I knew one day I'd be in Utah exploring the beautiful gems all around Zion, but not under these circumstances. Let me explain.

Prior to this trip, I had been training to compete in my very first HYROX. The goal was to compete in Boston, but tickets sold out before I could even try to buy one. Tickets were still available for SLC, so I decided to buy mine before it sold out too.

I was stoked to finally visit Utah. I arrived several days before my HYROX competition, but I knew I wasn't going to be able to hike anything too extreme to save my legs and prevent any kind of injuries. Funny enough, I almost broke my ankles several times due to my lack of planning and not packing the proper hiking gear. Do your homework, ladies and gents. I know better.

Fast forward to HYROX day. Though excited, the nerves were also starting to kick in. I really didn't know what to expect, especially since I hadn't even run a simulation prior to this day, and I think that's what was getting to me.

Do I start strong? Do I save my energy? Go hard on the row? How fast should I run? The questions were endless.



However, for my HYROX partner, Barididum, this was his playground. He has competed in several HYROXs, and bro is an absolute machine. Fast, strong, and experienced. He paced me and guided me throughout the race. Pushed me when shit got hard. The elevation didn't suck too bad, and the runs weren't as bad as I thought they would be. Safe to say, all that training paid dividends. Our official finish time was 1:11, and I'd say that's pretty darn good, all things considered.

I'll be back one day to finish exploring Utah.