What's up people!

Last weekend I competed in HYROX in New York City.

HYROX is a combination of running & functional workouts. Everyone runs 1km, then completes a functional workout and repeats it eight times. I'm really excited about the future of this competition. It started in Europe and now is in its early stages here in the US. But I can already see a powerful community forming and think it will only continue to grow.

One of the best parts was the atmosphere for spectators. While in a marathon fans only get to see athletes pass by for a few seconds, HYROX is all in the same area so they get to follow their friends & family throughout the entire competition. The energy was incredible.

I loved seeing people get out of their comfort zone and do things hard. 

If you are interested in doing hard things and want to try something new, definitely check out a HYROX competition near you!

Wellness Tip

The Key to Nutrition is Testing

Nutrition has always been an interesting topic for me. I have continued to experiment with my nutrition plan over the past several years. It takes time to get a routine dialed in because there are so many factors that go into it: age, health status, activity level, goals, lifestyle habits, and more. 

Figuring out what to eat is all about tweaking until you find what works for you in the current season of life that you're in. My meal plan is going to look very different when I prep for the Leadville 100 ultramarathon later this summer than what I ate to prep for HYROX or when I'm in my normal training routine.

Your eating schedule should also vary based on what time of day you like to work out. For me I like getting my running workouts done in the morning. 

Here is just an example of what I focus on during normal training:

Pre-run: I prefer fasting before I run. So instead of eating anything in the morning, I drink Athletic Greens, creatine, and electrolytes.

Post run: Then immediately after my run, I'll have more first meal of the day. Drink coffee and eat protein

Having a routine helps me a ton. But life gets busy. I'm on the road a lot. So it's not always so simple.

My advice for those who struggle with the routine is:

1. Lean on experts: I look to people like my friend Dan Churchill, an expert performance chef who gives tips on what meals to eat and when

2. Preparation: Take the time to plan your meals ahead of time. Just like you plan meetings, appointments, and events. Make time in your calendar to plan your meals, grocery shop, and cook. Winging it usually leads to unhealthy decisions.  

Dan just came out with a new book that I highly recommend for any high performance athletes looking to improve their food game.

Mindset Framework

Learning From My Mistakes

HYROX was completely new for me. I had heard about the competition, but nothing replaces experiencing it for yourself.

As a first timer in the race, I made a first timer mistake that cost me a ton of time. After each functional exercise we had to run, but instead of only running 1 lap like we were supposed to, I ran 2. It taught me how important having a race strategy is when coming into competitions like this. I had prepared my body physically, but there is a mental side to these races as well. This race required extreme focus. It's easy to get distracted by how many laps to run or what station to go to next. You must be dialed in to execute at a high level.

It was truly a humbling experience. 

I messed up that part of the race, but overall I was really happy with how I performed in the actual exercises. I put in a lot of work practicing each of the 8 functional workouts and the hard work paid off. I knew what it was like to run on tired legs and I paced myself properly which felt great.

I learned valuable lessons both from my mistakes and successes. I know that I can do better and if I apply what I learned, the results will come. I definitely see another HYROX race in my future and am pumped to see what I can achieve when I'm dialed in both mentally and physically.