Carolyn Watkins finished fourth at the HYROX North American Regional Championships—just 12 seconds from the podium—despite tearing her hip labrum and spending two months unable to run during the build-up.
In this episode, Carolyn explains how SkiErg, rowing, and assault-bike sessions helped preserve her fitness through injury, and how she balances 14–15 hours of weekly training with the final year of her chemistry PhD. We break down her more polarized approach to training, including high-intensity running, compromised sessions, strength work, heart-rate-controlled aerobic training, and the recovery habits that allow her to perform consistently.
Carolyn also shares where she believes she can find her next one or two minutes, why fueling during hard sessions changed her approach to racing, and how her background in ice hockey and marathon running shaped her into an elite HYROX athlete. We finish by exploring her interest in biotechnology, wearables, and the emerging potential of continuous lactate monitoring.
Episode breakdown:
00:00 — Fourth Place After an Injury-Plagued Build
01:23 — The 12 Seconds She Can’t Forget
02:10 — How Far Can Carolyn Go in HYROX?
03:00 — Balancing Elite Training With a PhD
05:02 — Why Hockey Was the Perfect Foundation
08:41 — The Injury That Changed Everything
11:25 — What Went Wrong in Las Vegas?
12:23 — Can Cross-Training Replace Running?
15:02 — The Brutal 5K SkiErg Test
16:02 — Faster Ergs—or Simply More Efficient?
17:27 — Why Austin Is a HYROX Hotspot
19:16 — Inside a 15-Hour Training Week
21:25 — What Makes Compromised Running So Hard?
23:45 — Building Strength for the Sleds
26:02 — How Easy Should Easy Training Feel?
27:52 — The Recovery Lesson Carolyn Had to Learn
29:11 — Should You Take Gels During HYROX?
30:25 — Where Can She Find Two More Minutes?
32:30 — How Do You Train a Major Weakness?
33:38 — The Athletes Who Inspire Her Most
34:37 — Can Everyone Handle Huge Training Volume?
36:09 — Defending a PhD One Week Before Worlds
37:30 — How to Balance Training With a Demanding Career
39:24 — Does Elite Training Require Sacrifice?
41:15 — Could Biosensors Transform Performance?
43:36 — The Case for Continuous Lactate Monitoring
44:43 — How Carolyn Studies the Science of Training
45:49 — What Happens With a Perfect Training Block?
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