Alright, alright, alright. Twenty twenty-six.

I haven’t seen many “new year, new me” people in the gym yet, but I did see new run clubs in the park.
As I ran past the groupies, it made me feel fomo and a little nostalgic because I used to relate to the movement.

Back then, it was like “yeah let’s do it, let’s keep the momentum going.”
But lately, momentum hasn’t been the difficult part and if anything, I look forward to my workouts.

That said, I don’t feel honest about calling myself a beginner anymore.
Imagine starting off your first day in the gym and saying that you just started while repping weighted pull-ups. That would be so demotivating for a newcomer.

So, in a way, I feel caught in-between seasoned noob and curious educator.
It’s why I’ve been sharing more fitness content. Trying to break that belief cause I believe it would benefit someone out there, but I’m not professional and I don’t compete so it makes me question how relevant/useful it could be.

However, when my friends suggested doing pilates together and Hyrox came up in convo… A lightbulb appeared. I’ve pondered on it before, but at that very moment, I saw it as a sign to fully commit. It was a new opportunity to challenge myself, and I hit the fastest, smoothest handshake with a friend of mine to do it together. I’m not entirely sure what it meant to him. A consideration? A possibility? I don’t know. But at the very least, it was a promise to myself.

This year, I’m taking you guys along for the ride because it reminded me of when I ran my first half-marathon. I trained in silence to compete at the time so I’m gonna do the opposite this year, so I can share my process and ideally help some people out too. Also, bit of a shame that I didn’t write about my first marathon (whoops). I’ll talk it some other time, but I do remember feeling light-headed, seeing Mario on the run, and chaffing my thighs. My skin was bloody, raw, and I had to waddle like a penguin for the week.

Here’s a pic of me in the race:

Standard Chartered Marathon, Oct 2023

“What a fun and refreshing idea,” I thought to myself.

Until I started googling the exact details of the requirements the next day.
It’s a 8km circuit that alternates between runs and workouts. 8kms and 8 workouts.

• Ski Erg (1000m)

• Sled Push (50m)

• Sled Pull (50m)

• Burpee Broad Jumps (80m)

• Rowing (1000m)

• Farmer's Carry (200m)

• Sandbag Lunges (100m)

• Wall Balls (100 reps)

Haha.

Fuck.