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Full Name: Daniel Keith Vincent Hobbies: Guitar, trumpet, French horn, piano, paintball, perhaps running... Date of Birth: Oct. 21, 1987 Academic Interest: Math and Science Personal bests: 5k - 16:43, 3200m - 10:31, 1600m - 4:31 |
vincent: I decided that I wanted to try to break 16 minutes at least once and to try to crack the top-10 at the state finals.
scrunners: So far this season, how would you rate your season, based on your goals and team goals?
vincent: We\'re not there yet, but we still have about half the season left, and once one of our top varsity runners recovers from his injury we should be one of the top five teams (4A). As far as personal goals go, I\'m not really that close yet, but I still have four or five more races left.
scrunners: What kind of training did you undergo this summer?
vincent: I ran about 40-50 miles per week depending on the intensity of each workout during the week. On Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays the team would do some hill training on either the Isle of Palms Connector or the new Cooper River Bridge (Arthur Ravenel Bridge).
scrunners: Did you attend a running camp this summer?
vincent: My team attended the camp at Appalachian State University, but I was out of town that week. I was really disappointed that I wasn\'t able to go with the guys, but since then I\'ve tried to work extra hard in practice to make up for it.
scrunners: Living near the beach, how do you incorporate hill workouts into your training?
vincent: The only hills we have are made of concrete. This Isle of Palms Connector is about four-tenths of a mile from the base to the peak, and we use it often. The new Cooper River Bridge is slightly more challenging, but much less accessable, so we haven\'t been there as often, but no matter where we go we try to do at least two workouts involving hills each week. As the season progresses the hill workouts are replaced by mile repeats and other speed work.
scrunners: Where do you train near Wando HS?
vincent: During the summer we train mostly on the Isle of Palms, but during the school year we train at the school\'s track or at the Park West Recreation Department behind Cario Middle School, the site of our invitational course. When we don\'t have a Saturday meet during the season we will sometimes go back to the Isle of Palms for a long run.
scrunners: What is your favorite cross country workout? Explain.
vincent: My favorite would have to be (3 or 4) x one-mile repeats at or slightly faster than race pace with a half-time recovery period. I only feel like I\'ve spent my training time well when I\'m ready to collapse afterward, and this type of speed work certainly provides that.
scrunners: As a senior, do you hold a leadership position on the team?
vincent: Coach Fallis frequently asks my opinion (as he does with the other seniors) of the team\'s workouts and schedule. Usually we agree, but often we have to reach a compromise when our concerns don\'t match up. He leads us in the right direction, though.
scrunners: Have you thought about running in college? If so, what schools are you doing research on?
vincent: Yes, I would love to run in college. The college I am looking at most is Brigham Young University. They have consistently had a top-20 team in D-I track and cross country, and the times required for a scholarship there are definitely attainable. Other than that I have been looking at Duke, but probably more for their academic curriculum then their running programs.
scrunners: Do you see yourself running a marathon in your lifetime? Which marathon would you like to run?
vincent: My coaches insist that I could become a great marathon runner, but I don\'t see how I could make myself run that far, at least competitively. I did a half-marathon once and it about killed me. I guess it would take some time to learn how to run one correctly. I will probably end up running one eventually though. I\'ve looked into the Boston Marathon, since my English teacher has run it twice and said it was a blast.
scrunners: For you, what is the most challenging course you have competed on? Explain.
vincent: Probably the Great American course at the SAS Soccer Complex in Cary, N.C. simply because I wasn\'t prepared for it. I, like every one else in my division, took that downhill first mile way too fast and paid for it when I had to go back up the hill. I didn\'t get another opportunity to go back this year, though I really wanted to.
scrunners: What kind of race strategy works best for you and if the strategy changes, how do you adapt?
vincent: I just try to ignore the gunners at the start of the race and run my own pace for the first mile. If the lead group gets too far in front though, I have to make an adjustment to catch up so I don\'t lose the lead runners for the rest of the race. After the first mile, though, I just try to pick runners off one by one and lay it out in the last 200-meters or so.
scrunners: When did you start to run?
vincent: I began running in the fourth grade when I tried out for my elementary school\'s track team (which I failed to make). I kept at it, though, and began running track for Wando in the eighth grade and cross country in the ninth grade.
scrunners: Do you remember your first race? Where and when was it? How did you do?
vincent: My first race was a 5k at the Palmetto Islands County park, the old site of the Wando Invitational, in 1998, around the time I was training for that track tryout. My time was somewhere around 24:30 and I placed second in my age group.
scrunners: What or whom gave you the idea to start running?
My parents used to run every day, so I decided I wanted to do it with them. My mom still runs but my dad has slackened up a bit.
scrunners: How many times have you run the Cooper River Bridge Run?
Only three times competitively (fourth, fifth and ninth grade). Since then it has conflicted with my track meet schedule.
scrunners: When was the first year you ran this race?
vincent: The first year was 1998. My place in the male division was 3390 and my time was 56:29.
scrunners: Have you ever been injured? If so, explain what happened. How did you stay motivated during this time and did you undergo any cross training?
vincent: After running the above mentioned half-marathon I failed to take off the necessary time to rest and suffered some nasty complications from an irritated IT band. Unfortunately this all happened at the beginning of track season, so I missed about three weeks of key training time, but some things just have to be learned the hard way.
scrunners: Do you or Wando have any rivals? When and how did these competitive rivals develop?
vincent: Our biggest rival is Stratford. For the past two years our region championship has been decided by less than five points, so the competition is pretty tight. Plus, they always have a runner at the all-state level. Two years ago it was Dmitri Virnig, last year it was Ryan Krause, and this year it\'s Toma Walker. We get along well though.
scrunners: What do you look for in a coach and what do you expect a coach to look for in you?
vincent: I look for a coach who is willing to work his team to the bone, but who will also let up when the time is right. I feel that a coach should also pick the runners who work the hardest because they become the most consistent runners. Coach Fallis does a good job of this.
scrunners: Have you ever thought about coaching in the future? If so, why and what level?
I really haven\'t given it much thought, but I guess if I had a child who ran I might consider it.
scrunners: What events would you like to run this track season?
vincent: I would like to focus on the 1600-meter and the 3200-meter, with some emphasis on the 4x800-meter events towards the region championships. I feel that I\'ve done too much short work in the past, and its time to get my 3200m time down.
scrunners: Does Wando have a team tradition prior to a meet and on race day? How and when did these tradition develop?
vincent: For large meets we usually go to Olive Garden or a similar Italian restaurant the night before and carbo-load, or we have dinner at a team member\'s house. Before a race we all circle up and yell \"Wando\" or \"Warriors\", but other than that we just do our own things.
scrunners: Leaving Wando in May, what do you want to remember the most from your time as a Warrior?
vincent: I want to remember that even if I fall short of my goals that I still tried my hardest.
scrunners: Have you ever met a professional runner? If so, what did you talk to them about?
vincent: I am in touch with a Wando alumnus named Lee Hurren (1984) who ran professionally for a few years after college. I\'ve talked with him about his 3200-meter school record and what kind of interval training he did to get his times down. He told me the single thing that helped him most was limiting the rest time between intervals.
scrunners: What keeps you motivated to get out the door on a daily basis, for life and running?
vincent: Aside from competing, I just love to run. It gets me away from all the drama out there, leaving me alone with the road. I have always been involved in sports since I was five, and if I\'m not I feel like my life\'s missing something.
scrunners: If there is one thing in the world you could do what would it be and why?
vincent: I would like to be a good person, even if I turn out to be a lousy runner.
scrunners: Explain to the viewers, what you consider a true cross country runner.
vincent: A true cross country runner is someone who is willing to do the work in June for a meet in November, and who can learn to forget fatigue in the third mile.