Hi Reader,
Happy Friday, Vitalizers ⚡
The community is out racing this weekend – Brooklyn Half, 3 Days at the Fair – and the energy is exactly where it should be heading into the biggest HYROX event in North American history.
This week we're spotlighting Gab – VTLZR team member, Tone House coach, and someone who keeps choosing hard things on purpose. Plus a race-week fueling guide, the must-listen for anyone racing at Pier 76, and a VTLZR+ call dropping right before race weekend.
Let's dive in 👇
Here’s what to expect this week:
🧠 Mindset
🏆 Vitalizer of the Week
📅 Retreat Update
🔥 Training
🎧 Must-Listen
📰 The Industry
🧠 Quote of the Week
“A river cuts through rock, not because of its power, but because of its persistence.” – James N. Watkins
Two weeks out from HYROX NYC, every athlete in this community is somewhere in the same place. The training is mostly done. The hay is in the barn. And the brain starts doing what it always does – questioning your readiness.
It wasn't power that got you here. It was the 5 am alarms. The sessions you did when you didn't want to. The Saturday runs in the rain. The workouts that didn't feel like progress until they suddenly did.
That's the river. Slow, consistent, relentless.
The athletes who win aren't always the strongest or the highest mileage. They're the ones who show up long enough for the adaptation to happen. The ones who take the long view when everything in them wants to chase the result.
You don't cut through rock in a day. You just keep moving.
Two weeks out – trust what you've built.
🏆 Vitalizer of the Week: Gab Reznik
Some people finish a marathon and take a week off. Gab ran Boston backward first. 26.2 miles from the finish line to the start before the race even began.
Then she turned around and ran it again with everyone else. Not because she had to. Because she needed something hard enough to wake her back up.
That's Gab. VTLZR team member, Tone House coach, and one of the most quietly relentless people in this community. When the motivation dips, she doesn't wait for it to come back – she signs up for something that scares her and figures it out from there.
She coaches athletes at Tone House every day, shows up for this community, coaches 1:1 at local gyms, and somehow keeps a race on the calendar. Not because it's easy. Because that's just who she is.
Originally from Hawaii, Gab moved to NYC for college in 2013 and never left. She grew up in a taekwondo school – her dad owned it, and had her sparring almost as soon as she could walk. He's also the reason she runs. He believed aerobic training would only make her a better martial artist. She believed him.
Her dad passed when she was 10, and that's the part that explains everything else.
"Watching someone you love and look up to fight for their life gives you a new perspective and makes you hungry to fight in every aspect of your life."
That hunger hasn't left. 100+ miles at Last Man Standing. A BQ at the Jersey City Marathon. Triathlon wins. And then Panama City – 140.6 miles of open water swimming, cycling, and running with no headphones, genuine fear of drowning in the ocean, and nothing but determination to finish. She calls it her favorite accomplishment.
"I was out there for 140.6 miles on my own. No headphones. Just vibes and determination to finish."
Next up? Gab is taking on HYROX NYC solo pro for the first time, then doubles pro chasing a podium. And later this year, the Chicago Marathon, sub-3.
"In order to grow and reach for the scary goal, you need to step so far out of your comfort zone that you can't even see the shoreline anymore."
That's real VTLZR energy.
📅 VTLZR Events
🏃 No Run Club This Saturday.
The community is out racing! Brooklyn Half and 3 Days at the Fair are happening this weekend - if you're on a start line, GOOD LUCK – we'll be cheering from afar! See you soon!
📍 Tuesday, June 2 • HYROX Combine with AthletEX x VTLZR • Pier 76, NYC
VTLZR is part of HYROX NYC's Week of Fitness – and this is THE event. HYROX Community Day at Pier 76 brings together athletes and brands for a competitive, high-energy session right on the Hudson: functional workout stations, mini challenges, and performance-based elements designed to simulate the excitement of HYROX racing. Check-in is at 5:45 PM sharp – no bag drop.
📍 June 12–14 • VTLZR Hybrid Athlete Retreat • Long Beach, NY
Retreat #3 is coming fast. Three days in Long Beach with the VTLZR community – training, recovery, connection, and special guest Matt Long. Plus, one more guest speaker you don't want to miss.
This is the one people talk about for months after. Spots are limited.
🔥 Fitness Tip of the Week: How to Fuel for HYROX
HYROX depletes glycogen fast – you're spiking heart rate at every station and recovering on the run, over and over for 60–90 minutes. The goal is to arrive at the start line with a full tank, not scramble to fill it during the race.
The week before
Don't change anything. Stick to meals you already know. Race week is not the time to discover your gut hates a new pre-workout.
48 hours out
Start gradually increasing carbs two days out. Small additions – an extra serving of rice, a snack between meals, liquid carbs. This isn't a marathon. You don't need to carb-load like one. Just give yourself a healthy meal and a modest bump in carbs. Consistent, smaller top-ups beat one big pasta mountain every time.
Race morning
Whatever you eat before a hard training session, eat that. Stick to what your body knows. Then 30 minutes before your wave: 20–40g of liquid carbs — a gel or a sports drink — for quick energy without digestive stress.
During the race
You might not need anything. However, many athletes take a gel around station 4 or 5, which is the right window to catch a boost when you still have time to use it.
Caffeine
2–3mg per kg of body weight, 30 minutes before the start. For a 170lb athlete, that's roughly 230–350mg, two strong coffees. Any source works.
Show up fueled. The work is already done.
🎧 This Week's Must-Listen: Rox Lyfe Podcast featuring Chris Bayens on Strength vs. Endurance & If the Sub-50 is Possible.
With HYROX NYC two weeks out, this one lands at the right time. Chris Bayens has 18 years of S&C coaching experience and works with athletes from age groups through the Elite, including Cole Learn.
This is a deep, honest conversation about what actually drives performance in this sport.
Three takeaways:
It's an endurance race.
Most athletes still overvalue max strength. Chris's take: You need to produce submaximal force repeatedly for an hour, not move a 1RM.
Elite running volume is trending down.
He programs by time, not distance, five days a week. The goal is aerobic durability, not mileage for its own sake.
Feelings aren't your physiology.
Chris uses HRV daily with every athlete and makes one point that sticks: "You can't feel your nervous system." Track it, respect it, train accordingly.
Bottom line: Put this on your long run this weekend.
📰 In Other News (this week in fitness)
🏔️ HYROX World Championships heads to Stockholm & NYC athletes can still qualify
The 2026 HYROX World Championships are set for June 18–21 in Stockholm, Sweden, and HYROX NYC (May 28–June 7) is one of the last events where athletes can qualify. If you earn a slot, you'll have 72 hours to claim it. Time to send it.
👉 Qualification details
👟 Christian McCaffrey & crew just dropped a Hybrid shoe
While on Earth, the performance brand co-founded by Christian McCaffrey, Mat Fraser, Brooke Wells, and footwear veteran Todd Meleney opened pre-orders this week on the Rhythm Runner, its first dedicated running shoe. Built with supercritical foam, a refined rocker, and multidirectional stability for sled work, agility drills, and road miles, it's explicitly designed for athletes who do more than one thing. Pre-orders are live at $160, ships in June.
👉 Learn more about the hybrid shoe
⌚ COROS now connects training data directly to AI
COROS launched a beta MCP server this month – the first major endurance watch brand to let AI models like Claude and ChatGPT read directly from a customer's training account. It provides read-only access to your training history, letting you ask questions about trends, patterns, and performance in natural language. If you train with a COROS, your watch just got a lot smarter.
👉 Read about the new AI connection
🏆 This month in VTLZR+
Our next VTLZR+ call is built specifically for hybrid athletes.
We're bringing in a HYROX expert to go deep on everything you need to know before race day: race strategy, station pacing, doubles communication, and how to actually execute when things don't go to plan (because they never do). Whether you're racing solo, doubles, or just want to understand the sport at a higher level – this one's for you.
It's dropping right before race weekends. That's intentional.
VTLZR+ members also get access to every past call recording – including our recent session on post-race recovery, mental execution, and what actually separates athletes who fight through hard moments from those who don't.
This is what the membership is built for. Two weeks out, with the biggest HYROX event in North American history on the horizon – let's make sure you're ready.
Members save $50–75/month on gear, fuel, and food through partner perks.
As always, thanks for being part of this.
Keep showing up and conquering hard things.
Speak soon!
Derek Morgen
Founder & Coach, VTLZR
Lift for your mind. Run for your soul.
📩 Forward this to someone who needs a little extra motivation this week.
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