Latest / Clydesdale Media Podcast / Karisa Stapp - The Clydesdale Media Semifinalist Series

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Karisa Stapp - The Clydesdale Media Semifinalist Series · Clydesdale Media Podcast

• 0:12
  I was born to kill it.
• 0:15
  I was meant to win.
• 0:16
  I am down and willing,
• 0:17
  so I will find a way.
• 0:18
  It took a minute,
• 0:19
  now it didn't happen right away.
• 0:21
  When it get hot in the kitchen,
• 0:22
  you decide to stay.
• 0:24
  That's how it win us, man.
• 0:25
  Stick a fork in the hate around.
• 0:34
  What is going on, everybody?
• 0:36
  Welcome to the Clydesdale Media Podcast,
• 0:38
  where we are featuring the
• 0:39
  athletes of the 2024
• 0:41
  CrossFit Games Semifinals.
• 0:44
  So pumped to have with me Carissa Stapp.
• 0:46
  What's going on, Carissa?
• 0:48
  Oh, nothing much.
• 0:48
  How are you doing?
• 0:50
  Good.
• 0:50
  This is my fourth show of the day.
• 0:52
  You athletes think you have it tough.
• 0:56
  Oh, man.
• 0:56
  No, this sounds hard.
• 0:57
  I get nervous to do one interview, so...
• 1:01
  Yeah, yeah.
• 1:02
  This is number four for me.
• 1:04
  But I love doing it.
• 1:05
  I wouldn't want to do
• 1:06
  anything else in life.
• 1:08
  But then to talk to you guys.
• 1:10
  Many of you have become my
• 1:11
  friends over the years.
• 1:14
  And this is your third year
• 1:15
  in a row you've been on the show.
• 1:17
  Oh, yeah.
• 1:17
  Yes.
• 1:18
  Yes.
• 1:18
  I'm always excited to be back.
• 1:20
  It's always exciting.
• 1:21
  Yeah.
• 1:22
  Got a little streak going.
• 1:24
  Got to keep it going.
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  I have to keep it going now.
• 1:27
  Yeah.
• 1:28
  But I heard...
• 1:30
  right before we went on the
• 1:30
  air that you said you were
• 1:32
  not planning on going
• 1:33
  individual this year.
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  What was the plan?
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  Well, at first we had a plan.
• 1:39
  Like I was just going to
• 1:40
  have a plan of just going a
• 1:41
  little easier this year.
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  We're going to do like a
• 1:43
  team just for fun at CrossFit Billings.
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  So we had a team like all
• 1:47
  set up and then just things
• 1:49
  just kind of kept happening
• 1:50
  throughout the year where,
• 1:52
  It's like maybe like one of our guys,
• 1:53
  his Achilles snapped.
• 1:54
  And so that was kind of just
• 1:56
  the first thing that we're all just like,
• 1:58
  you know,
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  maybe this isn't the right year for team.
• 2:02
  And and I was thinking maybe
• 2:03
  I would just take a year
• 2:04
  off competing because after last year,
• 2:06
  I was like, you know,
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  maybe I just need like a year off.
• 2:09
  And then but I got it.
• 2:11
  then I decided, man,
• 2:11
  I'll just do quarterfinals for fun.
• 2:13
  But then I didn't want to
• 2:14
  just do quarterfinals and not try.
• 2:16
  But I was like, you know what?
• 2:17
  If I, if I end up in the top 40,
• 2:19
  I end up in the top 40.
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  If not, if not, but now, now that I'm in,
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  I'm really excited to be
• 2:24
  going back to semifinals.
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  So, so when the quarterfinals were over,
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  um,
• 2:31
  you were on the outside
• 2:32
  looking in like 42nd place.
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  I think it was.
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  Yeah.
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  Yeah.
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  So I was, um, and I was, yeah,
• 2:39
  I didn't really feel very
• 2:40
  great with my semi funnels
• 2:41
  were not semi funnels,
• 2:42
  quarter funnels workouts overall.
• 2:44
  So like I said,
• 2:44
  I wasn't really expecting
• 2:46
  to go individual and I was like, Oh,
• 2:48
  just do these for fun.
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  And, um, so after being outside the top 40,
• 2:52
  I was like, well,
• 2:54
  I don't know.
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  I know that there'll
• 2:55
  probably be a couple of
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  people that didn't end up
• 2:57
  going individual,
• 2:58
  like either go on team or masters.
• 3:00
  So like, well,
• 3:01
  there's still probably a
• 3:01
  good chance I'll be in, but if not,
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  then I'll just have to be
• 3:05
  okay with that this year.
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  And then, yeah,
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  after all the penalties started happening,
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  I bumped up a little bit.
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  So I'm like, well, okay, I'm in,
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  we're doing it.
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  Ready for semifinals now.
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  So penalty gate happens.
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  Are you...
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  are you nervous about your
• 3:25
  workouts or because you
• 3:27
  were just doing it for fun?
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  Were you okay with whatever
• 3:31
  the outcome was?
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  I was, I was okay with what,
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  whatever it was going to be.
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  Yeah.
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  So I was like, if I,
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  cause I think we talked about last year,
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  I've been doing a lot of
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  writing and things like that too.
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  So like, you know, if I don't make it,
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  then I'll just put some
• 3:44
  focus onto that refocus next year.
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  Cause I wanted to try to go
• 3:48
  individual again next year.
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  So yeah,
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  I was kind of just okay with
• 3:52
  whatever happened.
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  And, um, yeah, I do always believe, like,
• 3:56
  I believe that God has a plan for us too.
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  So I'm like, you know what,
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  whatever's going to happen
• 4:00
  happens either way.
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  Like that's,
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  that's the path I should be on.
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  So were you on the,
• 4:07
  I love it teams earlier this decade?
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  I was on 2021.
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  I went on with, I love it.
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  Yeah.
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  Yeah.
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  And you were there for a couple years,
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  and then last year you moved back home.
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  yeah yes so I'm in I'm in
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  billings now and um yeah
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  just because my family all
• 4:27
  lives out here so it's been
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  really nice to just kind of
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  be closer to them and my
• 4:31
  sister just had a baby so
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  it's nice being by the
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  family and then yeah so we
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  were gonna make like a
• 4:36
  billings team this year and
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  which we might end up doing
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  that in like the next
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  couple years too just
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  because we have we have a
• 4:42
  good little group here so
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  um I might end up doing
• 4:45
  that but yeah it just
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  didn't end up being the
• 4:47
  year for it this year
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  So, so after being home for a little while,
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  was that, was that the right choice?
• 4:54
  I think so.
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  Yeah.
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  I think I just needed, um,
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  I definitely can get,
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  I feel like this probably
• 4:59
  happens to a lot of athletes,
• 5:00
  but like the all or nothing
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  mentality where you just
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  kind of put other things on
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  your life on hold and then
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  just get ultra focused on, um,
• 5:08
  competing and all that sort of stuff.
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  And I think just being
• 5:11
  closer to home and just
• 5:13
  allowing myself like a little step back.
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  I just,
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  I think I'm enjoying competing and
• 5:17
  training.
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  a lot more now than I was.
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  So, yeah,
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  I think if you're not enjoying it,
• 5:25
  what's the point in doing it?
• 5:26
  Right.
• 5:27
  Yeah, exactly.
• 5:28
  And I think like,
• 5:29
  I started feeling that a
• 5:31
  couple of years ago, I was like,
• 5:32
  I'm not doing it this month that much.
• 5:34
  And then last year I am like
• 5:36
  having a couple injuries
• 5:37
  going into some of my funnels.
• 5:38
  So I like took some pressure
• 5:39
  off myself competing.
• 5:41
  And I actually had like the
• 5:42
  most fun ever competing last year.
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  And so like, well, you know,
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  maybe I need to just like
• 5:48
  not take as seriously,
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  like still be in it and focus,
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  but like not be like that
• 5:52
  all or nothing mentality kind of with it.
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  So, and that's,
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  I think that's made it a
• 5:57
  lot more enjoyable this year.
• 6:00
  Yeah,
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  and I think I interviewed you last
• 6:03
  year at the West.
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  It was an interesting setup there,
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  and that large field was
• 6:14
  something different.
• 6:15
  But you had a good time?
• 6:17
  yeah I did actually have a
• 6:19
  good time I am yeah just
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  because I feel like I
• 6:21
  didn't have as much
• 6:21
  pressure like on myself
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  like that I just mentally
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  put on myself I just kind
• 6:25
  of went out for each I
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  obviously I'm nervous
• 6:27
  before each event and
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  everything but I kind of
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  just went out with each
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  event like you know what I
• 6:31
  can only do what I can do
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  just gonna have fun with it
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  and yeah I had I had a fun
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  time I didn't have a fun
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  time on the the ruck vest
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  ring muscle ups because I
• 6:39
  failed every single rep so
• 6:41
  that one wasn't fun but all
• 6:43
  the other ones were fun
• 6:47
  So tell me how this works.
• 6:48
  So you're at I Love It.
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  Gabby's at I Love It.
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  You have Mitchell and Carrie there.
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  And then you all go – now
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  you're all individual in the West.
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  Is it like a reunion?
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  It is.
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  It is.
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  I know that this year – I
• 7:11
  don't think Mitch is going this year.
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  I think he's just I think
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  he's taken this year.
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  So I don't get to see Mitch and Carrie,
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  but I get to see Gabby.
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  So it is going to be like
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  we've been messaging.
• 7:20
  We are going to stay together.
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  And it's been that's how it
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  was kind of last year to a
• 7:24
  fun little reunion.
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  And then.
• 7:26
  Yeah.
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  So it's going to be a fun
• 7:28
  time getting back together with Gabby.
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  And yeah.
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  And and she qualified really high.
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  Yeah, she was like seventh place.
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  So that's exciting.
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  Yeah.
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  Cause I, she was one of the,
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  she might like the second
• 7:42
  interview I've done for the
• 7:43
  second or third.
• 7:45
  And, uh, yeah,
• 7:46
  like I getting to know you
• 7:48
  guys over the years, like,
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  I don't think people understand how,
• 7:52
  how much like it makes me
• 7:54
  root for you guys and look
• 7:55
  for you on the leaderboard and like,
• 7:57
  where are they this year?
• 7:58
  And do I get to talk to them again?
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  And
• 8:01
  Well, I was excited talking to you.
• 8:03
  I feel like this is such a
• 8:04
  fun thing to do.
• 8:04
  And yeah, so yeah, I'm excited that Gabby,
• 8:08
  like she was so high up there.
• 8:09
  And yeah, it's just been,
• 8:11
  I think it's going to be a fun time.
• 8:12
  So we'll see.
• 8:14
  When you get there and you want to,
• 8:17
  it sounds like that's what
• 8:18
  you want to happen is to
• 8:20
  have a good time.
• 8:21
  Yeah.
• 8:21
  Yes.
• 8:22
  That's like my,
• 8:23
  I feel like I'm trying to
• 8:24
  just be just really
• 8:25
  appreciative of everything
• 8:27
  and just go in and enjoy everything.
• 8:29
  I like the events a lot this year,
• 8:30
  especially the running one, of course,
• 8:33
  like that's going to be great.
• 8:36
  And that starts your week off right.
• 8:38
  oh yeah that's what I think
• 8:39
  of like first workout is it
• 8:41
  gonna be a good one so
• 8:42
  that's I mean I feel like
• 8:44
  day one's gonna be really
• 8:44
  good and it might just it
• 8:46
  might go down a little bit
• 8:47
  after that but I feel like
• 8:48
  that I'm like the same
• 8:49
  thing you know I can't
• 8:51
  really do it like where I'm
• 8:52
  at is where I'm at this
• 8:53
  year so I can only do what
• 8:54
  I can do um so I'm trying
• 8:56
  just to kind of go in with
• 8:57
  each one like that and I
• 8:58
  tested all the workouts
• 8:59
  last week and I actually
• 9:01
  did better on like the leg
• 9:02
  of stroke climbs and ring
• 9:03
  muscle ups and I thought so
• 9:06
  I think it'll be fun
• 9:08
  Well,
• 9:08
  and they didn't weight you down on
• 9:09
  the ring muscle-up.
• 9:10
  Yeah, that's what I'm like.
• 9:11
  You know what?
• 9:11
  If there's no rec vest,
• 9:13
  I won't be failing
• 9:14
  muscle-ups for the whole workout.
• 9:15
  So that's going to be better.
• 9:18
  Right, right.
• 9:19
  Makes you enjoy it better.
• 9:21
  What would happen if
• 9:22
  hypothetically Gabby
• 9:24
  qualifies and you're there?
• 9:26
  Would you be just as excited for her?
• 9:29
  I'll definitely be excited for Gabby.
• 9:30
  Yes.
• 9:31
  I think like, like I said,
• 9:32
  I think just because like
• 9:33
  this year I wasn't really
• 9:34
  even expecting to go individual.
• 9:37
  I think it'd just be really cool to see.
• 9:40
  I mean,
• 9:40
  I obviously of course still want to go to,
• 9:43
  but like even Gabby going would be,
• 9:45
  would be super cool.
• 9:46
  I mean,
• 9:47
  like Mitchell's been so close every year.
• 9:50
  like like I think I would be
• 9:52
  excited if mitchell because
• 9:53
  I've been following him for
• 9:55
  years and he's like just
• 9:56
  been on the door um but so
• 10:02
  let's let's get back to you
• 10:04
  so event one if people
• 10:06
  don't know about carissa
• 10:08
  the girl can run like
• 10:11
  there's no doubt you can run
• 10:14
  my favorite thing you look
• 10:16
  at event one do you look at
• 10:18
  that and say like man I
• 10:20
  want I want a top five
• 10:23
  Yes, that's definitely,
• 10:24
  I feel like the last,
• 10:25
  cause the last couple of years, um,
• 10:26
  the long events,
• 10:27
  cause I got third place in
• 10:29
  like that long running
• 10:29
  event two years ago,
• 10:30
  fourth place in the long one last year.
• 10:32
  So I definitely want like
• 10:33
  top five in that running workout.
• 10:36
  And, um,
• 10:37
  I like that it's mostly running
• 10:38
  cause I feel like the other
• 10:39
  parts have those long
• 10:41
  workouts were kind of the
• 10:42
  spots I kind of fell behind a little bit.
• 10:44
  So, um, I like this workout a lot.
• 10:47
  So do you look,
• 10:50
  did you look at Europe at all today?
• 10:52
  No, I'm actually going to later.
• 10:53
  I haven't looked at yet,
• 10:55
  but that's what I need to
• 10:57
  do tonight is catch up on
• 10:58
  everything that's been going on.
• 10:59
  So I haven't seen what's happening yet.
• 11:02
  Is there...
• 11:03
  Well, I mean, I watched it.
• 11:05
  So you can't see the run too
• 11:08
  much because they leave the
• 11:10
  facility and run.
• 11:12
  And, you know, CrossFit,
• 11:13
  it's not streaming event one.
• 11:16
  So it's like just a still
• 11:18
  camera in the arena.
• 11:21
  They have the bar set up in a square.
• 11:24
  So you come in and you go to
• 11:26
  your bar on the square and
• 11:29
  then you do your stuff and
• 11:30
  then you have to go around
• 11:31
  the rest of the square and out.
• 11:33
  So everybody has to run the same distance,
• 11:38
  which makes it interesting
• 11:39
  because you start on your
• 11:42
  specific spot in the square.
• 11:43
  And so naturally some people
• 11:46
  get out the door quicker
• 11:47
  because they're closer to the door.
• 11:49
  But that means when they come back in,
• 11:51
  they have to go all the way
• 11:52
  around the square to get to their spot,
• 11:54
  right?
• 11:56
  And so I think the thing I
• 11:58
  learned the most is if
• 12:00
  you're a great runner,
• 12:02
  it's how do you manage the
• 12:03
  clean and jerks so they
• 12:05
  don't take too much out of you.
• 12:07
  Mm-hmm.
• 12:08
  Yes,
• 12:09
  that's definitely how I felt last
• 12:10
  weekend when I tested it out.
• 12:11
  Cause it's definitely like
• 12:12
  the 10 clean and jerks
• 12:13
  going into like that, you know,
• 12:15
  first 400 of the next 800,
• 12:16
  you're definitely kind of
• 12:18
  feeling it a little bit.
• 12:19
  So for me,
• 12:20
  I'm like definitely doing like
• 12:21
  knock and do any touch and go reps,
• 12:22
  just definitely all singles.
• 12:24
  And then just like do a rep, take a step,
• 12:27
  come back, do another rep,
• 12:29
  take a step back.
• 12:30
  That way you can kind of
• 12:31
  keep the heart rate down a
• 12:32
  little bit on that as much as you can,
• 12:34
  and then just try to hit
• 12:36
  the runs as hard as you can.
• 12:39
  Yeah, no two athletes are the same,
• 12:41
  but if anybody's close to what you are,
• 12:44
  I would say Amy Kringle
• 12:45
  would be that person.
• 12:47
  She's won a couple of the
• 12:48
  long events in semifinals past.
• 12:51
  She was winning the event
• 12:52
  the entire time until the
• 12:54
  last four clean and jerks.
• 12:57
  Oh, man.
• 13:00
  I need to watch it.
• 13:02
  Yeah.
• 13:04
  And she took a very
• 13:06
  different approach to the
• 13:07
  clean and jerk than other athletes did.
• 13:10
  She actually went touch and
• 13:11
  go for many of them.
• 13:13
  Oh, man.
• 13:14
  And so I wondered in my head
• 13:17
  if she would have went
• 13:18
  singles sooner or maybe all
• 13:22
  the way through,
• 13:24
  could she have finished in first place?
• 13:27
  Oh yeah.
• 13:28
  I do feel like that singles is the way,
• 13:30
  like just for me, that's what I think.
• 13:32
  Maybe there's,
• 13:32
  it does work good for some people,
• 13:34
  but when I tested it,
• 13:35
  I feel like that singles
• 13:36
  right from the start,
• 13:37
  because I feel like it kind
• 13:38
  of keeps your heart rate
• 13:40
  kind of the same as it is
• 13:41
  on the run and not too much
• 13:42
  of a big jump.
• 13:43
  Because when I do touch and goes like that,
• 13:45
  it really spikes my heart rate.
• 13:48
  So the person she finished with,
• 13:52
  went singles the whole way
• 13:53
  and then went touch and go
• 13:54
  on the last round when that
• 13:56
  was the end of the workout, right?
• 13:57
  You don't have to go back out.
• 13:59
  Yeah.
• 13:59
  Yeah.
• 14:00
  At that point I'm like, okay, if I feel,
• 14:02
  if I feel good,
• 14:03
  the last one I'll do touch
• 14:03
  and goes there.
• 14:04
  I, when I practiced it,
• 14:05
  I still did singles.
• 14:06
  Cause I'm like, Oh, I'm a little tired.
• 14:09
  Yeah.
• 14:09
  Yeah.
• 14:09
  That's,
• 14:10
  that's what made up the difference.
• 14:12
  She couldn't,
• 14:13
  she couldn't hold the bar for
• 14:14
  more than two reps in that last round.
• 14:16
  And the other person went like five, three,
• 14:20
  two, something like that.
• 14:23
  man yeah there's gonna be a
• 14:24
  lot to think about with
• 14:26
  this one there was only
• 14:27
  three seconds difference
• 14:28
  between oh man that's a
• 14:32
  that's a tight race that's
• 14:33
  that's a fun but like
• 14:34
  stressful race right right
• 14:37
  so yeah so so is it really
• 14:41
  just top five are you you
• 14:42
  trying to win it I mean of
• 14:44
  course in my heart I'm like
• 14:45
  I want to win it
• 14:47
  We'll see.
• 14:48
  I know that like,
• 14:48
  like Emily Rolfe is going to be there.
• 14:50
  So I'm like, you know,
• 14:51
  she's really good at that.
• 14:53
  We'll have to see.
• 14:54
  But yeah,
• 14:57
  I think it's just going to be like, how,
• 14:59
  how much do I want to push
• 15:00
  the runs and be uncomfortable in that?
• 15:02
  And then, yeah,
• 15:03
  cause I do think that for me, since I do,
• 15:05
  I, I am a better runner than
• 15:07
  I mean, I feel like that that way,
• 15:08
  the 125 pound bar is not super heavy,
• 15:10
  but still like,
• 15:11
  I feel like I'm better at
• 15:12
  running than the lifting.
• 15:13
  So I feel like for me,
• 15:14
  just singles on that,
• 15:15
  that way I can like really
• 15:16
  maximize on the run if I can.
• 15:19
  And you,
• 15:19
  you took third at that one at
• 15:21
  Granite Games.
• 15:21
  It was a lot of running, but it had like,
• 15:25
  sled pushes right yeah sled
• 15:27
  pushes and like the burpees
• 15:28
  over the line and assault
• 15:30
  uh echo bike all that stuff
• 15:32
  mixing so it had some power
• 15:33
  output stuff with it too oh
• 15:36
  yeah sled pushes in the
• 15:37
  echo yeah it's gonna be
• 15:39
  interesting I it'll be fun
• 15:40
  to watch I that's
• 15:42
  definitely the one I'm most
• 15:43
  excited for I'm just like
• 15:45
  I'm ready ready for that
• 15:46
  one is there any of the
• 15:48
  other five that you kind of
• 15:51
  look forward to
• 15:52
  I actually really like event two as well.
• 15:55
  I practiced that and I was
• 15:56
  kind of nervous about that one,
• 15:57
  but I actually really enjoyed it,
• 16:00
  testing it.
• 16:00
  And I do think it's just that like more,
• 16:03
  like longer,
• 16:04
  type of workout well that's
• 16:06
  not like super super long
• 16:07
  but you can it's more like
• 16:08
  steady pace you know
• 16:09
  instead of just like I
• 16:10
  don't like the super fast
• 16:11
  sprints very much but um I
• 16:14
  feel like that one is a
• 16:14
  little more steady where
• 16:15
  you just manage it the
• 16:16
  right way and stay a little
• 16:18
  more composed during it
• 16:19
  which I i like those kind
• 16:21
  of workouts so day one I
• 16:22
  really like both events on
• 16:23
  day one but well you're
• 16:26
  only doing one event on day
• 16:27
  one only one event oh yeah yes yes
• 16:33
  In my head,
• 16:33
  I keep practicing the first two
• 16:35
  on day one, and so I'm like, oh, yeah.
• 16:37
  Don't have to worry about that.
• 16:38
  Yeah, it's one, two, three this year.
• 16:40
  Oh, man.
• 16:42
  Yeah, so it'll be good.
• 16:44
  It'll be good.
• 16:46
  Is that good for you, though, that, like,
• 16:48
  the last day, you're an endurance athlete,
• 16:51
  so on day three,
• 16:53
  you have to do three
• 16:54
  workouts at the end of a weekend.
• 16:55
  There are going to be some
• 16:56
  people that just the wear
• 16:58
  and tear of the weekend is
• 16:59
  going to get to them on that day.
• 17:00
  Mm-hmm.
• 17:02
  Yeah, I do.
• 17:03
  I do like the I do like having more stuff.
• 17:06
  I do feel like that's good to me.
• 17:07
  Good for me for some things
• 17:09
  like ring muscle ups at the very end.
• 17:10
  I mean,
• 17:12
  that's something even though
• 17:13
  they're not weighted,
• 17:14
  that's still movement that
• 17:15
  I'm not super excited about.
• 17:16
  So I do think that's gonna
• 17:18
  be the biggest thing for me
• 17:19
  is knowing half the ring
• 17:20
  muscle ups at the last workout,
• 17:22
  and just not getting
• 17:23
  wrapped up and trying to do
• 17:24
  too big of a set to start.
• 17:25
  And just being like, okay,
• 17:26
  I'm going to be sore.
• 17:27
  That's going to be the
• 17:28
  movement I have to manage a
• 17:29
  little bit if I want to
• 17:30
  still finish that workout.
• 17:33
  Yeah, yeah.
• 17:34
  Oh yeah.
• 17:36
  But I think overall it's going to be good.
• 17:38
  I, I'm excited for,
• 17:39
  I don't know about the
• 17:40
  handstand walking is if
• 17:42
  there's obstacles in that or not.
• 17:45
  No.
• 17:45
  So that's what I'm like.
• 17:47
  I'm excited to find that out.
• 17:48
  And then I'll know,
• 17:49
  cause I really like
• 17:49
  handstand walking and I like rowing.
• 17:51
  So if it's no obstacles,
• 17:53
  I'm really excited for that one.
• 17:54
  There is obstacles.
• 17:55
  I'm like not as excited.
• 17:58
  Okay.
• 18:00
  So last year when we talked to you,
• 18:01
  we talked about that.
• 18:02
  You are also a writer.
• 18:04
  Yes.
• 18:05
  Yes.
• 18:06
  So, and you had,
• 18:07
  that was one of the reasons
• 18:09
  you had moved back to
• 18:10
  Montana was to have some time to do that.
• 18:14
  Yeah.
• 18:17
  I know I've seen,
• 18:18
  I've actually read some of them,
• 18:21
  but you have been posting
• 18:22
  online some of your writing.
• 18:25
  Um, how's that going so far?
• 18:27
  It's going, it's going really good.
• 18:28
  I, um, I started a
• 18:31
  yeah,
• 18:31
  cause I'm coaching a lot more and
• 18:32
  stuff now this year.
• 18:33
  So I don't have as much time as last year,
• 18:35
  but I've definitely made it
• 18:36
  like still a big chunk of
• 18:38
  the stuff I've been doing.
• 18:39
  And, um, I,
• 18:41
  so last year I had wrote like
• 18:42
  my finished up my first novel and, um,
• 18:45
  like looking back now just
• 18:46
  with another year of learning stuff,
• 18:48
  I'm like, okay,
• 18:49
  that wasn't as great as I thought.
• 18:51
  So, um, I actually wrote over the summer,
• 18:53
  I wrote another,
• 18:54
  another first draft of a
• 18:55
  novel that I've been like, um,
• 18:58
  going through draft two the
• 19:00
  past few months.
• 19:01
  And I just finished like the
• 19:02
  first third of it.
• 19:03
  I've been publishing on this
• 19:05
  website called sub stack.
• 19:06
  I've been publishing my chapters on there.
• 19:08
  And so I've been not,
• 19:10
  I feel like really good with this book.
• 19:12
  And so, but the same thing,
• 19:13
  I'm like trying to like not
• 19:15
  rush through it,
• 19:16
  just be really intentional, just,
• 19:17
  you know, like fitness stuff,
• 19:19
  like learning as I go,
• 19:20
  making a good base with it.
• 19:21
  So that's the biggest thing
• 19:23
  I've been working on this
• 19:24
  year is trying to get that, uh,
• 19:26
  that book finished well the
• 19:27
  second draft finished
• 19:28
  because I have it all
• 19:29
  written out um and that's
• 19:31
  the one I do feel like I
• 19:32
  could have potentially
• 19:33
  published so that's kind of
• 19:35
  my that's why I'm like
• 19:36
  that's why I think I was
• 19:37
  okay if I didn't make some
• 19:39
  my finals and like I can
• 19:39
  put a lot more emotional
• 19:41
  focus onto the book when
• 19:43
  I'm competing I'm like
• 19:44
  And I want to be in competing mode.
• 19:48
  Yeah.
• 19:49
  When you put it on Substack,
• 19:50
  is it there to get input
• 19:52
  from people to see like,
• 19:54
  do you need to make changes
• 19:56
  or is it just so you're like,
• 19:59
  you feel like you've delivered something?
• 20:02
  Um,
• 20:02
  kind of both because the nice thing
• 20:04
  about that sub stack is it
• 20:05
  is there's just like a ton
• 20:06
  of writers on it too.
• 20:07
  So I have been getting, you know,
• 20:10
  I can share some people
• 20:11
  like there's some people at
• 20:12
  the gym that like to read this stuff.
• 20:14
  So I put it on there so they can see it.
• 20:17
  And yeah,
• 20:17
  you can get feedback from people.
• 20:19
  and then it's also just kind
• 20:21
  of a way for me to kind of
• 20:22
  be building like a writing
• 20:23
  portfolio because I've been
• 20:24
  trying to put other
• 20:25
  articles on there too just
• 20:26
  about like fitness related
• 20:28
  stuff as well kind of
• 20:30
  making like a fit like I
• 20:31
  call the page fitness and
• 20:32
  fantasy because I'm trying
• 20:33
  to kind of blend both parts
• 20:35
  of my life in that so I do
• 20:37
  write some other articles
• 20:38
  on there and it's mostly
• 20:39
  just a way to like kind of
• 20:41
  share my writing journey
• 20:42
  because I feel like especially I've
• 20:45
  for me, when I look at other writers,
• 20:46
  I'm like, wow, they're so good.
• 20:48
  I'm not that good.
• 20:48
  So I probably shouldn't be a writer.
• 20:50
  Like, no, that's not,
• 20:51
  that's not what you do.
• 20:52
  Like this like fitness stuff.
• 20:53
  You can't like start CrossFit and be like,
• 20:55
  oh,
• 20:56
  I'm not a semi-finalist athlete when I
• 20:58
  start.
• 20:59
  So I should not just try.
• 21:00
  So I think that's just like a way to like,
• 21:03
  cause I like to see people's journeys,
• 21:05
  like seeing them progress through stuff.
• 21:07
  So that's kind of what I've
• 21:08
  been doing on that is just
• 21:09
  trying to show like my
• 21:10
  journey with it and share
• 21:12
  my novel that I've been working on.
• 21:14
  Cause
• 21:15
  I am really excited about this book,
• 21:16
  so it'll be good.
• 21:18
  Well,
• 21:18
  and I'm sure it's just like a lot of
• 21:21
  things in life, right?
• 21:21
  You talked about fitness being that way,
• 21:24
  that you don't start as a semifinalist.
• 21:26
  You have to kind of work your way to it.
• 21:28
  If I go back and watch one
• 21:29
  of my old podcasts, like, it's cringy,
• 21:35
  right?
• 21:35
  Like, what was I thinking?
• 21:39
  And now you have a great show.
• 21:40
  Right.
• 21:42
  well I'm definitely more
• 21:43
  comfortable with it today
• 21:44
  than I oh yeah I was back
• 21:46
  then and um like like I
• 21:49
  told you before I didn't
• 21:50
  take any notes down because
• 21:51
  I've talked to you enough
• 21:52
  and I been following your
• 21:53
  career and like I could
• 21:55
  never have done that three
• 21:56
  years ago oh yeah yeah it's
• 22:00
  yeah just like I feel like
• 22:01
  even that with coaching too
• 22:02
  like I usually get so
• 22:03
  nervous coaching classes
• 22:04
  and coaching people and now
• 22:06
  I'm like yeah just so
• 22:07
  comfortable being at
• 22:08
  front of people and coaching
• 22:10
  and like seeing cues I need
• 22:11
  to fix some people same
• 22:13
  with fitness and writing
• 22:14
  and yeah like I said like I
• 22:16
  look back at my book and
• 22:17
  I'm the same way I'm like
• 22:18
  oh that's cringy so when
• 22:22
  you so when you're editing
• 22:25
  your book do you have a
• 22:26
  hard time saying stop stop
• 22:29
  editing this is um
• 22:34
  It's weird because I
• 22:35
  definitely like the first
• 22:37
  draft writing a lot more
• 22:38
  because I can just like be
• 22:39
  in my own world and just
• 22:40
  kind of write what I want to write.
• 22:42
  And if there's like a line a
• 22:43
  character needs to say that
• 22:44
  I know needs to sound good
• 22:45
  and I can't think of
• 22:46
  anything that sounds good,
• 22:48
  I just like leave a blank line.
• 22:49
  And I'm like, all right, just keep going.
• 22:51
  So I actually do like that
• 22:53
  first draft writing part.
• 22:54
  I've had to, I think, train myself for it.
• 22:56
  So when I first started writing,
• 22:57
  I would write like a
• 22:58
  paragraph and go back and
• 23:00
  edit it like while I was writing.
• 23:01
  And then I wouldn't get anywhere.
• 23:03
  And I think I've the past, I guess,
• 23:05
  just like a year and a half
• 23:07
  or two years that I've
• 23:07
  really been focusing on writing.
• 23:09
  I've gotten better at just
• 23:10
  writing good first.
• 23:11
  Well, not a good first draft,
• 23:13
  but just like getting my ideas out.
• 23:14
  So I know I enjoy that a lot more.
• 23:17
  than the editing.
• 23:17
  So the editing,
• 23:18
  I actually have been
• 23:20
  getting really frustrated
• 23:21
  editing it because I'm like, okay,
• 23:22
  I know like what I need to
• 23:23
  be setting up in this scene.
• 23:25
  But if I'm like too tired
• 23:26
  that day or like it's not
• 23:27
  connecting with me,
• 23:28
  it's just like frustrating
• 23:29
  because like it's not
• 23:31
  working the way I want it to.
• 23:32
  But then the next day I
• 23:33
  could come back with like a
• 23:34
  fresh head and be like, oh,
• 23:36
  I know everything I need to fix in it.
• 23:38
  And then those days I can't stop editing.
• 23:40
  But it's like the good days I'm like,
• 23:42
  oh yeah,
• 23:43
  I can fix this whole thing right now.
• 23:44
  The bad days I'm like,
• 23:46
  This is the worst book.
• 23:46
  I'm the worst writer ever.
• 23:49
  Throw my book in the trash.
• 23:51
  Yeah,
• 23:52
  I tried to do some documentary work
• 23:54
  last year and I really enjoyed it.
• 23:56
  I enjoyed like instead of
• 23:59
  like an hour with each
• 24:00
  athlete or a half an hour
• 24:01
  with each athlete,
• 24:03
  like spending a weekend
• 24:04
  with them and then putting
• 24:05
  together like the whole documentary.
• 24:08
  Right.
• 24:09
  but I found myself like
• 24:11
  tweaking and like graphics
• 24:14
  like kept tweaking graphics
• 24:15
  and at some point I had to
• 24:17
  say to myself like stop it
• 24:19
  like it's just you just
• 24:22
  need to get it out like
• 24:23
  yeah and so like I learned
• 24:25
  like I had to put hard
• 24:26
  deadlines on myself because
• 24:28
  if I didn't like I would tweak forever
• 24:32
  Oh yeah.
• 24:32
  Yes.
• 24:33
  Yeah.
• 24:33
  I think that the deadlines,
• 24:34
  cause that's what I did.
• 24:36
  That's how I think training
• 24:37
  myself to just like be able to write.
• 24:38
  It's like, okay,
• 24:39
  this week I have to write
• 24:40
  10,000 words or what,
• 24:41
  however many words I could
• 24:42
  fit in that week.
• 24:44
  Like it doesn't matter right
• 24:45
  now how it sounds.
• 24:46
  I'm editing it later.
• 24:46
  Like 10,000 words just need
• 24:48
  to come out or else I would
• 24:49
  go back and be like, Oh,
• 24:50
  well this paragraph,
• 24:51
  I can fix that thing.
• 24:52
  I'm like, no, that's for later.
• 24:54
  Right.
• 24:55
  Yeah.
• 24:55
  Yeah.
• 24:56
  Are you going to do some
• 24:57
  more documentary stuff this year?
• 25:00
  Um,
• 25:01
  so I'm actually not going to semis this
• 25:03
  year.
• 25:03
  I'll probably do.
• 25:05
  I don't know.
• 25:06
  I, I really enjoy it.
• 25:07
  So I'll probably,
• 25:08
  I think I'm going to pivot
• 25:11
  to something more like that
• 25:12
  for a little bit anyway.
• 25:14
  Oh yeah.
• 25:15
  I think.
• 25:17
  So the last year,
• 25:18
  like we followed Emily Rolfe, Kelly Baker,
• 25:22
  Alex Kazan, and a master's athlete,
• 25:25
  Rudy Berger through the games, um,
• 25:28
  And I put that together and that's,
• 25:29
  that was awesome.
• 25:31
  Oh yeah.
• 25:31
  Yeah.
• 25:32
  Yeah.
• 25:32
  That stuff is, I like,
• 25:33
  I love that sort of things too.
• 25:35
  Cause like I said,
• 25:35
  I love seeing people's journeys.
• 25:37
  Cause we always just see
• 25:39
  like the end product of so
• 25:40
  many people and you're like, oh man,
• 25:42
  I'm not that good.
• 25:43
  I can't do that.
• 25:43
  But then when you see like
• 25:44
  journeys that people take
• 25:45
  to get where they are,
• 25:46
  I think that's cool.
• 25:47
  So yeah.
• 25:50
  And so like my co-host Jamie, I did,
• 25:51
  I did some like,
• 25:54
  like she was my first full
• 25:55
  length documentary, like I 90, 90,
• 25:59
  a hundred minutes long.
• 26:01
  And it was just her
• 26:01
  quarterfinals weekend in
• 26:03
  the master's division.
• 26:05
  And it was, it was really cool.
• 26:07
  I really enjoyed it, but enough about me.
• 26:09
  We're not here about me.
• 26:12
  Back to you.
• 26:14
  So with semifinals coming up,
• 26:17
  what is a realistic goal for you?
• 26:19
  Is it just to have fun and
• 26:22
  maybe learn some stuff again this year?
• 26:24
  Um, yeah, I think like,
• 26:26
  that's what I'm trying to, of course,
• 26:28
  you know,
• 26:28
  there's always the part in your
• 26:29
  head that's like,
• 26:30
  maybe this year I'm making games.
• 26:32
  So I'm like,
• 26:32
  that's going to be there no
• 26:33
  matter what I think.
• 26:34
  But, um, I do,
• 26:35
  I am really trying to make
• 26:37
  it like my goal is to just go in and like,
• 26:39
  kind of compete,
• 26:41
  compete with it while enjoying it.
• 26:42
  It's like go out.
• 26:44
  When I first started CrossFit,
• 26:45
  I really just liked being able to, like,
• 26:46
  even if it was in class or whatever,
• 26:48
  just going out there and
• 26:49
  competing and doing what I
• 26:50
  felt like I kind of knew how to do from,
• 26:53
  competing in college and things like that.
• 26:55
  Um,
• 26:55
  so that's kind of my goal is just to go
• 26:57
  in and just not get wrapped
• 26:59
  up in everything else.
• 27:00
  Just focus on what I can do
• 27:01
  and have fun with it.
• 27:02
  I would like to have, like,
• 27:04
  it would be nice to have, like I said,
• 27:06
  it'd be great to win an event.
• 27:07
  Like if I could win event one, or, um,
• 27:10
  I think if I could just, yeah,
• 27:12
  place like similarly last year,
• 27:15
  I know that there was more
• 27:15
  people in the field last year.
• 27:16
  So kind of however that, um,
• 27:18
  evens out this year.
• 27:19
  So kind of place similarly to last year.
• 27:21
  Um,
• 27:23
  There's,
• 27:23
  I think that there's like three
• 27:25
  events I'm nervous for,
• 27:26
  like the legless rope climb
• 27:27
  ring muscle-up, the snatch ladder,
• 27:29
  I'm not super excited for either.
• 27:31
  But,
• 27:31
  and then there's the other three
• 27:32
  workouts I feel pretty good with.
• 27:34
  So I'm like, you know,
• 27:35
  I'm just going to have to see,
• 27:37
  see how it plays out this year.
• 27:38
  And yeah, I've learned a few things too.
• 27:41
  And yeah, just have fun.
• 27:43
  And it's just super fun just
• 27:45
  seeing the more,
• 27:45
  like the more years I go to semifinals,
• 27:47
  the more athletes I get to know.
• 27:49
  And so I kind of just get
• 27:50
  excited about seeing all
• 27:52
  the athletes again and like
• 27:53
  You know,
• 27:54
  just talking to people that I
• 27:55
  talked with last year.
• 27:56
  You don't see them for a full year.
• 27:58
  Everyone's training,
• 27:58
  doing the same thing all year long.
• 28:00
  And that's kind of cool to reconnect.
• 28:02
  So, yeah,
• 28:03
  the big goal is just to have fun.
• 28:04
  But, of course,
• 28:05
  there's a part of my head like, you know,
• 28:06
  this could be the year.
• 28:08
  These are great workouts.
• 28:09
  So we'll see.
• 28:10
  But, yeah.
• 28:13
  So my last question is,
• 28:15
  you have this iconic event,
• 28:16
  the snatch ladder.
• 28:18
  It's not in your wheelhouse,
• 28:20
  but it's been done 2016 regionals,
• 28:24
  2021 West Coast Classic,
• 28:27
  and now it's coming back
• 28:27
  for this semifinal.
• 28:30
  Even though it's not your wheelhouse,
• 28:32
  is there a part of you
• 28:33
  that's excited just to say
• 28:35
  you've done it and to see
• 28:37
  how far you can get?
• 28:39
  Oh, yeah, yeah, definitely.
• 28:40
  I do think I do like that,
• 28:42
  like that kind of lifting
• 28:44
  workout better than just a
• 28:45
  one rep max anyway.
• 28:46
  So there's definitely part
• 28:48
  of me that's excited to see
• 28:49
  how far because my max snatch is 180.
• 28:52
  So like I could snatch at 175 if I can,
• 28:56
  if I feel really great that weekend,
• 28:58
  and I manage the snatches
• 28:59
  before it good without
• 29:01
  time capping so um yeah I
• 29:04
  definitely want I
• 29:05
  definitely am excited to
• 29:05
  see how far I can get I
• 29:07
  just don't think it's going
• 29:08
  to be like my best placing
• 29:10
  event but I am still
• 29:11
  excited for it because I do
• 29:12
  think that's going to be
• 29:13
  like I will enjoy that
• 29:14
  event more than um like a
• 29:16
  one rep max snatch because
• 29:18
  I don't like the one reps
• 29:22
  yeah you're definitely on
• 29:23
  the the smaller side for
• 29:25
  the athletes um and your
• 29:27
  endurance is your is the
• 29:28
  name of your game
• 29:30
  Yes, definitely like that stuff more.
• 29:35
  Well, Chris, as always,
• 29:37
  it's been a treat having
• 29:38
  you on this year.
• 29:38
  I want to wish you very,
• 29:41
  very much luck this week away now.
• 29:46
  Yeah, yeah.
• 29:47
  One week.
• 29:48
  I'm ready now.
• 29:50
  And we'll be rooting for you.
• 29:52
  Oh, thank you.
• 29:53
  And thanks for doing all
• 29:53
  these interviews too.
• 29:55
  It's always fun.
• 29:56
  I always get excited.
• 29:57
  My favorite time of the year.
• 29:59
  Oh, yes.
• 30:00
  Yay.
• 30:00
  With that, thank you, everybody,
• 30:02
  for joining us.
• 30:03
  Thank you to Carissa for being here.
• 30:04
  And we'll see everybody next
• 30:05
  time on the Clydesdale Media Podcast,
• 30:08
  where we're featuring the
• 30:09
  athletes of the 2024
• 30:10
  CrossFit Games Semifinals.
• 30:12
  Bye, guys.