Spirit Run 1-Miler, March 27, 2022

Going into the Spirit Run 1-mile race on Sunday March 27th saw me sandwiched between my Spartan 21k Beast in early March and Born to Run 100-miler on April 15th. 

It’s an interesting place to be fitness-wise. 

My volume felt strong (50-60ish miles a week), and I looked at the course profile as incredibly appetizing, most of it a downgrade after a straightaway on the first third of the distance. 

To look at it gave me thoughts of leaning into the dive after tucking in with my friends from Cal Coast and the other glorious maniacs who love the pain a road mile will bring by the barrel. 

Dropping 83 feet is definitely helpful, but assuming I could depend on this benefit of the course for the new PR I was swinging for (4:58 at an open track meet hosted by Cal Coast in November of last year), as it turns out, did not hold water as a good strategy. 

Race day conditions were ideal, pleasantly chill and overcast. Meeting up with good friends I haven’t seen for a while down in Orange County brought great energy, and got me even more thrilled about go-time at 8:05 a.m.

I warmed up well, and before I knew it, go-time was nigh.  

Line up, fist bumps, gun, go.

I chased the leads out of the gate, and quickly realized this was more of an endurance game than I’d been ready to see, much less deliver. 

Confidence is good, but I promptly saw that I had allowed more arrogance into my game than I should have (re: any). 

The Spirit 1-mile boasts event records at 3:58 and 4:33 for Daniel Herrera and Samantha Murphy, respectively. So I knew I was stepping into a very high-caliber ring, and thought drafting off of this type of energy would help speed me up, too. 

Nope.

I tried my best to keep pace, aching for the drop in the course profile. And when I burnt through my fastest paces (proud to see a best at 3:46 in the workout stats) I tried to relax while keeping the leads in sight. 

But the heads of the pack, duking it out wonderfully among themselves, told me, “Nah, not today.” 

The distance between me and the leads kept growing, as did the pace on my watch. Fatigue piled on as I watched the time tick upwards: 5:00 pace, then 5:15, all while it was everything I could do to not stop completely by the third quarter-mile marker. 

But, naturally, this is the sport. 

And I can always use more humility. 

I crossed the finish line with a 5:08, catching 7th overall. 

Everyone turned in heroic performances, and it was a gift to share the challenge with such an amazing talent pool. 

And, for me, missing a goal is some of the best kindling I know of. 

The day showed me where I am when it comes to this distance, and the results were still speedy for me. 

I’m proud of what I took away, and all of it only adds to my hunger to carve out a new personal best as soon as possible. 

I’m also intrigued to continually see how high my heart rate gets at long, slow efforts, yet keeps a healthy margin from hummingbird-speeds when I pour everything I have into a very small window. 

My heart managed to stay very calm when the rest of my mind, body, and soul felt like a forest fire, finding a maximum of 136 for a very short bump a little over half the way through. I think this speaks well of my overall health, and I can’t wait to see what it means for some shorter events I have planned in the near future. 

Everyone involved with the Spirit Run put together a very well-organized, positive, and lively experience. Huge thanks to all the staff, volunteers, and sponsors for turning in top quality on all fronts, Coach Kris, everyone at HOKA and Chaski, my friends at Drymax and GU Energy Labs, and all the homies who pushed me in the best ways and then helped me celebrate afterwards. 

I hope everyone is in a strong and positive place at the moment, stay healthy and ferocious, everybody!