Ryan Deak may have listened to his coach, Greg Weich's advice too well at the Foot Locker Midwest Regional. Weich instructed his charge to not make any moves beyond the mile, and Deak did just that, allowing Matt Withrow to pull away and win. This week may be different as a very confident looking Ryan Deak seems ready to go in his second year of qualifying. After an 8:51.65 for 3,200m on November 22, Deak may just be in the best shape of his life after moving to Colorado earlier this year. We spoke with him the day before the race, after he went for a run with teammates Katelyn Kaltenbach and Morgan Schulz, and coach Greg Weich.

Ryan Deak (Photo: Alison Wade/New York Road Runners)

Ricky Quintana: So, second time around.
Ryan Deak: Yeah, second time. Seems like I was here only yesterday, but it’s been a year.

RQ: How will the course pan out for you tomorrow?
RD: I really like the course. The Midwest course had rolling hills, this has rolling hills, and I've been running courses with hills all year, so I think I’m going to do pretty well on this course this year.

RQ: Last year, after the race, you said that the hill really took it out of you the second time around. Do you feel more confident this year after your move to Colorado?
RD: I feel a lot more confident on the big hill. The hill is all mental. Last year, I was sick, so I wasn't there mentally and that's what killed me. I think it will be a different story this year.

RQ: At the Midwest Regional, you looked pretty comfortable. Is that a correct assessment?
RD: Yes, I was extremely comfortable. I felt extremely good. I wish I didn't feel that great, because Withrow was way out there. He took off at the mile point and you had to make a decision right at that second, because he took off so fast. You had to decide right then [if] you were going to go with him or not, and we just didn't go with him. So, basically, I was just racing for second there and just trying to qualify.

RQ: What kind of time do you think will win this race tomorrow?
RD: It’s going to be interesting [to see] what time will win this. It's probably going to be [around] what Solinsky ran last year, 14:45 or somewhere around there. Maybe under 14:40. Solinsky was unstoppable last year and he ran 14:41. I would think somewhere around 14:45.

RQ: This being your second time, what do you think are going to be the key points on this course?
RD: Probably the same thing as last year, the two-mile point. Maybe somebody is going to take off on the big downhill after the hill. Someone may take off there, but it’s definitely going to be at the one-and-a-half to two-mile point where it's going to make or break the race.

RQ: You had a really good finish last year to catch a lot of people. Do you have confidence in your finish?
RD: I do have confidence in my finish, but there are also 31 other guys here that have great finishes, because they are the best in the nation. Hopefully, at the end, it's all mental so the one who is mentally the toughest is going to have the best kick.

RQ: You ran that 8:51 in Gainesville, Florida. Has that opened up a new bag of tricks for you?
RD: It really has. At that race, I was just so focused on the race. I was mentally and physically prepared for it. I just had to trust my fitness and my game plan and it paid off. If I do that tomorrow, it’s going to be an interesting race.

RQ: Who do you think are going to be the key players?
RD: There are so many of them. There are going to be [anywhere from] one to 20 guys. It's going to be amazing. (Shadrack) Kiptoo, (Galen) Rupp, the list goes on and on. Every guy from every region is going to be up there.