08/08/2025
Understanding the process of Hyrox, and knowing when to race more often, vs less.
I often recommend my athletes take time off racing after a season of pushing workout after workout, race after race.
Spacing time between races helps give you time to truly adapt, and make meaningful changes to your athletic ability, and endurance potential. When you’re constantly resting for races, you lose valuable training days.
But that’s not always what people need. There is a way, and a time to race frequently.
The reality is I took a very long hiatus for health reasons, and I needed to get back in the game quickly after overdoing potassium on both my first singles races back. Cramps as early as the ski erg don’t make you feel real confident.
If you know something is off, and you need to go prove it to yourself, getting back in the game quickly is important if possible.
If you have low race experience, and have forgotten what real chosen suffering feels like, where your line is, and how to move it forward, racing can be very useful.
Over a decade ago one of my cycling coaches called this “racing yourself into shape”. You don’t rest much before races, you don’t show up fresh. You definitely don’t try to peak. You prioritize training over fun traveling experiences, and you use each race as a training sim to remind your body what it’s like to truly feel pain again.
This is very hard to do in Hyrox right now due to the popularity causing events to sell out, so race sims can be an easier way to accomplish this. Racing in person, even better. I NEED RACE EXPERIENCE AGAIN, AND I KNOW IT.
It’s ok to be an advocate for yourself, know what you need, and go after it. Most others had a very long season before worlds, I had just begun again. Your season does not need to look like someone else’s. If you know deep down what you need, and how to plan it out, send it.
This principle applies to more than racing. We often ignore what we most need out of fear of it. Sometimes you have to try, just to be able to look yourself in the mirror later, and be proud of the effort.