Latest / Clydesdale Media Podcast / Bethany Flores | The Athletes of the 2024 CrossFit Games

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Bethany Flores | The Athletes of the 2024 CrossFit Games · Clydesdale Media Podcast

• 0:11
  Hey, hey, still.
• 0:12
  Let's go.
• 0:13
  I was born a killer.
• 0:14
  I was meant to win.
• 0:15
  I am down and willing,
• 0:16
  so I will find a way.
• 0:17
  It took a minute,
• 0:18
  now it didn't have to ride away.
• 0:20
  When they get hot in the kitchen,
• 0:22
  you decide to stay.
• 0:23
  That's how it winners me.
• 0:24
  Stick a fork in the hay.
• 0:33
  What's going on, everybody?
• 0:34
  Welcome to the Clydesdale Media Podcast,
• 0:37
  where we're interviewing
• 0:38
  the athletes of the 2024 CrossFit Games.
• 0:42
  And we have with us none
• 0:43
  other than the remarkable
• 0:45
  Bethany Florian.
• 0:45
  What's going on?
• 0:46
  What's up?
• 0:47
  I love the theme music.
• 0:49
  There's rock and roll over there.
• 0:50
  Yeah.
• 0:52
  Yeah, we're getting...
• 0:54
  The longer we go at this,
• 0:55
  the better we get at every little thing.
• 0:56
  That's called refinement.
• 0:59
  Love it.
• 1:00
  So we have a person in the comments,
• 1:02
  Jeffrey Birchfield.
• 1:04
  Bethany is the first person
• 1:05
  to truly make me feel the
• 1:07
  pain of CrossFit.
• 1:10
  Good old streamlined CrossFit.
• 1:12
  Yep.
• 1:13
  Texas first gym I worked at.
• 1:15
  Lots of pain on the weekends.
• 1:20
  This has nothing to do with
• 1:21
  my notes or anything I was
• 1:22
  planning on talking about.
• 1:23
  But when you were a coach back then,
• 1:25
  like I know as an athlete,
• 1:29
  you knew the pain cave and
• 1:30
  you went to it often.
• 1:31
  As a coach, did that bleed in at all?
• 1:34
  Oh, yeah.
• 1:36
  I was a stickler.
• 1:37
  I was really mean.
• 1:39
  I didn't know what I was doing.
• 1:40
  I still don't know what I'm doing.
• 1:41
  And I'm glad I'm not coaching right now.
• 1:43
  Cause I don't feel like I'm
• 1:44
  the best coach in the world,
• 1:45
  but I was a stickler for form.
• 1:47
  I would make them suffer.
• 1:49
  And then I don't know,
• 1:50
  they volunteered on the weekends.
• 1:52
  I would do like long,
• 1:53
  crazy hero wads or just
• 1:55
  like made up Bethany wads
• 1:56
  on the weekends.
• 1:57
  And people would volunteer their,
• 2:00
  their time and their suffering.
• 2:02
  And they would, uh, you know,
• 2:05
  sweat it out with me on the weekends.
• 2:06
  It was a lot of fun.
• 2:07
  Those were the good times.
• 2:09
  Does it seem like,
• 2:10
  like eons ago at this point?
• 2:13
  It does.
• 2:14
  It does.
• 2:14
  I actually ended up coaching
• 2:16
  a Randy and I coached a kid's class, uh,
• 2:18
  like two weekends ago or two weeks ago.
• 2:21
  And I was like, man,
• 2:22
  I haven't coached a class
• 2:23
  in like four years.
• 2:25
  I was like, how, where did the time go?
• 2:28
  Time, time really does fly.
• 2:29
  They do.
• 2:30
  They do say that.
• 2:31
  And I was like, wow, am I getting old?
• 2:37
  I'm always going to be older.
• 2:38
  So, um, I'm here just to protect you.
• 2:44
  Perfect.
• 2:44
  Tell me how it is up there in the,
• 2:46
  in the older ages.
• 2:48
  So it's funny because before I did this,
• 2:50
  I coached, um, and, and I don't,
• 2:54
  it's almost like I don't need,
• 2:55
  it's another life for me.
• 2:58
  It's crazy that it like it's
• 3:00
  gone that long ago and it's
• 3:02
  only been five years.
• 3:05
  Yeah.
• 3:06
  Crazy.
• 3:07
  Uh, Jeffrey does say,
• 3:09
  even though you gave the pain,
• 3:11
  it was the best.
• 3:14
  If you say so.
• 3:15
  I look back at the workouts
• 3:17
  that I'd program, I'm like, man,
• 3:20
  we're all just crazy.
• 3:21
  Just crazy people doing crazy stuff.
• 3:24
  Well,
• 3:25
  as you've matured and you look back
• 3:28
  at those times,
• 3:30
  it's obvious from looking
• 3:31
  at your Instagram,
• 3:32
  you have changed your
• 3:33
  philosophy on the workouts
• 3:35
  you do yourself today.
• 3:38
  Yes.
• 3:39
  Multiple reasons for that, for sure.
• 3:42
  I feel like a big one is Randy.
• 3:44
  randy coming into my life
• 3:46
  and being a part of my life
• 3:46
  the last couple of years um
• 3:48
  well we've been together
• 3:50
  almost five but um he's all
• 3:53
  about logic and having a
• 3:56
  lot of wisdom and
• 3:57
  discernment and doing
• 3:59
  things for a reason instead
• 4:00
  of just doing things to do
• 4:02
  things and that's been
• 4:05
  really helpful for just
• 4:06
  like refining my training um
• 4:09
  And then I've been forced
• 4:10
  into it a little bit too, right,
• 4:12
  with my back and my
• 4:13
  injuries and stuff and
• 4:15
  being pulled out for a full season.
• 4:18
  And a lot of things have
• 4:21
  been put in perspective.
• 4:23
  And it's been a really tough journey,
• 4:24
  but it's gotten me to this
• 4:26
  point of advocating for myself more,
• 4:29
  which hopefully will
• 4:30
  involve longevity in the sport.
• 4:34
  Yeah,
• 4:35
  there's definitely a wisdom to what
• 4:36
  you're doing now,
• 4:37
  which is it's cool to see.
• 4:39
  And it's not you.
• 4:40
  It's there was this the
• 4:42
  sport's not old enough to
• 4:43
  like learn its lesson yet.
• 4:45
  So you look like Rich
• 4:46
  Froning and Dan Bailey and
• 4:48
  and they talk now about how
• 4:49
  they just beat themselves
• 4:50
  up and they're paying for it today.
• 4:52
  Mm hmm.
• 4:54
  And now the newer athletes, you know,
• 4:57
  there's much more of a plan
• 4:58
  and what you're trying to attempt.
• 5:00
  And hopefully it means more
• 5:01
  for the next generation
• 5:02
  that they've learned the lessons from,
• 5:05
  from you guys.
• 5:07
  Yeah.
• 5:09
  Yeah.
• 5:09
  It's, it's, it's interesting too,
• 5:11
  because not only is it like
• 5:12
  a physical beat down,
• 5:13
  but I think a lot of people
• 5:14
  are getting mentally and
• 5:15
  emotionally burnt out,
• 5:17
  which I definitely
• 5:18
  experienced in 2022 and,
• 5:21
  Um, and so things have to change, right?
• 5:25
  You have to be able to refine yourself, uh,
• 5:30
  to be able to have longevity in the sport,
• 5:32
  because if you're,
• 5:34
  if you're constantly injured,
• 5:36
  then I think that leads to burnout.
• 5:38
  And that's kind of what
• 5:39
  happened with me is being
• 5:41
  in constant pain can lead,
• 5:44
  lead to burnout, emotional burnout,
• 5:47
  just not having fun anymore.
• 5:49
  um and wanting to quit at
• 5:50
  the end of the day so yeah
• 5:53
  the sport has to evolve and
• 5:54
  it has to change to be able
• 5:55
  to keep up with the times
• 5:57
  um and I think that it
• 5:58
  comes from so many
• 5:59
  different directions right
• 6:00
  like the programming has to
• 6:02
  change um the games have to
• 6:05
  change the events have to
• 6:07
  change to be able to allow
• 6:09
  us to do this for a long
• 6:11
  period of time I think most
• 6:13
  importantly the season has to change yeah
• 6:17
  I don't know.
• 6:18
  I'm kind of tired of change.
• 6:20
  It's changed every year for me since 2017.
• 6:25
  That probably came off wrong.
• 6:27
  I think the season needs to be shorter.
• 6:30
  You guys need to have a very
• 6:33
  dedicated off-season to
• 6:35
  just reset and reflect and...
• 6:40
  You know what I mean?
• 6:40
  Or just like options, you know, like,
• 6:42
  I think like keep the
• 6:43
  season the way it is of
• 6:45
  having the open
• 6:46
  quarterfinals semifinals games,
• 6:48
  but it should be,
• 6:50
  there should be like this
• 6:51
  point system that for the
• 6:55
  games athletes that kind of
• 6:56
  earned their way to the
• 6:57
  games multiple years in a row,
• 7:00
  like maybe it's an option
• 7:01
  to do the open and quarterfinals,
• 7:04
  you know,
• 7:04
  but I don't know how that system
• 7:06
  would be and like how fair.
• 7:08
  I mean, it would have to,
• 7:10
  it would not be me figuring that out.
• 7:12
  Um,
• 7:13
  but someone would have to figure it out
• 7:14
  so that, you know,
• 7:16
  we do have the option if some,
• 7:18
  if I'm sick or hurt during that time,
• 7:20
  it doesn't mean my season
• 7:22
  is completely done just
• 7:23
  because I can't do that
• 7:24
  part because I've earned my
• 7:26
  way the last seven years to
• 7:28
  get to the games, you know?
• 7:30
  Yeah, I completely agree.
• 7:33
  With all these interviews
• 7:34
  that Dave's doing,
• 7:35
  none of this is in my notes,
• 7:36
  just so you know.
• 7:38
  It always happens when you jump on.
• 7:40
  I'm sorry.
• 7:41
  Favorite types of conversations.
• 7:44
  So he did an interview with
• 7:46
  Saxon Pancheck.
• 7:47
  And in that, he said,
• 7:50
  if we split the teams and
• 7:52
  the individuals to two separate seasons,
• 7:55
  would you do both?
• 7:57
  And I think like at the
• 7:58
  surface really quick, you're going, Oh,
• 8:00
  that's cool.
• 8:00
  All the best athletes you'd
• 8:01
  have them year round,
• 8:03
  but it's not good for the athletes to be,
• 8:07
  be going that hard all year round.
• 8:10
  Yeah.
• 8:11
  I will say this though,
• 8:12
  that some people can, can do it.
• 8:14
  Like they're just, just healthy.
• 8:17
  You know,
• 8:18
  like I think of someone like
• 8:19
  Carrie Pierce that rarely
• 8:22
  did she have deloads and
• 8:24
  rarely did she get injured and
• 8:26
  You know,
• 8:26
  but it's because she didn't abuse
• 8:28
  her body when she was younger.
• 8:29
  Um,
• 8:30
  and she had a lot of good coaches
• 8:31
  around her that kept her
• 8:33
  from abusing her body so
• 8:35
  that she could do that
• 8:36
  stuff at a high level for
• 8:38
  extended periods of time.
• 8:39
  But someone like me,
• 8:41
  like there's a lot of abuse
• 8:43
  that I put my body through.
• 8:44
  And so there,
• 8:46
  there's only so much I can do
• 8:48
  throughout the season.
• 8:49
  Like I really have to
• 8:49
  protect my time and what I do.
• 8:52
  Yeah, it just.
• 8:55
  the other part I hate is that all these,
• 8:58
  these off season events
• 8:59
  that have done a really good job,
• 9:02
  you're kind of overlapping
• 9:03
  them and you're taking away from them.
• 9:05
  Yeah.
• 9:07
  You know, the water paloozas,
• 9:11
  all those people that have
• 9:12
  been around a lot,
• 9:13
  a long time and have kind
• 9:15
  of earned the right to have those comps.
• 9:17
  And, um,
• 9:20
  Dryer Dagger made a comment here saying,
• 9:23
  luckily there are no
• 9:24
  beatdowns at the games like
• 9:25
  the games this year,
• 9:27
  like a thousand weighted
• 9:28
  box step ups or anything like that.
• 9:31
  Yeah, definitely not.
• 9:34
  Maybe we'll do another
• 9:35
  marathon row too on top of that.
• 9:36
  Wow.
• 9:39
  You were part of that, right?
• 9:40
  Yeah.
• 9:41
  Yeah.
• 9:41
  That was crazy.
• 9:42
  I just can't believe we did that.
• 9:45
  that was 18 18 yeah that's
• 9:47
  2018 guys I mean that's the
• 9:50
  beauty of crossfit though
• 9:52
  is like you're doing things
• 9:54
  in crossfit that you would
• 9:55
  never think that you would
• 9:57
  ever do or was ever
• 9:59
  possible within you you
• 10:01
  know like it's just
• 10:03
  mind-blowing to be like
• 10:04
  yeah I rode a marathon 49 195 meters
• 10:10
  Yeah.
• 10:10
  It's pretty insane.
• 10:12
  Cause now I get on the rower and it's like,
• 10:14
  you know, a two K and you're like, Oh,
• 10:15
  I'm dead.
• 10:16
  I'm tired.
• 10:16
  But man, it's just, it's crazy.
• 10:19
  Or like yesterday I swam
• 10:20
  like a mile straight in the pool.
• 10:22
  And I was like, I don't know.
• 10:24
  I don't think that I would
• 10:25
  do that just on my own, you know, just,
• 10:28
  just get in the pool for like 20,
• 10:30
  30 minutes and just swim for a mile.
• 10:34
  Like it's just wild what your body can do.
• 10:37
  You know,
• 10:38
  my college swimming event was the mile.
• 10:41
  Oh, gosh.
• 10:43
  Wow.
• 10:44
  That's a lot of mental
• 10:45
  fortitude right there.
• 10:46
  How do you even train for that?
• 10:49
  Just a lot of swimming.
• 10:51
  Just a lot of swimming.
• 10:53
  A lot of long distances.
• 10:55
  Wow.
• 10:56
  I did not stay in college
• 10:58
  swimming very long.
• 10:59
  Yeah.
• 11:01
  It just wasn't for me.
• 11:02
  Yeah, that's wild.
• 11:04
  That's wild.
• 11:05
  Someone's got to do it.
• 11:07
  But we were doing that in 16 minutes.
• 11:10
  That's insane.
• 11:12
  I literally swam a mile
• 11:13
  yesterday in 27 minutes.
• 11:17
  Yeah.
• 11:18
  That's insane.
• 11:21
  So fast.
• 11:23
  Yeah, it's crazy.
• 11:26
  And you're pushing the whole time.
• 11:27
  Yeah, yeah.
• 11:30
  yeah I got to go to the
• 11:32
  swimming trials this year
• 11:33
  for the olympics um and you
• 11:35
  know they're even another
• 11:37
  tier above that kind of
• 11:39
  stuff watching a deck you
• 11:41
  do that so impressive it's
• 11:45
  insane it's crazy it's
• 11:47
  crazy what the human body
• 11:48
  can do yeah under certain
• 11:50
  circumstances like it's insane
• 11:53
  It is.
• 11:53
  So that is the beauty of CrossFit.
• 11:55
  Not that we're bashing
• 11:56
  CrossFit whatsoever.
• 11:58
  Everyone can be refined.
• 12:00
  We love CrossFit or we
• 12:01
  wouldn't be doing this, right?
• 12:03
  But yeah, everybody can be refined.
• 12:07
  So Dryer Dagger has the twist for Chad.
• 12:10
  It's a marathon row buy-in.
• 12:13
  With the ruck on during the row?
• 12:15
  It's a buy-out marathon run.
• 12:21
  Oh,
• 12:22
  did you hear TSA that Shane made her
• 12:24
  run a marathon when that
• 12:26
  clue that was insane?
• 12:29
  I don't know.
• 12:30
  Cause like,
• 12:31
  and that's without training too.
• 12:32
  Like, I know that we're like, you know,
• 12:34
  fit.
• 12:35
  Right.
• 12:36
  But like,
• 12:37
  I remember doing,
• 12:38
  and this was probably before CrossFit,
• 12:40
  but I just did like a half
• 12:41
  marathon without training.
• 12:42
  And I just remember getting
• 12:43
  to like the last couple of
• 12:44
  miles and my hip flexors
• 12:46
  just freezing up.
• 12:48
  And then obviously being in
• 12:49
  pain after that.
• 12:51
  So I just like, that's insane.
• 12:53
  Doing a whole marathon.
• 12:56
  Like, that's crazy.
• 12:59
  That is so much like, God.
• 13:01
  Bethany, 2021, could you have done it?
• 13:05
  If I had to, yes.
• 13:08
  But I just feel like it's
• 13:10
  not the cardiovascular part, right?
• 13:12
  It's just like the joints and like,
• 13:13
  can those keep up for all
• 13:15
  the pounding for 26.2 miles?
• 13:18
  Like that's, that's a lot of pounding,
• 13:21
  you know, on hard, hard, uh, cement.
• 13:27
  I just,
• 13:27
  I just have this vivid memory of
• 13:29
  you crushing that semifinal event, uh,
• 13:33
  the rough run in the 117 degree heat.
• 13:37
  Good times.
• 13:39
  I wanted to quit the entire time.
• 13:40
  Just so everyone knows.
• 13:44
  Okay.
• 13:44
  I was like, this is terrible.
• 13:47
  I want to quit.
• 13:48
  I literally said that in my head.
• 13:50
  Cause you didn't look like
• 13:51
  you wanted to quit one time.
• 13:52
  Oh, that's good.
• 13:54
  Yeah.
• 13:54
  You had the, you had the game face on.
• 13:57
  Yeah.
• 13:57
  I mean, you have to, right?
• 13:58
  Like,
• 13:58
  I think that's how my mindset works
• 14:01
  is like the moment I start
• 14:03
  showing like the, uh,
• 14:05
  it's kind of like over for me,
• 14:07
  which is actually something
• 14:08
  I need to work on because I
• 14:09
  think you kind of need to
• 14:10
  do that and then like
• 14:11
  suffer through it to be
• 14:13
  able to get to that next
• 14:14
  level or threshold.
• 14:15
  But yeah, I have to keep the game face on.
• 14:18
  It helps me just like get
• 14:20
  through whatever head space
• 14:22
  I'm in with those workouts.
• 14:24
  Yeah.
• 14:25
  Yeah.
• 14:26
  So it's funny.
• 14:28
  Last year before semis,
• 14:30
  I think we even talked.
• 14:33
  I did not get,
• 14:35
  in my predictions,
• 14:36
  I did not have you making the games.
• 14:37
  And I learned that that
• 14:40
  semifinal that you never
• 14:43
  doubt this woman.
• 14:44
  Don't doubt Bethany.
• 14:46
  She's going to pull through somehow,
• 14:48
  some way.
• 14:50
  And I went to Pasadena and I,
• 14:52
  and we watched you and you
• 14:54
  looked awesome.
• 14:56
  And we even,
• 14:57
  we got a couple interviews
• 14:58
  with you during that, that event.
• 15:00
  And you said in those interviews,
• 15:03
  like you,
• 15:04
  if it was like two weeks earlier,
• 15:05
  you may not have had that performance.
• 15:08
  Definitely not.
• 15:10
  Definitely not.
• 15:14
  God's plan.
• 15:15
  Perfect timing.
• 15:17
  Literally God's perfect
• 15:19
  timing on that because, and all of this,
• 15:21
  like literally like the last two years,
• 15:23
  I just feel like,
• 15:25
  uh it's just I feel like I'm
• 15:28
  a living breathing like
• 15:30
  testimony because the
• 15:32
  things that I experienced
• 15:35
  last year and went through
• 15:36
  and like were able to do on
• 15:38
  the floor like does not add
• 15:41
  up does not make sense to
• 15:44
  the training that I did
• 15:46
  last year and the amount of
• 15:48
  pain that I was in like
• 15:50
  like it was literally a
• 15:51
  miracle everything that I
• 15:53
  went through last year and
• 15:55
  Uh, it was all just God, you know,
• 15:58
  working through me and the
• 16:00
  same can be said for this year too,
• 16:02
  though.
• 16:02
  I feel like I am in a better
• 16:04
  spot than last year.
• 16:05
  Like I'm still not,
• 16:07
  I'm still not 2021 Bethany.
• 16:10
  Um, and like,
• 16:12
  there's just been so much
• 16:13
  like perfectly placed
• 16:15
  timing and this whole thing.
• 16:18
  And it's hard to even explain.
• 16:20
  And I hope that I can one day.
• 16:21
  And that's why I'm like
• 16:22
  writing everything down.
• 16:23
  Like I've literally written
• 16:24
  my story the last three
• 16:26
  years because I'm like,
• 16:27
  this needs to be told.
• 16:28
  And I hope that I get to
• 16:29
  like write a book about all this.
• 16:32
  But it's literally mind blowing.
• 16:35
  And even, yeah,
• 16:36
  during quarterfinals or
• 16:37
  before quarterfinals this year,
• 16:39
  there was about a two week
• 16:41
  span right before
• 16:41
  quarterfinals where I was in,
• 16:47
  a serious amount of pain to
• 16:49
  where I couldn't even walk
• 16:52
  I was in so much pain I
• 16:54
  couldn't even lay on my
• 16:55
  back because I was in so
• 16:56
  much pain like it it's just
• 16:58
  crazy like this testimony
• 17:00
  that I'm just trying to say
• 17:01
  yes to even though it
• 17:03
  doesn't make sense as much as possible
• 17:06
  So last time we talked,
• 17:07
  we did dive into this a little bit.
• 17:09
  Your journey with your faith
• 17:11
  and your journey through
• 17:13
  recovery and all of that at
• 17:15
  the same time.
• 17:17
  And it's all kind of
• 17:17
  happening at the same time.
• 17:19
  Yeah.
• 17:20
  You talked about you're not
• 17:22
  back to 21 Bethany.
• 17:24
  How hard is it that 21
• 17:26
  Bethany exists while you're
• 17:28
  on this journey?
• 17:31
  There's a lot of pros and a
• 17:32
  lot of cons with it, right?
• 17:34
  Because I think it's a gift.
• 17:35
  to know that I can be that
• 17:37
  fit and that it kind of
• 17:38
  just showed me that I was, um,
• 17:41
  I'm confirmed on where I'm
• 17:43
  supposed to be right now in
• 17:44
  life and like what I'm
• 17:45
  doing and the career that I'm in.
• 17:48
  Um, and it just also helped me.
• 17:50
  Like it showed me that I
• 17:51
  like belong on the floor
• 17:52
  and belonged with all the games athletes,
• 17:55
  because before that,
• 17:56
  I really didn't feel like I
• 17:57
  belonged even before that
• 17:59
  event and semifinals 2021, I was like,
• 18:02
  gosh, I hope I make it.
• 18:04
  Literally, that was my headspace.
• 18:06
  I hope I make it.
• 18:08
  And so that's the blessing
• 18:11
  part of it is like, OK,
• 18:13
  and I and I think that
• 18:14
  there is more to give to
• 18:16
  like I think that there is
• 18:16
  a whole nother level of
• 18:18
  fitness that I didn't even
• 18:19
  tap into quite yet.
• 18:23
  But the the harder part is
• 18:26
  like not comparing myself.
• 18:29
  To that version of Bethany
• 18:31
  right now in my journey.
• 18:33
  and taking everything as a
• 18:36
  huge win as it comes.
• 18:40
  Like even yesterday,
• 18:41
  I was finally able to squat
• 18:44
  clean 185 pounds.
• 18:45
  I haven't done that in a really long time.
• 18:49
  I got to clean 195 at the games last year,
• 18:52
  but that was a freaking
• 18:53
  miracle and it was real
• 18:54
  ugly and I was just like, oh my gosh,
• 18:56
  I can't believe this is coming up.
• 18:58
  Um, but I haven't hit that since,
• 19:00
  and then before that had been, you know,
• 19:02
  a year and a half.
• 19:03
  So it's just like taking
• 19:05
  everything in strides and
• 19:07
  not comparing myself to myself, uh,
• 19:10
  and not comparing myself to
• 19:13
  others in their journey.
• 19:15
  Um,
• 19:16
  and I think God has allowed me to just
• 19:18
  like really slow down and
• 19:19
  really just see all the
• 19:21
  ones that are happening on
• 19:22
  a day-to-day basis right now.
• 19:24
  Um, which I'm really grateful for.
• 19:26
  I think that's what makes
• 19:27
  you so relatable to people
• 19:29
  who watch the sport and why
• 19:31
  I'm such a big fan.
• 19:32
  I talked last time,
• 19:34
  like I've had 12 back surgeries.
• 19:38
  Um, I,
• 19:39
  I go through those back pains and
• 19:42
  I'm not 2016 Scott anymore.
• 19:45
  I lift the weights that 2016
• 19:48
  Scott could lift.
• 19:48
  I can't do a lot of the
• 19:50
  things that he could do.
• 19:51
  And I fight every single day against him.
• 19:57
  And it's tough.
• 19:59
  And we talked last time
• 20:00
  about how faith comes in.
• 20:01
  And I try to lean on that so much,
• 20:05
  but it's hard.
• 20:05
  It's a hard, hard journey and a hard life.
• 20:09
  It's every day.
• 20:10
  It's like a muscle, right?
• 20:12
  It can be atrophied just as
• 20:13
  easily if you don't work with it.
• 20:16
  And so it's constantly, for me,
• 20:19
  it's constantly doing my devotionals,
• 20:22
  journaling, praying,
• 20:25
  I have like my community of
• 20:26
  advocates who also believe
• 20:28
  in God that I can go to and
• 20:30
  ask for prayer.
• 20:30
  And it's like, it's an everyday thing.
• 20:34
  And I can tell on the days
• 20:36
  that I don't do that.
• 20:37
  It just, it gets atrophied really quickly.
• 20:40
  So just as much work that
• 20:42
  goes into the gym,
• 20:44
  it's just as much work
• 20:45
  outside of the gym for me and my faith.
• 20:47
  And like,
• 20:48
  that doesn't stop just because
• 20:51
  I'm in season, right?
• 20:52
  Like that stuff is year
• 20:54
  round and it's 365.
• 20:56
  And I think some people can
• 20:57
  look at that and be like, Oh my gosh,
• 20:58
  it's such a heavy burden.
• 20:59
  And like, that's,
• 21:01
  that's too heavy and too hard to carry.
• 21:03
  And it's like, yeah, it is on your own,
• 21:06
  but I don't do this on my own.
• 21:07
  It's not me.
• 21:08
  Yeah.
• 21:11
  Yeah.
• 21:11
  It's not me.
• 21:12
  It's not me.
• 21:15
  So like you have a YouTube
• 21:17
  channel now and it's awesome.
• 21:22
  Is there,
• 21:22
  is there a plan to go more into
• 21:24
  like this kind of stuff?
• 21:25
  Like the drug that I think
• 21:28
  that would be hard to do
• 21:29
  like mid season to like
• 21:31
  talk through these points.
• 21:34
  Cause I know the emotional
• 21:35
  toll that might even take
• 21:36
  on you that you can't
• 21:38
  afford to have a week or
• 21:40
  three weeks before the games.
• 21:42
  Yeah,
• 21:43
  I have been a little bit like I
• 21:45
  actually had.
• 21:46
  So I have Louis Marshall.
• 21:48
  He's helping film like this whole year.
• 21:50
  And he was down yesterday
• 21:52
  doing a full day.
• 21:53
  It's like a day in the life.
• 21:56
  And we kind of got into the
• 21:57
  weeds of like the gut issue
• 21:59
  stuff that I've dealt with
• 22:00
  for all of my career and
• 22:03
  even before that.
• 22:04
  And just kind of getting
• 22:06
  into the weeds of it's not
• 22:07
  just a surface level thing, right?
• 22:09
  Like it comes from trauma.
• 22:10
  It comes from just not
• 22:12
  dealing with yourself and
• 22:15
  taking ownership.
• 22:16
  And so we kind of got into
• 22:17
  the weeds a little bit,
• 22:18
  but I think that there's a
• 22:19
  lot more to share.
• 22:20
  And I think the more that I do that,
• 22:22
  it's good reps because
• 22:24
  I want to write a book, but I also want to,
• 22:26
  I want to speak to, like,
• 22:28
  I want to do something with speaking.
• 22:29
  I don't know what it looks like,
• 22:30
  but I need reps just like I
• 22:32
  do in the gym.
• 22:33
  And so it's a good way to like,
• 22:34
  kind of start forming my
• 22:36
  thoughts on my own YouTube
• 22:38
  channel of like, okay,
• 22:39
  I don't know where I'm
• 22:40
  going with this pathway of talking,
• 22:42
  but I'm just going to like talk.
• 22:43
  And then the more that you talk about it,
• 22:45
  the more a pathway is kind
• 22:47
  of like formed.
• 22:47
  So that's kind of my goal with YouTube.
• 22:51
  Yeah, and I think you're perfect for that.
• 22:55
  You're just so relatable.
• 22:56
  You've been through so much.
• 22:57
  Others have been through the same things.
• 23:00
  And I think that's what
• 23:01
  draws people to you.
• 23:02
  Thank you.
• 23:03
  I appreciate that.
• 23:06
  So let's talk about semis a little bit,
• 23:09
  get a little more lighthearted.
• 23:11
  Come in.
• 23:12
  And this year I did not,
• 23:13
  I did not doubt you.
• 23:14
  I picked you to make it to the games.
• 23:16
  Thank you.
• 23:18
  I will all you I'm picking
• 23:20
  you from here until you retire.
• 23:21
  Hey,
• 23:22
  a hundred percent of the time I make
• 23:23
  it guaranteed so far.
• 23:25
  Right.
• 23:26
  Seven out of seven.
• 23:27
  Yeah.
• 23:28
  And so,
• 23:29
  but you start the event with an
• 23:31
  event that I thought would
• 23:32
  be really up your alley.
• 23:33
  I did not know your,
• 23:35
  your clean and jerk stuff
• 23:37
  that you just talked about,
• 23:38
  like just one 85 for the
• 23:40
  first time in four years.
• 23:43
  But the run,
• 23:44
  you're always so good on the run.
• 23:45
  I died.
• 23:48
  Were you disappointed in
• 23:49
  yourself on that one or was
• 23:51
  it known with the clean and jerk aspect?
• 23:54
  No, I was definitely disappointed.
• 23:56
  Um, it was just, it wasn't, well,
• 23:58
  it wasn't even disappointment.
• 23:59
  It was just like confusion because, um,
• 24:03
  I knew it was going to be a
• 24:04
  hard workout because of the
• 24:05
  clean and jerks for me and
• 24:06
  just like my capacity for that.
• 24:08
  And that just adds a whole
• 24:09
  nother element of like the
• 24:11
  cardiovascular side is, you know,
• 24:14
  multiple reps of clean and jerks.
• 24:15
  So I knew it was going to be hard, but.
• 24:18
  my body just kind of like
• 24:20
  shut down after like the
• 24:21
  second or the third round
• 24:23
  of the run and it was just
• 24:24
  kind of like this weird
• 24:25
  outer body experience and I
• 24:28
  kind of felt like um the
• 24:29
  best way to describe it is
• 24:31
  annie thor's daughter 2016
• 24:33
  murph where she like
• 24:35
  stopped and was like
• 24:36
  falling off the rail um
• 24:39
  that's kind of how I felt I
• 24:40
  almost stopped because my I
• 24:43
  just I couldn't breathe I
• 24:44
  felt like I was breathing
• 24:45
  through a straw it was like
• 24:48
  like every step.
• 24:50
  And then my body was like
• 24:51
  full of lactic acid.
• 24:53
  Um,
• 24:54
  and then like afterward I was like
• 24:55
  blacking out and I was like,
• 24:59
  I don't know why that happens.
• 25:03
  Uh, I think it was multiple,
• 25:05
  multiple things.
• 25:06
  Like I think there is the
• 25:07
  fitness capacity for sure,
• 25:10
  but I think it was just
• 25:12
  like this one off weird
• 25:14
  thing that happened.
• 25:15
  Um,
• 25:17
  So, and I, we have,
• 25:19
  we have an idea of where it
• 25:20
  could have come from.
• 25:21
  Uh,
• 25:22
  we think it was some supplements I was
• 25:24
  taking.
• 25:24
  Um, it was, I was taking beetroot powder.
• 25:29
  and um you know layard's
• 25:32
  superfood it's like uh yeah
• 25:35
  mushrooms yeah it's like
• 25:36
  performance mushrooms for
• 25:38
  like the it's like your
• 25:39
  mental side um I was taking
• 25:42
  those and I've been taking
• 25:43
  them pretty consistently in
• 25:44
  training and not having any
• 25:46
  problems but one in one of
• 25:48
  the training think tank
• 25:49
  guys was like well
• 25:51
  I take those two pretty regularly,
• 25:53
  but every time I take them
• 25:54
  during competitions,
• 25:55
  it does the opposite for me.
• 25:57
  So like almost, uh,
• 26:00
  it gets like your vagus
• 26:01
  nerve to start working,
• 26:03
  which is your relaxation nerve.
• 26:06
  Um,
• 26:06
  so I think my body was actually like in
• 26:08
  the battle with itself.
• 26:11
  So I kind of like took those
• 26:11
  out the rest of the weekend
• 26:12
  and I started feeling better, but, um,
• 26:16
  I don't think it's like one
• 26:17
  thing to blame.
• 26:18
  I don't think I felt I've
• 26:19
  been filtering lactic acid as well.
• 26:21
  Um, stuff like that.
• 26:22
  So anyways,
• 26:24
  it was a really crazy
• 26:24
  experience and I hope to
• 26:26
  never experience that ever
• 26:27
  again because it was scary.
• 26:29
  So I have a question for you.
• 26:30
  You said earlier when we
• 26:31
  talked about the 21 ruck
• 26:33
  run at West coast classic, and then you,
• 26:37
  that you wanted to quit then on,
• 26:41
  on this one,
• 26:41
  you wanted to stop competition.
• 26:44
  Bethany ever stopped.
• 26:47
  No, no.
• 26:48
  I knew I wasn't going to, but yeah.
• 26:50
  Yeah.
• 26:50
  You've always been in.
• 26:52
  Yeah.
• 26:52
  This one was definitely the
• 26:53
  one where I was like,
• 26:55
  because it was more of a
• 26:57
  physical thing that was going on.
• 26:58
  It wasn't just mental.
• 27:00
  It was physically like I
• 27:01
  couldn't move my legs and I
• 27:03
  couldn't breathe.
• 27:04
  I was like contemplating
• 27:06
  stopping because I was like, am I gonna,
• 27:08
  is my body just going to
• 27:09
  completely like blackout and shut down?
• 27:11
  Like, um, but yeah.
• 27:14
  Have I ever stopped?
• 27:15
  No.
• 27:17
  But it was crazy.
• 27:18
  Once that's over,
• 27:18
  you have to climb the
• 27:20
  stairs to get out of the stadium, right?
• 27:24
  Yeah, that was hard.
• 27:26
  I was just like, keep it together.
• 27:28
  Keep it together.
• 27:32
  But just from pictures,
• 27:33
  I thought you had to enter
• 27:35
  and exit up and down the stairs.
• 27:38
  Yeah.
• 27:40
  So that was pretty rough.
• 27:41
  I was like, I am not okay right now.
• 27:45
  I'm not okay.
• 27:48
  It got better.
• 27:49
  We trended in the right
• 27:49
  direction after that.
• 27:51
  Yeah.
• 27:52
  Then you surprised me again
• 27:54
  on the second event because
• 27:55
  an 11th with a pretty heavy front squat.
• 27:58
  That was really heavy for me.
• 28:02
  I was really happy with your
• 28:03
  performance there.
• 28:04
  Thank you.
• 28:06
  And then you go into the
• 28:08
  rope climb event and get a fourth.
• 28:11
  Yeah, I was happy with that.
• 28:11
  I was actually,
• 28:12
  I wanted to go harder on that one.
• 28:16
  but my body was still I
• 28:18
  think coming out of like
• 28:19
  whatever it was coming out
• 28:20
  of from event one on day
• 28:23
  one um but I was still
• 28:24
  happy with that one because
• 28:25
  that's the bike I love the
• 28:27
  bike we love the bike not a
• 28:29
  lot of people do so anytime
• 28:30
  I see the bike I was like
• 28:32
  great let's go and then and
• 28:36
  then the the you go into
• 28:37
  sunday in pretty good shape
• 28:43
  uh because you open with a fourth
• 28:46
  And then you have just the
• 28:47
  two events left.
• 28:48
  And I wanted to talk about
• 28:49
  the snatch ladder.
• 28:50
  And this is where in my mind
• 28:53
  coming into this,
• 28:53
  I was like the comparison
• 28:55
  between 21 Bethany and today's Bethany.
• 28:58
  That's where you did in 21.
• 29:03
  Did you ever compare
• 29:04
  yourself or did you know, like,
• 29:06
  this is something that I am not anymore.
• 29:10
  And,
• 29:11
  and I have to approach it differently.
• 29:12
  Um,
• 29:17
  I knew in the back of my mind,
• 29:18
  like I can hit all those weights.
• 29:22
  It was just a matter of like
• 29:24
  timing with everything.
• 29:26
  Like literally just had to
• 29:27
  like alignment had to happen.
• 29:29
  Like the stars had to align
• 29:30
  for that workout.
• 29:31
  And like,
• 29:32
  I knew when that workout got announced,
• 29:34
  uh,
• 29:35
  my head space was if I can finish this
• 29:37
  workout, I'm going to the games.
• 29:39
  If I don't finish the workout,
• 29:40
  then I'm not going like
• 29:41
  that was the deciding
• 29:42
  factor basically of the weekend.
• 29:45
  um but I didn't allow that
• 29:47
  to be like the main thought
• 29:48
  in my head I was just like
• 29:49
  you just need to go out
• 29:50
  there and do what you need
• 29:52
  do what you know to do um
• 29:54
  and that's where like the
• 29:56
  perfect timing of like all
• 29:58
  of my training kind of
• 30:00
  aligned because I had just
• 30:03
  hit 175 like the week
• 30:05
  before and the last time I
• 30:07
  had hit 175 was at semi-finals last year
• 30:11
  And that was a miracle in itself.
• 30:14
  But it was just like the
• 30:16
  perfect timing that I think
• 30:19
  I have to give credit to
• 30:21
  Randy on that because he
• 30:22
  really helped me with like
• 30:23
  figuring out weights
• 30:25
  through the last couple of
• 30:26
  weeks before semi finals
• 30:27
  leading up to that event.
• 30:28
  And I was like lifting from
• 30:29
  blocks and I don't know it
• 30:31
  just it was it was just beautiful.
• 30:35
  It was perfect.
• 30:36
  It was just the way it was supposed to be.
• 30:38
  And I was so grateful for that moment.
• 30:40
  Yeah,
• 30:40
  I saw you post on Instagram like it
• 30:42
  was my week out that you
• 30:43
  had run through it and hit
• 30:45
  all the weights.
• 30:46
  And that had to be such a
• 30:48
  confidence boost going in.
• 30:51
  Because I know before you
• 30:53
  didn't have the success going in.
• 30:55
  Yeah.
• 30:59
  So speaking of Randy,
• 31:02
  you guys have been married
• 31:03
  now a couple years?
• 31:05
  Almost two years.
• 31:06
  It'll be,
• 31:06
  I think our anniversary is August 27th.
• 31:10
  So it'll be two.
• 31:12
  So he has a very busy,
• 31:15
  important job in the sports world.
• 31:18
  Yes, very.
• 31:20
  His team is always on ESPN
• 31:22
  like every day because of
• 31:24
  their name and who they are.
• 31:27
  They say CrossFitters are selfish.
• 31:30
  Is it good that he's as busy
• 31:32
  as you are at the same times?
• 31:35
  Yeah, I think so.
• 31:36
  I think our seasons line up.
• 31:38
  perfectly to where we both
• 31:40
  have downtime in August, which is nice.
• 31:43
  But yeah, I think it's I think it's good.
• 31:46
  And he understands to like,
• 31:48
  I understand him.
• 31:49
  And he understands me.
• 31:51
  So it's just really just a well oiled,
• 31:54
  perfectly matched relationship.
• 31:58
  Yeah.
• 31:58
  I can't even imagine doing what he does.
• 32:00
  I watch get up every now to,
• 32:03
  to watch other sports other
• 32:04
  than CrossFit just to kind
• 32:06
  of reset my day.
• 32:08
  And the Lakers are on there
• 32:09
  every stinking day.
• 32:11
  Yes.
• 32:12
  They are under a microscope at all times.
• 32:15
  Um, does he ever talk about like,
• 32:20
  is his goal to stay in that
• 32:22
  field for forever?
• 32:23
  Um,
• 32:25
  I think so.
• 32:26
  Like he, I wouldn't, well,
• 32:27
  I wouldn't say forever,
• 32:28
  but it's definitely a goal
• 32:30
  of his to become a head
• 32:32
  strength and conditioning
• 32:32
  coach in the NBA.
• 32:34
  Um,
• 32:35
  and so he definitely wants to fulfill
• 32:36
  that.
• 32:36
  And if he can get like a championship too,
• 32:39
  with that, that would be, um, yeah,
• 32:42
  like kind of like check the box for him.
• 32:43
  I think he wants to stay in
• 32:46
  like the strength and
• 32:47
  conditioning world for the
• 32:49
  rest of his life and career,
• 32:51
  as long as he wants to.
• 32:52
  Um,
• 32:54
  we've talked about like what
• 32:55
  it looks like once there's
• 32:57
  a family and like kids and
• 32:59
  the changes that could have
• 33:00
  to happen with that because
• 33:02
  you know right now he's
• 33:04
  traveling every time they
• 33:06
  travel for the games since
• 33:08
  88 games that's 40 of them
• 33:10
  are traveling and it's busy
• 33:12
  um and so it could look
• 33:14
  different with kids but we
• 33:16
  haven't really we haven't
• 33:17
  gotten there yet so we don't know how to
• 33:20
  you know, manage that quite yet,
• 33:21
  but it is definitely in
• 33:22
  discussion of what that's
• 33:24
  going to look like once there's kids.
• 33:28
  Does he, does,
• 33:29
  do the players still come
• 33:30
  around in the off season?
• 33:31
  Like they're in the off season right now.
• 33:34
  So it's working every day.
• 33:35
  It, the hours are just smaller.
• 33:39
  Yes, exactly.
• 33:40
  The,
• 33:40
  I think the only difference is he's
• 33:42
  just not traveling,
• 33:44
  but he's just as busy on the off season.
• 33:47
  Cause that's like the, the,
• 33:48
  the time where the guys can make the most,
• 33:51
  I guess,
• 33:52
  changes to their bodies and get
• 33:54
  the most consistent
• 33:55
  training in is during the off season.
• 33:57
  So a lot of his guys will
• 33:59
  come in during this time and train,
• 34:01
  you know,
• 34:02
  three to four times a week and
• 34:05
  hopefully make some gains
• 34:07
  in the areas that they need
• 34:08
  to and strengthen things up
• 34:10
  and a lot of prevention from injury.
• 34:13
  So busy, busy time for him as well.
• 34:17
  As you're getting ready for the games,
• 34:18
  does he have more time to
• 34:19
  spend with you and getting
• 34:22
  you ready for the games
• 34:23
  because it is their off season?
• 34:25
  Yes.
• 34:26
  Like he definitely has the advantage of,
• 34:28
  you know,
• 34:28
  training the guys in the morning
• 34:30
  and then coming with me to
• 34:30
  the gym to either, you know,
• 34:32
  watch me a little bit or train with me,
• 34:34
  which is nice.
• 34:36
  Uh, though it's a suffer fest for him.
• 34:38
  He's like, Oh,
• 34:39
  I hate doing all the CrossFit stuff.
• 34:41
  He likes doing like one or two pieces.
• 34:43
  Not like a full day of training,
• 34:44
  but I appreciate it.
• 34:47
  And he knows that.
• 34:47
  So he does it for that.
• 34:50
  But yeah,
• 34:50
  I definitely get more eyes on me.
• 34:51
  He can like see me lift and
• 34:53
  just help me protect my own
• 34:55
  body in the gym, which is nice.
• 34:58
  Jeffrey, again, Randy is such a good dude.
• 35:01
  Yeah.
• 35:02
  He's amazing.
• 35:07
  It's really cool because you
• 35:08
  can tell that you guys have
• 35:11
  a really good relationship
• 35:13
  when I watch your YouTube
• 35:14
  videos and stuff and that
• 35:16
  he's always there and very supportive.
• 35:18
  And I kept running into him
• 35:19
  at the games last year as
• 35:20
  he was like the goer for you.
• 35:22
  Like he would be sprinting
• 35:24
  from one field to another.
• 35:26
  And it was really fun.
• 35:29
  There's no off time for him.
• 35:31
  He's like,
• 35:31
  my only vacation is going to the
• 35:32
  games and I have to work.
• 35:36
  I'm like, sorry.
• 35:38
  Speaking of vacation,
• 35:39
  you're going back home, right?
• 35:41
  Yeah.
• 35:43
  Good old Texas.
• 35:45
  I grew up in Austin, Texas,
• 35:46
  or we both did.
• 35:47
  Me and Randy did.
• 35:48
  It's about a four-hour drive from Dallas.
• 35:51
  A lot of family coming in?
• 35:54
  Yeah, I hope so.
• 35:55
  We are in the process of
• 35:57
  trying to find tickets for them.
• 36:01
  If we can all find tickets
• 36:02
  for my whole bunch of family,
• 36:04
  because it's like 10 tickets,
• 36:05
  then they are all going to
• 36:06
  go and support me.
• 36:08
  That's great.
• 36:09
  And they can all go to the
• 36:11
  Friday night one.
• 36:13
  Oh, is it free?
• 36:14
  It is.
• 36:15
  Oh, nice.
• 36:16
  And it's double the size of the arena.
• 36:18
  So it's like 20,000 people can get in.
• 36:20
  Oh, wow.
• 36:21
  Okay.
• 36:23
  Which would be, I think,
• 36:23
  the biggest crowd ever at a
• 36:26
  CrossFit event if it fills.
• 36:29
  That'd be pretty sick.
• 36:30
  Yeah.
• 36:31
  I hope they do something
• 36:32
  super cool because of that.
• 36:34
  Yeah, me too.
• 36:36
  Who is better at burpees, you or Randy?
• 36:38
  randy he's so fast he is so
• 36:42
  it's insane how fast like
• 36:43
  longevity like you want to
• 36:45
  talk about duration of
• 36:45
  burpees me but like
• 36:47
  sprinting randy's the man
• 36:50
  he is so fast I'm like how
• 36:51
  are you so fast he's so
• 36:53
  tall too yeah I I'm not
• 36:57
  even in the running on that one
• 37:01
  Uh, so just to finish up semifinals,
• 37:03
  the last event going in,
• 37:05
  were you confident?
• 37:07
  Cause there seemed to be
• 37:07
  like a pretty big
• 37:09
  separation between like the
• 37:13
  last spot and the people
• 37:16
  fighting for the last spot was,
• 37:17
  did you feel confident going in?
• 37:19
  Um, honestly,
• 37:20
  I didn't know where my
• 37:21
  placement was cause I
• 37:22
  didn't really look this
• 37:23
  year on the leaderboard.
• 37:25
  Um, so I really was like,
• 37:27
  I need to not mess this one up.
• 37:30
  And then I felt like I
• 37:31
  messed it up in the middle
• 37:32
  of the workout.
• 37:33
  So I actually wasn't very
• 37:35
  confident when I was
• 37:36
  standing there waiting for
• 37:37
  my name to be called.
• 37:38
  So it was actually kind of like, I mean,
• 37:42
  there was tears after that
• 37:44
  because it was like a sense
• 37:45
  of relief of like, okay, I did enough.
• 37:47
  But yeah,
• 37:49
  I was not confident after that
• 37:50
  workout because it wasn't a
• 37:52
  great showing for me.
• 37:55
  Yeah, from a spectator's point of view,
• 37:57
  it was programmed really
• 37:59
  beautifully because that
• 38:01
  lunge either ate people up
• 38:03
  or people thrived,
• 38:05
  and there was a clear delineation,
• 38:07
  and the leaderboard shook
• 38:08
  up a lot on that event.
• 38:10
  It shook up an 11th,
• 38:11
  which isn't that horrible
• 38:14
  compared to some other
• 38:15
  breakdowns during that event.
• 38:17
  Yeah, yeah.
• 38:18
  I was thankful because I
• 38:19
  really thought I was like, man,
• 38:20
  that was probably like a
• 38:21
  30th finish for me when I got done.
• 38:23
  um just because like I fell
• 38:24
  apart on the ring muscle
• 38:25
  ups and and then the lunges
• 38:27
  too like I knew I knew that
• 38:28
  I wasn't going to hold on
• 38:29
  to the lunges the entire
• 38:30
  time because it's just a
• 38:32
  heavy weight for me right
• 38:33
  now um but I was just
• 38:35
  hoping to make make it
• 38:36
  through and luckily I did
• 38:38
  but I almost dropped it on
• 38:39
  that last step I had to I
• 38:40
  had to like stand up so
• 38:42
  slow because it was like it
• 38:43
  was just fingertips at that
• 38:45
  point and I knew if I stood
• 38:46
  up fast it was just going
• 38:47
  to be over for me and I'd
• 38:48
  have to go back all the way
• 38:50
  which happened to a lot of people um
• 38:53
  But yeah, I was like,
• 38:56
  once they called my name
• 38:57
  because I wasn't so sure.
• 39:01
  I think Boz programmed that one.
• 39:03
  And the fact that so many
• 39:05
  people dropped on the very last step.
• 39:09
  Heartbreaking.
• 39:10
  My goodness.
• 39:11
  Yeah, that was a heartbreak.
• 39:14
  so let's talk about going
• 39:16
  into the games one I
• 39:18
  thoroughly enjoyed your
• 39:18
  interview with dave I love
• 39:20
  the way he kept pushing
• 39:21
  back on him um and he was
• 39:24
  taking it like a champ I
• 39:26
  think it's actually been
• 39:27
  good for us to get to know
• 39:28
  dave a little more I think
• 39:30
  for the first time ever
• 39:31
  he's kind of revealing some
• 39:33
  things about himself yeah
• 39:35
  I'm glad he's doing this
• 39:38
  Yeah.
• 39:38
  Proud father loves bragging
• 39:40
  on his daughter's cross country times.
• 39:43
  And I think that's really cool.
• 39:45
  But we know two games events
• 39:47
  at this point.
• 39:50
  We know Chad and it's event
• 39:53
  seven right before the cut.
• 39:57
  And then we know the run swim.
• 40:01
  We don't know exactly what
• 40:03
  it's going to be,
• 40:04
  but there's a lot of speculation that it,
• 40:06
  that it's at a certain Lake.
• 40:08
  There is a running path to a
• 40:10
  dock that is 3.5 miles and
• 40:14
  500 meters swim from that
• 40:16
  dock to the finish.
• 40:18
  Hmm.
• 40:19
  If it all played out.
• 40:20
  So that would be exactly four miles.
• 40:23
  All right.
• 40:24
  All right.
• 40:26
  Interesting.
• 40:27
  The latest news though is, um,
• 40:30
  and this was from the barbell spin, uh, a,
• 40:32
  a,
• 40:33
  a listener went out and ran it and said,
• 40:36
  encountered a lot of snakes.
• 40:40
  And there are possible
• 40:41
  alligators in the lake.
• 40:44
  Oh, no.
• 40:46
  I'll not do that.
• 40:49
  Now,
• 40:49
  supposedly they're just small alligators,
• 40:52
  not the big ones.
• 40:57
  Does that affect how you're
• 40:58
  going to take the event?
• 41:00
  I guess it'll help us swim faster.
• 41:02
  I just feel like for me,
• 41:05
  like there's always a lot
• 41:06
  of people already out there, you know,
• 41:08
  like the lifeguards and stuff.
• 41:10
  So I feel like it'll scare
• 41:11
  away any type of, um, you know,
• 41:13
  creatures out there.
• 41:15
  So personally for me,
• 41:16
  I'm not too worried about that.
• 41:18
  Uh,
• 41:19
  I've swam in a lot of lakes over the
• 41:21
  years and, uh, never, you know,
• 41:24
  knock on wood encountered anything.
• 41:27
  And they're like the triathlons I've done.
• 41:29
  But I feel like if you're
• 41:31
  just swimming by yourself
• 41:32
  with nobody out there, then yeah,
• 41:34
  there's probably like a
• 41:36
  higher likelihood of
• 41:36
  something like that happening.
• 41:38
  But there's gonna be so many
• 41:39
  people in the water that I
• 41:41
  feel like it'll just scare
• 41:42
  off all the creatures around.
• 41:43
  And so I'm not too worried.
• 41:46
  I used to live in Northern
• 41:47
  Florida and there was a swimming hole,
• 41:50
  lake, river,
• 41:51
  whatever that had alligators and,
• 41:54
  and the lifeguards would
• 41:56
  literally take a piece of
• 41:57
  plywood and smack it on the water.
• 41:59
  When the alligators would
• 42:00
  start swimming toward the swimming area,
• 42:04
  it would make the
• 42:04
  alligators turn around and go away.
• 42:06
  Oh, okay.
• 42:07
  Okay.
• 42:08
  So I don't, I, I, there,
• 42:11
  I don't know how scientific
• 42:12
  that was or just, um,
• 42:15
  Well, we're going to find out.
• 42:17
  Yeah.
• 42:17
  So, you know,
• 42:18
  I just think that this year
• 42:19
  is just going to be a huge
• 42:21
  learning curve.
• 42:22
  It is like,
• 42:22
  that's just what happens when
• 42:23
  you go to a different venue.
• 42:25
  Like it's just a huge,
• 42:26
  I think a lot of things
• 42:27
  were learned the first year at Madison,
• 42:29
  you know, of things to do, what not to do,
• 42:31
  but also it's just like,
• 42:34
  You can't predict mother nature too,
• 42:36
  on top of everything.
• 42:37
  Like the first year in Madison,
• 42:39
  I remember it's freezing.
• 42:40
  It was so cold that one day
• 42:43
  it was so random.
• 42:43
  So you just like,
• 42:45
  can't predict everything
• 42:46
  that's going to happen.
• 42:47
  And then the lake too,
• 42:48
  like ended up getting nasty
• 42:49
  over the course of the years,
• 42:50
  but it was fine some years.
• 42:53
  So, you know, we signed up for this stuff.
• 42:56
  So we just got to suck it up
• 42:57
  and just do it and not
• 42:58
  complain at the end of the day, you know,
• 43:00
  we're getting paid.
• 43:01
  I think we talked about it
• 43:02
  on one of the other episodes.
• 43:03
  The first time I ever saw you in person,
• 43:05
  it was the first time I
• 43:05
  volunteered for the games and it,
• 43:08
  and that was the snow on
• 43:09
  the obstacle course.
• 43:12
  And you guys,
• 43:12
  all of you guys were out
• 43:13
  there without like you were no coats, no,
• 43:16
  no, no one was around to stay warm.
• 43:22
  Yeah.
• 43:23
  We're all just all huddling
• 43:24
  together like this.
• 43:26
  It's like really pitiful.
• 43:28
  Yeah.
• 43:30
  Yeah.
• 43:30
  So random.
• 43:32
  That was so random.
• 43:33
  No one could have predicted that, you know,
• 43:34
  it just kind of happened.
• 43:36
  Yeah.
• 43:36
  About the swim.
• 43:37
  The last thing is I would,
• 43:39
  I'm more comfortable with
• 43:40
  the alligators than I am the snakes.
• 43:42
  Yeah.
• 43:42
  I don't like the snakes.
• 43:44
  I'm deathly afraid of the snakes.
• 43:46
  Yeah.
• 43:47
  They're fast.
• 43:49
  They're fast.
• 43:49
  Now the snakes, not water snakes.
• 43:52
  Yeah, that's true.
• 43:53
  But you don't know.
• 43:54
  There could be some in the water too.
• 43:58
  But I think once again, even on the paths,
• 44:00
  there's going to be a lot
• 44:02
  of people out there and volunteers.
• 44:03
  They'll kind of scare away the snakes.
• 44:05
  Because at the end of the day,
• 44:07
  the animals are more scared
• 44:09
  of us than we are of them.
• 44:10
  We're scared of them,
• 44:12
  but they're scared of us.
• 44:13
  I like that logic.
• 44:15
  Yeah.
• 44:16
  I think it'll be fine, whatever happens.
• 44:20
  It's made me question
• 44:21
  whether I'm going to go
• 44:21
  watch the run switch.
• 44:26
  Right.
• 44:26
  Like if there's a lot of people there,
• 44:28
  the animals will be in hiding.
• 44:31
  Yeah.
• 44:33
  Oh, cool.
• 44:35
  So, um, so going into this year,
• 44:38
  do you have an expectation for the games?
• 44:41
  Is there a,
• 44:42
  do you just want to make it the
• 44:44
  whole way through the week?
• 44:44
  Do you like, what is,
• 44:46
  what is Bethany's goal for
• 44:48
  the games this year?
• 44:50
  There's a lot of levels to that.
• 44:51
  A lot of levels.
• 44:52
  Um,
• 44:53
  I think my ultimate goal is
• 44:55
  I want to be on the podium.
• 44:57
  It's just going to be a
• 44:58
  matter of like stars aligning,
• 45:02
  body feeling good,
• 45:03
  having consistent training,
• 45:06
  the workouts in my favor.
• 45:08
  You know, the list goes on.
• 45:09
  The list goes on.
• 45:11
  But at the end of the day, like for me,
• 45:14
  it's just really important to, you know,
• 45:16
  stay healthy throughout the
• 45:17
  entire weekend and enjoy
• 45:20
  the process of the games
• 45:22
  because it goes quickly.
• 45:24
  But also this is my seventh
• 45:25
  year and I think a lot of
• 45:28
  people can start to not
• 45:32
  have as much fun as the years go on.
• 45:35
  And so for me,
• 45:36
  it's just really important
• 45:37
  to enjoy it and
• 45:42
  I love people,
• 45:43
  and so it's important for me to
• 45:48
  enjoy the experience with
• 45:49
  the other athletes.
• 45:52
  And just Yeah,
• 45:54
  I think the biggest word is enjoyment.
• 45:56
  But I might I have a word
• 45:58
  every year that I choose.
• 45:59
  And this year was fierce.
• 46:01
  And I think fierce can go
• 46:03
  into so many different avenues, right?
• 46:05
  Like it can be fierce in the gym,
• 46:06
  fierce and training fierce and competing.
• 46:10
  But just like fearing less
• 46:11
  of the pain that I can be in.
• 46:15
  Because I think when that happens,
• 46:17
  then the true full Bethany
• 46:21
  comes out in competitions.
• 46:23
  And I think the more
• 46:25
  consistent training that I have,
• 46:26
  the more I can be fierce on
• 46:29
  the competition floor and like fear less.
• 46:33
  And so that's my ultimate
• 46:34
  goal is to fear less on the
• 46:37
  competition floor and just
• 46:38
  kind of go for things if
• 46:41
  and when it's the right timing for me.
• 46:46
  I, I, you've kind of made me take a,
• 46:50
  like in a back because last
• 46:53
  year's Bethany wouldn't have said podium.
• 46:54
  Yeah.
• 46:57
  And you, and so it's exciting that you,
• 47:00
  your mind is to a place where, yeah,
• 47:02
  it may take the stars to align and,
• 47:05
  and a really good programming,
• 47:07
  but that it is possible.
• 47:08
  And that's,
• 47:09
  that's exciting to hear from you.
• 47:11
  Yeah,
• 47:11
  I definitely think it's in the cards.
• 47:13
  Like I have the potential to
• 47:15
  be on the podium.
• 47:16
  It's just a matter of,
• 47:18
  is it going to happen?
• 47:20
  You know,
• 47:20
  I think anybody there's a lot of
• 47:22
  us athletes that can say that, right.
• 47:23
  I think there's like a pool
• 47:24
  of us that can say like, yeah,
• 47:26
  podium is definitely in the cards,
• 47:28
  but is it going to happen?
• 47:31
  Let's see, you know,
• 47:33
  what the best women win.
• 47:34
  Um,
• 47:35
  but that is an ultimate goal of mine is
• 47:37
  to be on the podium.
• 47:38
  And no,
• 47:39
  I wouldn't even have said that in 2021.
• 47:43
  But I do believe it's in the
• 47:44
  deck of cards.
• 47:48
  And on the other side of that,
• 47:51
  it's OK if it doesn't happen.
• 47:53
  It's not going to change who
• 47:54
  I am or my self-worth, my self-confidence,
• 47:58
  and self-esteem.
• 47:59
  It's just a goal that I feel
• 48:00
  like is reachable.
• 48:02
  And that's the thing.
• 48:07
  People are going to achieve that.
• 48:09
  And then they're going to
• 48:10
  realize that they're like, Oh, that's it.
• 48:15
  You know, like, Oh,
• 48:17
  it's not as fulfilling as I
• 48:18
  thought it was going to be.
• 48:20
  So I think having that in
• 48:21
  the back of my mindset of like, yes,
• 48:23
  have goals.
• 48:25
  It's okay to have goals of
• 48:26
  what you want to happen in your life,
• 48:28
  but you also need to
• 48:29
  realize that like your
• 48:31
  self-worth and your
• 48:32
  self-confidence is not
• 48:33
  found in that goal.
• 48:35
  It's found in like how you
• 48:36
  treat other people,
• 48:37
  the journey in itself.
• 48:42
  An acronym that I use is BEAST mode.
• 48:44
  So it's BEAST, which is your body language,
• 48:47
  your effort, your attitude,
• 48:49
  your self-talk and being a team player.
• 48:52
  Those are all things that you can control.
• 48:54
  Right.
• 48:55
  And so that's like my goal, um,
• 48:57
  throughout the season and
• 48:59
  throughout competitions is
• 49:00
  like control that part and
• 49:02
  then just allow the other
• 49:03
  things to happen if it's meant to be.
• 49:06
  Um, so yeah, go on the podium.
• 49:09
  A hundred percent.
• 49:10
  I like that.
• 49:11
  We'll see.
• 49:12
  A lot of people say,
• 49:12
  I just want to be the best version of me.
• 49:14
  I can be,
• 49:15
  but you define it with that acronym.
• 49:17
  It's actually,
• 49:19
  there are measurable pieces
• 49:21
  that you want to hit and
• 49:22
  that's really cool.
• 49:23
  Yeah.
• 49:24
  Just so you know, in 21,
• 49:25
  I did pick you for the podium.
• 49:27
  Oh, thank you.
• 49:30
  Because your performance at
• 49:31
  West Coast Classic that year,
• 49:33
  other than Tia and early
• 49:35
  Annie Thorstotter,
• 49:36
  was one of the single
• 49:37
  greatest performances I've
• 49:38
  ever watched in CrossFit.
• 49:40
  Wow.
• 49:41
  Thank you.
• 49:43
  So I actually picked you.
• 49:44
  I was so bummed when
• 49:45
  everything happened the way it did.
• 49:46
  And we don't need to rehash that.
• 49:47
  We've done it a couple times.
• 49:49
  Yeah.
• 49:50
  It had to happen.
• 49:52
  it really had to happen for me.
• 49:53
  Like I needed to get to the
• 49:55
  bottom of myself with a lot of things.
• 49:56
  So, um, that happened.
• 50:00
  I know that you're in, this wasn't planned,
• 50:02
  but you and Carrie were really tight.
• 50:04
  Are you guys, are you guys still friends?
• 50:07
  Yeah.
• 50:07
  Yeah, for sure.
• 50:08
  We, um, I mean, we don't say as in contact,
• 50:12
  you know, as maybe we didn't,
• 50:13
  we lived in the same city, but like, yeah,
• 50:16
  did we talk to each other?
• 50:17
  And for sure,
• 50:18
  she is amazing and always holds a very,
• 50:22
  special place in my heart
• 50:23
  like I love her so much so
• 50:26
  yeah I love both her and
• 50:28
  miss carrie yeah oh yeah
• 50:31
  they're great that's such a
• 50:32
  great couple they're
• 50:33
  they're gonna make such
• 50:35
  cute kids I can't I'm
• 50:36
  excited yeah well bethany
• 50:39
  as always it's always such
• 50:41
  a joy having you on uh I'll
• 50:43
  be in fort worth we'll be
• 50:44
  there rooting you on and I
• 50:46
  hope hope you go beast mode
• 50:49
  Yeah.
• 50:50
  Let's get fierce.
• 50:50
  Let's get fierce.
• 50:51
  Let's, uh, you know,
• 50:52
  the biggest thing is the
• 50:53
  next couple of weeks
• 50:54
  continue to have consistent training,
• 50:56
  which I'm very grateful.
• 50:58
  The last couple of weeks has
• 50:59
  been very consistent for me.
• 51:02
  Um,
• 51:02
  and that's going to be a very important
• 51:04
  part of like being able to
• 51:06
  do it on the floor is just
• 51:07
  being consistent, um,
• 51:09
  and staying healthy.
• 51:10
  So we've got a couple more weeks.
• 51:12
  We're going to pray, cross our fingers,
• 51:15
  be confident in that.
• 51:16
  And then, yeah,
• 51:17
  see what happens on the floor.
• 51:19
  Awesome.
• 51:20
  Well,
• 51:20
  thank you everybody in the chat for
• 51:21
  being here.
• 51:22
  Thank you, Bethany,
• 51:22
  for taking the time out and
• 51:24
  we'll see everybody next
• 51:25
  time on Clydesdale Media Podcast.
• 51:28
  Bye guys.
• 51:28
  Thank you guys.