Corral Pass Training Run

This weekend I ran 12 miles on Saturday. The first 4.5 miles were some early miles with Steve and then at 7:30 I ran with a group of runners from our Y-Run Club into the Puyallup Valley and back up a couple of monster hills. Mile 11 was run at a 7:05 pace as I tried to keep up with one of our speedsters Jamal.

On Sunday I picked up Rob and Lesa and we headed up to Buck Creek in the Crystal Mt. Area to run the Corral Pass section of the White River 50-mile course. This was Lesa’s first time on the course and a week after rolling her ankle on the Sun Top section last week. She purchased an ankle brace from a local medical supply store that gave her great support and it was never a problem. Rob had decided to join us on Saturday. Being off from teaching and being able to run and do a lot more other physical activities is starting to show in his running. He had his pack loaded with about 20lbs of water and other gear.

Wildlife Report: In the first couple of miles I flushed a little vole out of the bushes along the trail and herded it around so Rob and Lesa could see it. It was only about 1 inch long and didn’t require any bear spray to control.
We got an early 8:00AM start to the training run that was scheduled for 9:00AM. With Lesa’s ankle being a concern we wanted to start early and go slow. It was a beautiful day with about 58-degree weather at the start and around 80-85 at the finish. The clear blue sky yielded incredible views of Mt. Rainier as we climbed the Palisades Trail and came out to the overlooks along the ridge.

When we made it to the Ranger Creek Shelter Uli S. and Brian M. caught up to us. They were marking the trail and flying up the course. We were taking the time to eat some solid food and head up to Corral Pass. A couple of other runners passed us before we headed up. As it turns out the snow patches that I encountered last weekend were not that difficult to get over. While quite of bit of the snow had melted I think I could have easily made it up to the Pass had I pressed on. It appears that I’m a snow wimp.

The climb up to Corral Pass went well for Rob and I but Lesa was having problems with an upset stomach. This continued to plague her for the rest of the run. Scott M. attributed it to too many electrolytes and eating solid food before a climb when your heartrate is elevated. Scott gave her some electrolytes that are in-between the strength of E-Caps and S-Caps. They must be L-Caps!

When we reached Corral Pass Seattle Running Company had water, NUUN, watermelon, and PB&J set up at an attended water station. As we ate and filled our water bottles several runners came in. Scott told me that they had over 35 runners on the course. I ran down to Ranger Creek at my own pace. I spent some time chatting with Heidi who is a reporter for the local Business Journal. It made the time go quickly and we were soon at the Shelter. I had another sandwich and chatted with three Mt. Bikers who had climbed up to the shelter. I helped direct a few runners to the proper trail and then Rob came in. Rob was looking good despite his heavy pack and two hand-helds. We talked for a few minutes and Arthur came in. Arthur, tc, and Shawn had all run the entire 50 mile course on Saturday. I think tc and Shawn skipped the Corral Pass climb but judging from the look in Arthur’s eyes they made the proper choice. Rob said he would wait for Lesa to make it in to the Shelter so I headed down the 5-mile decline to Buck Creek. This section is shaded soft single track with long switchbacks and traverses.

I made it into Buck Creek in 6:43. It was a nice "time on my feet" run and I felt strong the entire way. Rob finished strong and Lesa felt like crap but was glad to have seen the course.
I soaked in the river twice for 10 minutes each time. My legs feel awesome today. We stopped at the Naches Tavern in Greenwater on our way home for a burger and fries. They were incredibly busy and it took quite a while for the food to be served. It was good though and nothing tastes better than a cold Black Butte Porter after a 25 mile run.

Run like hell!