Monday, October 05, 2009

Catching up with Lynbrook HS runner, Luca Signore...

Today we chat with Lynbrook HS senior, Luca Signore. He's had quite a season already splitting with Weston Strum of Pioneer by winning the Lynbrook Center Meet and finishing behind Strum at the Earlybird Invitational in the senior race. Luca then went on to dominate at the Iolani XC Invitational winning the Varsity Boys' race by close to 40 seconds. At the Stanford Invitational, he finished 2nd in the Division II race behind Santa Rosa's Reesey Byers, running a PR of 15:50 on the 5K course. He also finished 2nd behind the debut race of Mountain View senior Garrett Rowe in the Central Park Invite. At this past Saturday's Artichoke Invitational, Luca (pictured finishing his race) recorded the fastest time of the day as he was the lone runner to break 12 minutes on the 2.33 mile course.

1) How did you get your start in running?
I didn't start running as a sport until 7th grade track but in elementary school we would run the mile every month on this big grass field. I remember running 9:41 in 4th grade and wanting to beat the fastest kid in class so every time after that we always raced to see who would win. In 7th grade at Miller we had an annual race called the Turkey trot and I ran it because my friend wanted me to run it with him but I ended up getting third and I realized running was my thing so I joined track and I've been in love ever since.

2) Tell us a little about your experience with the cross country and track and field teams as a freshman and sophomore.
My freshmen year in Cross Country was the most amazing experience I've ever had. I went from being the quiet freshmen in the corner to the loud, slightly immature freshmen that loved to hang out with all the upper-classmen and just getting to know everyone that year was amazing. Track was more of the same with the seniors that year being great role models, influencing us to become the seniors we are today. Sophomore year was again a lot of fun in Cross Country but it ended on a slightly disappointing note as I injured myself right before DAL finals and I had to drop out a mile into the race. Track season for me was great that year as I surprised myself by qualifying for CCS trials in the 1600.

3) What were some of your accomplishments last year as a junior in both sports?
Qualifying for the state meet last year was amazing and winning my first varsity XC race at DALs was the moment I was most proud of. Track was a bit of a disappointment as I started off the season strong but became sick in early February and after recovering from the sickness I kept trying to get back into it by just putting in lots and lots of hard miles which ended up killing me rather than helping me so even though I was able to PR in the 3200 by a bit, I didn't improve my 1600 at all.

4) Describe your summer training before this season. What was your most miles per week? Any workouts?
I took three weeks off from running at the beginning of summer when in Italy visiting my family; it's hard to run when the food there is so good. When I got back to the states I started with 3-5 miles a day in the hills for a week, moving to 6-8 a day, and then we went for a 5 day running camp in the Santa Cruz mountains with the team. We planned to run no more than 11 miles on any given day but thanks to our coaches maps and our poor sense of direction we had nothing shorter than 9 and a 14.5 miler and a 16 miler as well which may not have felt great at the time but all the mileage really helped us in the long run. During August I ran pretty much 7 days a week, 5 with my team and 2 by myself, usually two long runs in the hills per week and no real speed work. I finished off summer with an amazing run to the top of Black Mountain in Rancho San Antonio.

5) Tell us a little about your success during the early part of this cross country season.
I've been fortunate to have some great races so far in the season but I'm just hoping that I can keep this up and help my team make states as that has been our dream for a long time and I would much rather take the whole team to states than go alone, I'd trade all my good races for it.

6) What would you say has been the biggest reasons for your early season success?
All the mileage I put in last track season, along with the mileage I put in over summer has really helped me, and as cliche as it sounds; the girl I'm currently in a relationship with makes me very happy and when I feel happy, I run much better. That and just the love I have for running really keeps me going.

7) Tell us a little about your team's trip to Hawaii. Highlights?
It was my 2nd time going to Hawaii, I got to go as a freshmen, and before the trip this year I feared that it wouldn't stack up to the one my freshmen year as it was just an amazing experience getting to know everybody and feeling like a part of the team, but this year was amazing in it's own way. Coming back as a senior was a great way to end my high school XC career and though I had a great race individually, it would have made me much happier to win that team title, and losing it by a point (46-47) made it just that much harder on us, but we didn't point any fingers on the team as we all had more to give and the loss brought us closer as a team and it makes for a great story.

8) You have your own blog (http://speedyspaghetti.wordpress.com/). How did that start and what kinds of things do you write about?
I started my own blog after reading my friend Andrew Lum's blog who was also a runner for Lynbrook. His words inspired me and even though I didn't like writing for school at all, after I started writing about something I love it made it much easier and it's great to try and put down in words what running means to me, even though words don't really do the feeling justice. My posts range from photo posts from various trips such as camp or my run to Black Mountain or just some philosophical views on life and how running has affected mine.

9) Can you identify a time when you think you became really passionate about the sport of running? What are some of your favorite sources to learn more the sport of running?
I've always enjoyed running but I fell in love with it the summer after freshmen year when Gene (a runner on the team at the time) took me on a run at 1 in the morning in the middle of Rancho San Antonio and running blindly into the darkness made me realize what running is all about and after that night I've never doubted my love for running. The best way to learn about running is running, whenever I need to sort out some problems in my life, I lace up my shoes and run up this one really steep hill near my house until I can't think about anything any more and I feel completely calm after that.

10) Tell us a little about your coach and what he has meant to you and the Lynbrook HS cross country team.
Hank Lawson has been more than a coach to me, and the rest of the LHS XC team. He's always there to help us, whether it's about running, or anything else. His training prepares us for the races and his lessons prepare us for life outside cross country. He has had a great impact on myself and anyone who is lucky enough to have been coached by him at Lynbrook. I honestly believe that Hank has not only made me a better runner, but also a better person.

11) What would your best advice be for a young runner who has aspirations to excel in cross country?
As long as there is a love for the sport, all you have to do is put in the work. Talent will only take you so far, after that it just takes lots of dedication and hard work.

12) Anything else you would like to add.
Thank you for interviewing me and I hope I helped. I want to say is thank you to everyone that been around me during my four years in LHS XC, my coaches, teammates, and everyone else that has helped us. I'm doing everything in my power to enjoy my last season in Cross Country to the fullest and I hope that my teammates and I will share a ride to Fresno come thanksgiving as making states as a team would be the greatest accomplishment for me in these four years.

Thank you very much for your time Luca! AJC

7 comments:

$av said...

I was waiting for this interview. Hopefully your blog gets some more coverage for being some good true honest writing from the heart about something you love.

And for the answer about what's been going well this season - "this girl" - whatever you've been doing so far, keep doing it.

Albert Caruana said...

Thank you very much for your support of the blog.

Any help in promoting the blog would be appreciated. If you are a coach and have a team website, please add the link to this blog on your site.

Unfortunately I am no longer allowed to promote my blog on the dyestatcal.com message board. Apparently I am driving traffic from their website...:D Nevermind the fact that I link to their site all the time.

Kevin Liao said...

Great interview, Coach. Luca's a great competitor and has a very bright future in running. It's also inspiring to see his efforts to promote the sport to his teammates and other through his blog.

Unknown said...

Nice interview. Luca, when you ran Black Mountain (My favorite run of all time) did you run back down to the main parking lot too or did you get picked up at the parking lot 2 miles from the top? How long of a run is it if you go all the way to the top and back? Good luck this season, make CCS proud.

mike said...

Luca's career stats:

http://www.xcstats.com/indiv_career_report.php?runr_id=651

Fantastic - he has shown constant improvement throughout is career. Check out his average pace each season:
Fr - 5:47
So - 5:28
Jr - 5:18
Sr - 5:02

Mike Sherwood
www.xcstats.com

Luca said...

Thank you all for your very kind comments, Albert I already added your blog onto my blogroll and I'll promote it as all XC runners should have a read. Will; when I ran Black Mountain I started at the parking lot near the Duveneck Windmill Pasture and then I ran back down to there since I left my car there, the maps in Rancho say it's about 9.5 that way but I doubt the accuracy of those maps as a few of the other trails in the park are longer than advertised. It's an amazing run and I can't wait to do it again. Once again thank you all for your words.

Andrew Lum said...

Loved the interview, his progress since freshman year has been amazing and most of all--he's never satisfied. Furthermore, he brings his team together as a family, an aspect that is essential as well as unique to cross country.

watch out everyone, ccs is gonna be a great race this season.
-goodluck to luca and the team,
andrew lum

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