Joe Driscoll 's Journal

May 10, 2008 Entry (Posted May 12, 2008)

Well, it’s been a while since I updated my blog, so I guess we have a little catching up to do. After moving from ZAP Fitness headquarters in Blowing Rock, NC to Portland, OR, I flew back across the country to join my teammates in Tallahassee, FL for our annual winter training camp. It’s always a great time- but this year it was a little depressing because I spent most of the time pool running. An Achilles injury that’s flared up off and on for the last four years chose that particular time to get bad again. It’s never fun to watch your teammates head out to train, or take off for a race while you’re hitting the pool yet again, but it does happen sometimes. At least I had Guitar Hero to keep me company (greatest video game ever).

Fortunately, I only lost about a month or so to the Achilles this time, and hit the cross training pretty hard the whole time. As soon as I got home, I was back into the swing of things, and decided to start racing a little earlier than originally planned. The Central Park Challenge was set for mid-March, and it was just too good to pass up. The New York Road Runners staff really does this race right each year. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to repay their hospitality with a good race yet- three years of racing has resulted in three poor races, and none was worse than 2008. I had a serious case of heavy legs, and the race was 8 kilometers of discomfort and embarrassment. Hopefully the fourth time is the charm- I’ll be back next year.

I came back to Portland and got down to some serious training. With the track Olympic Trials coming up this summer, I knew I’d have to get some speed back in these marathon legs or I’d never have a shot at qualifying. I wanted to open at the Stanford Invite at the end of March, but just wasn’t confident in my fitness at that point, so I backed out and continued training hard.

One of the best things about living in the Northwest now is that Eugene is so close. I decided to open at the Oregon Relays 5K in late April. I wasn’t really expecting much- but I wanted to get in a good hard race before running the 10K at the Cardinal Invite the next weekend. Surprisingly, I ended up winning the 5k at the Oregon meet, due to a combination of good tactics, good luck, and a few unforeseen dnfs. Either way, it was pretty cool to do a victory lap at Hayward Field, and I even set a very small pr (about half a second- down to 13:48.11).

One week later, I was down in Palo Alto, CA for the Cardinal Invite 10K. I knew it would take a big pr to qualify for the Olympic Trials- and that this would be my best (and perhaps only) shot at it. Unfortunately, from the start I just wasn’t as relaxed or smooth as the previous week. I struggled through it, and got a pr (28:29.96), but I just didn’t have enough that day. I’m currently ranked somewhere around 30th position on the list to get in to the Olympic Trials- only 24 will go, so I have to find another 10K in the next few weeks.

So, it’s been a short racing season so far- just three races in 2008. I only need to knock off about nine or ten seconds to get a spot on the line in the Olympic Trials, so that will be the goal over the next month or so. One of the nice things about track and field these days is a new trend of showing race videos on the internet. That means my parents get to watch me race anywhere in the country from the comfort of their own home. They got to watch the Oregon meet on Flotrack and loved it (although they did wish the announcer could find my name, instead of referring to me as “ZAP Fitness”). Hopefully, they’ll get to watch me in person in Eugene on July 4 - the date of the 10K at the Trials.

January 16, 2008 Entry (Posted January 17, 2008)

It’s been a while since my last blog post- sorry about that.

Last November I competed in the U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials in New York City and it was a great experience. The NYRR really knows how to put on an event- there were people all over Rockefeller Center and Central Park that morning- and the sun wasn’t even up yet! I also had the luck of having a good-sized personal cheering section for the race with lots of family and friends turning up for the race. Of course the pace started out slow, and I waited toward the middle of the group. After about 10K it started to roll a little better and the pack started to separate out a little. I ran in a small group and we picked it up until we were running a respectable pace. I was feeling good, so I went with Steve Sundell when he started rolling after 20K. Our little two-man group lasted for a few miles, but he was too strong for me that day and ended up around 16th place. I faded a bit over the last loop (8K), and finished just ahead of a big group of kickers in 23rd. I was slightly disappointed with the place, but did run a small (18 second) PR, so that was nice.

Next on the schedule was a couple days off, then time to start building up for Club XC Nationals. For the last two years, ZAP has finally had enough guys to field a full team, so we all get into cross country shape for the first weekend in December. In ’06 we pulled off the win out in Golden Gate Park, but this year went even better. We defended the title, and Ryan Warrenburg took the individual title home from muddy West Chester, OH. Team MVP honors went to Jon Pierce, who came back from a tough Achilles injury to finish third overall.

And that was my last race as a ZAP resident athlete. I drove to Ohio with all my worldly possessions in the back of my truck, and once the cross country race was over, I started my cross country drive back out West. I moved to Portland, Oregon- the same town where I went to college so many years ago. I didn’t want to leave ZAP, but after four and a half great years with Pete and Zika, it was time to move on. I recommend ZAP for any up and coming college runners out there looking for an opportunity to keep training after school- it was the greatest opportunity of my running career.

Looking forward, I plan to continue my attempt at becoming a great runner. The Pacific Northwest is one of the best training areas in the country (despite the rain) and qualifying for the Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene is my next major goal- time to hit the track and get some speed back in these old marathon legs. Stay tuned for more updates from the left coast.

Introductory Entry (Posted October 16, 2007)

Central Park Recon and The Twin Cities Shuffle

It took me a while, but I finally have some good stuff to blog about. Let the blogging begin...

A few weekends ago, I had the opportunity to head up to NYC (traveling from ZAP world headquarters in Blowing Rock, NC) to check out the Olympic Trials marathon course. I know there's been some talk about how fast the course will be, but I thought it was pretty tough. No huge hills, but there's also nowhere to hide- everything's either up or down. I'm very glad I went- it was definitely an eye-opener as to how to approach the race.

Doing a long run in the park on Sunday was incredible. I've never seen an area so crowded with people exercising- running, walking, biking, even rollerblading (people still do that?). I felt like a much less talented version of Barry Sanders a few times- bobbing and weaving in and out of people, horses, bikes- even threw a few spin moves in there (hit circle on your playstation controller for that one). I was a little nervous about riding the big city subway back wearing my not quite manly running shorts, but it turned out not to be an issue- the standard operating procedure on the train was 'stare at the floor- make no eye contact', so I was right at home.

A couple weeks later, I took another trip- this one to Minnesota for the TC 10 miler (also the USATF 10-Mile Championships). The course rolled a good deal, so quite a few guys were using it as a tune-up for the Trials. Unfortunately, this one was a different kind of eye-opener for me. Mostly, it opened my eyes to the fact that going out at 4:45 pace is not something I can handle currently (or ever for that matter). I died a slow and painful death- the 'Twin Cities Shuffle' is my description of how I finished the last five miles of the race. I was initially pretty discouraged about the whole experience. On further consideration, however, it may have been a good thing. I had my delusions of grandeur—thought I could hammer for all 10 hilly miles—and got a good dose of reality. Being in touch with reality is vital for most runners in a marathon, because you can trick yourself into going out too hard all too easily. Anyone can hang for 10 or 15 kilometers, but the race is 42 kilometers and this time I'd like to get to that finish line running strong. Getting that bad race out of the way may work to my advantage.

By now, most of the hard training is done—just a couple more weeks to go until race time. Over 120 guys will show up on that line outside NBC studios (maybe I can get Matt Lauer's autograph) ready to roll. They'll have done high triple digit mileage weeks, 12 mile tempo runs, and endless hill repeats. I have a secret weapon, though. Something the other 119 guys don't. I've been watching the 'Today' show every morning before I go running. That kind of dedication can't be coached into someone, it comes from the heart, and I'll be counting on that when November 3 rolls around.