In 15 weeks I’ll once again be on that start line to compete in my third Hyrox competition. The first time was in November last year as an individual competitor and again in May of this year as a double with my daughter. This time I’m going alone again with an ambition to knock over 26 minutes off my time. Last year I finished in 2 hours, 26 minutes and 40 seconds. I’m now aiming for a sub-2 hour time.

But just to be clear, although the event is described as a competition, I’m not competing against anyone else. My competition is always myself. Can I do better, can I go faster, can I actually complete the circuit.

I don’t know if a sub-2 hour time is possible but I’m going to give it a good go. What I have realised is that I hadn’t been placing enough focus on my running. And when it comes down to it Hyrox is a running race with a few interesting workstations thrown in.

So in recent weeks I’ve increased the amount of running I’m doing focusing on mainly zone 2 training with one or two V02 max intervals thrown in.

Zone 2 training seems to have recently become very prominent in fitness circles. I became very aware of it when reading Outlive by Peter Attia, a physician and longevity expert. He recommends his patients work towards doing 3 hours of zone 2 training per week. I wasn’t doing that amount of endurance training even thought I’m training for an event.

For those of you that aren’t familiar with the terminology, working at zone 2 basically means exercising at a moderate intensity, where you can carry on a conversation but don’t particularly want to. It’s relatively easy. It’s comfortable. But it can be boring. So I’ve started listening to podcasts to make the time (45 minutes to an hour) go that bit faster. Unless I’m running in my local forest when the sound of the trees is all I need.

Unlike zone 2 training doing VO2 max intervals is uncomfortable. It means working in zone 5 for short periods of time, resting for the same time and then repeat a number of times. It is when I’m more likely to think ‘what the f**k am I doing’.

I’m seeing slow but positive progress. Since the beginning of the year I’ve knocked over 3 minutes off my 5k time. I’m aiming to knock another 2 minutes off over the next 15 weeks. I’ll still be slow but it’ll put me more on target to get that sub- 2 hour time.

Both zone 2 and VO2 max training will improve my running times but will also increase my capacity to speed through the workstations. When I first competed in Hyrox my ability to get through the workstations had very little to do with the challenge of the exercise but everything to do with my endurance capacity. I needed to catch my breath too many times.

For example, 80 metres of burpee broad jumps took me 12 minutes 59 seconds. When I did it with my daughter we managed it in 6:42 but she does have an impressive jump. The further you can jump the less burpees you need to do. I have been working on my broad jump distance. I’m aiming for 10 minutes this time round.

I have to frequently remind myself that there has to be a balance between the duration and intensity of training and the rest and recovery required to capitalise on the work done. Training only creates the potential for fitness. It requires rest and recovery to realise it.

There have been a couple of times when overtraining has sneaked up on me. Both previous times were during lockdown when there was a temptation to do to too much in order to relieve the boredom.

Last week, however, it presented itself again. Poor sleep, fatigue, an increased resting heart rate all suggested that I hadn’t taken enough rest days. Fortunately, I recognised it for what it was and took time out.

What has been a revelation is the wearing of a sleep eye mask. Who knew what a difference it would make. Initially I had a slight feeling of claustrophobia but it has significantly improved the quality of my sleep.

I suppose the biggest hurdle to climb is the loneliness of training for Hyrox at my age and at my ability. Most older competitors have an athletic background. They are not someone like me that got into exercise fairly late in life and has had significant health issues. Everyone I know who is doing Hyrox is so much younger than me and so much fitter and stronger. Consequently, most of my training is done on my own. Apart from my strength training which I do with my lovely PT who has been by my side for over 10 years.

I do believe, however, that over the coming years things will change. More older people will embrace the type of training I do and not succumb to the pressures of society and settle for chair exercises, water aerobics and a gentle stroll. The work that Peter Attia (Outlive) is doing with his patients is similar to what I’m doing. It’s encouraging to know that I should be the norm if we want to live not just longer, but better.

But for now I have to enjoy my own company but it would be great to be able to compare notes with other older competitors with similar challenges. Is there anyone out there?