make the information I’ve gained as an athlete more widely available in order to help broaden the talent base that’s out there. People shouldn’t have to learn the same ten lessons their predecessors did the hard way or try to reinvent the wheel.

Then there’s my wanting to reach out to kids. This might be in the area of trying to help with childhood obesity. I’ve thought about working on a campaign for “5K a day” for combating obesity. Whether you walk or run it, 5K is a good, sustainable distance, and since it’s my specialty, I would be passionate about helping promote it. Ultimately I’d like to have a Web site I can use to broadcast passion and ideas specifically to children and young adults, as well as work on empowering women in sports. I just need to connect with the right people who can help with these things, and it needs to not interfere with my training and racing.

FW: You once noted that you wanted to be remembered as having been three things: a dreamer, a doer and an inspirer. I think you’ve taken care of the first two, and although you’ve surely inspired other runners by example already, how specifically do you plan to go about making this part of your legacy?
LF: Every type of person can contribute to the sport they love. For some, it’s coaching. For others, it’s by serving as athlete host families or through fundraising. We need to find ways to allow everyone to contribute his or her strength, and to improve networking within running, so that the givers can be connected to those with needs.

If I could inspire people to do one thing, it would be to take their contribution to their sport one step further than they do now. I would like to leave this sport better than it was when I found it. Our sport needs improvement, and if others take the same attitude, it could go a long way. I think that would be inspirational.

Editor's Note: Lauren Fleshman ended up solely running the 4K at the 2006 USA XC Championships. She finished in 2nd place with a time of 12:37, five seconds shy of Carrie Tollefson's first place finish.

Interview Conducted on February 9, 2006 Posted on February 15, 2006