Latest / Clydesdale Media Podcast / Hayley Murillo - The Athletes of the 2024 Legends Masters CrossFit Games

Transcript

Hayley Murillo - The Athletes of the 2024 Legends Masters CrossFit Games · Clydesdale Media Podcast

0:10
I was born to kill it I was meant to win
0:35
what's going on everybody
0:36
welcome to the cladstone
0:37
media podcast where we are
0:39
currently highlighting the
0:40
athletes of the 2024
0:43
legends masters crossfit
0:44
games and I have none other
0:48
than hayley mario what's
0:49
going on hayley oh you know
0:51
just uh got some training
0:53
in and here I am just ready
0:55
to ready to talk and have
0:57
some good conversations
0:59
So I've been a fan of yours for a while.
1:03
I don't know if many people know this,
1:05
but when I first got a job
1:07
with Morning Chalk Up,
1:08
the first story I worked on was you.
1:12
Oh, really?
1:12
That's so cool.
1:14
That's super cool.
1:16
I'm curious what story it was.
1:18
So it was, I got,
1:19
I started working for
1:20
morning Chuck up in 2021.
1:23
You were at the West coast
1:24
classic and you had to
1:26
repeat the snatch ladder done in 2016.
1:31
And you had made such an
1:32
incredible improvement from 2016 to 2021.
1:37
We wanted to highlight you.
1:38
And, um,
1:39
I put together some video showing
1:41
you side by side from 2016 to 2021.
1:46
Oh yeah.
1:46
That was, um, being able to like,
1:50
first of all,
1:50
having just like a career as
1:52
long as I've had is just like,
1:55
I think just like super cool in itself.
1:57
And it really goes to show
1:59
if you just kind of like
2:00
keep showing up and keep
2:01
your head down and you
2:03
really learn to like, love the process.
2:05
Like you just, you keep getting better.
2:07
Um, and so like,
2:10
being able to repeat that
2:11
probably at the peak of my
2:14
career when I felt the most
2:16
fit was so exciting because
2:19
I also had my husband at
2:22
the end of the lane at West
2:24
Coast Classic.
2:25
And like,
2:26
back to the first time I did that,
2:28
like I couldn't get out of the first bar.
2:30
Like you had to hit like,
2:32
I think a minimum of one or
2:34
four snatches.
2:35
I can't remember, but I hit the minimum.
2:37
And then the next event I
2:38
actually got DQ'd because I
2:40
couldn't do a strict muscle up.
2:41
So that year was, it sucked.
2:45
But I think that year was like,
2:47
there was so much,
2:49
like there were two ways to go, right?
2:51
Like I could have just been like,
2:52
you know what?
2:52
Like this just isn't for me
2:54
and I could have quit.
2:55
Um,
2:56
or I could have just gone back and try
2:59
it again.
3:00
And I chose that route and like,
3:03
it was so special to finish
3:06
that snatch ladder.
3:08
Like, and sometimes too,
3:09
like I knew I could finish it.
3:11
Um, because in training, I mean,
3:13
my numbers have gone up so
3:14
so much since 2016.
3:18
And it's also just like when
3:19
you're under pressure and
3:20
you have like time gates and stuff,
3:22
like you don't know what's
3:23
going to happen, right?
3:24
Like you don't know if like
3:25
it's going to be an off day or whatever.
3:26
So when I finished that,
3:28
like just the celebration and the joy,
3:32
like I didn't even care what place I got.
3:35
It was just like, dude, I just did that.
3:37
And I couldn't even do that like, you know,
3:39
years ago.
3:40
So that was like one of
3:42
those moments like,
3:44
Like I'll never forget
3:46
either of them because one
3:47
of them lit a fire and the
3:49
other one just made me like,
3:52
like I was just like, I can do this,
3:55
you know,
3:55
like I can do this and I did do this,
3:58
you know,
3:58
and being able to just share
4:00
that with people I think is really cool.
4:03
Yeah,
4:03
to go from not even making it out of
4:04
the first bar of 10 at, what, 125?
4:08
135, I think.
4:09
135.
4:10
Yeah.
4:12
To completing the entire snatch ladder.
4:14
And you had time to spare, too.
4:16
It wasn't like you were cutting it closed.
4:18
Yeah.
4:19
Yeah, I think I had one miss.
4:21
I had a few probably
4:23
incredible saves since I'm
4:24
pretty good in the bottom
4:26
of the squat overhead
4:27
position where people were like,
4:29
is she going to stand that
4:30
up or just sit there?
4:33
But yeah, I did.
4:34
I had some time to spare.
4:36
And I think, too,
4:37
I had done like I usually
4:39
don't run through like events in training,
4:42
especially for like the
4:43
regional semifinal sanctional route.
4:46
Um, but that one specifically we did,
4:48
cause I needed to know,
4:49
can I even get out of these?
4:51
Like,
4:51
am I able to cycle these quick enough
4:54
to get to the next bar?
4:56
Um, and I must, I think I PR by like.
4:59
anywhere from like a minute
5:00
to two minutes from training.
5:02
So it was just like, holy crap, I did that,
5:06
you know?
5:07
Um, but yeah, dude,
5:08
and I got to do it in Las Vegas, which I,
5:11
you know, I went to UNLV,
5:12
I was a cheerleader there.
5:13
Um, so like I got to share, like,
5:16
it's just like, it was so cool.
5:17
Like, you know,
5:18
I'm from California and
5:19
then I did it in Vegas where I, you know,
5:21
also like spent a lot of time,
5:24
like it was just super cool.
5:25
So,
5:26
Yeah,
5:26
I just like I'm so like I was kind of
5:29
bummed, too,
5:29
that I didn't get to do it
5:30
again at like in Carson at
5:34
my finals this last year
5:35
because I've been in Virginia.
5:36
But yeah, I was kind of like, oh, dang it.
5:39
I could have been one of the
5:40
ones that did it three times.
5:41
So.
5:44
The coolest thing about
5:45
Vegas was the way they had
5:47
it set up is media, family,
5:50
and coaches could all hang
5:52
out at the end of the lanes.
5:54
Yes.
5:55
So you could have your loved
5:56
ones and coach,
5:58
they're waiting for you to finish.
5:59
And you said that made it
6:01
even more special.
6:02
Oh, dude.
6:02
Yeah, because I think...
6:04
Like, here's the thing,
6:05
the sport is pretty lonely,
6:06
especially if you choose
6:07
the individual route.
6:08
Like you,
6:10
like sure you have training
6:10
partners or you have people
6:11
that come and hop into your workouts,
6:13
but like you really have to
6:15
love being in the gym and
6:17
you have to love hurting by yourself.
6:20
And so when you get to share
6:21
it with the people that have stuck by you,
6:23
especially your entire
6:24
career from when you
6:25
couldn't do anything and
6:26
they're the ones that believed in you,
6:28
to share that with them, I mean,
6:31
there's nothing better.
6:32
Right.
6:33
Like and I think that's a
6:34
really important message, I think,
6:36
to like just like the
6:37
younger athletes is just
6:38
like remember who's with
6:40
you when you're at the bottom.
6:43
Like, you know, and when you get better,
6:45
like you bring those people up with you.
6:48
And I mean, you know,
6:49
my husband and I work in
6:50
film and TV as well.
6:51
And the same thing goes for that.
6:53
Like, you know, before you get better.
6:55
you get famous and you grow
6:57
this huge following.
6:57
It's like, bring,
6:59
bring the people up that
7:00
did good by you when you were down,
7:04
down here and nobody knew
7:05
who you were and you
7:05
couldn't do anything because that journey,
7:08
like it,
7:10
it sucks if nobody's there with you.
7:14
Yeah.
7:15
Those are wise words.
7:16
And Vegas will always
7:18
probably be my favorite
7:19
venue for that level of competition.
7:22
Yeah, it was cool.
7:23
Like it just had such a,
7:24
like it had like that old
7:25
school regional feel, but like,
7:28
like almost like bedazzled,
7:29
like a little bit.
7:31
The stands were elevated so
7:33
everybody could see the way
7:35
they had it set up where
7:36
the family could be there
7:37
to greet you at the end.
7:39
Like it just was,
7:39
it was the coolest vibe of
7:42
anything I've ever seen in
7:43
the sport before.
7:44
Yeah, it was super special.
7:46
So a couple people are commenting,
7:48
and Denise Moore,
7:50
who will be competing in Alabama as well,
7:52
it's going to be so fun to
7:53
watch this fit lady compete
7:54
in Birmingham.
7:56
Thank you.
7:57
Thank you, Denise.
8:00
So then the following year,
8:02
you come back to semifinals,
8:05
and we learn immediately
8:07
after you take a picture on
8:09
the floor with a sonogram.
8:12
Yep.
8:14
So you had competed the
8:15
entire semifinal pregnant.
8:18
I sure did.
8:21
We had gone back and forth.
8:22
I knew I was pregnant.
8:24
My husband knew.
8:25
My doctor knew.
8:28
I hope the doctor knew.
8:30
Yes.
8:31
That's pretty much it.
8:33
And obviously, I had...
8:35
to choose like whether I was
8:37
going to compete or not compete.
8:39
And actually I had gotten to
8:40
that next stage for masters
8:42
as well that year.
8:42
And that was the year I had
8:44
to choose between the two,
8:46
but the timeline of
8:47
competing as a masters did not line up.
8:51
So I could get through semi-finals safely,
8:54
but if I had said no
8:57
semi-finals and gone to the masters,
8:59
I mean, you could have,
9:00
I don't know if that would
9:01
have looked great.
9:02
for CrossFit.
9:03
I probably would have been like eight,
9:04
nine months pregnant at that point.
9:07
Or I don't know.
9:09
I don't really know the timeline.
9:10
So don't get mad at me for saying that,
9:12
anyone.
9:14
But yeah,
9:15
so I had to choose between the two.
9:16
I chose to compete at semifinals.
9:19
And obviously I could have
9:21
announced it and I could
9:22
have shared that news with
9:23
everyone before going into the weekend.
9:26
And I kept going back and
9:27
forth because I knew like,
9:30
I knew I wasn't going to do
9:32
great at specific events
9:33
after being pregnant for a
9:35
while and just kind of like
9:36
feeling like kind of how my body felt.
9:40
So I just, I don't know, I decided,
9:42
you know what,
9:43
I'm just not going to tell anyone.
9:44
I'm just going to kind of
9:45
get through the weekend.
9:49
then we'll announce it after.
9:51
So and I just like for me,
9:53
like the competitor in me,
9:55
like I didn't want people
9:56
to know that I was someone
9:59
that they could just be.
10:01
Like I think that was kind
10:02
of my mentality.
10:04
Maybe not everybody operates like that.
10:06
But for me,
10:06
like I just didn't want to use
10:08
it as this excuse.
10:09
I didn't want them to think like, oh,
10:12
don't got to worry about her.
10:13
I kind of wanted them to
10:14
still worry a little bit, you know,
10:16
because like there's going
10:17
to be specific events that
10:19
I can do well on.
10:21
So, yeah, I just did it.
10:23
I had some fun.
10:23
I didn't feel awesome.
10:25
There were moments during
10:27
the like certain workouts
10:28
where I'd look down at my
10:29
husband in my lane.
10:31
And I'd be like, nope.
10:34
You know, I was just like, man,
10:35
I'm already redlining.
10:38
You know,
10:38
I think there was a 400 meter run,
10:40
sled push, chest to bar wall ball workout,
10:42
which normally would be
10:43
something I'm just like, oh, I love this.
10:47
And two minutes into that, I was like,
10:50
well, this isn't going to go well,
10:52
but I'm just going to keep
10:53
working through it.
10:53
So
10:55
It's one of those things where it's like,
10:56
I knew it wasn't going to
10:57
be this insane performance,
10:59
but I wanted to do it anyways.
11:02
It was my spot and I wanted
11:05
to use it because I think a
11:07
lot of times you don't know
11:09
if you're going to be able
11:10
to make it back.
11:12
You don't know if that year
11:13
is your last year.
11:14
You don't know, you know, life happens.
11:16
And so for me,
11:18
like just enjoying every
11:20
moment and every
11:21
opportunity I'm given to be on the floor,
11:23
I think is something I've
11:25
always been willing to do,
11:28
regardless on how I'm
11:30
feeling going into it.
11:32
You know,
11:32
and I think that just comes from
11:34
a lot of like experience.
11:36
And, you know,
11:37
just kind of how the
11:38
CrossFit season operates, right?
11:40
Like you just kind of like
11:42
it's all the time, you know,
11:45
and you can you can sit back and say like,
11:48
oh, I'm going to wait.
11:48
I'm going to peak in two years.
11:50
I'm going to train and do this.
11:52
And I'm like, yeah,
11:53
but those moments start to pass by.
11:55
And then like maybe you
11:57
don't get out there again, you know.
11:59
So for me,
11:59
like just taking opportunity
12:01
that I'm given when I have
12:03
it is super important to me.
12:07
So the funny way I found out
12:08
was I'm really,
12:10
really good friends with Dex Hopkins.
12:13
And he came up to me and he said,
12:15
I know something you don't know.
12:17
I was like, what?
12:20
And he took his camera and
12:22
he flipped it to me.
12:24
And I was like, what?
12:26
Yeah.
12:27
And then it became a secret.
12:29
Yeah,
12:30
that sounds exactly like something
12:32
Dex would do.
12:34
Yeah, no, he's great.
12:35
He took our photo for us.
12:37
And it was funny too because
12:38
there were lots of people around,
12:39
but I don't think anyone
12:40
caught on to what was
12:41
happening because the
12:43
competition had just ended.
12:44
So everyone was kind of like
12:46
taking their own photos and
12:47
doing their own thing.
12:48
And yeah, I was kind of like, Josh,
12:51
I don't want to take this
12:52
photo right here.
12:53
This is weird.
12:54
People are going to know and
12:55
we didn't even announce it.
12:56
But I rolled with it, and it worked out.
12:59
Yeah.
13:01
So I want to touch on a
13:02
couple things that have
13:03
changed in your life kind of privately,
13:06
and then we'll get back to the games.
13:09
So I've always known you as
13:10
a California girl.
13:11
Mm-hmm.
13:12
Right?
13:12
And you have moved across
13:14
the country to Virginia.
13:16
Yep.
13:17
You work in film and television.
13:19
How does that work from Virginia?
13:22
So...
13:25
So basically,
13:25
I'm trying to think how to
13:27
put it all in a nutshell.
13:29
So I am born and raised in Los Angeles.
13:31
That is my hometown.
13:33
That is home, home for me.
13:35
That's all I really know,
13:38
minus the traveling here and there.
13:41
So my husband and I,
13:42
we relocated to Virginia to
13:44
train Haley Adams this last year.
13:46
I worked out with her and
13:48
trained her and coached her.
13:51
every day leading up to July, June, July,
13:56
I think,
13:57
about five weeks before the games,
14:00
she headed back to Mayhem.
14:02
So we relocated.
14:03
And if anybody knows my husband and I,
14:05
like we're very much like,
14:08
all in.
14:09
So if we're going to do something,
14:11
we're going to go all in
14:13
and we're just going to, on our end,
14:16
do everything we can to crush it.
14:19
So that's kind of what happened.
14:21
We saw an opportunity where
14:24
we could really help someone come back
14:27
And Josh and I, as a team,
14:30
I feel like it was a great fit,
14:34
given as much experience as
14:36
we have had in CrossFit over the last 12,
14:40
13, 14 years.
14:42
And so that's kind of what happened.
14:46
But yeah, so anyways, we made that move.
14:53
And Josh actually,
14:54
he still is working for
14:57
like a company based out in California.
15:00
So we're still very connected.
15:01
We're still part of the union.
15:06
And for us, it's like,
15:08
it's okay to put things on
15:09
hold and come back to them.
15:12
So that's kind of what we did.
15:15
And, you know,
15:17
obviously like the game season didn't,
15:20
pan out like the way
15:21
everybody wanted it to, right?
15:24
But what I can say is like Josh and I,
15:26
like we put everything we
15:27
had into the season and it was awesome,
15:32
you know?
15:32
And I think sometimes like a
15:35
lot of athletes,
15:36
like you have to remember
15:37
that like you cannot be an athlete
15:40
at this level forever.
15:41
And there is other
15:44
opportunity in the space
15:45
for you to grow and to
15:47
still be part of it and to
15:49
still be able to give back
15:52
in really special ways
15:53
because it's something that
15:56
I feel like if you don't
15:57
walk the talk sometimes,
15:59
you don't understand the whole thing.
16:01
And so I just felt like
16:03
after having a baby, I'm 37 now.
16:08
life uh priorities are a lot
16:10
different um and so yeah I
16:13
think just I'm gonna cry
16:14
yeah it just always happens
16:17
but like being able to just
16:18
like give back um to a
16:20
sport that I love I think
16:23
that it kind of like just
16:24
this last year like was set
16:25
up perfectly um and I
16:26
really think that more
16:28
athletes should really look
16:29
at that especially like
16:30
when you're trans
16:31
transitioning into the
16:32
masters divisions and stuff
16:34
like there's still room for
16:35
you to be like super connected because
16:37
Like,
16:38
whether you've gone to the games or not,
16:39
like,
16:40
you have so much wisdom that you can
16:42
pass down to younger
16:44
athletes and help guide them.
16:46
And they need people.
16:48
Like, I just – I wish everybody had, like,
16:51
a Josh or, like, you know, like,
16:54
just somebody, like,
16:55
with them all the time as
16:56
they were going through this, like,
16:59
alone.
16:59
You know, because, like I said earlier,
17:01
it's a very lonely –
17:03
endeavor.
17:04
Um,
17:05
and you give literally everything you
17:08
have to this sport and
17:09
sometimes it gives you like
17:11
maybe a fraction back.
17:12
So, um, yeah, I just think that there's,
17:17
you know, I, I wish, like,
17:18
I hope that like people
17:19
that are in the space, like,
17:20
don't just like want to like
17:23
just compete forever.
17:24
Right.
17:24
Like I want them to like
17:25
compete and maybe like do a
17:26
podcast or do like, you know,
17:29
just like coach or anything
17:31
really like help on the
17:32
mental side of things.
17:33
Like,
17:33
I think that that is something that
17:35
like holds a lot of people back, um,
17:38
is not having the right, like mind,
17:41
you know, um,
17:42
or training environment or
17:43
whatever it is.
17:44
So yeah,
17:45
that's kind of like what's happened.
17:47
We just like went all in on something and,
17:50
and, um, we're still connected and, um,
17:53
Still doing film and TV.
17:54
Um, you know, it's like those two things,
17:56
those like film and TV and like CrossFit,
17:58
like those are just two
18:00
things that I believe that
18:03
my husband and I will be
18:04
connected to forever.
18:07
Like, and we got really,
18:08
I wouldn't say just lucky
18:11
because we worked hard.
18:12
Um, but like that, um,
18:15
you know,
18:15
doing CrossFit and then doing stunts,
18:18
like kind of merged it for us.
18:20
And so now we get to train
18:22
and coach actors and
18:24
singers and all sorts of
18:26
people in the entertainment
18:27
world and help them with
18:30
their fitness journey.
18:31
Or maybe it's to get ready
18:33
for like a specific movie
18:35
or a specific event.
18:37
So that's been really cool.
18:38
It's just like, you know, being from like
18:41
Los Angeles, like, honestly,
18:43
I didn't really think I was
18:44
ever gonna be connected to film and TV,
18:46
even though it was like right there.
18:47
I was always like, I'm good.
18:49
Like, it's just here.
18:51
So am I,
18:52
but it didn't really spark an
18:54
interest until after I had
18:56
a pretty solid career in like CrossFit,
18:59
which is weird.
19:00
You know,
19:00
I think a lot of people think it happened
19:03
on like the flip side you
19:05
know but it was actually
19:06
crossfit that gave me a lot
19:08
of confidence to even try
19:11
doing stunts and stuff in
19:13
that world so so I i want
19:16
to follow it up and I could
19:18
dive into the haley haley
19:20
thing for a while but this
19:21
is not about her this is about you and
19:25
People may forget that the year before,
19:27
you helped Bethany come back too.
19:29
Yeah.
19:31
You weren't like her coach,
19:32
but you were like a
19:32
training partner and a
19:33
friend when she needed that so much.
19:36
Yeah.
19:38
Bethany Flores is just one
19:41
of the best people I've ever known.
19:45
I have just...
19:48
nothing but amazing things
19:50
to say about her and her husband.
19:52
And, you know,
19:54
it was one of those things
19:55
where it's like, sure, she needed me,
19:57
but I think I needed her as well,
19:59
especially coming back after, well,
20:02
I was actually still pregnant, I think,
20:05
and then I came back.
20:05
So it was like,
20:07
she had like both sides of it, but like,
20:10
She was coming back and I
20:12
reached out to her.
20:13
I was like, oh, hey,
20:13
I just saw you moved to LA.
20:14
Let me know if you want to work out.
20:16
Because LA is a pretty big place.
20:20
I'm pretty connected to LA
20:21
just because I grew up there.
20:22
So I have lots of different
20:23
little groups that have
20:24
nothing to do with CrossFit.
20:27
And she responded and we got
20:29
together and she'd come and
20:30
train in my tiny little garage out there.
20:34
Um, we do a bunch of, uh,
20:36
cardio pieces and then I'd
20:37
go over there for her and
20:38
then the open happened and
20:39
then we just kind of like
20:40
stuck together throughout the,
20:42
the entire season.
20:44
Um, and it was like a really,
20:47
it was a really special time because like,
20:50
I think too, people forget that like,
20:54
there's a lot of people
20:55
that are more like you, you know,
20:57
when you're competitors than you think.
21:00
And I think that everyone
21:01
puts up like this, like,
21:03
you know, just this like wall.
21:05
And so they never really get
21:07
to know their competitors
21:10
and they don't build these
21:11
friendships that can last a
21:13
lot longer than your career
21:15
as a CrossFit athlete.
21:17
Um,
21:18
and I just really encourage people to
21:20
like find people like that
21:23
in this space because they exist.
21:27
Um, because like, I don't know, like,
21:29
like I said, like Bethany,
21:30
like she showed up for me,
21:32
like not just for like CrossFit events,
21:35
but for just life events.
21:37
Um,
21:39
and yeah and watching her
21:40
you know the last couple
21:43
years we went to rogue and
21:44
helped her with like her
21:45
media and everything um and
21:47
then her performance this
21:48
last week you know like it
21:50
was really cool because
21:51
she's made some really big
21:52
improvements and she looks
21:54
great she looks healthy
21:55
she's happy um so yeah I
21:59
just I like I just have
22:00
nothing but good things to
22:01
say about that one so how
22:04
would you answer this question
22:06
Haley is A, an athlete, or B, a coach?
22:11
Myself?
22:12
Like me, Haley?
22:13
Yes, you, Haley.
22:15
I mean, it really, I think,
22:17
depends on the time of year.
22:20
I would say the last year I was a coach.
22:26
Then I was a training partner.
22:28
And then I was an athlete.
22:30
Um, and then I would, I mean,
22:32
if there was like one before that,
22:33
I would say I was a mom, um, you know,
22:36
like, and juggling all that,
22:38
but I would put that in that order.
22:40
I would say these last two, uh, last, uh,
22:42
like week right now,
22:43
like gearing into the masters,
22:45
I would say I'm an athlete
22:47
all of a sudden that I'm trying to like,
22:49
get everything in order and
22:51
get ready to compete.
22:52
But there has to be like a
22:55
mind shift because when you
22:57
are coaching someone else,
22:58
especially at a high level
23:01
or helping others,
23:02
it's not about you anymore.
23:04
And you have to be okay with
23:08
putting yourself second, right?
23:11
And like,
23:12
Um, like with Bethany, like I knew like,
23:16
okay,
23:16
we got to get this girl to semifinals.
23:17
I'm not going.
23:18
And then with Haley,
23:19
we had to get her to
23:20
semifinals and then to the games.
23:23
Um, and so there was a lot of, okay,
23:26
what do they need?
23:28
How can I help?
23:29
and then I'll go and do it.
23:31
Like,
23:32
is my position to watch and help
23:36
calculate and count things
23:38
and set everything up?
23:39
Or is today the time where, you know,
23:42
I can actually help pace them?
23:45
Because luckily, like I'm, you know,
23:47
like I do have like a skill
23:49
set where I can kind of
23:51
come in and like help push
23:52
the pace on certain things,
23:53
not on everything.
23:55
But there are certain events
23:57
where I can like be like, okay,
23:59
I can be like the pusher.
24:01
you know so yeah I think
24:02
that that's a great
24:03
question um I do feel like
24:05
it has like kind of like
24:07
waves to it right like
24:08
because I don't know if
24:10
everybody knows this but I
24:12
literally I got backfilled
24:13
into masters this year um I
24:17
did really well in quarterfinals
24:19
And then the master
24:21
qualifiers came out and I
24:23
think I got like 41st or I mean,
24:26
I was like right outside of the line.
24:27
But anyways, I got that last ticket.
24:30
So I'll still be there, guys.
24:32
But like it like it wasn't my priority.
24:36
you know, um,
24:37
going to semifinals wasn't
24:39
even in the cards this year.
24:40
And the fact that I was
24:41
pretty dang close getting
24:43
in on the East side, um, was like, wait,
24:47
what, where am I?
24:48
You know?
24:48
So a lot of that like kind
24:50
of just happened.
24:51
Um,
24:52
and I think that just had a lot to do
24:53
with the people I surround myself with.
24:56
Um, like Jim, I'm sitting in,
24:58
this is four 60.
24:58
It is
25:00
an amazing community and
25:02
it's beautiful and the
25:04
owner like she velvet um
25:06
she's awesome in one of my
25:08
favorite training partners
25:09
but I do think a lot of
25:11
this is all happening
25:12
because of the people I'm
25:15
placing around me daily so
25:18
yeah so now that it's it's
25:22
your time you have a month
25:25
now down to what two weeks yes
25:30
How long have you been able
25:31
to give yourself priority?
25:33
Um, not, not a lot, you know, like, uh,
25:37
I'm not going to sit here
25:38
and say like my lead up has been perfect.
25:42
Um,
25:42
I think a lot of that has to do with like,
25:44
we have a baby, she's now sleeping.
25:46
Um, she's 20 months.
25:48
And if anyone's seen her on Instagram,
25:50
she's wild, man.
25:52
She, she can jump over boxes.
25:54
She's doing burpees, squats,
25:56
like hanging on to bars.
25:58
Um,
25:59
And so I've been juggling a
26:02
lot of that and like, you know,
26:04
being okay with like shifting, um,
26:07
kind of like when I train
26:09
or like my pieces or, you know,
26:12
just stuff like that.
26:13
Or maybe I have to take an extra rest day,
26:15
you know,
26:15
or like when we were at the games,
26:16
like I didn't train very much.
26:19
Um, we were just in Nashville.
26:21
I got to do some workouts with, um,
26:23
Will Murad and, uh,
26:26
So I think like, you know,
26:28
I'm just going to put this out there.
26:29
I've been, you know,
26:30
since I did a couple with him, I mean,
26:32
I might as well just be
26:33
like super fit now.
26:34
Right.
26:35
But so there's been like
26:36
great moments and there's
26:38
been moments of like, dude,
26:39
am I putting in enough time?
26:42
Because in the past.
26:44
I was putting, like, my whole life was,
26:46
you know, training.
26:48
That's a great question, right?
26:51
When you're competing in the
26:52
elite division,
26:53
it's about getting volume in.
26:55
It's about, you know,
26:56
and I'm talking to Masters
26:57
athletes who are saying, like,
26:59
it's different now.
27:00
It has to be different.
27:02
I have a life.
27:03
I have a full-time job.
27:04
I have kids.
27:05
It has to be different.
27:07
Are you struggling moving
27:09
from what used to be to what is okay now?
27:13
Yeah, oh, 100%, every single day.
27:16
I'm like, is this enough?
27:18
Am I strong enough?
27:21
There's a lot of questions like that.
27:22
And I'm curious if that,
27:25
happens with people that
27:27
have been in the elite
27:28
division for so long and
27:30
does it happen to other
27:31
athletes that maybe started
27:32
their CrossFit journey like
27:34
in the Masters division and
27:35
they've gone like I'm
27:36
curious like what the
27:37
difference is there but as
27:39
someone that's been in the
27:41
elite division for my
27:45
the bulk of my career that
27:47
transitions hard like it's
27:50
um yeah like I said I
27:52
question myself every
27:53
single day I'm I'm actually
27:55
um kind of testing out some
27:58
of crash crucible's
27:59
qualifiers right now just
28:00
kind of like see um
28:04
like where I stack up.
28:05
Cause sometimes I'm like, Oh,
28:07
maybe I still got it.
28:08
You know?
28:08
Like, and then other times I'm like, man,
28:10
maybe I don't, you know?
28:12
So there is a lot of that.
28:14
And here's the thing.
28:15
I'm still having fun.
28:16
I'm still going to work out.
28:18
I'm still going to train.
28:19
So why not put myself out there?
28:22
You know?
28:22
And I feel like, I don't know, like,
28:25
like I said earlier,
28:26
I think when you're given
28:28
an opportunity or you've
28:29
earned an opportunity to go
28:32
out on the floor,
28:33
like pressure is a privilege, right?
28:35
Like it is a privilege to
28:37
step out on the floor with
28:39
these other athletes and to throw down,
28:42
you know, like,
28:43
so I'm regardless of my training,
28:48
not being perfect.
28:50
Um,
28:52
I'm excited to go out there
28:54
and give it everything I got.
28:56
I'm excited that there's 10 events.
28:59
From what I know,
29:00
I'm excited that I have an
29:03
opportunity to get out there 10 times.
29:08
And yeah,
29:09
I just think it's okay at this
29:11
point in my life to be a
29:13
little more flexible.
29:15
Because also, luckily for me,
29:19
I've also done a lot of
29:20
stunt work during my CrossFit career.
29:23
I was doing both.
29:27
But sometimes I want other
29:30
athletes to know that there
29:31
is more to life than CrossFit.
29:33
And you can do both.
29:35
other things as well.
29:36
And they can be like still
29:37
under the CrossFit umbrella, you know,
29:40
but it,
29:41
you don't know if your career is
29:42
going to end tomorrow, you know,
29:45
or in 10 years.
29:47
So it's like,
29:48
I do really encourage
29:49
athletes to really like
29:52
find something else as well.
29:54
You know,
29:54
like it doesn't have to be a
29:56
perfect balance, but that way,
29:58
like if the season doesn't go well,
30:00
like you got something else too.
30:04
For sure.
30:05
Jeffrey Birchfield says,
30:06
you did awesome at Crash last year.
30:09
Thank you very much.
30:11
That's another thing.
30:12
Crash Crucible,
30:13
if you guys are looking for
30:15
an event that is just awesome,
30:18
Freaking awesome.
30:21
Crash Crucible.
30:21
And the qualifiers are going on right now.
30:24
And they extended the date
30:26
till Monday at 5.
30:27
And JR is not playing around
30:31
with those qualifiers, man.
30:33
Like...
30:34
he's not playing around but
30:35
like there are some
30:36
athletes that I do know
30:38
that maybe can't crack the
30:40
egg into semi-finals
30:41
because maybe like it's
30:42
more of like an engine pain
30:44
cave um issue um these are
30:47
a little more high skill um
30:49
it's obviously not
30:50
semi-finals it's not rogue
30:51
invitational so not as many
30:53
people are doing it but the
30:55
caliber of athlete that
30:57
goes to this event is stacked
31:00
you know there's a lot of
31:01
athletes that can get
31:02
through these qualifiers
31:03
because they're higher
31:04
skill heavier um and
31:08
there's also some pain cave
31:09
in there too um but they
31:11
get an opportunity to do
31:12
this event and he programs
31:13
some like pegboards yolks I
31:16
mean it's the the um flip
31:19
sled like so I'm serious like
31:22
do them,
31:23
do them and show up to this and
31:25
have a good time.
31:26
Meet some people like it's,
31:27
it's a good event.
31:28
And I wouldn't say that if it wasn't.
31:31
So my cohost,
31:32
Jamie Latimer competed against you there.
31:36
And we got to see the live stream too.
31:40
It's a chance to get some exposure,
31:42
get out there in front of a crowd.
31:44
And I think like the first
31:46
four events where she did
31:48
something she'd never done
31:49
before because of the way
31:51
it's programmed.
31:52
Yeah.
31:52
It's so good.
31:54
It's so good.
31:55
So I've already kept you
31:58
past the 30 minutes.
31:59
I'm just going to ask you real quick.
32:00
What are your expectations for this?
32:03
It's your first time to the
32:04
games since 2012.
32:06
And you're going to get the kit.
32:09
You're going to get everything like,
32:16
yeah I mean I'm like I'm
32:17
super excited um I have a
32:20
bunch of people coming I'm
32:22
excited you know like I
32:24
said earlier that there's
32:25
10 events and it's not just
32:27
your traditional like six
32:29
um I have no idea what to
32:33
expect with the programming
32:34
I i like I have no clue um
32:38
so here's the thing
32:40
No matter what the workouts are,
32:42
I'm going to have a great time.
32:43
And I'm really hoping that
32:45
there's going to be some
32:46
events where I can just like send it.
32:49
But like I said, I don't know.
32:51
I don't know because I've
32:53
never done legends before.
32:56
I don't know the guys
32:58
putting it on very well.
32:59
Like, I just don't know.
33:01
And I think there's a lot of
33:02
unknown going into this, but I'm excited.
33:05
I'm excited that I get to be
33:07
like a games athlete, you know,
33:10
because for so long I was chasing that.
33:15
And I think most people know,
33:18
like I've done pretty much every game,
33:21
large competition at the elite division,
33:24
except for the games and
33:26
Rogue Invitational.
33:29
And it just so happens I
33:31
have a couple weaknesses
33:32
that I haven't been able to
33:34
fill based on just time and
33:39
what I prioritize.
33:42
But I'm excited.
33:44
I'm just excited.
33:45
I don't know.
33:46
I hope it feels good.
33:48
But for me,
33:48
I'm just someone that's just loved
33:51
the process.
33:53
So it didn't, the end result has,
33:57
it matters, but it didn't like,
34:00
I don't know, you know, like,
34:02
I don't know because yes,
34:05
I like chasing something and yes,
34:08
I like qualifying, but
34:13
it didn't stop me like, you know,
34:15
like for the last 10 years of trying.
34:18
So I don't know.
34:20
Like I actually went to high
34:21
school with Alison Felix,
34:23
who's a very decorated track star,
34:27
Olympic gold medalist.
34:28
I don't even know how many she has.
34:30
And there was one year she
34:32
got silver and then her next Olympics,
34:34
she gets a gold medal and she's, you know,
34:37
she stands on top of the
34:38
podium and gets the whole celebration.
34:40
And she's like,
34:41
I didn't really feel much different.
34:43
But she thought it would
34:44
feel so much different.
34:47
But really, it's the pursuit.
34:48
It's just you showing up every day.
34:50
It's you doing something
34:51
hard and just accomplishing
34:53
the little things.
34:55
So I'm excited.
34:57
I love a live event.
35:00
I like being on the floor.
35:01
I like pressure because I
35:04
think that's when you do
35:06
things you didn't think you could do.
35:08
I just love sports.
35:10
I love being part of it.
35:12
um but yeah I don't know if
35:16
yeah I'm not sure so the
35:18
one thing I am sure of from
35:20
getting to know you behind
35:22
the scenes a little bit is
35:23
that you're going to soak
35:24
in the whole experience
35:26
yeah you are not going to
35:28
let the nerves take away
35:30
your enjoyment because I'm
35:31
assuming your husband's
35:32
going to be there oh yeah
35:34
and you're going to share
35:35
that experience with him
35:36
are you bringing your
35:37
daughter yep she's coming
35:40
hopefully we can keep her off the floor
35:42
Yeah, that would probably be true.
35:45
Right.
35:46
Could you imagine?
35:47
Yeah,
35:48
I'm excited to share this weekend
35:52
with people that I'm close with.
35:55
Because like I said earlier,
35:57
if you chase this pursuit
36:00
and you have nobody
36:01
standing next to you at the end of it,
36:03
it wasn't worth it.
36:06
Said very beautifully.
36:07
I want to thank you so much
36:10
for being here.
36:11
Me and my team are going to be there.
36:14
We got permission to do behind the scenes.
36:16
We're doing a behind the
36:17
scenes documentary just
36:19
like the Elite Games gets.
36:21
We're doing for the Masters
36:22
CrossFit Games.
36:23
That's awesome.
36:25
So Ellie Hiller and myself
36:26
will be backstage chatting with you guys.
36:30
We'll have a couple
36:30
videographers out on the
36:31
floor and we'll hopefully
36:33
put together something
36:33
really cool for you guys to
36:35
look at when you're done.
36:36
awesome I'm excited for you
36:37
guys that's really cool um
36:39
I think there's a lot of
36:40
like I'm sure there's so
36:41
many cool stories like with
36:43
the masters and everything
36:44
you know like because like
36:46
they've been through so
36:47
much more life um so yeah I
36:50
think you guys will have a
36:51
lot of fun I think chatting
36:53
with a lot of people you
36:54
know that what has been
36:56
incredible doing these
36:57
highlights these profiles
36:59
yeah everybody has a story
37:01
there's a guy in the 45 to
37:02
49 year old division who won fear factor
37:07
There is,
37:08
we had to talk about the effects
37:11
of menopause on training
37:12
and how you have to get through that.
37:14
Like, yeah.
37:14
Yeah.
37:15
Yeah.
37:19
you know?
37:19
It's crazy.
37:20
Yeah.
37:21
And there's even more crazy stories like,
37:23
I'm sure.
37:24
And,
37:24
and so we've been capturing them
37:26
through these profiles and
37:27
now I want to highlight
37:28
them when we get there.
37:29
Oh yeah.
37:29
Oh dude, that's going to be awesome.
37:31
That's going to be so cool.
37:34
Well, I'm looking forward to seeing you.
37:36
Yeah, you too.
37:38
And I,
37:38
I really hope that you guys are the
37:41
first step to move forward
37:43
in the CrossFit space because I,
37:46
You're what CrossFit's all about,
37:48
being healthy, living longer,
37:50
being more active longer in life,
37:52
and that's what it's about.
37:53
For sure, yeah.
37:55
I think that's why it's
37:57
important for a lot of us
37:59
to show up for this, right?
38:01
I think this is a step forward,
38:05
and I think that if we can just be there,
38:09
regardless of the outcomes
38:10
or where anyone places this
38:12
year especially,
38:13
I think that will say a lot.
38:17
yeah it'll do a lot more
38:18
than we think well thank
38:20
you to everybody in the
38:21
chat we will see you
38:23
actually in just about 20
38:24
minutes with kelly friel um
38:27
five six time crossfit
38:29
games athlete um and with
38:31
that we'll see you then on
38:33
the Clydesdale media podcast bye guys