Labor Day 2007

AFOOT and light-hearted I take to the open road,
Healthy, free, the world before me,
The long brown path before me leading wherever I choose.

Henceforth I ask not good-fortune, I myself am good-fortune,
Henceforth I whimper no more, postpone no more, need nothing,
Done with indoor complaints, libraries, querulous criticisms,
Strong and content I travel the open road.

-Walt Whitman Song of the Open Road

Typically on Labor Day weekend we have what we've called in the past "a running weekend." That is we try to get in a couple of events, one being out of town and requiring a hotel stay, so that it really feels like a holiday and not just an extra day off to be too busy. This year was no different. We started off Sunday in Sycamore Canyon with The New Basin Blues Running Club to partake in their annual Sycamore Sunday race on the Lasse Viren course in the beautiful Santa Monicas. I was not intending to race, just going on a run with friends then enjoying the great food afterward prepared by Presidents Ken and Jeanie Berry.
We showed up at 7:30am on Pacific Coast Highway to a long line of cars waiting for the park to open. I came in the wrong way and when I tried to "weave in" got yelled at and honked at by numerous drivers. Surely these were not runners! About 8:00am approx. 25 runners crossed the busy highway to the start of the race. I didn't know anyone that was running so I just mixed in with the crowd as we gathered around Helga who was explaining the race course etc. The course was one I was familiar with as I am lucky to do quite a bit of training in this area. It is hilly, but all very runnable, and I expected to just have a good training run and maybe walk a little or not. Soon after Helga gave the ceremonial, "3,2,1,go!" I found myself running with JR Young. We were actually 3rd and 4th in the standings at this time. We set a good pace and introduced ourselves and started chatting. We had both run long training runs the day before and were not interested in racing, but just having a good time. Two other runners were directly behind us the first 3 miles. We accused them of drafting and asked jokingly if they would like us to carry them the whole way.
A little over 3 miles and we turned up Wood Cyn. As the hills increased in frequency and duration we found ourselves pulling away from our shadows. All of sudden the two guys who didn't want to race were occasionally glancing over our shoulders. "Is anyone there?" "Nope." We continued on for another 4 miles only slowing to walk the notorious asphalt hill just out of Ranch Center. By this time we were 7 miles from the ocean and temperature climbed into the high 80's. We stopped at the Sycamore Canyon Rd. junction to soak our hats and refill our bottles at the faucet. We waited for the water to cool down before indulging. Hey, we're not racing! As we were enjoying the cool water JR spied a runner descending the last hill closing the distance we'd opened up. Suddenly we were off. (We're not racing though!) "I hope she stops to use the water." "Yeah...she'd have to in this heat...Right???"
The final 6 miles of the run were mostly under the canopy of the giant sycamore trees that give the canyon it's name. It's a gentle descent towards the Pacific and we were glad to be out of the hilly part of the course. JR and I were starting to feel the effects of 20 training runs the day before and a sub 10 minute mile pace through the hills and searing sun. He encouraged me to "go ahead, take off and run your normal pace." "My normal pace is about 2 minutes per mile slower than this!", I said. As we neared the finish we continued to look over our shoulders for the elusive runner we knew was somewhere close behind us. My knowledge of the course allowed me to provide turn by turn updates, as our legs were now needing encouragement. "4 more turns and we're done."
As we rounded the final sweeping corner off in the distance we could see the beautiful yellow gate that marked the end of the road for our "training run." Like two nervous horses in the starting gate we wanted to go, but we'd run together the whole way. Who would have the courage, endurance and will to win? Just then I looked over at JR. "Tie for 3rd??" "You bet!", he replied.
We crossed the line together proclaiming to Helga, "We're tying for third!!" She had to dig around in her bag for a second third place ribbon. She pinned them both on us and we walked back to our families and the BBQ satisfied, strong, and content from a job well done. The refrain of our song of the open road would resonate the entire weekend. Happy trails.