Willis River 35K Trail Run

On January 14th, I am running the Willis River 35K Trail Race. The race takes place in Cumberland County, Virginia at Bear Creek State Park. As you may recall, I ran the Bear Creek 10 Miler at the same park on December 4th. The terrain is likely to be very similar although I won't know for sure until I run the race. Here is a video from the park's web site showing a little bit about the Willis River Trail. In the video, you don't really get to see too much of the trail but you sort of get the idea that the trail is on the wild side.



This race will be slightly more than twice the distance of the Bear Creek 10 Miler. I am not sure how long it will take me to complete the race. I am guessing around 4 hours. I have been running trails for the last month or so in addition to tempo runs, hill work, and other runs. Plus I have been keeping up with my cycling and swimming.

My goal for this race is to run hard and have fun. Running trails is a great way to gain fitness as well as strength. This particular race features lots of "blow downs" which means I will be leaping over downed trees as well as jumping around and through several creeks. A race like this will force me to use different muscles than a straight road race which will help me in my overall fitness. I am also hoping that training and racing this event will help build a strong running base which is something I have not really had for many years.

In preparation for this race, I have been running the trails downtown. Seems funny to link "trails" and "downtown" in the same sentence but here in Richmond that is exactly what we have. In the heart of downtown Richmond we have the James River Park with miles of single track trails that parallel the James River. There are several races each year on these trails and I have both ridden and run them many times.

For me, running trails is so much more interesting then simply running around my neighborhood. Don't get me wrong, the streets around my house are great for running but there is not much to inspire me. It is the same old parked cars, houses, lawns, fences, dogs barking, etc over and over again. When I run downtown, I have to concentrate more on my footing and there are always surprises in the way of other bikers and runners as well as wildlife and great scenery. Running through the woods seems more primal to me and thus more motivating.

For today's Saturday morning run, my training plan called for a 2 hours and 30 minute run nice and easy. A few of my friends from church met me downtown at 8AM to run. They would end up running one loop with me. I continued on after a brief stop at the cars to say adios for a second loop by myself. Running with friends definitely helps break up the monotony of a long run. But it was nice to also get some time by myself to ponder my training and upcoming races. Running alone on the trails can be meditative. I think my run this morning was a perfect mix of social running and running with my thoughts.

I ended up seeing a coworker and her children on the tail end of my run. I love seeing people I know exercising and it was great to see them running together as a family. I stopped to chat briefly before continuing on my last mile back to the car. I ended up running 2:45 at a very easy pace. I think I accomplished the goal of the workout by keeping my heart rate low. In fact, after getting home and analyzing my GPS data, I could see that my heart rate stayed in zone 1 and 2 for the entire run.

Tomorrow I have a 1 hour pace run to complete. After that run, my long runs will mostly be over for now. The rest of my preparation for the race in two weeks will involve shorter but faster workouts. I am not sure exactly what the coach has in store for me but I will likely find out tomorrow. Coach K seems to consistently update my weekly training plan on Sundays.

In general I feel pretty good about my preparation for the 35K. It will be the farthest I have run since my marathon training in 2007 but I am confident I will enjoy the race. I have learned a lot since the training I did for the marathon and I think I train better now. Plus I have been doing lots of cross training which I think will pay off when I run the trail race.

Until next time, thanks for reading. Comments appreciated but not required.