David Kinsella KWIK-E

November 30, 2007

David Kinsella has been through the thick and the thin of distance running, having to take time off for injuries. He placed 12th in 10K last year at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and is just coming off an 8th place finish at the NCAA Division I Cross Country Championships.

Can you give me a brief walk through your history with the sport of running?
My first year of high school was my first year of running; I was a sophomore, because Iâ€™d went to the junior high. I guess you could say I ran there, but junior high running doesnâ€™t really count. Itâ€™s more like â€œshow up, do what you want and maybe race at some point.â€Iâ€™ll start back in junior high. We had this whole track thing, and my parentâ€™s made me join because Iâ€™d stopped playing soccer as much as I was. I pretty much just dicked around and did things like the triple jump and eventually the 800 and I had success with that. So, I moved up to the 1600 when coach said I should do it. And I was a cocky, little bastardâ€¦so, I figured â€œYeah, Iâ€™ll go out and do this and Iâ€™ll win itâ€. There was a guy, who I didnâ€™t know at the time who was training. The whole concept of trainingâ€¦well, we thought training was doing a couple laps around the track. This guy had had this hardcore running background and he just wiped the floor with me. The guy was later to become my high school coach was at the league meet for junior high kids. He approached me and was like â€œyou can be good and you can beat this guyâ€¦but youâ€™re going to have to show up for XC and actually train.â€ I was like â€œOK, fine.â€ I started that summer and I went into a program that was pretty conservative, and it didnâ€™t really change. What I was doing my senior year was, I would say, pretty close to what I was doing as a sophomore. We did everything based off of minutes, so in retrospect it would be hard to guesstimate how much I was running mileage. As a sophomore I was averaging high 30s, low 40s for minutes. My senior year we would sometimes have high weeks of maybe high 40s, low 50s weeks, but it was balanced by an easy week of training. In terms of a drastic paradox shift in terms of wow, this is what training can doâ€¦I donâ€™t think I got that insight until college, probably because I didnâ€™t see that huge personal transformation. I thought I was getting faster because I was getting older.

So, was it a hard transition from you averaging 40 minutes a day to running Division I in college?
Oh, definitely. Going to college, I knew that was coming. In high school it was like run one day and you have a day off. I wasnâ€™t seeing the doldrums of like â€œwow, I feel like crap today.â€ Coming into college, you had your work cut out for you. There are the older guys on the team and youâ€™re going out for the â€œregularâ€ run. Youâ€™re thinking, everyday Iâ€™m going to have to run at least an hour. And NO, its like these guys are going out for 10-12, if not more milesâ€¦and youâ€™re like â€œholyâ€¦balls! What am I going to do?â€ Thereâ€™s definitely a point where youâ€™re wondering â€œwhat have I got myself into?â€ When you get to college, everyone has been a someone and being something great coming into the freshman class. There are a few egos. And doing double what I usually was like mini races every single day. It was rough and I was almost fortunate to get banged up my freshman year. So, I only raced once. I never put myself into much training debt. It was definitely a shockâ€¦definitely a shock.
Photo of David Kinsella, portland cross country

Photo of David Kinsella, portland cross country

Picture of David Kinsella, (by Imageofsport.com) during the 2007 NCAA National Championships

So, from then on you just cruised until this year getting to the NCAA Championships?
No, that was freshman year. I got nicked up, so I took time off and was back for track. During track I was back up to doing like 60-70 miles a week. I stayed healthy throughout track and throughout the summer, but was never able to push it much more than that range, so I stayed there. I actually had a successful run my sophomore year in XC, which was actually my redshirt freshman year. I did go to the NCAAâ€™s there. That was the year we got ninth as a teamâ€¦pretty exciting. I think that was a big shock. I go from â€œI think Iâ€™m pretty goodâ€ to being someoneâ€™s pawn. I think I was 70 something. That was my first NCAA XC meet. Then I proceeded to get injured for the next yearâ€¦so, I missed the following year of track and XC. So, a year ago, I started training as soon as my team got back from NCAAâ€™s. And last year was when I started to train consistently again.
What kind of training have you done this year to enable you to run top 10 at NCAAâ€™s?
It was a lot of strength stuff. Itâ€™s funny; I was talking to some of my teammates and looking back I was like â€œlooking back, we never did lots of fast stuff we barely did any at-pace or faster than race pace stuff.â€ That may have been to our detriment early on and that reflects in our early results and how we came on later in the season. We would do tempo and cruise miles. Weâ€™d run a hard mile on a loop and get back to where we started, jog around for a minute and then do it again. These were sort of â€œrhythm based workouts.â€ They arenâ€™t workouts to write home about, but we were like â€œweâ€™re going to focus on rhythm or strength.â€ Those are the bread and butter which made the later season possible. I mean, yeah, after Pre Nats we started doing 800s at race pace and weâ€™d do a couple of miles at faster than race pace. In a way, you could say, that made the season. We had a really mature outlook on the team in terms of â€œthis is a workout, not a raceâ€ and I think that, along with that the fact that we didnâ€™t have early season speed workoutsâ€¦I guess we were kind to one another when we did get to the speed stuff. Not only did we have to foundation when we got to the speed stuff, but we have the maturity to say â€œletâ€™s run a mile, or a couple miles at race pace, but we wonâ€™t dip below 4:30.â€
What do you do aside from running, do you have time to do anything else?
(Laughs)I donâ€™t think so. Yeah, you can hang out with the guys, and you can hang out with the team, your girlfriendâ€¦itâ€™s rough, but the weekends are nice.
You hang out with my girlfriend?
(Laughs) I hang out with my girlfriend.
What do you think of the current state of distance running in America today?
Speaking from just the NCAAs this year, not even looking at the Olympic Marathon Trials right now, I would say it feels deeper. Looking at results with my teammates this year, we were just like â€œGod, this just feels deeper.â€ I donâ€™t know whether or not thatâ€™s trueâ€¦or whether itâ€™s wishful thinking like if we donâ€™t place so high this year itâ€™s because everyone else is so good. Itâ€™s hard to say, but one of my teammates for example, I think he got the same place at Pre Nats this year as he did two years ago and ran something like 30 seconds faster. Obviously, this year we were seeing some really fast times and the conditions were perfect. But itâ€™s still hard not to point to our running as a whole. You look at the Trials and that speaks for itself and you look at what people like (Brian) Sell have done, itâ€™s really inspiring. These guys havenâ€™t billed the top pro contracts. I think it speaks for itself. It would be hard to argue that there hasnâ€™t been resurgence. Itâ€™s all relative.
Going pro, is this something you would like to do?
I go back and forth on this so much. Up until this summer I had never considered it. Considered it seriously, that is. To pursue running after collegeâ€¦there was a point where I seriously considered quitting, but after I had been injured for a year, I was like â€œyou know, this isnâ€™t fun.â€ To fire up and get out there and do itâ€¦ to go out for a few miles, feel the pain and then get on the elliptical. It felt like a huge burden. So, to get healthy all of a sudden and to make it to NCAAs on the track and to go to nationals, it was all of a sudden like â€œwowâ€, things click, even if so for only half a year. It feels good and it works, I can tell thereâ€™s a lot I havenâ€™t tapped into and itâ€™s exciting. This summer Iâ€™ve began to toy with it. So, I go back and forth. It would definitely be a huge commitment, like when we were talking about the NCAA getting deeper, there are a lot of guys out there who are very capable and have great credentials and itâ€™s sort of a question of â€œhow bad do you want it?â€ and Iâ€™m not sure Iâ€™ve answered that myself yet. After getting eighth, that definitely changed my perspective a little or adds to my perspective I guess. Iâ€™m not saying itâ€™s allowed me to make a decision, but itâ€™s another thing to consider. Iâ€™ve got an added dimension. Iâ€™m sure everyoneâ€™s been like â€œOh, I want to go to the Olympicsâ€, but I can look at it from another perspective that Iâ€™m in the process of beginning to apply for dual citizenship. Iâ€™ve got the options, because of my parentsâ€¦where my dad came from England, my mom came from Ireland, I could pursue it from either one of those countries. Iâ€™m in the process of getting the Irish citizenship. In a way, I think it would safe to say that, assuming I could hit the A Standard in the marathon it would be easier to go for Ireland than it would for the US. That definitely floats around the back of my mind. Iâ€™m not committal right now, because the goal is to get healthy and stay healthy. If I stay healthy for a year, we can see what happens.
Will you commit to saying you will run a marathon?
Iâ€™d like to do at least one. It would be a shame for me not to do it. People talk about â€œyou donâ€™t know what a marathon is like until you do oneâ€ and â€œit will tear you apartâ€, but I just know thatâ€™s where my strength is. Thatâ€™s the type of work that I strive off of. When I did those tempos, they were so relaxed. There are workouts where guys like John Moore can tear me a new one for fast 1000 repeats, or quarters, or things you do around a track to sharpen. I canâ€™t run the kind of mileage I want to do run and do the speed I should do, but with tempos, I just feel so relaxed and aerobically I feel like thatâ€™s my biggest asset. My efficiency is horrible, if youâ€™ve ever seen me run. Iâ€™ve got no efficiency and Iâ€™ve got horrible form. Aerobically, I feel like that would benefit me, in a longer race.
What does your diet consist of?
Once you move of campus, itâ€™s like you crave going to the commons, which itâ€™s called here. Iâ€™d say itâ€™s pretty regular. I love my oatmeal in the morning. I love peanut butter. In fact I combine the two quite often. Nothing like some oatmeal-brown sugar-peanut butter. Then itâ€™s your typical thing with chicken, pasta, and veggies when I can get them. But when youâ€™re thinking like a college student, you think â€œwhatâ€™s the biggest bang for my buck?â€ You get a lot more out of buying a tub peanut butter than you do from a couple of bell peppers. Iâ€™m not saying Iâ€™m anti-vegetable; I eat them as much as I can. Our coach went vegan like half a year ago so heâ€™s always harping on us about eating our vegetables.
Youâ€™re more of a peanut butter guy?
I canâ€™t afford to buy myself seven portions of vegetables a day. It gets real expensive. I get the basics and I try to get a variety in when I can.
What is your major?
Iâ€™m a biology major with a minor in econ and math.
Can you give me a crazy story from your XC team?
Iâ€™ve got one. This guyâ€™s not on the team anymore, so he canâ€™t get pissed at me for putting this out there. Two years ago, where I had my only other XC season, we are getting ready for Pre Nats. Weâ€™ve got this guy on the team, and Iâ€™ll leave him nameless. He at some point reveals to the group that heâ€™s like â€œman, I really want to take a crap.â€ Weâ€™re all like â€œwhat?â€ Heâ€™s like â€œI donâ€™t feel like I crap enough.â€ So, we ask what that means. He says â€œI only crap like two times a week.â€ Weâ€™re all dumbfounded, like â€œthatâ€™s not normal, how is that physically possible?â€ He says â€œregardless, I donâ€™t want anything coming out of me in the race; I donâ€™t want any crap in me during the race, so letâ€™s go to a grocery store.â€ The night before a race we always go get some Gatorade, some bagels, some bananas, and some peanut butter for the morning before the race. So, he picks up a six pack of prune juice, 100% prune juice. He proceeds to shotgun like three of them when we get back to the hotel, the night before the race. He had one in the morning too. So, heâ€™s got a least four things of prune juice in him leading up to the race. I donâ€™t know if this is too explicit for the site, but he, needless to say, blew his brains out in the port-o-potty. It was the worst race day to have that on, because it was really hot. So, he was dehydrated as hell. I was in tears when I saw him finish. No one wants to see their teammates hurting, but you could just see it on his face in the finishing homestretch and you just knew it. He looked horrible and surprisingly he got done and said â€œIâ€™m never drinking prune juice again.â€
How well did he finish?
Actually it may have been a good race for him, as he got through it and really had to tough it out. He may have been top 60 or something.
That will help everyone narrow it down when they are looking at the results for this.
(Laughs) Well, like I said, Iâ€™m not very good with stats. So, maybe since Iâ€™m being vague and incorrect here will it save him.
So, whatâ€™s the most challenging workout youâ€™ve ever done?
This wouldnâ€™t go down on paper as the hardest workout Iâ€™ve ever done, but it was the most daunting because I was just coming out of high school and this one definitely sticks out of my mind as being scary. In high school you do maybe two x mile or something for your interval day for XC. Coach Connor doesnâ€™t really throw you in with the wolves, he keeps the freshman together and they run together. This must have been the second week of school. I think he was throwing around the idea that he might break my redshirt year and run me freshman year. So, heâ€™s like â€œOK, Kins, Iâ€™m going to throw you in with the real team who are doing a workout today. And you just hang in there and keep your head in it and youâ€™ll be fine.â€ I didnâ€™t even know what the workout was. We are just riding on the bus and its sheeting rain. We stop the bus and he turns around and talks to us about keeping our head screwed on right because itâ€™s raining, and not pushing it too hard, itâ€™s early season and weâ€™re not trying to prove anything. I think it just scared the crap out of me, because in high school there wasnâ€™t this drama before a workout. I felt like this was College Game Day and I were in a huddle. Then it turns out that we are going to do six x mile, which is unfathomable. I went from doing a mile run in high school to doing this. It was maddening. The fact that I was in the group probably made people go faster. So, they had this little, dorky freshman in there to get his ass kicked and get shown whoâ€™s top dog. We must have been flying at the end. Not that fast in hindsight, but we were going high 4:30s at the end in that mud and sheeting rain. I got done that and it was always stuck out like â€œholy balls, what have I got myself into?â€
What is your motto for the sport of running?
I donâ€™t know if I would have had an answer for thatâ€¦a year ago. But having that whole year of injury was like a curse and a blessing. Obviously it sucks in the moment, but Iâ€™ve never valued running as much as I do now. I know how it feels not to have it for an extended amount of time and I know how fragile the state of affairs can be in terms of training. I think itâ€™s difficult to say â€œrun every race like itâ€™s your last.â€ Iâ€™m not saying itâ€™s unrealistic but I canâ€™t always be like â€œIâ€™d better frigging bleed today, because I never know when Iâ€™m going to race again.â€ I enjoy every run like I might get injured tomorrow.â€ It sounds corny, but it really helps. When youâ€™re getting ready for a regular run or a medium run and itâ€™s freezing outside or itâ€™s raining and everyoneâ€™s like â€œwhy do you we run?â€ Having that just helps, itâ€™s not like I think â€œthis is my motto.â€ Having that frame of mind helps me think that it might suck but itâ€™s nice to be able to do it.