Hyrox Singapore 2023 done and dusted. Time 1:25:45.
Decent for a first! Well at least we faired better than the trainings we’ve had.
For context, I did the Doubles Mixed event along with my fellow trainer colleague, Neilan. I expected better for myself though, although I knew he was going to work more but man, my cardiovascular still has a lot of work to do especially in such hybrid races.
[Documenting a detailed breakdown of some of my thoughts through the race. This serves as a piece for me to reflect now and in the future!]
Start block:
Getting ready at the warmup area and then into the start pen. I knew I always had my fears to fight for race day. I was never a race ready kinda person till the race begins and then ease into it at my own pace. Now, I had another to account to, this was pressure to me. It did not help when he was still not at the warm-up area five minutes before flagging off but he did pop out of nowhere eventually. hahaha. 1 minute to start, Neilan psyched me up as much as possible but I couldn’t help contain the anxiety I had. It was difficult keeping it away because I was so caught up with disappointing. Countdown then begins.. 3.2.1
Running 1:
Off we go. We tried breaking away from the pack. Picked up speed and before I knew, we found ourselves in the first few spots in our wave. I was getting a little breathless already but still alright. Maybe just anxiety. Anyway I knew this pace wasn’t gonna last but left the worry to later and held it together in anticipation to recover well at the first station.
Ski Ergs 1000m:
Into the skis, we were directed to the near end. This meant we were coming in first few for our wave. Our friends were cheering, I felt happy but still very very nervous to perform. Deep long pulls.. don’t rush.. kept telling myself. It worked for awhile but I think there was still some panic in me. Could have gone slower on the strokes which might have saved some energy. My advise, don’t try challenging yourselves on having the dampener at 8–10. Be wise.
Running 2:
It was still early into the race but my body felt so tired. Not sure if it was all the anxiety or fatigue built up from trainings but the forbidden thought of giving up crossed my mind. Like what? we just barely started! It was more of, “I can still go but I really don’t think I can last through the rest of the stations if we were running at this pace.” Brushed that quickly aside and got my focus back.
Sled push 50m, 152KG:
Coming into the sleds, the judges ushered us close to the ends. We were 3rd in. Neilan went ahead first and flew almost literally across. He was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was for him. This meant that I had to still jog and not walk 😮💨 He went for the next lap and then my turn. It felt definitely easier than what we had in the studio. My legs however weren’t able to last as well. He did about 3 laps, and I did 1.
Running 3:
We left off, I’m not sure how this felt but I think I recalled saying to pace. As usual, he pretended not to hear 🙄
Sled Pull 50m, 103KG:
This dug my morale deeper. I tried pulling but it didn’t seem to move much. Neilan was starting to gas out I could tell (i think?) but I understood too since he had been bearing most of the work at the stations. I could hear our friends cheering behind us but at the same time I was beating myself up because I was so frustrated with my ability to pull the sled better. Looking back at the video clip, from the other end it didn’t look too bad and actually moved quite a bit..I’m definitely gonna try again the next time.
Running 4:
I remembered him trying to catch his breath, I think it was the only time he asked to wait 🥹. The first lap felt heavier but he really wanted to keep the same momentum going. Runs after sleds are not fun guys. My stitches then started to creep in. Good thing it left later.
Burpee Broad Jump 80m:
The transitions were starting to get further away.. but just when we were done with the bloody sleds and run, he started leaping like a frog. Where the heck did he get that energy from?! I was all ready to stroll throughout but dang, he was leaping past a few pairs ahaha. When I took over it was dead slow, I really wanted to lie on the ground longer.. but nope not now.
Running 5:
Transiting to this I grabbed a cup of 100plus to fuel a lil bit more. I can’t remember if it was this run that we saw people starting to cramp up but we could maintain the pace well together. It was a slight second wind for me purely in the run. Kept telling myself don’t blow up the rowers as I realised through my past trainings that my energy tends to drop drastically at this portion of the full game.
Rowers:
He gets on first. Averaging a steady pace of 1:45. As soon he leaves the seat, I do a pull, that hunger came. F**k, this is it. Every pull felt so bad. The power was at the 2:03s-2:07s and the distance was inching so slowly. Behind us was everyone. I knew I couldn’t last, after 150m I had to tap out for a bit. He swore at me but I deserve it. Thanks bro 😅
Running 6:
Transiting to this we hit the water stations again. I know he was quite beat from the rowers since he did 80% of it.. I tried getting water to cool myself down but isotonic was on my head lol. Started lagging further, called out to him to slow down but as usual this dude doesn’t listen to such words. He then pulled his string from his shorts to one end and gave me to hold it. Still, I was losing grip and so I ended up holding his arm as though we were gonna walk down a wedding aisle but that worked for me lol. Points to him for his improv.
Farmers walk 200m, 24KG:
Running into the transition zone was like a hurt locker. While I envied those who walked, I knew then we had to press on. Neilan picked up and ran with the kettlebells like they were paper bags. Again, I ran even in the stations. My turn to carry, nope I definitely couldn’t run like him. I was just telling myself be steady don’t lose your step , don’t lose the grip and get that damn hr down.
Running 7:
This and the last lap was all mental. I didn’t know his legs were tired then till he told me after the race. We trudged on regardless. With my arms around his.
Sandbag lunges 100m, 20KG:
He started off the line as though they were the freshest pair of legs! This dude was surpassing people around us that he had to dodge left right. Tbh it was quite disruptive.. When I took over, the speed just became like an eternity. I think they cheer also bored la. Like two extremes. Hahaha.
Running 8:
The final run! While I celebrate it being the final run, the thought of using whatever I had in my tank now and have nothing left for the last station crept in. Whatever it was, we just gave all we’ve got. The results showed our pace was a 7+, we felt we ran quicker though 🤔
Wall balls 6KG x 100:
A complete shit-show that I swear to make a stronger comeback. Every throw I went was a struggle. I rolled back and fell in fact. He held it through for at least 75. Man, I was so so disappointed with myself.
Finishing line:
We didn’t even had a nice photo entering the finish line. My guess was he was a lil pissed at my performance for the stations. Oops. But he was okay later and we took a photo.
In the nutshell
It was one of those race events to remember, talk about and learn. At least to me. Being someone who plays lesser team sports, this was a good discovery to challenge, communicate and work. Also, having done this, point to note that this requires a huge huge amount of work on running! So do your compromised runs and if you are someone who doesn’t do well with doing too many full simulations (like me), go change up the wod that gives that similar effort or more. You don’t want to get mentally burnt out too. All the best!
