WDM Coaching
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I'm Aaron, with 15 years of coaching experience, a BSc in Strength and Conditioning, and UK Athletics Level 2 Endurance Coach certification.
Specialising in Hyrox and running coaching, join the community to smash your goals.
13/07/2026
Intensity is not a pace.
It is the relationship between what you
produce, what it costs your body, and
how hard it feels.
Pace tells you the external output.
Heart rate gives you feedback on the
internal physiological cost.
RPE brings in everything the watch
cannot fully understand, including
fatigue, heat, sleep, stress, terrain
and how sustainable the effort
actually feels.
When all three broadly agree, you are
probably getting the intended training
stimulus.
When they begin telling different
stories, that is useful information.
Holding the prescribed pace while
heart rate climbs and RPE spirals does
not mean you are nailing the session.
It usually means you are forcing the
number and changing the purpose of the
workout.
Equally, a slower pace does not
automatically mean a bad session if
heart rate and RPE are where they
should be.
Wind, hills, accumulated fatigue and
conditions all affect output because
the human body remains slightly more
complicated than a Garmin screen.
That is the golden triangle of
managing intensity:
PACE shows what you are doing.
HEART RATE shows what it is costing.
RPE tells you how the entire system
is coping.
Do not blindly follow one metric.
Use all three to make better decisions
and keep the session doing the job it
was designed to do.
Listen to what your body is telling you, if you want to progress
1️⃣ Running threshold
Compromised running is still running, so the first thing I would build is your ability to hold a strong pace without any stations involved.
A good starting session is 5 x 6 minutes at threshold with 1.5 minutes of easy jogging between reps.
For the 6-minute efforts, begin around 13–17 seconds per kilometre slower than your current 5km pace. That range comes from the threshold framework I use, but effort and heart rate still matter because terrain, heat and fatigue can make exact pace misleading.
The goal is controlled breathing, even pacing and finishing the final rep with the same movement quality as the first.
2️⃣ Station-to-run repeats
Pick one station that normally damages your running and complete 4–6 rounds of:
• 3 minutes on the station
• 3 minutes running at controlled HYROX effort
• 90 seconds easy recovery
Those numbers are practical starting points rather than universal rules.
The most important part is the first 200m after the station. Do not sprint away trying to prove you can run tired. Settle your breathing, regain your posture and then gradually move back towards your target effort.
The first session builds the runner. The second teaches you to access that running ability after a station.
Most people try to improve compromised running by making every session more chaotic. Usually, they need better running first and more controlled practice second.
Save both sessions and follow for more HYROX training and race strategy content.
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