Writing this from Bali, about 48 hours post-race. Still in that strange window where the result feels real but the debrief hasn't fully landed yet. Felt like a good time to write my thoughts down.
If you opened this issue for the usual mix of business, fitness and family…I’m afraid it’s a heavy one on the fitness side. Jakarta Hyrox is all I can think about as I’m still buzzing from the event.
We trained apart for months and raced like we'd done it for years.
I met Neil in Bali last year. One of those friendships that moves fast…which I think happens when you're older and you're living somewhere like Canggu where you actually have time to spend with people. We clicked quickly. Turned out we had the same passions, and a similar way of thinking about training.
What we didn't have was much time together on the course. He was in Da Nang for most of the build-up. I was in the UK. We did two simulations together. We only practised our race transitions for the first time five days before Jakarta.
On paper that sounds underprepared. In practice it worked because we'd done the homework individually and trusted each other to turn up on the day. There's a dynamic in doubles that singles doesn't have. You're not just racing for yourself. Dropping the pace or blowing a station doesn't only cost you. That awareness sits quietly in the background the whole time, and I think it makes you sharper.
We're well matched across almost everything. He's probably a fractionally better runner. I'd back myself on lunges and farmers carry. Neither of us is carrying the other. That balance matters more than people realise when you're 60 minutes into a race and both running on fumes.
“The best thing about a good doubles partner is that you can’t let yourself have a bad day.”
1 hour 13 minutes after four days of no training.
Ten days before the race I sliced my shin open. It got infected. Five days out I picked up a cold and my glands went. Neil was also fighting something off. Taper week became no training at all for four days. Not ideal preparation for a Pro race.
I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous on the start line. Not just the usual pre race nerves, but the added layer of not knowing how your body is going to respond when you haven't tested it properly. We went out controlled. I took gels this time, which I hadn't used properly before - one at the start and one after the row. Steadier energy through the middle of the race than I've felt before. A simple change but big impact.
Coming out of the burpee broad jumps, usually the moment races fall apart, I felt like I was flying. Runner's high, genuinely. My legs felt strong, pace was good and we started overtaking people. We started the race in 200th place. We finished 58th. Twelve in our age group. When others were flagging, we were flying.
So much of Hyrox is about race sharpness and you can’t simulate that in the gym. Every race I learn something different about myself or how to approach the race next time.
Most people would have quietly lowered expectations after a week like we had. We didn't, and it turned out we didn't need to.
”Sub 1:15 was the target. That’s now the floor.”
The gap is closing and I can feel it.
I could just say I'm pleased with the result and move on. But the thing I keep coming back to isn't the finish time. It's how the runs felt.
I've done races where I was dragging myself through the kilometres, managing the damage, trying not to blow up. Jakarta didn't feel like that. It felt like proper running. Like we were moving through the field rather than surviving it. Run 7…late in the race, after the row and the farmers carry and the lunges we had overtaken nearly 50 pairs. My fitness showed up like it's supposed to and our race plan paid off.
When you can see the gap between where you are and where the top athletes are actually getting smaller, it changes something in you. I’m still far off where they are, I’m not that delusional but you start to understand that the ceiling isn't fixed.
A final note. Abby solo parented for the weekend while I flew to Jakarta…the same as she did when I raced Miami. I appreciate her for that more than she knows. She supports this without making me feel like I owe her one, which is its own kind of gift. The result feels shared.
“Most people plateau because they stop believing the number can change. I’ve stopped believing mine is fixed.”
That's issue eleven.
Shin is healing. Cold is gone. Already doing the maths on 1:10.