Just over one week until Hyrox. A few more training sessions and then a couple of days leading up to the event to rest and carb load. I’m starting to feel a little nervous.

I’ll soon be receiving the event emails advising me, and my daughter, of our start time, a reminder of the rules and details of the layout of the run and the 8 stations.

I’m not feeling as prepared as I’d have hoped even though the training period has been long. Possibly too long. We started at the beginning of the Summer. I use to go out for an early run before it got too hot. Now I have to persuade myself to go out in the rain.

My daughter and I have already agreed that for our next event in May we’ll stick to a focused 8 week programme of training.

I’m reconciled to being very slow. I’m aiming to complete it in 2 hours 30 minutes. Any faster would be a huge bonus. Slower would be disappointing but my number one objective is to complete it.

My slowness is worrying and annoying. This time last year I could run 5k in 35 minutes. It is now 38 minutes. Quite a dip in speed. I suspect that becoming ill at the end of last year with an overactive thyroid has had something to do with it. Before I started medication palpitations would wake me up in the night, my heart would race and I’d have chest pain. Has there been a lasting legacy on what was already a slightly damaged heart? I’ve no idea and I doubt any medical professional could tell me. I can only do what I can to keep it functioning at its best.

One health metric I have become more interested in is my heart rate variation (HRV). This is a measurement that my iwatch records. I’ve ignored it up to now. In a way I wish I’d continued to ignore it.

Heart rate variability is a measure of the time variation interval between heartbeats measured in milliseconds. According to Google above 50mms is healthy, below 50 unhealthy. Mine averages at 20-25mms suggesting I’m not long for this world. However, further enquiry suggests that it is a very personalised metric. It is pointless comparing your HRV with someone else. The focus has to be about improving your own numbers. And it is the usual things that improve HRV. Nutrition, activity, exercise, sleep, and low stress levels.

My interest in HRV led me to the Training Today app. Apple’s version of Whoop. The app constantly monitors the health data from my iWatch to determine my Readiness To Train (RTT).

I, of course, was sceptical but it seems to reflect how I’m feeling. Last week I felt fatigued. So much so that I mentioned it to my endocrinologist. He’s not on speed dial I just happened to have a follow up appointment at the beginning of this week. He sent me for a blood test.

The app was giving me a score of 2 suggesting rest and recovery. A couple of days later I was at a 10 just in time for a PT session. I went for it. I knocked out a 102.5 kg deadlift for 5 repetitions. The fatigue had disappeared. So far it seems to be a useful piece of kit. I just need to be mindful that it confirms how I’m feeling, it doesn’t dictate it.

Hyrox is described as an event for every body, irrespective of their age and level of fitness. I love that it is ‘every body’ not ‘everybody’. That space suggests a diversity that can be absent in many events. There is also no cut off time. Next week I’ll find out how inclusive it is. I’ll see you on the other side.