Latest / Clydesdale Media Podcast / Michael Paas - 35-39 yr old Legends Champion | Clydesdale Champions Series

Transcript

Michael Paas - 35-39 yr old Legends Champion | Clydesdale Champions Series · Clydesdale Media Podcast

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  On Clydesdale Media, where we bring you the widest array of content here on our YouTube channel.
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  is going on everybody.
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  Welcome to the Clydesdale media podcast.
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  My name is Scott Switzer from the Clydesdale.
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  We've got with us the legends 40 to 44 year old female champion and my co-host Jamie Latimer.
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  And we are so honored and privileged to have with us the men's 35 to 39 year old champ from the legends championship, Michael Paz.
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  Michael, how you doing?
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  Great.
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  Doing really good.
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  This is, it's great to be on the show and it's a little
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  It's a lot of pressure.
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  It's live.
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  I can't screw up.
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  Everyone will see it.
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  I've screwed up so many times.
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  I mess up enough.
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  So everybody else feels relaxed about it.
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  Okay.
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  So that's, that's my role in this whole thing.
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  So I, I was doing some research on you and I'm going to start in a really weird place.
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  I heard you say on a podcast that,
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  That you played football in high school, you never played varsity, yet you walked on to a college football team.
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  Yeah.
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  That is accurate.
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  Yep.
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  How does a man who never played varsity have the balls to immediately walk on to a college football team?
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  Uh, I just, I mean, baseball was, baseball was kind of the sport that I did varsity for, uh, you know, I did baseball for like the all-star teams, the travel teams and all that stuff.
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  And, um, you know, that was my main like varsity sport in high school.
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  And by the time I get, got done, I just, I couldn't.
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  I just was not excited to spend a whole winter, whole off season, like hitting off tees and playing catch.
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  And like, I just kind of burn out on it.
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  Um, and I had, I had played the whole story as I, I played football in high school, but it was just on a club team.
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  It wasn't associated with the high school I went to.
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  Um, but they never got big enough, which they have since, but they never got big enough to, to feel the varsity team.
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  So it's, it sounds funny, but I played basically.
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  I did my freshman year with the high school, and then I played three years at JV, and it was just when I played for the high school, I didn't really enjoy it.
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  I didn't really have friends on the team.
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  I barely got to play.
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  I was a receiver, and we rotated the receivers every three plays, and the receiver would run the play in, but then
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  when they were going to do a pass play at like I, they would put the other guy in basically.
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  So it was just not, it was just so much, I mean, it's such a commitment.
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  It's so much work and to, to not have fun when you're doing it is just, it's not worth it, you know?
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  So, so I played for this other team and I got to play all the time and it was awesome.
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  So, and so that's how I ended up continuing with football, I guess.
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  So yeah.
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  Yeah.
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  So our friend of the show, Kenneth, the lab says he prefers cojones or testicular fortitude as opposed to my statement.
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  You had all of that.
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  It was pretty funny to, cause even it was, it was D three.
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  Like I played at Hope college in Holland, Michigan and D three.
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  So is there no one, there's no scholarships, but there's still like recruiting and coaches know the players coming in.
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  But when I, you know, like,
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  walking in there.
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  No one knew who I was.
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  And, um, actually my buddy who I was going to be rooming with, who was not a football player went with me like, uh, cause you got to go in early a few weeks early and he wanted to move in early.
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  So he came and like shook all the coaches hands and everything.
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  And they didn't know that the difference, you know, because they didn't know, they didn't know me and they didn't know him.
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  So, um, yeah, it was, it was interesting.
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  Well, and, you know, in CrossFit, we always say prepare for the unknown.
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  You changed positions three times in college.
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  Did, yep.
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  So did that prepare you for life?
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  Because you started as a running back, went to fullback, and ended up as a defensive player when you moved to varsity.
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  Yeah, yeah.
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  Basically, I just worked really hard, I guess, and they wanted to reward that.
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  Um, that was, that was like my big thing is that I would just always work really hard.
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  And, uh, they, they, like when you go to D3, like when you went to hope there was, you know, there was eight to 10 running backs, you know, in my class, you know, everyone wants to be a running back and, uh, where the big positions.
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  Um, so, you know, I was way down on the depth chart and they,
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  And fullback, like I was 50 pounds underweight to play fullback on varsity.
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  You know, I had no future there.
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  So they were just trying to find a way to get me on the field.
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  Um, so yeah, I just be inflexible.
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  And even, even to piggyback on that, like going into my senior year, um, the guy, the starter was, um,
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  You know, he was in the class below me, you know, so I'm going into my senior year and it's not even looking like I'm going to start, you know, but I just kept working hard and training as if I could start at any time.
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  And then what happened was the second, in the second game of the season, he, I forget what his injury was, but he got hurt.
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  He was done for the year.
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  So now I'm the starter.
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  And so, you know, I was ready for it because I had been preparing as if any, any time I could be.
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  go into that role, even though, you know, I, I was never going to replace him on the depth chart otherwise, you know, without that incident.
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  So, um, yeah, just being ready, ready at all times.
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  So.
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  So also in this podcast, you talked about in division three, you, you didn't have like a Springs football practice thing.
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  So you were looking for something to do.
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  And you ended up doing track and field and you had conceptions of what it might end up being.
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  Didn't turn out that way.
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  Walk us through that story a little bit because there's some commonality I have with you once you get into that story.
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  Okay.
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  Man, you do good research.
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  This is good.
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  Yeah.
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  Um, yeah, so like you said, four years of football and then, uh, I wanted to do something in the spring and I was trying to decide basically between, uh, lacrosse and track and I'd never done either of them.
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  Uh, and basically what made me try track was there's just, I knew that, you know, my degree was in exercise science.
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  And I didn't know what exactly I was going to do with that, but I knew I was going to do something in sports or sports related.
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  And I trained for football and like I kind of knew what that training looked like.
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  And lacrosse is different, but it's, you know, more similar to football than track.
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  Like track is individual sport, you know, very specific sport.
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  events you're training for, and I just knew it would look totally different.
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  And I had zero idea how to train for track.
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  And so, um, it was partially just out of curiosity, like, uh, I don't know what, what this is going to be like.
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  So I want to, I want to learn about this new sport.
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  Um, and you know, I, I just really enjoyed that it was.
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  an individual sport and a team sport at the same time, which ends up, it's a lot what CrossFit, you know, I've done mostly in CrossFit, I've done team stuff and it's individual stuff within the context of a team.
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  Because you like, it's really obvious if you blow it or if you do something good, like it's a little different than a team sport because there's so many more factors in the team sport.
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  You're reacting to the other teams and it's a lot more straightforward in CrossFit.
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  So, you know, it really,
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  it prepared me really well, uh, to transition into CrossFit eventually.
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  Well, the story I heard is you, you thought you were going to be a sprinter.
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  Oh yeah.
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  Yes.
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  Yeah.
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  I mean, it didn't work out so much for you.
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  Yeah.
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  I was not, I was not as fast as the, I mean, you know, it's college track.
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  So there are people that have been doing track for a ton of years.
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  Um,
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  And my thing in football was I was really good at changing directions, but straight line, like track speed, was a lot different.
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  You know, it wasn't bad, but I was not as good as them.
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  I was never going to put the times up that they were.
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  And so the rest of the story is you take this spring break trip to Florida and then –
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  know get some good weather and get a bunch of training in and you do a track meet up you do a meet on the way down and meet on the way back and there was one practice where the the throwers were out doing javelin and i just kind of stuck around and just threw a little bit with them and i ended up being okay at it and so then uh on the meat on the way back i did it in the meat um and i turns out i was pretty good at it so it was
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  Yeah.
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  It was fun.
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  And that's a fun event.
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  That's just, it's just feels pretty, I don't know.
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  There's just something primal about just throwing a spear as far as you can, you know?
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  So it was neat.
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  So I kept doing the running stuff just because I liked running, but it wasn't like, I wasn't going to help the team in a meet with running, but I just, I just liked running 400, you know, in two hundreds.
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  And so I did it for fun, but my main focus shift to javelin at that point.
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  What's funny about that is I was a thrower in high school.
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  That was kind of what I deemed as my off season.
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  And I would pretty much just throw discus and lay out on the hill and get some sun because in Pennsylvania, it was the first time you actually got some sun for a while.
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  And we were on an away meet and one of our javelin throwers did high jump and got hurt.
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  And they're like, hey, we need someone to throw.
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  And I'm like, I've never thrown a javelin in my life.
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  So they give me like a tutorial on the side.
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  I go out and I end up winning in that meet.
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  That's amazing.
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  And then I ended up throwing javelin the rest of my senior year.
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  Yeah.
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  Yeah.
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  You have to at that point.
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  Go ahead.
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  I was gonna say isn't it weird how some people and I don't know it's just like some people really pick that event up really fast and other people that it like I would have like guys that were quarterbacks on the football team like just assume they'd be able to do it and then they go out and you've seen it I'm sure where they just throw a helicopter but you know it's just interesting how some people just pick it up really really quickly and and some people just do not so that's so I mean that's amazing to go out and just win the win the first meet
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  I heard you say that you played a lot of baseball and I was a pitcher.
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  Okay.
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  Only thing I can think that like lent to that, but I was, when I won it, I was probably 10 feet from the throw line.
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  Cause I couldn't, I couldn't line up the run.
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  Yeah.
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  Cause I hadn't done it ever.
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  So that's my whole senior year was working on getting the run up consistent enough to where I threw near the line to at least get like that 10 feet.
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  That's cool.
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  Yeah.
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  So I, I heard that and it just, it made me relate to you.
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  And, uh, yeah, I love, and then I ended up loving it and I wish I would have found it like my freshman year.
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  Yeah.
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  Yeah.
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  I feel the same way.
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  Yeah.
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  Do you remember any of your distances on your throws?
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  Like how far were you through?
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  I guess high school is feet and all my stuff in my brain is meters.
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  Yeah.
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  I, I don't remember.
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  I think, uh,
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  I don't remember.
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  It was over 200 feet.
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  I think anything over 200 is pretty decent.
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  210 is kind of sticking in my head.
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  I don't know for sure.
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  It's been a long time for me, Michael.
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  I'm much older.
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  I think one advantage that I have is that that was an event that does not exist in
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  Michigan high school track and field.
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  Like they don't throw the javelin, you know, and I was, I was competing in the MIAA conference, which is a lot of people, not, not all the schools are in Michigan, but a lot of them are in Michigan.
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  So there's, I think I didn't come up against too many people that had been doing it for, you know, beyond college.
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  Most of them started doing it in college.
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  So that was at least somewhat of an advantage that I had as opposed to,
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  Lots of people that were running the 400 had been doing it for a bunch of years.
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  Yeah.
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  As Kenneth said, when I did it, it was back when phones had wires.
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  Nice.
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  Nice.
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  And I know that javelin got taken away from a lot of schools.
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  I had a friend that got a javelin in his ass cheek.
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  So, yeah, it is a very dangerous thing.
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  he was walking away not paying attention and a girl launched a javelin and it square left cheek jeez that's not good yeah so i'm i'm saying i never had any i never saw anything i saw some close calls but i never saw anyone really something happen that was too bad there was one where
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  Uh, one of the other throwers was just having a weird day where he was just, they were just taken off to the right and even more.
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  And even, and so he would just try and throw a harder and it would go even more to the right, you know, kind of like golf is kind of the same thing if you're off the tee box and he had one that he just launched and it went all the way and actually stuck in the track right at someone's feet.
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  So that was the close I ever closest I've ever seen it, but thankfully I've never seen it and actually get hit.
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  Yeah.
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  Yeah, I've seen close calls with a shot put.
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  That's really crazy.
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  But yeah.
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  Let me ask you this.
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  When you threw, would you yell when you threw?
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  Probably not.
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  Probably not.
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  If we saw someone out there, we would yell heads up or whatever.
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  No, no, no.
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  I just mean like grunt when you threw.
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  Like the primal scream, right?
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  There was a grunt.
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  Okay.
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  All right.
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  Yeah.
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  Nice.
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  Oh, yeah.
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  I made myself.
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  I waited.
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  I had like an unofficial threshold of 50 meters.
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  And I wasn't going to yell because I didn't want to be a weenie out there yelling and, you know, not throwing very far.
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  And so like once I crossed 50 meters.
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  Then I went to a park by myself to practice.
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  I didn't want to try it for the first time in front of a bunch of people.
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  So I went to this park and then threw and yelled when I threw.
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  And then I started yelling the rest of my short career.
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  I think it's just natural for me.
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  When I threw discus, I grunted.
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  Oh, that's true.
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  That's true.
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  You're probably used to it from the other throws.
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  Yeah.
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  So I think it just naturally came.
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  But that's funny that you practiced your scream.
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  Yeah.
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  I mean, it's definitely, I'm pretty introverted, you know, so I'm not a big, like when I lift or work out or any, like, I don't really have any other times when I yell due to exertion.
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  So I wanted to, I want to try it out first.
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  So I want to dive now into a little bit, since we've done all the fun stuff, I'm going to dive into a little bit of CrossFit.
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  So are you still the head strength and conditioning coach for eighth day?
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  I am.
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  Yep.
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  I just got done.
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  I coached the nine o'clock class and then I got a quick workout in and then I coached two more classes and basically came right, right upstairs and sat down at the computer.
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  So, yep.
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  So when I hear head strength and conditioning coach, I think college athletics.
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  I've never really heard that title at a CrossFit gym.
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  Can you explain what that job is?
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  Well, first of all, the owner, Joe,
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  Joe Cebulski, he said we could make up our own titles.
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  It's not anything official, but I wanted something to call myself to put on my email signature and stuff.
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  That's what I put on there.
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  It's really what I think of myself as.
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  It's just I work with adults instead of teams of
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  know students so like i i uh you know i lead classes you know just standard crossfit style classes we call them perform and then i also write i'm in charge of writing all the the programming for the week that the classes will go through but i still think of myself as a strength conditioning professional i'm just wrapping up my
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  nsca like recertification stuff is up at the end of this year so i'm cramming all that in um you know i try to you know continually uh watch videos read articles and progress my knowledge in the field as best i can so i i i don't i don't just think of myself specifically as a crossfit coach i guess i try and think of the broader field because i work with a you know in any crossfit class you get a wide range of people you know some are
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  just trying to be healthy.
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  Some people do want to compete in the sport of CrossFit.
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  Some people have injuries, and there's just such a wide spectrum of people you encounter.
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  So I think it's important to be ready for all of those people.
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  So Kenneth says, I let a grunt out today after doing burpees at the gym.
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  I was embarrassed.
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  Nice.
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  So hopefully the music was loud enough that no one heard it.
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  So I've had the honor and privilege of working out at 8th Day.
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  Oh, you have?
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  My job used to take me all over the upper Midwest to different states.
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  We had a conference in Grand Rapids.
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  I was telling Jamie last night, I PR'd my DT at 8th Day.
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  Oh, yeah.
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  Yeah.
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  It's awesome.
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  It is one of the most unique gyms I've ever visited in my life.
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  Yeah, for sure.
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  So it is an old auto like gas station mechanic.
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  Yeah.
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  Tire shop.
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  Yeah.
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  Tire shop.
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  Yeah.
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  And, you know, we started before me.
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  They started with just the up there, the main space upstairs, which I'm assuming that's probably where you train.
• 19:54
  How long ago was that?
• 19:56
  It was probably 2015.
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  okay so it yeah it looks probably very different even from when you were here uh but you know we started just in the main upstairs space and then kind of there's this it's a giant building and just kind of over time we kind of crept into each of the other spaces to the point where now we have four basically fully outfitted workouts training spaces um which is super nice because again we do have people that you know
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  do a lot of extra stuff and train to compete and they're able to have their own space and they're not interfering with class at all.
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  And they're able to have some of the specialized equipment, um, you know, that we might not use in class.
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  You know, we have ropes and GHDs and air runners and, and, you know, a few of all those things.
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  Um, but they, you know, then we're never like interfering with each other, which is super nice.
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  And we have, um,
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  We have perform classes, which is a CrossFit style classes and we have burn classes, reserve bootcamp style classes, and those can run at the same time.
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  And then there's still, you know, space available for, for people to do their own thing, which is, which is super nice.
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  I think if I remember right, when I was there, there was one room.
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  It might be what your burn classes are, but it was like CrossFit without a barbell for people who were intimidated by all the barbell stuff.
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  And you had like a separate room and classroom for them to do their thing.
• 21:28
  There was like a lifting area that used to look, it looked like an old bay where you'd pull your car in to get it worked on.
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  Um, it was, I was fascinated by it, but the crazy thing for me is when 20 people are doing DT on that upstairs, the floor's rocking.
• 21:45
  Yeah.
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  Yeah.
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  And it's, if you're underneath that room, it is loud.
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  It's elephant stampeding.
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  Um, but I mean, the nice thing is we don't share the building with other, you know, like we have one tenant in one corner.
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  Um, but it's like, we don't enter, we don't have to worry.
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  We can be as loud as we want basically.
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  And the, the, our neighbor, uh,
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  up the hill, one notch that we'd share walls with is the intersection concert venue.
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  So, you know, they're never gonna complain about, you know, some barbells dropping, you know, so we can, we have a lot of freedom.
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  Cause I know a lot of gyms do have to worry about that if they're, you know, in a retail location and have neighbors and, you know, a lot of that stuff, uh, you know, matters.
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  So we're, we're very fortunate.
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  Um, and even that room, if you're talking about the, we call it the, all of our spaces kind of have names.
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  Ironically, except for the main CrossFit space is just called the upper gym.
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  But we have the garage and we have Narnia and we have the body shop and they all kind of names and the garages were burn classes.
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  And we have those two huge bay doors on each side, which is amazing in the summer because it was pop those doors open and they're almost training outside, you know, so it's super nice.
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  Yeah, it was quite the experience.
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  I really enjoyed it.
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  And everybody was so friendly there.
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  The coaching was amazing.
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  And so if you're ever in Grand Rapids, Michigan, definitely drop in.
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  It is definitely worth a visit.
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  Yeah, come check it out.
• 23:19
  So you primarily for your career have been a team athlete.
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  Yeah.
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  And you have a special teammate.
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  A special teammate.
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  Yeah.
• 23:32
  that you're really close to fairly.
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  Yeah.
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  I know it pretty well.
• 23:38
  So did you become private teammates before being public teammates or vice versa?
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  Yeah.
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  So, yeah.
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  So my wife has always been on the team, uh, you know, other than, uh, we have two kids, so
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  There's some pauses in there for that, of course.
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  She was a track athlete in college.
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  I went to Hope and she went to Calvin, which is the big rivals.
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  She was an All-American 400 runner.
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  She was really good.
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  I knew she would be good.
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  I started doing CrossFit and
• 24:28
  And she did not think she would be any good.
• 24:30
  And so I had to, over time, convince her to try it out.
• 24:33
  And then at that time, we had a ladies-only class.
• 24:38
  And so she would only do the ladies-only class, which is definitely lower intensity, I would say, from the other classes.
• 24:48
  But she would do really well.
• 24:50
  And eventually, finally, she started going to all the classes, and she probably
• 24:57
  not sure the timeline, but she, she basically only did it for a handful of months.
• 25:01
  And then this would be 2013.
• 25:02
  You know, I had to talk her into the open cause she, again, she's very resistant to doing all this.
• 25:13
  And so she did the open and she did well.
• 25:15
  And so we had these regionals, you know, we were sending a team to regionals and they released the workouts.
• 25:23
  And one of the workouts had a,
• 25:26
  you had to be able to do a ring muscle up or two people.
• 25:32
  I forget what it was, but there was, if you couldn't do a ring muscle up, you're done.
• 25:37
  Like you don't get to do the other workouts.
• 25:41
  And so she was able to figure out how to do a ring muscle up.
• 25:45
  And so she was then put on the regional team and then, you know, allowed us to continue in the competition that year.
• 25:54
  And then, yeah, she's,
• 25:57
  uh, obviously she developed into a really good athlete over time.
• 26:03
  And what she, what she does is way more impressive than anything I do.
• 26:06
  Cause she's a, um, she's a, she's a full-time PA and she's had two kids and she does a full day of work.
• 26:15
  You know, she comes in, she probably starts work at seven or earlier, and then she'll do a full day of work and come in at five.
• 26:23
  And then after all that, then she's trying to get her workout in.
• 26:27
  um you know and so so for her to be able to to do that and like she's still i mean she's still getting better like she's still getting stronger she's still getting better um
• 26:40
  And so that's, I mean, that's way more impressive than me who I'm here.
• 26:44
  I don't have to travel here.
• 26:46
  I can fit my workouts in at convenient times during the day between classes or whatever.
• 26:52
  And it's a lot easier for me to sync my nutrition up and she'll go long stretches cause she'll be in surgery or whatever.
• 26:59
  And she'll go long stretches where she doesn't even get to eat.
• 27:02
  So she'll skip lunch and then have a cliff bar on her way in and then she does her training.
• 27:09
  uh yeah what she does is way more impressive than anything i do for sure well the one podcast i listened to you were both on and what's impressive to me is her fields of study in what she does was first neuroscience and then now it is um orthopedics correct yeah orthopedic trauma yep
• 27:33
  Yeah.
• 27:34
  So no slouch on what she's doing every day, either brain surgery or fixing people's bones and joints and all of that.
• 27:47
  So you guys made the games in 2021.
• 27:54
  What was that like making the games for the first time?
• 27:59
  Man, that was, it was weird.
• 28:01
  Like, cause I,
• 28:03
  so we were at granite games and it came down to the last event.
• 28:08
  Like I I've never had like a moment like that in my athletic career before that I can think of that even comes close to that where like literally everything's on the line and we had to execute and we're walking in and walking on the field and the, you know, the music's blaring and like,
• 28:33
  you know, that's, that's it either do it or you don't, you know?
• 28:36
  And so, you know, like we executed, we, we won that event.
• 28:41
  And so it was also cool cause we won the event.
• 28:44
  And so we knew right away, you know, when we crossed the line, we're going to the games, there was not like hanging out and waiting for them to tabulate scores and all that.
• 28:53
  So it was a super cool moment.
• 28:56
  Um, and then, uh, yeah, and actually going to the games was,
• 29:03
  Yeah, that was incredible, for sure.
• 29:06
  And also a big part of it is we all just really enjoy spending time with each other.
• 29:12
  We all get along really well.
• 29:17
  At the time, Ryan was another full-time coach here.
• 29:20
  So we were in it together.
• 29:25
  Um, and so it was, it was really cool to be able to share the experience, you know, amongst us.
• 29:32
  Um, you know, that was a, that was a big part of it.
• 29:35
  Um, yeah, but it was amazing.
• 29:39
  You get a lot of stuff too.
• 29:40
  Yeah.
• 29:41
  I think the, I think, uh, I think the other teammates were probably more excited about this stuff than I was, but this stuff was a cool part.
• 29:53
  And you, you go back in 2022, you end up finishing 10th.
• 29:57
  So a top 10 finish at the games.
• 29:59
  Yeah.
• 30:00
  Everything's on the, on the rise.
• 30:03
  And then last year you hit the wall where you just miss getting to the games out of the East.
• 30:12
  So the highs of making it to the games to just missing out, what was, what was that experience like?
• 30:20
  Man, it was, uh,
• 30:26
  Yeah, it was really tough.
• 30:29
  Again, this is a moment that I've never had that I can think of coming that close to something in my athletic career and then just missing it.
• 30:37
  Because I'm the type of person that, good or bad, any event or CrossFit competition, I'm always thinking about the stuff that I messed up.
• 30:49
  I'm thinking about what I could have done better.
• 30:54
  but this time it was literally any one of those things.
• 30:58
  And we're going to the CrossFit games, you know, and same thing with, you know, I'm sure it's the same with my teammates, any of us, you know, any of the things that, you know, and I don't even think we had like overall, we had a decent comp, you know, but it's just, it's just so close.
• 31:15
  And, and it was the, the big dramatic thing too, where we're all on the floor and we weren't even in the,
• 31:23
  the final heat.
• 31:24
  So we, we did our, we did the last event and then we had to sit there along the railing and watch, you know, the last heat go and we're, you know, timing things out and the whole time trying to figure out where people are finishing and was that enough?
• 31:39
  And it was, yeah, it was pretty, I mean, a letdown is an understatement, but
• 31:47
  Honestly, like I felt more bad for, because we had new teammates, you know, still Heather and I, but we had Dylan and Rachel.
• 31:56
  So they've been, you know, at the gym for a while and they're finally getting their shot, you know, and I, you know, I felt worse for them because I've had my shot, you know, I've been to the games twice.
• 32:08
  So I felt worse for them than I did for myself.
• 32:13
  and I know both of them had little moments that they, they wish they could have done things a little differently or a little better, you know, so I know that they're, they're crushed.
• 32:22
  So I think that was probably more of my focus was feeling bad for, for them.
• 32:28
  But, um, I just, I mean, someone's gotta be 11th, you know, so I guess it was just, it was our turn.
• 32:36
  And I mean, the other aspect to it was, uh,
• 32:42
  know both years that we made it there were teams from semi-finals that finished above us we finished fourth both years and then there were teams above us that tested positive for drugs and and so we ended up on the podium but after the competition was done you know and that was that was when they were taking five from each one so now we have ten
• 33:07
  So there's twice as many opportunities for that to happen.
• 33:10
  So there's this weird limbo of several weeks.
• 33:15
  And CrossFit isn't great about communicating timelines and things like that.
• 33:21
  So we literally don't know
• 33:25
  And like I even messaged them was like, hey, can you at least tell us if the drug testing is done so we can because we had to train for the games.
• 33:32
  We had to keep training for the games because we had to be ready in case any of those like any of those 10 teams test positive.
• 33:39
  And then and then we're going to the game.
• 33:41
  So there's just like this weird several weeks where we just kept training.
• 33:46
  And so, yeah.
• 33:48
  that was, that was also like a pretty tough aspect to it.
• 33:51
  And there was never like a, for sure we're done, you know, as eventually it just seemed less and less likely gradually over time, you know?
• 33:59
  So, so that was a pretty tough aspect to it as well.
• 34:03
  So that weekend was the first time Jamie worked with us.
• 34:06
  She is a big follower of her Michigan fellow Michigan people, and she was following you guys the whole weekend.
• 34:12
  So I want to give her an opportunity to ask some questions about,
• 34:16
  Yeah.
• 34:17
  I mean, I remember like watching you guys, I would try to make it out there for each one of your heats, watching you guys.
• 34:22
  And I was super hopeful, like all weekend.
• 34:24
  I'm like, I mean, you started really good.
• 34:27
  Like day one was great day for you.
• 34:30
  And I was like, and then the last day I remember watching you guys.
• 34:34
  And I'm like, like you said, you weren't even in that final heat.
• 34:37
  So I'm like watching you guys compete that event.
• 34:40
  I'm like, I don't know if they did enough.
• 34:42
  And then just trying to like capture that.
• 34:45
  just reactions on the floor and stuff.
• 34:47
  And it's it is hard for heartbreaking.
• 34:50
  But I would I mean, I'd like to think that being that close gives those two just that little bit more fire.
• 34:57
  Assuming you guys are going to be those four again this year.
• 35:00
  And you got in at least team still has the opportunity to go to the games.
• 35:06
  Like, you know, if you are going to transfer into into masters,
• 35:11
  and go alone like you kind of lose that shot but if you stay teams at least the teams get to go still to the games so hopefully that gives them that little bit of fire to shore up any little thing hiccups that they noticed yeah and they're I mean honestly they are two people that
• 35:32
  don't need a lot of like, they have so much motivation already.
• 35:35
  Like they are two of the hardest working people that, that I know.
• 35:39
  So yeah, they're, they're extremely motivated.
• 35:44
  And I think that experience is going to help maybe, maybe even not so much motivation, but just confidence wise going there and being on the big stage because Dylan has done
• 35:57
  Dylan has done, uh, granted games as an individual, you know, he's made semi-finals as an individual, but this was like Rachel's first really big thing, you know, and she did, she did great.
• 36:08
  Um, but I think like having experienced it and having that, I think she'll go in with a lot more confidence.
• 36:16
  Um, yeah.
• 36:17
  And, and also.
• 36:20
  uh heather's done for the year or she's done competing so i guess this is the big announcement is that she's gonna be she's gonna be done so um i'm gonna focus on it again like what she's done is has been really hard and um you know when she's coming in after work and training
• 36:45
  uh, you know, that's family time that she's missing out on, you know, cause I'm, I'm leaving here.
• 36:50
  I'm getting the kids, I'm getting to spend time with them.
• 36:52
  I do the morning stuff with them, you know, so she's missing out on that stuff.
• 36:56
  And, um, the kids are getting to the age, uh, or oldest is in first grade.
• 37:02
  And so he's like, you know, he's doing wrestling now and doing more activities and things.
• 37:06
  And, um, she just wants to experience more of that with them.
• 37:11
  So, um,
• 37:13
  We'll have a team, but it's going to be without Heather.
• 37:16
  Makes sense.
• 37:19
  That's got to be tough on you.
• 37:21
  It's going to be tougher on her, honestly.
• 37:23
  Legends, she came down and watched
• 37:34
  and brought the kids.
• 37:35
  And that was awesome.
• 37:36
  I really enjoyed having, because when we would compete together, like we didn't bring kids.
• 37:41
  Or if we did, they were with, you know, my parents or her parents or, you know, there's other people that were, you know, in charge of them.
• 37:51
  Just because it's, especially for her, it's like she's just not able to just separate herself, you know, from them if they're around.
• 37:58
  Mm-hmm.
• 38:00
  so we, we really hadn't done that before.
• 38:02
  And then at the, you know, I did the master's fitness collect, uh, championship.
• 38:06
  They came to that and then they came to Arizona and both those are really awesome.
• 38:11
  Um, I don't remember where I was going with that though, but, uh, you said it'd be tougher on her.
• 38:18
  Oh yeah.
• 38:19
  She was, I don't think she thought it was going to be tough at first.
• 38:22
  And then she got there and,
• 38:24
  I had tried to convince her to do both of those competitions and at different points, she, she was going to do them.
• 38:31
  And then she just, she's just, again, like going back to, it's the same kind of thing.
• 38:36
  Like she didn't, doesn't think she's going to do that good or, you know, has these hesitations about competing by herself.
• 38:43
  And I get part of it.
• 38:44
  Like, like the fun for her is,
• 38:47
  uh, competing on a team and with other people.
• 38:49
  So, so I get like, maybe she wouldn't enjoy it, but as much, but I was really pushing for her.
• 38:54
  Cause I, I think, uh, and I actually had her test, uh, one of the workouts for me and she would have crushed it.
• 39:05
  Like her score would have crushed it.
• 39:06
  I had her test the, the awful dumbbell, the,
• 39:11
  is it health bells, the lunges and the, like she tested that and she like did the whole thing on broken.
• 39:18
  And so she would have done, you know, really well, but anyway, so like she got there and then I think she was having a little bit of missing out once she got there and she'll have a ton of feelings missing out.
• 39:30
  You know, if, you know, if we make it to semifinals, if we were to make it to the games, like that, that will definitely be tough for her.
• 39:38
  Yeah.
• 39:40
  But it's something we talk, I mean, every year we, every year was, is like its own year for us.
• 39:45
  And we just do one year.
• 39:47
  And then after the year we reassess and, you know, it's something that we talked about for a lot.
• 39:52
  You know, we talked about multiple times and came to that, came to that conclusion.
• 39:58
  The kids are only young for so long.
• 40:00
  Yeah.
• 40:01
  I understand the family time and being important, especially the kids sports stuff.
• 40:05
  Yep.
• 40:06
  Yep.
• 40:07
  So there's this sale being done by CrossFit that if you want, you can compete in two different divisions this year through the games.
• 40:19
  So theoretically, you could compete on a team and compete in Masters.
• 40:26
  Has that crossed your mind?
• 40:28
  I see you nodding.
• 40:29
  Has that crossed your mind?
• 40:31
  Do you think it's possible?
• 40:34
  That was the big question that I've been waiting for that rule book to come out to see what they would say.
• 40:39
  There was a thing that I told Dylan and Rachel, you know, because they really wanted to do a team again.
• 40:46
  They were all in.
• 40:47
  And I told them, like, I would like to do it.
• 40:51
  I want to get you guys there.
• 40:53
  But I also want to do Masters.
• 40:58
  I want to do both tracks as long as the season format would allow me to do it.
• 41:04
  is just having some success and having, you know, the field brought masters never really looked that interesting to me in the previous format, whereas three online competitions, only 10 go to the games, my chances of going or, you know, maybe but probably not that great with 10.
• 41:23
  But with 40 now, like, there's like, I feel like I have a chance at making it.
• 41:28
  So
• 41:29
  Um, and then when the rule book came out, the first thing I did was look for that, that stipulation or what they would say about it.
• 41:35
  And I found it.
• 41:36
  So, uh, yeah, I mean, I would love to go to two CrossFit games.
• 41:41
  So I know that sounds crazy, but I'd like just to do it, you know?
• 41:45
  Uh, and I think I'm, I think I would be able to do it well, or, you know, be smart about it.
• 41:52
  And, um, the team definitely has priority for sure.
• 41:56
  Team will definitely have priority.
• 41:57
  Um,
• 41:59
  I wouldn't have been able to do it if... So the semifinals were... This year, we're going to be the last week of semifinals, which last year we were the first week of semifinals.
• 42:09
  So I feel like that gives me enough space to do the Masters Online semifinals and still be able to get a bunch of good team training in leading into the team semifinals.
• 42:22
  So that's the goal right now.
• 42:26
  So...
• 42:28
  So the biggest question for this, and you're the first person we've had on that is contemplating this, doing both.
• 42:38
  So I'm fascinated by this.
• 42:41
  You're a master's athlete, right?
• 42:44
  How does your body hold up?
• 42:47
  is your team training enough to get you through the first couple phases of masters where you can focus on that?
• 42:55
  And then when, when it's time to turn to the masters, you're ready.
• 43:04
  I think so.
• 43:04
  I mean, I, I think I will be able to do it in an intelligent way that will make it work.
• 43:12
  So Heather's,
• 43:17
  so Heather's replacement is going to be, her name's Danielle, Danielle Dunlap.
• 43:22
  And she doesn't live, she doesn't live in Michigan.
• 43:25
  So she's not going to be here all the time.
• 43:28
  You know, she's obviously will come for the phases that she has to, and she'll come early for semifinals.
• 43:35
  The open, we're basically, we're treating that as three weeks of team training.
• 43:39
  You know, we'll do the open workouts obviously, but it won't be like tapering for the open workouts.
• 43:43
  You know, it'll just be part of our week that we do.
• 43:47
  so a lot of it um we're not going to be able to do full team sessions anyway you know so i'll be able to do some like synchro work and things like that with dylan and rachel and um you know heather will be able to step in i'm sure and we can get some like warm practice in you know with heather being the fourth person um just to
• 44:10
  help us keep fresh with that.
• 44:13
  The answer to your question is, I don't know, but my going in with the priority of team and team being the one, I mean, they haven't released the schedule yet officially, but from what I hear, the Masters Championship will be after the main games, whatever you want to call it, main games.
• 44:34
  So I don't really, it'll basically be, I'm going to put everything into
• 44:39
  into the, the team games, if we were to make it and then whatever's left, you know, we'll, we'll go towards the masters.
• 44:47
  That'll be like a fun, a fun bonus, I guess.
• 44:50
  So that's kind of my mindset going into it because when, when there's three other people, depending on you, like I can't prioritize myself, you know, so, so team will be the priority and whatever, whatever's left we'll go towards the masters thing.
• 45:06
  But I'm, I'm,
• 45:09
  I'm pretty excited for the challenge of doing it and trying to do it well.
• 45:14
  So you did MFC this year, you did legends.
• 45:17
  Was this a test run to see kind of where you sat?
• 45:20
  Um, a little bit in a little bit was just, I just wanted to do stuff, you know, not making the games, you know, um, and, um,
• 45:34
  we did you know several years where we only we basically only did the game season and we didn't do many of the other competitions um we didn't do many local things and so when we didn't make it this year is like all right i i can't i can't go however many months that is without competing like it's just a you know that's an important part for me of just motivation um and
• 46:01
  So I just, so part of it was like frustration of not making the games and wanting to go do something still.
• 46:09
  And yeah, part of it was like, I don't know how I match up.
• 46:12
  You know, I did Legends last year.
• 46:14
  It was the first time I'd done anything individual in a long time.
• 46:18
  and i went in with with i had no expectations i just let's just see what happens and it ended up going pretty well so so going into masters fitness championship this year was a different mindset i was going in to win you know it's just the the mindset i had i didn't win but i also felt like
• 46:38
  I maximize my performance, you know, like with those workouts, um, you know, Travis was just better with those workouts.
• 46:45
  You know, uh, I felt really good about how I executed and everything.
• 46:49
  So, um, yeah.
• 46:53
  And then, yeah, especially with them announcing.
• 47:00
  that Legends was going to be the games next year.
• 47:03
  I was really curious to go do that again, just with a year under my belt now and a little bit more confidence.
• 47:13
  I've always thought of myself as a team athlete, and there's things that I do really well
• 47:21
  in a team format.
• 47:22
  And I never thought that I always told myself or other people that asked that I wouldn't be that good of an individual athlete, just because the, there's a lot of things that are different, you know, like even just, there's not as many long grinders.
• 47:34
  There's a lot more like short work rest things.
• 47:37
  And, um, and so I just never, never thought of myself as a good individual athlete.
• 47:43
  So, so going in with some confidence now, um,
• 47:48
  that was, it was neat just to have a different mindset, I guess, going in more of an attacking mindset rather than just, let's see what happens.
• 47:56
  Were you going to, I'm sorry.
• 47:58
  Go ahead, Jamie.
• 48:00
  Do you think you are more of a shorter, like high power output athlete?
• 48:07
  Is that what you feel about yourself?
• 48:08
  I think so.
• 48:09
  I think so.
• 48:10
  I can do like sprinty stuff where you just shut your brain off and just do it really fast.
• 48:16
  Like I, which is,
• 48:18
  Not all team workouts are like that, but there's more of that type of thing in a team format than an individual.
• 48:24
  Interesting.
• 48:25
  Because I know you were the closest to finishing the rope climb wall ball workout at Legend last year.
• 48:36
  And I feel like that was one of those... It wasn't long, but it was one of the longer workouts.
• 48:41
  And definitely, for me, that showed your...
• 48:47
  overall fitness level like like you surprised me in that workout yeah uh and yeah that's kind of exactly what i'm talking about where like i those longer workouts i didn't necessarily expect to you know i so that workout specifically i'm like rope climbs is probably one of my better things you know relative to other people so
• 49:16
  And I, and I know being good at rope climbs coming off of, you know, 90 GHDs are going to beat people up on the rope climbs.
• 49:23
  Like if you're not good at rope climbs, if you have bad technique, that's really going to play into, I don't remember, it was like 12 rope climbs or whatever, you know, a significant amount.
• 49:32
  So, so that was really, that was my big advantage, I think, in that workout and then being able to,
• 49:38
  hang on to that lead through the wall balls.
• 49:40
  Um, you know, I don't think I, I don't think I pulled away from anyone in the wall balls, but I was able to at least maintain that lead.
• 49:47
  Um, so yeah, I think part of it was just like a strategy and how the, you know, how the movements fell, I guess.
• 49:59
  I'm curious if you feel like you would have done better at MFC, had they not last minute changed a couple of those workouts?
• 50:07
  yes for sure you do yeah a little more higher execution and um i was pretty excited for well that one didn't matter i guess the the double uh dumbbell overhead lunge because like that's something that i practice um specifically like i'll just put that in my warm-up sometimes just so i'm comfortable with it um but
• 50:32
  Uh, I guess that wouldn't have helped.
• 50:33
  Cause I won.
• 50:34
  That was one that I won anyway.
• 50:35
  You won that one anyway.
• 50:37
  Yeah.
• 50:37
  Did I win that one?
• 50:38
  I think I won that one, but I think you did too.
• 50:40
  You last round of ring muscle ups.
• 50:42
  Like you really.
• 50:43
  Yeah, that was fun.
• 50:48
  That was I, cause I knew in practice I did it all in broken.
• 50:53
  Um, you know,
• 50:55
  And so it was just going to come down to like, I don't know what people are going to do on the bike, you know, because you can, the bike with calorie bike, big separator, you know, and I, you know, I, I train with like really good people.
• 51:08
  Like Dylan is like, he's incredible on the machines and Ryan was incredible on the machines.
• 51:15
  So like my, my point of reference, I think is somewhat skewed, you know?
• 51:20
  So like I wasn't crushing it on the bike, but I was doing it enough.
• 51:25
  I wasn't the first one off the – I wasn't the first one off – I'm trying to think who was next to me.
• 51:30
  I can't think of his name.
• 51:31
  Dex.
• 51:31
  Dex was next to me.
• 51:32
  So he was off the bike before me in that last round.
• 51:36
  But then I saw him, like, doubled over, like, taking a long chalk break as I was coming up.
• 51:41
  I was like, all I got to do is if I jump up before him, I'm going to get him because there's, like – there's only so much you can do on the lunges on that workout.
• 51:50
  You know, it wasn't enough of a, like, one –
• 51:53
  Kettlebell overhead is nothing, you know?
• 51:55
  So like, I was just, if I jump up before him, I got him, you know?
• 51:59
  Um, so that was a pretty neat moment.
• 52:02
  Um, I'm trying to remember what the other things were.
• 52:05
  Like my, one of my lesser scores was that first event, which was supposed to be, is that supposed to be air runners?
• 52:12
  That was the one with the heavy sandbag.
• 52:14
  Oh yeah.
• 52:15
  Yeah.
• 52:16
  I don't know.
• 52:17
  I'm not sure exactly what it was supposed to be, but yeah, they changed that to the landscaping duty.
• 52:21
  Yeah.
• 52:22
  Yeah.
• 52:22
  But I mean, it doesn't matter because that's what the workouts were and it doesn't, it doesn't matter what it was before.
• 52:29
  That's just how it goes.
• 52:31
  Uh, Travis executed better than me and, um, yeah, I don't know.
• 52:37
  I don't really, I try not to think about it in terms of that, you know, because it's, that's the whole point of CrossFit is like, you get the stuff and you do the stuff and whatever it is, you try and do it better than the guy next to you, you know?
• 52:50
  For sure.
• 52:52
  Um,
• 52:54
  Yeah, I just always like look at the, you know, just judging the programming amongst competitions in general.
• 53:01
  Like what did you prefer MSV, MFC this year or Legends this year programming wise?
• 53:09
  What do you think was more well-rounded?
• 53:15
  I think they both had things that were, I think my biggest negative from Legends was just the,
• 53:22
  lack of equipment variety i mean there just wasn't a ton of variety we were repeating movement patterns tons and i'm sure you guys have discussed it on here i'm i'm guessing um but you know there's i don't know we did at least three versions of cleans maybe more uh you know so we just kept like repeating movement patterns because they had barbells and they had dumbbells and jump ropes and rope climb ropes
• 53:52
  Right.
• 53:52
  So there's no like plyo boxes.
• 53:54
  There's no like handstand pushup, plexiglass, no wall balls.
• 53:59
  In saying that, I think with what they had there, like I felt like every workout felt different, you know, even though you're doing cleans multiple times, like every workout felt totally different than the other.
• 54:11
  So I think with, you know, I don't know what the limitations were that they had or any of that, but yeah,
• 54:20
  I felt like they did like as good as they could have with what they had there.
• 54:25
  Um, with MFC, I thought it was, I thought it was neat, like playing around with the heavy sandbags.
• 54:31
  That was like my, my letdown at semifinals was hanging onto that 200 pound sandbag.
• 54:39
  So that was kind of fun to kind of come back and do another workout with the heavy sandbag.
• 54:45
  Um,
• 54:48
  And I can't even remember some of the other workouts they had.
• 54:52
  So many workouts ago in my head.
• 54:56
  Um, I did like, I thought it was awful.
• 54:59
  Oh yeah.
• 55:00
  The squats.
• 55:01
  Yeah.
• 55:02
  That was really tough.
• 55:05
  Yeah.
• 55:05
  And that was, uh, so like when I, again, when I went to legends last year and it was my first thing, like I didn't know who anyone was, you know, they were just all anonymous people to me.
• 55:16
  Um,
• 55:17
  but I knew going into MFC, like Travis finished third and legends.
• 55:22
  And he was, I think he finished second in the qualifier.
• 55:27
  Like, I think I won the qualifier for MFC and he was second, I think.
• 55:31
  And so I knew he was going to be like one of, you know, one of my main competitors.
• 55:36
  And that was like, so it was just a little different that workout.
• 55:39
  Cause we were pretty close to each other throughout.
• 55:42
  There was a couple of times where he would get ahead and then I would kind of come back and,
• 55:46
  Um, so like that last set of overhead squats was just brutal.
• 55:51
  Uh, just knowing that, like, if I put it down and he like, you know, like who knows when he's going to put it down and I can't really tell how tired he is.
• 55:59
  I can just see him on my peripheral.
• 56:00
  And so it was just like, that made that workout so tough.
• 56:03
  And, you know, that's something that I haven't really experienced as much, uh, in competition before.
• 56:09
  Um, you know, team stuff, there's so many other things to think about because like,
• 56:14
  you're, you got calls with your teammates and you're not really as focused on the other teams.
• 56:20
  At least I haven't been, I guess.
• 56:22
  Um, then as an individual, like, uh, you know, I I've, you know, watching Rich Froning and Matt Frazier, like they are always looking around and seeing where everyone is and they know where everyone is.
• 56:34
  Um, so that, that, that piece, that was kind of like the first time in competition where I really was kind of paying attention.
• 56:42
  that closely to where someone else was.
• 56:45
  Yeah, that made it hurt so bad.
• 56:49
  What did you think about comparing the two programmings?
• 56:51
  I don't know.
• 56:56
  I thought MFC was really well-rounded.
• 57:02
  And like I said, just like a little bit less variability at Legends.
• 57:08
  But I do think they did a great job with what they had.
• 57:11
  I don't know if it was a getting equipment there or a budget thing or what this year, but like to have no machines and stuff like that was interesting to me.
• 57:22
  But I do think they did a great job with what they had.
• 57:24
  And I would totally agree.
• 57:25
  I think each workout had a different feel.
• 57:27
  So that's good.
• 57:29
  Yeah.
• 57:29
  Yeah, for sure.
• 57:30
  I enjoyed both, both comps.
• 57:33
  You know, I, I, I did the survey that they sent out and I typed out an email to them at legends and kind of like told them some things, but I also, at the end, I was like, overall, this was a great comp and I really liked the venue and everything was organized and on time and it had like a professional feel to it.
• 57:52
  So yeah, they did a good job.
• 57:55
  So I kind of want to wrap us up with this one big question.
• 57:59
  If I told you going into Legends, you're not going to win an event, would you think you would win the competition?
• 58:09
  Weirdly, it didn't surprise me or it wouldn't have surprised me.
• 58:16
  I mean, my thing is always I try to not have a thing, I guess.
• 58:24
  I try really hard to...
• 58:26
  to be well-rounded and not think like put myself in a box of, I'm really good at gymnastics.
• 58:31
  I'm really good at lifting or, you know, cause you gotta be able to do everything.
• 58:35
  Um, and, and, uh, so, um,
• 58:40
  Yeah, I think it speaks to the depth of the field.
• 58:43
  And it was all different people winning events too.
• 58:47
  It wasn't just like one person winning all the stuff and having one or two bad events.
• 58:52
  I don't think anyway.
• 58:53
  It seemed like it was a pretty deep field.
• 58:58
  To not win an event and then win by 51 points.
• 59:02
  Pretty impressive.
• 59:04
  And then you look a little bit deeper and you're like, well, six top five finishes.
• 59:11
  So you used to Madeira's your way.
• 59:16
  Yeah, I guess so.
• 59:17
  Yeah.
• 59:18
  And even that last workout, um, yeah, even that last workout, like I, I didn't have a big lead going in.
• 59:26
  I had 12 points on Elijah Muhammad and you got the double score.
• 59:33
  Um,
• 59:36
  And he got, he got screwed kind of in the floor layout.
• 59:43
  Cause I, I was all the way in the back and in lane, I was lane 10, you know, so I was all the way in the back corner and I could see everyone and he was all the way in the front corner.
• 59:53
  And so he could see no one.
• 59:55
  And so like that last workout, I was not, I didn't want to risk blowing up and
• 1:00:02
  you know, my goal was not to win the event.
• 1:00:03
  It was to win the competition, you know?
• 1:00:05
  So I was watching him.
• 1:00:06
  And then that second part, like he put the dumbbells down, I put the dumbbells down on the thrusters and, uh, you know, um, so that was one of the, yeah, I don't know.
• 1:00:19
  You are the third, you're the third person we've interviewed that has said that exact thing.
• 1:00:25
  Oh yeah.
• 1:00:25
  Okay.
• 1:00:26
  Four way out at the end.
• 1:00:30
  Is it right that the person in first place going in gets that advantage?
• 1:00:36
  I think that they could have done it differently.
• 1:00:40
  I think they definitely could have done it.
• 1:00:46
  If anyone's going to have the advantage, it should be me.
• 1:00:49
  But I don't think second place should be at the extreme.
• 1:00:53
  He was the most disadvantaged other than...
• 1:00:56
  lane one who was the, would be in, you know, last place in the heat or second to last in the heat.
• 1:01:01
  Like there's no reason to have that be the cutoff where now he is the most disadvantaged.
• 1:01:06
  Like I felt bad.
• 1:01:07
  I would have been, if I was in second, I would have been upset.
• 1:01:10
  Like there's, and it's just arbitrary, right?
• 1:01:13
  Cause they did this normal thing on paper where, you know, I was 10, he was 11, third place was nine, you know, and working out from there.
• 1:01:22
  And it just happened that when they put it on the floor, they did one to 10 here and then 11 to 20 here.
• 1:01:27
  And I think there's different ways they could have done it for sure.
• 1:01:31
  Absolutely.
• 1:01:31
  I don't know why they weren't either like Elijah would have been turned.
• 1:01:35
  So that whole opposite side would have been turned facing you.
• 1:01:39
  and then and then you both so either either turn or it should have went one two three four but all the way up exactly so like the last two or so either way either turn the people to fate so like the two lanes are facing each other and both people would have been able to see the whole floor but yeah i thought that was weird too yeah yeah i was in your shoes though so i didn't care i was like yes yeah yeah you were you were
• 1:02:04
  We talked to Tony Tursky yesterday.
• 1:02:06
  He said the same thing.
• 1:02:07
  He knew who he had to beat.
• 1:02:09
  He could see who he had to beat.
• 1:02:12
  Yeah.
• 1:02:12
  Oh yeah.
• 1:02:13
  That's true.
• 1:02:13
  Cause you're talking about all the people that won.
• 1:02:15
  So everyone.
• 1:02:16
  Yeah.
• 1:02:16
  Yeah.
• 1:02:17
  Yeah.
• 1:02:17
  It's interesting.
• 1:02:18
  It's an interesting way to finish.
• 1:02:20
  And it's like, you know, that was a chance for like a big showdown.
• 1:02:23
  It could have been, you know, but instead we're, you know, on opposite ends of the floor and like, like if you're a spectator, it's hard to even see what's going on or you might not even know that he's the one that's in second place.
• 1:02:34
  Um, I like to think that it wouldn't have mattered.
• 1:02:36
  Um, but you know, it's still like, like I wouldn't feel good about it if I was him, you know?
• 1:02:43
  Yeah.
• 1:02:44
  So if I were, if I were to give my one criticism of legends, it is, they don't always take into consideration the spectator.
• 1:02:52
  I've, I've preached on and on about the finish should always be away from the chaos, right?
• 1:02:57
  So when they were on that upper floor, sometimes they finished by the windows.
• 1:03:01
  You couldn't tell who was finishing, who was in the chalk bucket, who was still going.
• 1:03:07
  You just couldn't tell.
• 1:03:08
  And so the spectator doesn't know who's winning.
• 1:03:12
  That final event, if you have one and two side by side going at it, that adds something for the spectator.
• 1:03:21
  To have you on the opposite ends of the floor was ridiculous.
• 1:03:25
  Yeah, I agree.
• 1:03:27
  And there was even, you know, adding to that, there was the squat clean handstand walk workout.
• 1:03:38
  You know, I felt like I thought I thought that was going to be either that one or the rope climb one where if I was going to win one, it would would have been one of those two.
• 1:03:47
  and i like i know elijah muhammad's super strong right he won the lifting maxes and i took second and i'm assuming you know he's a former games athlete so i'm assuming he's trained handstands i don't know him that well but i'm just kind of assuming that um you know so i got towards the end and i i was and they were only talking about me and him and then i i crossed the finish line
• 1:04:11
  and I thought I'd won the event.
• 1:04:12
  And then I looked and there was like, someone else was already done, you know?
• 1:04:15
  And so like, even as an athlete on the floor, because all you had to do is when you finished your last clean, you just step, you know, took one or two steps onto your mat.
• 1:04:23
  You know, there's no like run to the finish line, you know?
• 1:04:26
  So I was like, did he get hurt?
• 1:04:28
  Or is he like, is he just taking a really long rest or like what, you know, cause the announcer like didn't say anything about him the whole time.
• 1:04:36
  Um,
• 1:04:37
  So, yeah, adding, yeah, not only did the spectators not know, but as an athlete on the floor, like, he snuck in and beat me.
• 1:04:44
  And I don't know if it would have mattered or not, but, you know, even I didn't know what was going on some of the times.
• 1:04:51
  So biggest shock for me was easy not winning the rope climb.
• 1:04:57
  Oh, yeah.
• 1:04:58
  Yeah.
• 1:05:00
  It was really, I think all three of us were really close, right?
• 1:05:03
  Yeah.
• 1:05:04
  But yeah, I've seen the video of him like jumping most of the way up there.
• 1:05:08
  I was there live when he broke the world record in 2014.
• 1:05:14
  It'd be like a regionals, right?
• 1:05:16
  It was regionals.
• 1:05:17
  Yeah.
• 1:05:18
  Yep.
• 1:05:19
  Yeah.
• 1:05:19
  I've never heard anything like it in my life.
• 1:05:21
  Yeah.
• 1:05:22
  So that for, for him not to win that blew me away.
• 1:05:25
  Yeah.
• 1:05:25
  Especially in that event where there's very little wiggle room, you know, like the, the jump rope reps weren't super high, you know?
• 1:05:33
  So,
• 1:05:34
  you just had to set execute and like having a really good rope climb was a big advantage in that workout.
• 1:05:41
  Did you have to execute on that, Jamie, the rope, the jump rope?
• 1:05:47
  Thankfully, no.
• 1:05:49
  I got, I was a disaster on the heavy rope.
• 1:05:52
  I don't know what happened to my brain, but thankfully I like rope climbs are like my thing too.
• 1:05:56
  So I had enough of a lead.
• 1:05:58
  I had enough of a lead from that, that I could afford some hiccups on the jump rope.
• 1:06:02
  And crossovers are easy for me.
• 1:06:05
  Um, that went like, I think that's where a lot of people got tripped up.
• 1:06:08
  Yeah.
• 1:06:09
  Yeah.
• 1:06:10
  I had, uh, when I first picked up the heavy rope, I missed my first one and that was it.
• 1:06:15
  I didn't miss anything else.
• 1:06:18
  And I was fast at the rope climbs, and I still took third in that event.
• 1:06:22
  So there was no wiggle room.
• 1:06:25
  They were flying.
• 1:06:26
  Oh, that sucks.
• 1:06:30
  That's how it goes.
• 1:06:31
  I didn't execute.
• 1:06:31
  Michael, that's been a blast catching up with you, hearing about how you're going to try to do both next year.
• 1:06:39
  I'm excited to follow that storyline through the season and see how it goes for you.
• 1:06:44
  Thank you so much for joining us.
• 1:06:46
  And we'll stay in touch and maybe have you back on midway through the season.
• 1:06:51
  See how that go for, what are we going to call it?
• 1:06:54
  Go for two?
• 1:06:55
  Go for two games?
• 1:06:57
  Something like that?
• 1:06:58
  don't know what it's called but yeah that'd be great yeah i appreciate you guys having me on i appreciate what you guys are doing covering the masters athletes and i told you this already but um i really appreciate you know there's obviously a lack of a lack of coverage um of attention and all that and we don't have to get into that but anyway i appreciate what you guys are doing so
• 1:07:22
  Well, we appreciate you guys for coming on.
• 1:07:24
  Appreciate the audience for joining in and we'll catch everybody next time on the Clydesdale media podcast.
• 1:07:30
  Bye guys.