Cheating at Hyrox... Maybe

I finished Hyrox single men’s open this weekend…

and digging through the rulebook (Sigh) I may have cheated.

More on that in a minute.

Back in December, I put up a pic of my first 5k and told a story of my shattered leg and being told by my doc that I should never run again.

(I’ll look for it and link in the comments on FB)

It was horrible advice… as well intended as it may have been.

I wasn’t sure I even wanted to sign up for Hyrox, tbh. I think you have to be a little crazy to willingly subject yourself to eight 1000M runs with eight workouts mixed in between. 8 workouts that the average person would complete any one of them and say…yup, I’m done for the day. And I say that with no ego. I’m that average person. 100 burpee broad jumps… umm thanks. That by itself is enough today. Smh… I mean enough for this week. For life? Yeah. Good with that too.

And.

I have five daughters. I have a grand daughter and another on the way. I want to be more fit. I want to challenge myself to keep getting healthier and live a long time for them. For me to spend time with them.

I want them seeing me do hard things. I can’t just preach to do the hard things. I have to do the hard things too.

This was a hard thing.

So I signed up. And I signed up without the flex option. No going back.

I’m not sure I’ve ever run 5 miles in my life before training for this. I ran my first 5k in December… and then ran a 5k every other week in January and February training for this.

I was doing 100 wall balls 5 days a week for a month leading up to this. 50 unbroken no sweat. Well maybe some sweat

And no excuses, trying to keep this real and honest. During one of the training events a few weeks ago, I pulled a calf muscle. Minor strain. No bruising, felt like the aftermath of a Charlie horse… sore tender knot deep in the muscle type thing. I took it easy. Slowed down on my training. Took a few days off. Lots of massage gun and whatever…

Each day I woke up to it being stiff, and massaged it out, past few days it was starting to feel better. No stiff morning.

And went into this event knowing the knot was still there and at the same time, I had practiced all the workouts and even with the knot was still hitting “my times” on each workout. I had a plan. I knew my time breakdowns. Added some time for the “rox zone” and was confident even with this tightness I would finish in my goal time.

First run- fine.

Skierg intentionally slowed to not gas myself. Fine. Even passed some people.

Second run still feeling good.

Second workout - 152kg (335lbs) sled push — and a half way into the first lane my calf said “bro. What are you doing?!”

Confidence flew out the window. It was way too early for this to happen. I was not done 1/4 of the second workout. 6 more runs and 6-3/4 more workouts to go.

And this is where I started cheating.

Let’s go back a couple days.

And even months.

I signed up to compete in SINGLES Hyrox. Many sign up for doubles or relays as their first race. That’s where you and a partner(s) complete these elements together. Everyone I told that I signed up for singles... let’s just say I received more than one glance that told me they thought I was crazy. First hyrox. Competing alone.

And I wasn’t alone.

Open gym sessions, my turf crew was right there beside me. Double sessions at the gym - beside me. In between double sessions, practicing the workouts… right there beside me. In group chats. Beside me.

Encouraging texts and check ins - beside me…

I met more people in this hyrox world, and chatted with more people on social media… all encouraging and standing beside me.

Saturday and Sunday before my race, I stood beside them. I showed up early. I was at the start line and the finish line for every friend that competed (except the ones running the same times I was). I stood to the side of their workouts and cheered for them and everyone else whose faces said “I am spent”. My whoop literally registered activity both days from me running around. I selected “cheerleading”.

And… now. Finishing the second workout - I was spent, way too early my body was starting to yell at me. And as I paused and calculated, I heard the screaming for me, the encouraging to me… and as I finished and rounded the turn to walk out of the workout … I saw them… my family, giving me a high five. (Except Eden because I was dripping in sweat - listen to the video), and THEN the whole turf crew lined up and yelling for me. And, I started to run. And they cheered louder. Family and friends still beside me. Community.

As I exited that workout, I choked up. I can’t explain the gratitude. I lifted an out loud prayer of thanks.

6 more runs and 6 more work outs.

They moved from workout to run lane to cheer for me. My family on the bridge. My friends on the sides. New friends who saw me and saw my face… hundreds of high fives. One woman who didn’t even know me counting my laps down out loud as I ran by. The judges waving people into wall balls watching my name on the monitor and high fiving and telling me they would see me soon. My name was the only one in all caps on the monitor - me being me when I filled in the form? I don’t know and it made me easy to track.

THE ANNOUNCER. I don’t know who this guy was… and there was a Jeff he was talking about. And I swear to you he kept saying how amazing Jeff was doing. No clue. Maybe I was delirious … and I held onto it.

I start the Burpee Broad Jumps… sweat is POURING off me. Streaming off the tip of my nose as I drop to this felt pad that had no cushion at all… (don’t realize THAT watching videos) and I started to wonder if I had made a mistake and if I was out of my mind.

And this is where the “cheating” started. (Continued?)

A judge walked up to me… and said, “I’m sorry. Your friends asked if you could change lanes.” And she walked me over to the lane by the barrier… where 30 of my inner circle were lined up and waiting to give high fives when I paused for burpees, slaps on the back, to give me encouragement, and shout for me to push through…

The judges began to know me by name and they were amazed at how many were cheering for me, offering their own encouragement.

Every lap. I lifted gratitude. And ran as fast as my legs could take me, which let’s be real was not fast. And I was moving forward one step and high five at a time.

When I finally made it to lunges, again that felt on the floor was unforgiving, and standing in front of each set of next lanes, the end is SOOOOO much further away than it has any right to be. I did not have a tape measure… and… somehow each of the 4 lunge lengths doubled… By the 4th length, my quads and hamstrings were done. My calves had been done for a long time. Every new step I was audibly screaming in pain. My muscles were not going to forgive me any time soon. A judge literally came up to me at this point and said, “you’re going to burn out your quads that way.” Then looked at me and restated “well, looks like everything is in pain already. You’ve got this! One more station to go.”

And I cheated again. Maybe

I ran to the wall balls. Shortest run of this Hyrox…and it was nearly my longest. After that lunge station no one should be surprised. Going into Hyrox I was confident wall balls would be one of my 3 strongest stations. I know I said it earlier, and in practice, I consistently was putting up 50 unbroken wall balls on fatigued legs after double workout classes. I did not expect to hit 100 unbroken (an early dream of mine)… and 25-30 shouldn’t be a problem.

I was humbled quickly.

8 in… maybe.

If I’m lucky.

I dropped the ball. It was covered in sweat. Was that my sweat? Or was it was wet when I picked it up? I got to nearly 30 in sets of 5s. I’m really unclear why I’m aiming at the woman’s target… 8 reps to woman’s target. Obviously those didn’t count. Sigh.

I asked to switch out the ball. New ball. Put up 8… and then 7

Turned around and cheated for my last time.

I stared at all the people cheering me on, my family, my friends, my turf crew, and soaked up that “outside assistance”.

And was it really cheating?

The rulebook states anything I bring with me from the start of the race. Must have from the start to the finish.

Those high fives gave me energy. The kiss I snuck from my wife during a sweaty lap gave me joy. The cheers, and signs, and encouragement coming from those I love and from complete strangers.

This was definitely nourishment.

The other racers giving me encouragement as they ran by me, as they competed next to me, as they fought to move forward by my side.

Encouragement I gave to them as I ran by them.

I was 45 wall balls deep. The guy next to me 57. And with my “outside assistance” I decided I was going to hit 100 before he did.

11 … 11 again… 67. 8 more with 3 more no reps. 10 more

15! And that gave me 100

Guy next to me hits it a moment before me and goes trudging towards the finish.

Not to be defeated I kick it into gear, move to the outside, and start to run by him… and look at him.

He definitely looked like I felt. He put every bit of work into station 8 and those last 100 wall balls that I did and I was not gonna run past him in the final second. I was not going to diminish his suffering even a little bit.

I put my arm around him and we ran across the finish line together.

He was the first high five at the end of the race.

I don’t even know his name.

I do know that I would not have been standing there without my outside assistance. My legal(?) brought with me outside assistance.

My singles race was not a singles race.

Not one single step of the way.

This has always been about family and community. About doing the hard things for myself and the people I love, and with people who want me to succeed.

Thank you all. I am grateful.

(The story almost ends there and never can. By the time I had my phone back. There were 50 messages asking how I had done. Encouraging me before and after my start time… and it hasn’t stopped. The first thing everyone asked today on my daily action call and coaching calls. Grateful for you all. I also feel VERY badly for not tagging everyone… and it would be close to impossible to not miss someone between platforms. Please know I see you and know you helped encourage me)

Editors note - it’s all in the videos. Just watch. You’ll believe. Community makes a difference

If you need a community that helps you take daily action towards the goals you have set for yourself. To achieve and exceed the your dreams personally and professionally. We meet daily. Would love for you to join. Register at bmoredaily.com

#hyrox #hyroxamericas #community #dothehardthing #bmoreeveryday