RACE REPORT
THE SCARIEST MOMENT YET
Why I’m Pressing Pause on Racing to Protect What Matters Most
Saturday night at HYROX Toronto didn’t go the way I’d planned.
I stepped onto the start line calm, confident, and ready — the strongest I’ve felt in a long time. But early in the race, something felt wrong. Not fatigue. Not effort. Something deeper. A heaviness in my chest. A weakness that didn’t belong to the moment.
I backed off. Tried to settle it. Tried to breathe through it.
By the lunges, I couldn’t take another step.
I stopped immediately and asked for help. Not in frustration — in instinct. Something wasn’t right, and I knew it.
At the hospital, the scans came back normal. The CT ruled out anything major. The ECG looked clean. But the bloodwork told a different story: elevated troponin levels — a marker that the heart has been under stress.
This wasn’t the first time it’s happened… but it was the most alarming.
WHEN THE BODY SPEAKS FIRST
I’ve been here before — chest tightness, weakness, that quiet signal to back off. Each time, I’ve tried to adjust, to learn, to find the balance between ambition and awareness.
This time, I truly believed I had it dialed in.
That’s what makes this moment cut deeper.
For the first time in years, everything else was finally aligned. My back felt strong. My hips were stable. My Achilles was quiet. I was moving smooth. Training hard. Feeling like myself again.
When the body finally says “yes”…
you don’t expect a new “no” to appear.
But that’s endurance. That’s life. And sometimes, the deepest lessons arrive right when we think we’ve earned smooth ground.
THE DECISION
After overnight monitoring, my troponin levels dropped back down. The immediate danger was ruled out. But the message from the cardiologist was clear:
No more racing until we know exactly what’s going on.
And I agree.
So here is the plan:
No racing until cleared
Zone 1 training only
Light strength & gentle aerobic work
Full follow-up with cardiology + additional testing
No shortcuts. No guessing.
Health isn’t a sacrifice.
It’s the foundation.
And if there’s a strange silver lining — an ambulance ride through downtown Toronto on a Saturday night is something I won’t forget anytime soon. Huge thanks to the paramedics who kept me calm… and even managed to make me laugh somewhere between the sirens.
I also want to thank the HYROX team who came to check on me at the hospital and made sure I had my bag. In a hard moment, that meant more than I can say. Proof once again that this sport is about more than podiums — it’s about people.
THE MILEAGE GAME CONTINUES
This is not the end of Project 1:15.
It’s a pause.
A reset.
Another bend in the long road.
If the last few years have taught me anything, it’s that setbacks are simply invitations to look deeper. To evolve the process. To redefine the push.
I’m grateful — for the care, the support, the messages, and for a body that still gives warning signs before it breaks.
There is work to do.
But I’m still here.
Still learning.
Still moving.
If you’ve ever had a moment where your body made the decision before your mind could — you understand this space.
This next chapter is about clarity, not competition.
The racing will return — but only when it’s truly right.
Because Mileage Game has never just been about speed.
It’s always been about evolution.
And this… is just another form of it.