How To Train for Canadian River Valley Revenge
RVR Ultra is a unique trail race. The biggest issue you will face is knowing how to train for this type of course. If you are running on paved or wide smooth trails, or sweating on the treadmill in your basement, you will probably do well at a variety of races, but you will inevitably be disappointed with your results at Canadian River Valley Revenge.
The following tips are designed for the New-To-RVR athlete, regardless of your previous experience. Experienced RVR athletes will have developed their own strategies for success, all of which will be varied and reflect their experience and abilities. The strategies here are designed to set you – the first-time RVR participant - up for success from start to finish. Some of the strategies will be new to you and if you’re an experienced runner, you may even question their merit. Don’t. The strategies work. Trust the process and you will impress yourself on race day.
RVR Training Strategies
1. Monthly Training Cycles. Build for three weeks, pull back to recover for one week. Each month builds on the previous month, gradually building month by month until you are at your biggest build month before tapering for race day. For any distances 25km or greater, taper at least two weeks.
- Key Terms:
2. Weekly Goals. Focus on time on feet, hours that you are running. Do NOT focus on mileage. Priority is weekly accumulated hours. Ignore the number of kilometres ran. If this is hard for you, you’re not alone. Take your watch, stuff it into your pack, and don’t look at it until you’re done. Do the occasional run without wearing any technology at all. The training still counts.
- Key Term:
3. Terrain. Choose technical routes with lots of elevation change, and always try to include an exploring section. The occasional flat-ish run that doesn’t require much attention is fine during a recovery week or if you’re doing intervals. But, 90% of your runs should be on terrain specific to the course and to the navigational demands of the race.
- Key Terms:
4. Exertion. Run based on heartrate, not pace. If you don’t have a heartrate monitor, you can figure out level of exertion based on breathing.
- Exertion Breathing:
5. Build Functional Strength. Do circuit training or bootcamp or straight-up weights as part of your training plan. Be careful not to bulk up: big muscles look nice but add unnecessary body weight. Instead, focus on lean muscle strength, sinewy fitness. Pull-ups, push-ups, moving planks, jump squats, moving weighted lunges, single-leg deadlifts on a bosu ball. Strengthen your muscles AND your joints.
6. Build Mental Strength. Go out on the coldest days in the worst weather. Do back-to-back long runs on tired legs, or do bootcamp right before a tempo run. Challenge yourself on that scary trail that you hate. Try different nutrition that might totally fail, don’t bring a back-up, get hungry. Wear two different shoes on a run. Make yourself do mentally hard things.
7. Save the Best for Last. Don’t peak too soon. Just because you’re feeling great and seeing strides in your fitness, hold back on the desire (panic) to prove to yourself that you can do the distance. Many athletes have experienced their “best run ever” weeks before race day, only to crash and burn on the day that really matters. Trust your training and hold back.
Tip: Your peak pace is your race day pace. Make sure your training long runs are not faster than you hope to achieve on race day.
Summary
These seven strategies are the nuts and bolts of RVR training. This is how RD Todd has trained for his big races, including an 8-day, 273-kilometre race with 50,000 feet of gain in the Alps. The training works. For information on sample training plans or for coach referrals, contact us to connect you to recommended resources. Happy Trails and stay safe.
The following tips are designed for the New-To-RVR athlete, regardless of your previous experience. Experienced RVR athletes will have developed their own strategies for success, all of which will be varied and reflect their experience and abilities. The strategies here are designed to set you – the first-time RVR participant - up for success from start to finish. Some of the strategies will be new to you and if you’re an experienced runner, you may even question their merit. Don’t. The strategies work. Trust the process and you will impress yourself on race day.
RVR Training Strategies
1. Monthly Training Cycles. Build for three weeks, pull back to recover for one week. Each month builds on the previous month, gradually building month by month until you are at your biggest build month before tapering for race day. For any distances 25km or greater, taper at least two weeks.
- Key Terms:
- Build means weekly runs that increase in distance and/or intensity
- Recovery means weekly runs that pull back in distance and/or intensity
2. Weekly Goals. Focus on time on feet, hours that you are running. Do NOT focus on mileage. Priority is weekly accumulated hours. Ignore the number of kilometres ran. If this is hard for you, you’re not alone. Take your watch, stuff it into your pack, and don’t look at it until you’re done. Do the occasional run without wearing any technology at all. The training still counts.
- Key Term:
- Time On Feet means you are running for a set time with a set purpose. You are not looking at your pace or at the distance. If you’re not sure how to gauge your route without creating a distance plan, pick a starting point and turn around when you’re time is half done.
- Example: “Tuesday’s training run will be a tempo pace for 60 minutes”
- Example: “Saturday’s training run will be an easy pace for 3 hours”
3. Terrain. Choose technical routes with lots of elevation change, and always try to include an exploring section. The occasional flat-ish run that doesn’t require much attention is fine during a recovery week or if you’re doing intervals. But, 90% of your runs should be on terrain specific to the course and to the navigational demands of the race.
- Key Terms:
- Technical means fallen logs, slippery corners on narrow trails, terrain that challenges your balance and form, and sometimes, your courage.
- Exploring Section means a new-to-you trail that requires focus and effort to navigate. Make your brain work, and if some branches slap you in the face, even better.
4. Exertion. Run based on heartrate, not pace. If you don’t have a heartrate monitor, you can figure out level of exertion based on breathing.
- Exertion Breathing:
- Easy Pace is your social pace. Your long runs and your recovery week runs will be done at this pace. Find someone in your cohort and have a great conversation on the trails.
- Tempo Pace is your labored conversation pace. Runs that are typically 60 minutes or less will be done at this pace, no more than one per week if you’re training for distance. You can talk and even form sentences but you’d rather not.
- Speed Pace is your caveman pace. You can grunt out one-word sentences but it’s a struggle. If you are talking during this training, you are not working hard enough.
5. Build Functional Strength. Do circuit training or bootcamp or straight-up weights as part of your training plan. Be careful not to bulk up: big muscles look nice but add unnecessary body weight. Instead, focus on lean muscle strength, sinewy fitness. Pull-ups, push-ups, moving planks, jump squats, moving weighted lunges, single-leg deadlifts on a bosu ball. Strengthen your muscles AND your joints.
6. Build Mental Strength. Go out on the coldest days in the worst weather. Do back-to-back long runs on tired legs, or do bootcamp right before a tempo run. Challenge yourself on that scary trail that you hate. Try different nutrition that might totally fail, don’t bring a back-up, get hungry. Wear two different shoes on a run. Make yourself do mentally hard things.
7. Save the Best for Last. Don’t peak too soon. Just because you’re feeling great and seeing strides in your fitness, hold back on the desire (panic) to prove to yourself that you can do the distance. Many athletes have experienced their “best run ever” weeks before race day, only to crash and burn on the day that really matters. Trust your training and hold back.
Tip: Your peak pace is your race day pace. Make sure your training long runs are not faster than you hope to achieve on race day.
- Example: The average 25-km athlete takes four-and-a-half hours on course. If you are a mid-pack athlete and your four-hour long run is close to this distance, you’re running too fast. Slow down your pace and adjust your terrain.
Summary
These seven strategies are the nuts and bolts of RVR training. This is how RD Todd has trained for his big races, including an 8-day, 273-kilometre race with 50,000 feet of gain in the Alps. The training works. For information on sample training plans or for coach referrals, contact us to connect you to recommended resources. Happy Trails and stay safe.