How we took 4 minutes off our HYROX time

“We were confident in our plan and stuck to it during the race.”

As they say, HYROX is our sport! With a combined 15 races between us, Chicago 2024 was only Alex and my second Mixed Double Race together. Just missing the cut-off for the 40-49 age group, we entered the race in the very competitive 30-39 group. Because we coach athletes in HYROX every day and follow the sport closely we knew what we were up against. We were very pleased when we walked away with a time of 1:03:33 and a 11th place finish in our division.

Our debut Mixed Doubles was the US Open Championships in March 2024 in Washington DC. We clocked a 1:07:19, while battling illness and coming off a race in Fort Lauderdale the week before. We hosted Friday night lights at the gym and then jumped on the road at 5am Saturday morning (with my kids in tow) to make it to DC to see our athlete's race. Admittedly our game plan was "let's see what we can do"! Not surprisingly our competitive nature came out and were got to the start line ready to race.

Here are the 6 things we did to improve our HYROX time by 4 minutes:

1. Our Game Plan was to Minimize Transition Time

We changed our game plan to have the least number of transitions on each station.  That meant 2 changes on the Ski and Row. Alex, the stronger skier/rower, started I did a small set in the middle and then Alex finished. Move Fast through the RoxZone!  We did not slow down between the run course and stations.  This is challenging when the RoxZone is crowded, but focusing on getting the next station is key!

2. Prioritized Team Work by Training Together

In the weeks leading up to the race we prioritized training and running together.  Sometimes this meant 5am Saturday workouts, but it was worth it!  You need to communicate quickly and easily with your partner during the race.  We practiced pacing, transitions and communication.

3. HYROX = Running

HYROX is a running race.  We were able to take 3:20 off of our total run time.  We did this by increasing our overall endurance, fitness and durability by incorporating more long, slow runs into our weekly training. Aim for less than 20% of our weekly volume at race pace or faster.

4. Pacing

Understand your sustainable race pace.  Every run was within 10 seconds aside from the first which was shorter in distance.  The biggest area of improvement for most HYROX athletes is going to be average run pace.  Your obstacle execution should support your running pace, not detract from it.  You may be able to do a 1000m row at a 1:45/500m pace, but if you can't run after, it will not matter. 

5. Fueling

Focus on optimal carbohydrate consumption and hydration. We both made a concerted effort to increase our carbohydrate and water intake during the 48 hours before the race.  This is challenging while traveling for a race, but supplementing with BPN G.1.M and Electrolytes kept us on track We had both our dinner and breakfast preplanned before we ever left for Chicago.  We knew what we were going to eat, and where.  

6. Confidence

All we had to do was executed the Plan!  We were confident in our plan and stuck to it during the race.  This is a long race and each obstacle is ultimately only 6% of the race.  Do what you have done in practice, especially early on in the race.  Lastly, expect some unexpected. We had a couple surprises... No Wall Ball Judge, jammed up burpees, but overall, we did exactly what we had planned!

Interested in HYROX training with us? Contact us to get more information about class schedule, programming and nutrition at Total Pursuit Athletics.