Hyrox Yokohoma

 

I complete Hyrox – my A race for 2025.

Hyrox is a success - a huge success in terms of my experience and making age group podium.  Less success regarding my time (though now I have goal for next Hyrox).

You can see from this chart how I did on the 8 stations and 8 runs relative to field. As expected, I gain on field during run portion, then drop back on strength stations:

 

Notably –

1. Sled Push is my BEST event! – I had initially thought sled push might make Hyrox impossible for me
2. SkiErg – With teammates in my face cheering me, on I feel like I am killing the SkiErg.  Then the athletes around me all finish and leave the station before me. According to distribution chart below a shocking 99% of all male athletes doing Hyrox all time have a better SkiErg time than mine!  
3. Burpees & Lunges – Not as bad as expected.  All my training helped overcome inflexibility from years of endurance training
4. Wall Balls – Pure disaster

 

 

 

Wall Balls – Six months of training.  And much of it I was trying to do “stimulations” – test myself on all the precise challenges of the Hyrox race.  You may wonder how then I could have been so ignorant as to not prepare AT ALL for the 10 foot height of the wall ball target. Well it seems like there is a preoccupation in the Hyrox world about the “squat depth” required for Wall Balls (see this NYT article about controversy).  Second my lack of mobility after years of running made it clear to coaches that I was particularly likely to violate this controversial rule.  So the several coaches I asked focused strenuously on my squats and dismissed my questions about hitting the target.  In fact my desire to train under race conditions was met with scorn.  “Marathoners do not train by racing marathons every day” the Hyrox experts would inform me.    “Oh, thank you -as if I didn’t not know that” I would think to myself as I nodded politely.  This dynamic was reminding me of my first triathlon when all the swim advice was insistent that I keep doing various swim drills in the pool, while I wanted to test myself in race conditions in open water  (long time readers of this blog will know how this also turned out wildly embarrassing for me – much like my first Hyrox Wall Ball effort ).

For several minutes, I was concerned I would not be able to even accomplish ONE successful wall ball.  Eventually I channeled memories of basketball jump shots enabling me to painstakingly complete the 100 wall balls over what felt like a lifetime (17:29).  One would hope that the fact of being so near the end of race and having teammates cheering me on would somehow create the incentive and energy to power through at end.  But NO – it took me 30 seconds to go from 99 to 100... 

 

Glory – Crossing the finish like I am a bit disappointed that my time had just ballooned to 1:37. However I am happy to see this time hold up for 3rd place podium position.  Later I learn that my podium picture is in Yahoo News -    

Wow – not sure 1 hours 37 minutes is deserving of such glory, but I will take it. 

 

Did Hyrox live up to my expectations?  Would I recommend it?  Absolutely – I have become a Hyrox evangelist.  The whole energy of the event, with the loud music, the lights, the scoreboard, the compact warmup zone, the wrap around video starting tunnel,  the finish line pageantry, the proximity of spectators – the Hyrox experience all seemed brilliantly thought out. The challenge of doing these new events combined with clear link between particular workout stations and overall health objectives certainly makes Hyrox compelling to me  (though like with Spartan, so far most of the running teammates look at me dismissively when I suggest Hyrox).

I told my run club teammates that if I can do Hyrox anyone can – I couldn’t seem to even MOVE the sled upon my first effort six months ago.  (note though that I did experience knee soreness as I ramped up lunges and squats, and I would advise runners to be careful about this).

 

Future Hyrox ambitions – Of course I am obsessed with improving my Hyrox time and realizing my longtime dream of breaking 90 minutes (okay not that long of time).   And now, having experienced Hyrox , for base training phase I am desirous of doing more fundamental strength drills

Spring 2025 Races

While I obsess over Hyrox training, I manage to do several events this spring: 

HUA HIN 10.5k RUN 

Another lovely sightseeing run that turns into interesting competitive challenge.  

I start out conservatively then settle into a pack on a long out and back stretch. 

You can see from my splits and map how I enjoyed long stretch on hard packed sandy beach around the 9th kilometer.  At this point I was confident I had age group victory wrapped up.

But then I spotted an old guy gaining on me (he turned out to be 59). I accelerate through the streets on the final stretch to hold onto my lead among over 50s, and finish 6th overall out of some 900 runners 

Spartan Super 

I regretted signing up for the Spartan obstacle race - paying $135,  then having most of my teammates decide not to join, then enduring the long train/bus journey, followed by long registration lines, the whole time dreading thought of  screwing up various obstacles I have no real opportunity to practice, having to do penalty burpees, and listening to my gerontologist warning me again about risk of traumatic  injury falling off obstacle.  

I decide this will be my last Spartan race. 

But it goes well.  I finally succeed on the dreaded Twister obstacle (which is thankfully the first obstacle) 

The monkey bars and rings at end seem easy. 

I feel strong on the sandbag and barrel carries. 

I do struggle on Olympus and Stairway to Sparta, but only fail the spear throw

My net time is 1:35 – so most likely I would have finished a close 4th (out of 30 total) in my age group and suffered agony of being just off the podium, so I guess maybe it is better that I did the afternoon wave. 

Hyrox Training

My endurance sports training this year is totally centered around training for a Hyrox race on August 9th. 

 Hyrox is a relatively new event which combines 1-kilometer running segments with eight different functional workout stations.   

I obsess over Hyrox training and am relatively less consumed with triathlon, Spartan, and various run events. 

As passionate as I may be about the training, the training regiment itself has been chaotic and ad hoc.   Hyrox training lacks the simplicity of, say, marathon training (essentially add steadily more miles to Sunday long runs).  

Though it is much easier to do Hyrox event specific training than Spartan, it is challenging to specifically train for all EIGHT stations.

I have been trying to do two full gym sessions per week plus make effort to add certain exercises during runs.  I have cobbled together various venues in effort to cover the different stations as best I can -- 

1.    Club360 – Only chance to do sled push, sled pull, ski-erg (and utilize whole array of different weights). 50-minute coached session for 3,500 yen.  Have managed to make it to four sessions

2.    Tokyo Public Gym – Rowing machine, plus dumb-bells for use on farmers carry and lunges

3.    Apartment – I purchased a 5 kilogram medicine ball which I use at home for wall-ball training on bedroom wall and weighted lunges across living room.

4.    Park – Trying to do burpee broad jumps

I have limited expectations for how well I will place at Hyrox.  I am not particularly competitive at many of the stations - it has been taking me 8 or more minutes to complete burpee broad jump, lunges, or wall-balls - well over the 5-minute standard for the average Hyrox male finisher. 

 It is hard to gauge much improvement over the last couple months, but hopefully I am building a base of fitness in these exercises.  And improving my overall health. 

Togane Half Marathon 2025

 

I return to Togane Half Marathon to improve on time from last year and try to win big prizes again.  

 

I succeed on the latter- capturing first place, but am unable to improve on last year's  time.  In fact I am over a minute slower, clocking 1:28.

 In my Togane post last year I made snide, critical comments about my teammates using the wind as an excuse for slower performance.  This year I am totally keen to blame the wind. 

I have read that for run performance, the negative impact of a headwind is 2x the benefit one receives from a tailwind.  I am sure most runners would feel that the negative ratio is far higher.  I felt limited benefit from the tailwind during the first half of race, sitting comfortably in the large 4-minute per kilometer pack, trying to resist speeding up beyond my goal pace. 

 

I was feeling confident about staying with pack and on pace as we approached 11k.  Then we turned back toward start and I was shocked by strength of wind.  And unfortunately the large pack had spread out by this point, just when I needed it.   

We faced a constant, stiff headwind through 17k, which I mostly struggled against, until I caught up with a petite girl who ultimately was 3rd place female. 

At least I am smiling at the end this year's Togane event.  Happy to win my age group.

I had thoughts of doing another half-marathon this year and trying again to clock the time I think I am capable of based on my training.  But my knee ached so much after event.