How running through the desert magic of The Speed Project renewed my spirit for how I work

Have you ever listened to someone talk about running and think, what is the big deal? Their eyes are sparkling describing the route, even laughing through the tragic explanations of pain, and yet they are joyed to share the enduring memory.

That is living to me. Running, before work, after work, between meetings, or on the weekends, makes me feel renewed. Connecting with my body, listening to the earth, and arguably most important, reconnecting with other humans.

In 2017, I had the privilege to join a team of runners in a race for time from Santa Monica Pier to the Las Vegas Welcome sign. Approximately, 344 miles shared among 10 runners on concrete city streets, desert trails, and Death Valley highways, under the stars, in the heat, but mostly importantly with the magic of The Speed Project.

This epic experience is more than just shifting weight between your right leg and left leg. It's about seeing ancestral lands and honoring the indigenous people that have paved the trails for us to move about the terrain. It's about the global community of runners that are cheering for one another, embracing the tough edges of our minds to see there are more possibilities that await us, even when our bodies feel tired. It's about the earthly connection to the spirit personally and universe that entangles us together as beings, not bound by language, image, or economic status.

Returning to the desert this year for the 4th time, running The Speed Project for the 3rd time, my spirit is renewed. After being in isolation from the pandemic for quite awhile, the freedom of space and ability to connect with runners again has renewed the light in me. It's not lost on me that this is a privilege I'm grateful for and want to share because it's this experience that I've found light in those dark places of my mind, energy is those painful moments in my body, and trust in my capabilities. I may not be an Olympian or professional athlete, but I've given my best to run the same routes, move my body across the earth and see that we are not meant to be the same. That's the magic that we all contribute to.

A successful team is made of people with different abilities, strategizing, calculating, adjusting, and conquering the entire route. Runners with speed on the flats combined with runners strong in trail endurance and climbing, gets you to the finish line!

So what's the big deal? Crafting your skills to be the best you need to be is not about being the best at everything and enduring it all alone. It's appreciating the journey, accepting the coaching, understanding that there might be pivots in the plan, finding your pals to learn from or go along the route with. You may never know what you're truly capable of until you give yourself the chance to endure something new, seemingly impossible, and make it special for your own personal best. Contributing your best efforts to the team, may not always mean the same pace, but it is progress.

Some of the things that I spiraled on during my runs:

• How fortunate we are that technology allows us to look down into a digital map. Thank you to our ancestors for looking up into the stars and creating the trails to map.
• How amazing the human body is to create life and the energy it takes to endure labor and child rearing. Yet, it is built back stronger because the limits for performance no longer exist in the way the might have before creating life.
• I love seeing more Black and Brown runners! Once there were only 3 out of 40 teams made up of runners of color. This year there were way more than I could count. Mi gente! Singing Cielito Lindo before the all teams meeting with the team from Mexico, mi corazon!
• How can I keep returning to this feeling of freedom more often? I love a good puzzle, hard efforts, and developing myself. But when I'm tired, physically and emotionally, I just want to be coached on the next move. Don't we all feel that sometimes, "somebody just tell me what to do next." The best coaches though, don't just give you the next play, they guide you and empower you to make those moves, to show you just how much freedom there is in owning your journey. Calculating mileage and speeds, is like calculating resources and timelines. You choose how fast you go, what you need to get you to the next phase and progress. Allowing more space and time to recover/rest between projects has really been the missing link for me. Slowing down to regroup when you need, really helps to have the energy and spirit to keep moving through the tough parts. I'm looking forward to my next events to execute because I'm also taking a rest right after. This has helped me reignite that love I have for the freedom I feel in the process of puzzling things together and the hard efforts to get to the finish line!