The second White River training run this Sunday was much better than the first. Dan and I drove up to Skookum Flats for a 25 mile run up to Sun Top Mountain and back. The weather was great as we started out with a 6 mile jaunt along the river with lots of undulations and roots. This was the last section of the 50 miler, doesn't look like alot of fun to stumble through this at the end of the race. As before, I couldn't quite keep up with the main group, and after 4 miles, Dan and I were on our own. I gave Dan the car keys, I figured he'd easily beat me on the climb. He stopped to get a drink, and I continued on, meeting up with a group of 4 that I hung with till we got to the confusing part by the airport. We lost the trail and meandered around until we found ourselves in shouting distance from Scott and his van. There Scott told me he heard that Dan took a wrong turn and he would go back and look for him. The climb up Sun Top was easier than last week's, but more exposed to the sun. I drank alot and sweated alot and hiked most of the climb. I was slow, but I felt much better than last week. Just before the summit, there was Glen with his camera, so we staged a good shot, looks like I'm charging up the hill, but it was just for show. I mostly just slogged up the steep trail. Unfortunatley, low clouds obscured what should have been a fantastic view of Rainier, but it also cooled the temp down. The last 6 miles was a gradual decline down a gravel road. I just cruised down at a good pace and felt great that I could keep an even pace the whole way without stopping. At the bottom, Dan was at the car, he had turned around and had a good 13 mile run with a side trip to some falls. What a great day, finished under 5 hours,no pains, slow but consistant. Would like to have some more time to train for White River, but I know now that I can run it, I will be slow, but after all, it's just another training run for Waldo!