How My First HYROX Made Me a Stronger Solopreneur

Plus, a play-by-play race recap for the curious

Hi! I know you’re used to seeing me in your inbox on Sundays. I’m going to start sprinkling in some longer essays. If you are unfamiliar with HYROX, my subject today, you can check it out here.

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A New Year’s Eve conversation about what I wanted more of in 2025 brought up a familiar pull toward races and exploring my physical limits. After a couple of years of settling, I am ready to bring my ever evolving self back into the arena. I’d been following HYROX since the pandemic, and when registration for the NYC race opened the first week of January, the timing felt right.

Training for my first HYROX mirrored many of the lessons that I’m also navigating as a new solopreneur: learning to slow down, asking for help when resistance shows up, and defining success on my own terms. A full race recap is below for the curious!

#1: Slow Down to Speed Up

David Brooks introduces the idea of a “Zone 2 life” in his article, A Surprising Route to the Best Life Possible. This is marked by steady, persistent effort rather than frantic energy.

HYROX demands this kind of endurance, and while I have been a runner for years, I had never intentionally trained in Zone 2 of my heart rate. Choosing to slowing down takes focus and commitment, but I have grown to love it, especially for the space it gives me to think, listen, and notice beauty in my surroundings.

This same mindset is shaping how I am building a referral-based coaching practice. While it feels painfully slow at times, focusing on genuine connections aligns with my values. Each conversation and outreach delivers a high return on energy, just like my Zone 2 runs.

#2: Ask For Help When You Need It

HYROX includes eight functional workouts, each paired with a 1 kilometer run. Two of these workouts — the sled push and pull — intimidated me. I had never used a sled the weights seemed really heavy (225 and 172 pounds, respectively).

Eventually, I asked for help. Pete helped me figure out the push and my friend Jen practiced the pull with me and told me about a gym that just affiliated with HYROX. This support made all of the difference. Ironically, the sled pull ended up being my strongest event.

Asking for help has been just as important in my coaching journey. From finding my first few clients to launching my practice, I repeatedly feel resistance around “putting myself out there.” When I feel the grip of that, I reach out for support to help me move forward. And, it’s more fun to train and work with other people along the way.

#3: You Define Your Success

I learned a big lesson on race day: a clear definition makes success even sweeter. At first, I just wanted to experience the challenge of HYROX. I was casually aiming for a 1:30 finish because that’s what I estimated in my registration. Fast forward to two weeks before my race. I did a half HYROX simulation, where I dutifully collected split times. Being me, I plugged this data into a spreadsheet, which had me finishing at 1:23.

I never firmly committed to what personal success would be in this race: was it finishing, was it finishing around 1:30, or was it gunning for 1:23? At the starting line, the question, “What am I going for here?” crossed my mind. When I finished in 1:28:48, I was happy with my effort but also had a small sense of, “What if…”

Similarly, I get to define what success means for my business. Unlike the race, I do have clearly defined goals, which are meaningful, personal metrics: growing my client hours, earning an ICF credential, building a strong network, and protecting space in my week for creativity, writing, and rest. I don’t have hard revenue targets, just alignment with the life and business that I want to build.

What began as a physical challenge to try a HYROX race dovetailed into a deeper alignment with my life and work. These lessons will continue to shape how I approach being a solopreneur and coach—intentionally, relationally, and with trust in my capacity.

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Full Race Recap

For those who are curious, come with me through my race day experience in New York City! This is inspired by two women in my co-writing group who viscerally chronicle their badass athletic pursuits — Ali’s ultramarathon runs and Pia’s open water swims.

Pre-Race
I take it easy the morning of the race. My heat is at 2pm, so I eat a bagel breakfast sandwich, a banana and some electrolytes. Around 11:30am I try to eat a Chipotle bowl of rice, chicken and veggies. I am not feeling it but manage to eat about a third of it, mostly the rice. I have a momentary wardrobe crisis — it is 75 and the sun is bright. Unlike most HYROX races, the NYC venue is outdoors with pavilions over some of the workout stations, so the runs are exposed. I have running shorts in my bag, but I only trained in leggings, so I decide to stick with them. In hindsight, I overdressed and next time I will wear shorts (and a hat if it’s outdoors).

When we arrive at Pier 76, I have more than 90 minutes until my heat. We do a spin around to see all of the workout stations. I notice a handful of men slipping and wiping out on the burpee broad jumps but write it off to them being try hard guys. I buy my race tee, use the port-a-potty a bunch of times, eat my second banana, and sit on the pavement for a few minutes to settle down before warming up. In the warmup zone, I row for about 5 minutes, do high knees and butt kicks, some hip opening stretches and a sled push and a sled pull.

Start Tunnel & Run 1
You line up in the start tunnel ten minutes before your heat takes off, so I have a few jittery moments, including when I ask myself, “What am I going for?” I look out at the water and think of my mom, who absolutely loved doing the Peaks to Portland swim. I feel her presence cheering for me, and I have tears in my eyes when my heat takes off.

The first “1 kilometer” run is slightly longer due to the venue layout. As I settle in to it, I feel the tears and then the sun on my face. I check my Garmin once, but the pace feels faster to me than what it’s showing. I do not look at my watch again for the rest of the race.

Workout 1: Ski Erg
I am not concerned about the 1,000 ski as my aim is to be conservative to keep my heart rate under control. My form gets a little sloppy for the last couple hundred meters, but goal accomplished. HR hits 176 but I slow it a bit on the run. Runs 2-7 are the same: two laps around the venue. I feel really good on the second run and start to find a rhythm.

Workout 2: Sled Push
The second workout is a 225 pound sled push for a total of 50 meters, which is broken up into 6 lengths (most races are 4 lengths). In the start tunnel, the emcee had warned us that the carpet was wet and they had seen multiple bloody noses so far that day, so I hesitantly take some small steps to get started. The first push down is great, and when I turn around and push back it suddenly feels like I’m going against the grain of the carpet. There is one particular spot where the sled seems to grind to a halt on each of my return pushes. I get it done, stop for a quick sip of water, and feel pretty good on the third run.

Workout 3: Sled Pull
The sled pull is the same set up as the push — six total lengths — and the sled weighs 172 pounds. My biggest issue is that the lanes are barely wider than the sled and I have people on either side of me, making rope management challenging. I find myself stepping on and over the rope towards the end of each pull as it piles up behind me. Somehow, this is statistically my best workout: compared to the other women who competed in the Open division in NYC, I land in the top 6%! It feels like it takes forever to get out of the RoxZone after the pull, and I stop for water again. On this run, I come to terms with the fact that I’m not checking pace and I’m using the runs as full-on active recovery to prep for what’s next.

Workout 4: Burpee Broad Jumps
Coming into the race, I knew that 80 meters of the burpee broad jumps were going to be challenging for me. My primary pacing goal for the race is simply to feel “ok” (whatever that means) after the burpees. When I get there, I realize that while the runs have been in the sun, this is the first workout that’s also exposed. The black carpet is wet and steamy from the heat and I recall those guys that I had seen wiping out — it starts to make sense.

I slog through it. My “broad jumps” turn into bunny hops, and a handful of times I rest on the carpet for a few seconds. My heart rate hits 189 — the only time I’m in Zone 5 during this race is also the entire time I’m doing the burpees. I grab a sip of water and the run afterwards is comical at first because my quads are not cooperating. No surprise, this is my slowest run, but I keep telling myself, “You get to row next!”

Workout 5: Row
When I get to the rowers, I am pumped to realize that the station is under a pavilion. I get to sit down and be in the shade! I check out during the 1,000 meter row. I’m looking around at the spectators, I smile and talk a little to a woman who is standing in front of my rower. When I look back at my split time, I see it’s slower than I expected but I don’t give a damn. I’m more in mindset of “This is amazing! This is the best five minutes of the race!” than I am of pushing myself to drop my split. I grab another sip of water and feel somewhat refreshed in the run.

Workout 6: Farmer’s Carry
At first, I’m confident about the 200 meter farmer’s carry with a 35 pound kettlebell in each hand. I planned to walk it or maybe fast walk it depending on how my legs felt. However, when I get to the station, I don’t see any chalk. It’s two laps, and I get through the first lap but I have to drop the KBs a couple of times because my hands are so sweaty. As I’m turning for lap two, I ask the judge where the chalk is and he says, “No Chalk.” WTF! I guess I have to get through this. I don’t know how how many times I had to put the KBs down on the second lap but it was frequent. I couldn’t do anything about my hands — my leggings and shirt were already soaked through and the wet carpet wasn’t an option. Somehow I had enough grip to get it done, I grab more water, and I realize that I’m on my last two-lap run. I’ve come to look forward to and prefer the runs at this point, so I’m a little sad about that.

Workout 7: Sandbag Lunges
The second to last workout is 100 meters of walking lunges with a 22 pound sandbag racked on your shoulders. Despite all of the lower body effort up to this point, these are great. I step my feet together when I stand between each lunge and am not going fast, but my legs hold up well. This is the only point during the race that I’m aware of the music. “Ridin’” is blasting and I am feeling it. The beat propels me forward. I get my last sip of water, almost go out the entrance, which I realize when I nearly collide with someone, but correct myself and set off on the final run.

This last run is longer because the wall ball station is in a different area. It’s more than 2.5 laps this time. On my first lap, I see a clock that I hadn’t previously noticed and I think it says 3:13pm. I realize that I am on track to finish under my 1:30 estimate. That buoys me for a moment because I have lost all sense of time, but I am also starting to dread the wall balls.

Workout 8: Wall Balls
The conclusion of every HYROX race is 100 wall balls. The athlete has to squat below parallel (hips below knees) and then throw a ball to hit a target on the wall. For my division, the ball was about 8.8 pounds and the target is 9 feet. I don’t have much experience with wall balls, or with squatting below parallel, to be honest. This is going to be a sufferfest.

On my first rep, my judge tells me that I have to squat lower but gives me the rep. I make a focused effort on my second rep and turn my head to get his approval. I start working through sets of 5. It’s taking forever at this pace, and everything starts to scream — legs, lungs, heart rate. I increase my sets to like 9 or 10 as I get into it, I don’t fully remember. It’s just pure grit.

At 91 reps, I set an intention to close it out but crash at 96 reps. I take a breath and get into my final push. I get one no rep from my judge on #99. Brutal, but I dig in for two more, let the ball fall and run through to the finish line.

Post-Race
I’m pretty disoriented at this point, standing on a little stage with a DJ and a guy handing me a Red Bull. When I step off the stage, I see other women standing in a line so I get in the line. At some point, I realize that this is the line for finisher photos, and that I could get out of it and recover for a bit in the zero gravity chairs over there, but I don’t have the energy. I don’t actually know my finish time until I step forward and 1:28:48 pops up behind me. I feel proud, relieved, tired, salty, and happy to be done.

This widened spectrum of thoughts, emotions, sensations, and the satisfaction of pushing my physical limits is what I love about races. I’m excited to be back in the arena and have a few local trail races lined up this summer (success for those = having fun and enjoying the runs). Stay tuned for my next HYROX adventure!