So Hyrox… 8km of intervals, 8 fitness/functional strength sessions in between. I was worried about this event, i’m not a big guy, so the idea of pushing a 155kg sled was not something I was looking forward to. I had also never used a Ski-Erg or done wall balls. 200m lunges with a 20kg sandbag… this was going to be a tough day at the office.
I hadn't done a huge amount of prep for Hyrox, I have some pretty big races this year, predominately an ironman triathlon, so my focus has been more aerobic with runs and cycles. I think i can safely say I
was bricking it!
On the day, I arrived at the venue with plenty of time, so I could also see some fellow Team Grit stars smash their waves. It quickly dawn on me, this was not a muddy field, in was in an arena type centre, music blasting, the vibe was very different. Seeing lots of "fit" people walking around with their tops off or barely any clothing very much also increased the feeling that I had made a mistake of signing up or didn't belong here. I had plenty of time to kill and i saw a hand full of people on the running track walking. From that point I said I wanted to run all of the intervals 100%, I also wanted to remain penalty-free!
Fast forward to 12pm, I went to the warm-up area to have a look at the ski and maybe push a sledge to see what it felt like, and quickly the nerves went away. Following on, I went to the start line for my waves at 13:10. I saw so many people run out of the blocks so quickly and although I know I’m capable of running a sub-4-minute km and averaging 4:10-4:20 for intervals, I wanted to pace myself because I did not want to burn out - especially as none of the functional strength stations were exactly easy!
I set out towards the back of the pack but kept a strong pace, I knew I could go faster and I wanted to, but I kept my pace. I went into the ski towards the back of the pack and quickly realised I was the last at the station, but that didn't bother me, I got it done, had a bit of water and headed back out. I found the running still strong I was overtaking people, before I knew it 2.5 laps later back in for the sledge. Now, this part was tough, and when I say tough… I mean brutal! My shoes kept falling off, but I gritted down. I ended up having to turn my feet 90 degrees to get any traction and I was again the last one there but soon I was back out for the running. At this point, my heart rate was through the roof and sweat was everywhere!
Next up, another sled, this time a sled pull. I was expecting it to be easier than the push, but I was wrong. It was equally crap, the less said about this the better and it was then onto run number 4. No complaints with the running - I felt like I kept a good pace between 4:50-5:10 (i think) per km, slower than I’d have liked but I didn't want to push. Overtaking blokes twice my size did feel satisfying, however.
Onto the burpee board jump, this also sucked, I got it done but there were times where I laid on the ground for a hot second and did not want to get back up. Once done I had a bit more water in the transition zone (there is Redbull and water available every round), and headed back out. At this point, I was drenched in sweat, heart rate out of my chest and I was far outside my comfort zone.
Next came the rowing, ah the rower… my love-hate relationship with this came to the surface once again. 1km of rowing and I remember thinking - that's not too bad I can do that in 4 minutes if I push. I did not, but I got it done in under 5. I had my mum and brother stood extremely closing yelling encouragement at this point, which although it helped, my brother is somewhat of a joker and was rather off-putting!
By now I am well and truly in the pain cave, the end was in touching distance but the remaining ground scared me. The latter half was a bit of a blur, running down, next came farmers carry, this didn't bother me as much. I guess from all the Spartan's and Tough Mudders my grip is one of my strengths, no complaints here - I even impressed myself.
But then came the came lunges. This sucked. There is nothing more I can say about this, 20kg is not a lot, 200m doesn't feel too bad, but when you've run 6km already and pushed and pulled sledges heavier than you this is hard! I dug deep, took it methodically and got it done, 4 lunges, break, 4 lunges, break. Getting to the end of this felt like a watershed moment… Only 1km left and 100 wall balls - not bad right? Wrong!
By this time the women's wave had started, this meant that the track was now very congested, forcing my to run a slower pace than ideally liked. I wanted to finish well, but with my slowest km of over 6 minutes I then got to the wallballs. This took 12 minutes, and I hated every signal second of it. The judge was very nice, but i had missed throws and missed reps. My intention was 10x10, this very quickly turned to 20x5, then just reps of three. 720 seconds later I’m about to run over the line but annoyingly another guy pushed me just as I came off of the station.
Overall, a tough, horrible, time, finished in 1 hour 37. I knew I could have done better, but no penalties, and ran all 8km! Considering I’d never done wall balls, ski, or used a sled that heavy - I am proud of that effort! Will I do it again? Maybe… never say never! But for now, with a big challenge this year (Find out more about my Endure4 Challenge here) it’s time to focus back on the Ironman, and OCR!
Great weekend with the Team Grit gang though!
If you want to find out more about Tom’s amazing Endure4, why not check out his recent podcast with WildRunners here. Or find him on instagram at @mrtomnicholas
If Tom has inspired you to take on a Hyrox challenge, why not come and join the Team Grit Gang in London on April 30th? Find out more about our 1:1 coaching or group training plan or drop us a message to come take on a challenge with a great team!