Greg,

Congrats on being named the D3 Athlete of the Month! Can you tell us a little bit about your sports background? Which sports did you do as a kid and as you got older?

GL: If there even is such a thing as a typical triathlon background, I definitely don't have it. I grew up playing hockey and baseball and all of my focus was on those two sports through high school and college. To be fair, I was on a local swim team until I was about 12 but then didn't swim another lap until at least a decade later. I would also go on short runs here and there and ride my mountain bike, but never did either of them as part of training or any racing until about five years ago.

What was your motivation to get started in triathlon?

GL: Once I graduated from college, I knew I wanted to move on from hockey and find something else. My cousin, Anne Lantz, had just wrapped up a very accomplished triathlon career of her own, including winning an age group world championship title, and she convinced me to give running and triathlon a shot.

When and where was your first race?

GL: My first race was the 5430 Sprint Triathlon in 2008 at the Boulder Reservoir. I don't know if I stopped smiling the entire time.

What is your occupation and how does it fit into your lifestyle of triathlon?

GL: I am an attorney here in DC but I thankfully have a pretty predictable schedule. The hours can vary from week to week and I do have some travel, but I have just learned to be better at scheduling my training. The key is to allow myself some flexibility on the training end when things get busy with work or life in general.

What services have you used at D3 to help you with reaching your goals?

GL: I joined D3 in November of 2012 and have been working with Coach Mike Ricci through a 1-on-1 training program. I cannot emphasize enough how much Mike has done to develop my skill, endurance, and confidence in that short amount of time. I truly am a completely different athlete than I was before I started working with him.

Have you done any races that you’d traveled for?

GL: I tend to race close to home by racing mostly in Virginia and Maryland. I have traveled further on occasion to races like Age Group Nationals in Burlington, VT and Ironman Lake Placid.

Best Triathlon moment?

GL: This is a tough one, but I would have to say it was winning my 30-34 age group this year at the Columbia Triathlon one week after winning my first age group title at a local sprint race. It meant so much to me because it showed me that all of that hard work over the winter was really paying off. At that point I realized that I had actually become one of those guys that I wanted to be just a year ago; I just needed to put in the work to get there.

What is your favorite race and why?

GL: The Columbia Triathlon is great because the course is so tough, but it has to take second to Ironman Lake Placid. The entire environment in Lake Placid was unbelievable. The course is brutally hard, the scenery is amazing, and the sense of accomplishment upon crossing that finish line make it an unbeatable race.

What are your long term goals in triathlon?

GL: I want to do this for as long as it continues to be both fun and healthy. As long as I can say it is still both of those things, then I'll be out there. Naturally, I would like to continue to improve and hopefully qualify for some bigger races, but the whole reason I am here is to enjoy myself and stay healthy.

Any big plans this year for you outside of triathlon?

GL: Getting married! Liz is fantastic and is such a supporter of mine. I couldn't do what I do without her.

If you could spend one day training with anyone, who would it be?

GL: Andy Potts. He is fast, accomplished, and seems like a genuinely nice guy. Plus, his wife has a cupcake store in my hometown of Colorado Springs. That's got to count for something, right?

What's in your race future?

GL: The rest of 2013 is going to be wild as I will be stepping up into the Amateur Elite category for the first time for Trirock Philadelphia and the New Jersey State Triathlon. The key race, however, will be Ironman 70.3 Austin in October where I will be looking to further improve on what I just accomplished at Eagleman this week. In 2013, I am already looking forward to running Boston and returning to Lake Placid.

What's your favorite workout?

GL: It's all about those saturday morning brick workouts. Those are brutal at times but they pay off on race day.

What is your least favorite workout?

GL: I still don't like swimming longer sets in an indoor pool for some reason. Now if I could train in an outdoor 50m pool or open water, that would completely change things.

Tell us something interesting about you!

GL: I used to work the graveyard shift as a snowcat operator in Vail. We would groom the slopes starting at about 2:30 am and I would be home by 1pm. There is just something so relaxing about being in that kind of environment in the middle of the night that made the shift times and solitude worth it.

Thanks so much for the interview Greg and congratulations again!