Is it possible to run up to Scholl Canyon Golf Course?
There are a few recurring challenges I face on a daily basis. One is; what will I write today? And since taking up golf; can I possibly hit the ball straight? But for two weeks straight I’ve been asking myself; can I possibly run up to Scholl Canyon Golf Course?
I’m used to the writing challenge. It bears its weight on my shoulders and I’ve dealt with it for so long its just a part of me. The golf thing - yeah, I’m never going to be a pro, but I have a goal to eventually hit the ball straight and be competitive. But the running up Scholl Canyon thing – that one is a new one that for some reason has been creating stress in my mind. Can I do it?
If I tried it I’d hate to quit half way up and walk. And even if I made it to the top, I’d hate to quit at the top call for a ride home. I’d hate to suffer so much that I wished I waited to run it after I logged more hill training. In a way, the thought of running up to Scholl Canyon Golf Course has been holding me back. I sat in bed both Saturday and Sunday morning thinking I was going to get up and face the challenge. I decided if I wasn’t going to run up that wall that I’d run a 5K instead. Did I do any running this weekend? No… I stayed in bed.
Then Steve text messages me on Sunday to let me know he ran a personal best 5K race in 23:28. That’s a 7:34 min mile average. And that is fast!
Here I am, not running, and my buddy is hitting a personal best in a race. What a waste of two days. No training. No running. Just laziness.
I went home early on Monday due to computer month end data issues at work and a headache. I got in bed and took a nap and when Donna finally woke me up at 5PM, I told her I needed to run. So she said she’d meet me at my sister’s house for dinner.
My goal was to get a run in: 3, 4 maybe even 5 miles. I just needed to run. An easy run on Kenneth - the usual. I hadn’t run since Thursday. Three whole days off is way too much rest. And it’s becoming a habit.
So at 5PM I was out the door heading for Glenoaks Blvd. and instead of making a left, I made a right on Glenaoaks: toward Scholl Canyon Golf Course.
The elevation to run would is 650 feet at the start of my house to 1460 feet at the top of Scholl Canyon. That’s an 810 foot in elevation run in 3.8 miles. It doesn’t sound that bad, but the last 1.38 miles is a 537 foot climb. It’s a difference of 110 feet per mile from my house to the base of Scholl Canyon followed by a 389 feet per mile climb from their to the top.
And if you know the area, there’s a challenge before the challenge. There’s a hill that starts on Verdugo Blvd. I’ve run the hill several times for hill training. It’s always a tough climb but I knew it’d feel easy compared to the winding road up to Scholl Canyon Golf Course.
I ran past Verdugo and then up the hill then down and started the slight incline towards Scholl Canyon. This incline is unforgiving. It’s all up hill. Sure, it’s not that steep at first but once you get to Scholl Canyon it becomes quite a formidable taskl. There are no down hills to rest your legs. If there’s a flat part it goes unnoticed. It goes up, up and up and then it goes straight up!
Finally, I look up and there it is, looming in front of me - the base of Scholl Canyon. I knew I wasn’t going to do this run half-assed and stop at the baseball field 1200 feet or so from the top, I was going to keep going no matter what. If I stop anywhere other than the top, the run, to me, would have been a failure.
The steady incline up Glenoaks felt good, and I had a lot preserved as I approached the base of Scholl Canyon. I had run 2.4 miles already and now came the true test. I made the turn and immediately as I passed the gate my legs felt the difference in the incline. I was at 923 feet elevation and in the next 1.4 miles I would run up a wall up another 537 feet in elevation.
I passed a guy who was walking down. He smiled and waved. He was either thinking, you are crazy, or are an inspiration. I was thinking I was crazy.
It felt like forever as I approached the baseball fields. I had kept my head down, looking at the bike path, keeping my back straight and bending at the hips if I had to lean into the run. Two cyclists passed me slowly as they headed to the top. They were just as focused as I was, slowly moving our legs, focused on reaching the top.
I didn’t even look at the baseball fields to see if kids were playing. I was like a thoroughbred with blinders on. I didn’t want to look and let my brain convince me that I had enough and to turn back home.
Up ahead I saw the sign: 1000 feet till the end of the road.
I knew the next sign was 500 feet away and by car it comes fast. By foot, it took an eternity.
I passed that next sign and looked ahead – a straight shoot to the top. I felt so good. I felt motivated. I felt like screaming, “I DID IT!” I touched the gate, a sense of reality to actually touch it, and I turned back down the hill.
I still had to run back to my sister’s house.
But for 3.85 miles I played mental games in order to make it to the top. I remembered how tough it was to run the first 1.5 miles up Grand Avenue at the Los Angeles Triathlon. I pictured running the last few miles of the IronMan Championships in Kona, Hawaii. I thought about the great weight that would be lifted off my shoulders because I did what I set out to do.
And the run to my sister’s house was easy, gratifying, and so refreshing that I thought I could run all night long.
Just think, if I had made the left turn on Glenoaks Blvd. I would never know if I could make it to the top of Scholl Canyon. Fortunately, I made the ‘right’ turn.
A 7.18 mile run on a Monday night. It’s a great way to spend 1 hour and 14 minutes in pure meditation.
Here is the elevation graph. Click on it for a bigger version.
MILE SPLIT
Mile 1 - 0:09:54
Mile 2 - 0:10:22
Mile 3 - 0:11:50
Mile 4 - 0:12:52
Mile 5 - 0:08:38
Mile 6 - 0:09:11
Mile 7 - 0:09:43
Mile 7.18 - 0:02:02
Total - 1:14:32
My run was slow, but my heart was fast. My HR shows how tough the run was despite the slow pace:
MILE HR bpm
Mile 1 - 168
Mile 2 - 189
Mile 3 - 195
Mile 4 - 195
Mile 5 - 190
Mile 6 - 190
Mile 7 - 191
Mile 7.18 - 189
