US National White Water Center

Time: 50:30
Distance: 5.80 miles
Pace: 8:42
Map

I put in a few too many miles with Meagan and Caitlin than I felt comfortable with knowing I was meeting George out at the White Water Center. A couple of weeks ago when I was in Durham, I agreed to run with George on the trails just outside of Charlotte. I'm embarrassed to acknowledge that I had never checked out the facility before this evening. I arrived a little early which allowed me to scope out the zip line, climbing wall, rapids and bar. Very impressive setting and relatively close to Charlotte.

George took me on some trails that he was familiar with. The pace was quite relaxed given the terrain and hour in the day. We didn't start until a little after 7:00 pm and I think both of us were a little tired. We warmed up nicely and locked into a comfortable rhythm. Martin Smith at the University of Oklahoma used to refer to such runs as "massaging trail runs" because there was no point in fighting the rocks, roots, and hills. You are forced to run slow and allow the body to recover much in the way a massage can be a painful beneficial despite the nagging discomfort.

The 50 minutes flew by and soon we were out of the woods and near the entrance where the run began. I was glad to have made the trip out to the WWC and it's something I will have to do more of. The $5 fee is a bit of a pain, but considering George told me that it takes something like $25k a day to run the facility, it doesn't seem unreasonable.