Latest / Clydesdale Media Podcast / Callista Lang | The Clydesdale Media Semifinalist Series

Transcript

Callista Lang | The Clydesdale Media Semifinalist Series · Clydesdale Media Podcast

• 0:11
  I was born to kill it.
• 0:15
  I was meant to win.
• 0:17
  I am down and willing,
• 0:18
  so I will find a way.
• 0:19
  It took a minute,
• 0:20
  now I didn't have to ride away.
• 0:21
  When it get hot in the kitchen,
• 0:23
  you decide to stay.
• 0:24
  That's how a winner's made.
• 0:25
  Stick a fork in the head or
• 0:27
  on my dinner plate.
• 0:28
  I walk into the fire like
• 0:29
  it's just a bit of flesh.
• 0:30
  I switch my style up with the money.
• 0:34
  what is going on everybody
• 0:36
  welcome to the cloud show
• 0:37
  media podcast where we are
• 0:39
  featuring the athletes of
• 0:40
  the 2024 crossfit
• 0:43
  semifinals and for the
• 0:45
  third year in a row I have
• 0:47
  the privilege and honor to
• 0:48
  talk with calista lang
• 0:50
  calista how you doing good
• 0:52
  you I'm great um the only
• 0:55
  thing is I had to give I
• 0:56
  had to uh have blood drawn
• 0:58
  this morning and
• 1:01
  When you're dialed into a
• 1:02
  nutrition plan and you have to fast,
• 1:05
  it just throws your day off.
• 1:07
  Oh, 100%.
• 1:11
  I recently had to get blood drawn,
• 1:13
  and I couldn't eat until I
• 1:15
  think it was like 11, and I was dying.
• 1:18
  I was so hungry.
• 1:19
  Couldn't drink coffee either.
• 1:20
  I was going down.
• 1:21
  I know.
• 1:24
  So I'm a baby because I got
• 1:26
  in a little after 8 o'clock this morning.
• 1:29
  But I couldn't have coffee.
• 1:30
  And my wife,
• 1:31
  I had to drop her off at work.
• 1:33
  And she's telling me how to
• 1:34
  drive the whole way.
• 1:35
  I have no coffee in my system.
• 1:36
  She's telling me how to drive.
• 1:38
  It was bad news right off the get-go.
• 1:41
  Yeah, I'm someone that when I wake up,
• 1:43
  I need my coffee.
• 1:44
  So when I had to wait, I was like,
• 1:47
  this is not going to be good.
• 1:49
  Yeah.
• 1:50
  I didn't start drinking
• 1:51
  coffee until I was 50 years old.
• 1:54
  Really?
• 1:54
  Yeah.
• 1:55
  And now I cannot get enough of it.
• 1:58
  Yeah.
• 1:59
  I started when I was so young,
• 2:00
  but I just genuinely love
• 2:01
  the taste of it.
• 2:02
  Like I don't even need
• 2:04
  really cream or anything in it.
• 2:05
  Like I just like the taste of coffee.
• 2:08
  Yeah.
• 2:08
  I'm with you now too.
• 2:09
  It started at the mayhem
• 2:10
  classic back in 2020,
• 2:13
  maybe I was so tired, so tired.
• 2:17
  And they had just opened up
• 2:18
  the coffee shop.
• 2:19
  So they were like promoting
• 2:20
  their coffee and I just was
• 2:23
  guzzling it like nobody's business.
• 2:26
  And now that's all I, that's all I drink.
• 2:28
  That's awesome.
• 2:30
  Um, well it's so,
• 2:32
  I'm so pumped to have you back.
• 2:34
  Um,
• 2:36
  I've been following your
• 2:36
  career ever since we got to
• 2:38
  meet a couple of years ago.
• 2:40
  And then you came so close,
• 2:42
  so close to making the
• 2:43
  games that first year.
• 2:43
  Yeah.
• 2:44
  Before we get into all that, you're,
• 2:46
  you're selling an exclusive
• 2:47
  shirt again this year.
• 2:48
  And I want to share that so
• 2:50
  everybody can see it.
• 2:54
  And so we have the shirt is right there.
• 3:00
  Cool print.
• 3:02
  Yep.
• 3:03
  Got the last name up on top.
• 3:05
  Yep.
• 3:05
  Is it a tiger or a panther?
• 3:07
  It's a tiger.
• 3:08
  Tiger.
• 3:08
  Yeah.
• 3:10
  With the words never accept defeat.
• 3:12
  Yep.
• 3:15
  I can play the video and
• 3:17
  it'll get to the front eventually,
• 3:18
  but we have to like get through.
• 3:20
  I'll let you talk about it
• 3:21
  as the guy speaks.
• 3:23
  Okay.
• 3:24
  Yeah.
• 3:26
  So putting out a shirt this year.
• 3:29
  um tigers have always kind
• 3:30
  of been just like my animal
• 3:32
  like I really resonate with
• 3:34
  them they're my favorite
• 3:35
  animal so I always want a
• 3:38
  tiger on my semi shirt no
• 3:39
  matter what so this company
• 3:41
  that I work with um Hustle
• 3:42
  Never Stops they've been
• 3:44
  behind me for almost a year
• 3:47
  and a half now um they're
• 3:49
  awesome and they always
• 3:51
  help me out every year to
• 3:52
  kind of come up with a shirt
• 3:55
  just to support my trip to
• 3:56
  semis and travel and all that stuff.
• 3:59
  So the guy, Daniel,
• 4:03
  he came up with this design.
• 4:04
  I loved it right away.
• 4:06
  So he's like so talented and
• 4:10
  I love it so much.
• 4:11
  And I'm just happy that like,
• 4:12
  we can put out something cool together,
• 4:15
  help them out.
• 4:16
  He helped me out.
• 4:17
  So just good people.
• 4:20
  So the proceeds from this
• 4:21
  help to pay your travel
• 4:23
  expenses to the 2024 semifinals.
• 4:27
  How can people get their hands on this?
• 4:29
  So right now I have the link in my story.
• 4:34
  You can click on that and it
• 4:35
  will take you right there.
• 4:36
  You can also go on Hustle
• 4:37
  Never Stop website and it's right there.
• 4:40
  You can just order it from the website.
• 4:43
  And then those proceeds come
• 4:45
  to me to help me.
• 4:46
  Yeah.
• 4:48
  Awesome.
• 4:49
  So now to you, the athlete,
• 4:53
  you've been doing this a long time.
• 4:56
  You did this as a teen athlete.
• 4:58
  You're now a full-fledged
• 5:01
  adult competing at the
• 5:03
  semifinal level for a
• 5:04
  couple of years now.
• 5:06
  My first question to you is,
• 5:09
  I've been following you in
• 5:10
  the first year we talked to you,
• 5:11
  you came in sixth at semis
• 5:14
  when they took five.
• 5:15
  Yeah.
• 5:16
  The following year, you took sixth,
• 5:20
  and they took five, right?
• 5:22
  Yes.
• 5:23
  And last year, you kind of fell off a bit.
• 5:25
  Mm-hmm.
• 5:27
  Was there a reason for the fall off,
• 5:29
  or did you identify
• 5:31
  something you needed to work on?
• 5:32
  Now, granted, the fields doubled.
• 5:34
  Mm-hmm.
• 5:36
  Right, so we went from 30 to 60.
• 5:39
  Right.
• 5:39
  But in that...
• 5:47
  Last year you went to 21st.
• 5:49
  Yes.
• 5:51
  So what have you identified
• 5:53
  as the reason for that?
• 5:56
  I think that programming
• 5:59
  came down to a lot of it last year.
• 6:01
  I definitely had some big
• 6:04
  holes that I really needed to fill.
• 6:06
  And last year's programming
• 6:07
  really kind of showed me
• 6:09
  what I really needed to work on.
• 6:10
  I think that when I went to Atlas Games,
• 6:13
  I got really lucky there.
• 6:14
  Um, there was a lot of like heavy gym.
• 6:17
  It was very heavily gymnastics based.
• 6:19
  There were a lot of high school movements.
• 6:22
  Um, and I think I just did well, better,
• 6:25
  uh, did better at that programming style.
• 6:29
  Um,
• 6:29
  last year was a little bit on the
• 6:32
  heavier side.
• 6:32
  We have the heavy dumbbells, heavy sled.
• 6:36
  Um,
• 6:36
  and I'm just a smaller athlete in
• 6:38
  general.
• 6:38
  And I've always been kind of
• 6:39
  hammering my strength just
• 6:41
  as the years go on, but, uh,
• 6:43
  I think that really kind of
• 6:44
  showed me what I really
• 6:46
  needed to work on in terms of that.
• 6:49
  And also too,
• 6:50
  I kind of just felt like I
• 6:51
  was plateauing a little bit
• 6:53
  in my training.
• 6:55
  So there was that as well.
• 6:57
  And I just think last year
• 7:00
  also to the field,
• 7:02
  I feel like not only grew,
• 7:04
  but got a lot more competitive too,
• 7:06
  just because we were all in
• 7:07
  one spot as compared to
• 7:09
  like years prior where we
• 7:11
  all kind of like spread out.
• 7:13
  at different semifinals so
• 7:15
  it was definitely a lot
• 7:16
  more challenging and
• 7:17
  competitive last year as
• 7:18
  well too so yeah and it
• 7:22
  doesn't get any easier for
• 7:23
  the east right like no no
• 7:26
  like just when you think
• 7:27
  like okay this person's not
• 7:29
  coming then oh tia gets to
• 7:30
  come this year to the east
• 7:31
  right and then hayley's
• 7:32
  coming back and yep like oh
• 7:35
  my goodness like can we get
• 7:36
  a break yeah yeah yeah and it's
• 7:40
  it's cool.
• 7:40
  Cause I feel like I've
• 7:42
  competed against a lot of
• 7:43
  these women for a long time.
• 7:44
  So it's cool to get to like
• 7:46
  see them at the semifinal stage again.
• 7:48
  Um,
• 7:49
  but I also know how good of athletes
• 7:52
  they are and how hard it is
• 7:53
  to compete against them.
• 7:54
  So, yeah.
• 7:57
  So it's,
• 7:58
  it's funny you talk about the
• 7:59
  programming last year because we, we,
• 8:02
  we pulled Rebecca Fusile
• 8:05
  aside in the West last year.
• 8:06
  And she talked about like,
• 8:10
  it was not a small athlete
• 8:13
  programmed event, right?
• 8:14
  Not at all.
• 8:15
  And this was like midway
• 8:17
  through the weekend.
• 8:17
  And she's like, and I know it like there's,
• 8:19
  there's nothing I can do
• 8:20
  about it at this point.
• 8:21
  And I'm hit, but I'm hitting PRS.
• 8:24
  Right.
• 8:25
  If my PRS and the heavy
• 8:26
  stuff are not enough to get
• 8:28
  me to where I want to be.
• 8:29
  Yep.
• 8:31
  Do you feel this?
• 8:32
  Do you feel like,
• 8:34
  can you commiserate with that?
• 8:35
  Yes.
• 8:36
  A hundred percent.
• 8:37
  Like last year,
• 8:39
  I was so proud of my 180 snatch.
• 8:41
  That was a tie PR for me.
• 8:44
  Um, but I think it took like 20,
• 8:48
  maybe like 30th in the event.
• 8:50
  But for me, that was a huge win,
• 8:52
  like snatching,
• 8:54
  especially under fatigue
• 8:55
  after the runner.
• 8:57
  Um, so yeah, that was huge for me.
• 9:00
  And I think I had a lot of
• 9:01
  wins throughout the weekend personally,
• 9:03
  um,
• 9:04
  that didn't necessarily
• 9:06
  reflect on the leaderboard, but, um,
• 9:09
  I think, yeah, a hundred percent.
• 9:11
  I think there was some stuff
• 9:12
  that kind of went towards
• 9:14
  the smaller athletes,
• 9:16
  but at the same time,
• 9:18
  there was just as much that
• 9:19
  were kind of better for the
• 9:21
  bigger athletes or the more
• 9:23
  like powerful ones.
• 9:24
  So, well, and,
• 9:25
  and they take an event like
• 9:27
  a ring muscle up that would
• 9:29
  be good for the smaller
• 9:30
  athlete and they add a rug back to it.
• 9:33
  Yeah.
• 9:33
  Yeah.
• 9:36
  Yes, exactly.
• 9:38
  Um, so it, it, it made,
• 9:40
  they just added the heavy to everything.
• 9:42
  It felt like last year.
• 9:43
  Yeah.
• 9:45
  So I, I, I, I, okay.
• 9:51
  So this year, you know what the,
• 9:53
  we now know what the events are.
• 9:54
  Um,
• 9:56
  and I was just talking with Saxon
• 9:58
  Pancheck and like these workouts,
• 10:02
  every one of them has a ying and a yang.
• 10:05
  Yeah.
• 10:05
  Right.
• 10:06
  Like you got to do some,
• 10:08
  some moderately heavy cleaning jerks,
• 10:11
  but you have to run 800
• 10:12
  meters a bunch too.
• 10:14
  So again, any Yang, right.
• 10:17
  You have to row on a machine,
• 10:20
  but handstand pushups come
• 10:21
  after or not handstand
• 10:23
  walks come after that.
• 10:24
  So Yang, right.
• 10:25
  Like everything is like that.
• 10:29
  And he said like all Sunday
• 10:31
  this year is going to be execution.
• 10:33
  A hundred percent.
• 10:35
  Yep.
• 10:35
  And so when you look at that programming,
• 10:38
  that's way more classic CrossFit.
• 10:43
  Are you excited or worried?
• 10:45
  Very, very excited.
• 10:48
  Okay.
• 10:48
  Yeah.
• 10:49
  I think that these workouts, I...
• 10:53
  First of all, I love them.
• 10:54
  I think they're so well programmed.
• 10:56
  Like you said, you have your running,
• 10:59
  but then you also have your
• 11:00
  moderately heavy barbells.
• 11:01
  In the second workout,
• 11:02
  you have your gymnastics
• 11:03
  with your toe-to-bar and
• 11:04
  your double-unders,
• 11:05
  but then you have that 155 front squat.
• 11:08
  There's little bits and
• 11:10
  pieces where you can see, oh,
• 11:12
  a smaller athlete's going
• 11:13
  to do well in this part of the workout,
• 11:14
  and a bigger athlete is
• 11:15
  going to do well in this
• 11:16
  part of the workout.
• 11:17
  And I think
• 11:19
  that really shows you who is
• 11:21
  the most well-rounded,
• 11:22
  like who can do the gymnastics well,
• 11:24
  but who can also move the
• 11:27
  barbell well and do that
• 11:29
  all under fatigue and
• 11:30
  everything like that.
• 11:32
  I tend to thrive under workouts like that.
• 11:35
  Especially these workouts
• 11:37
  are a little on the longer
• 11:38
  side to the capture a little bit longer,
• 11:41
  which is something that's
• 11:42
  pretty good for me.
• 11:44
  So I'm super excited when
• 11:46
  they announced all the workouts, like I,
• 11:48
  had a huge smile on my face.
• 11:50
  I was like, these are, these are fun.
• 11:53
  These are going to be good.
• 11:54
  So.
• 11:56
  So it's funny because that
• 11:58
  yin and yang thing is,
• 12:00
  is cool because even when I
• 12:01
  started CrossFit in like
• 12:03
  2011 in my gym there,
• 12:05
  I had an arch rival that I
• 12:07
  wanted to be in every workout.
• 12:09
  Right.
• 12:10
  And he was really good at
• 12:11
  the running and the gymnastics.
• 12:13
  And I was really good at the barbell.
• 12:15
  And that kind of thing.
• 12:16
  Right.
• 12:16
  Yeah.
• 12:17
  And then it becomes a strategy thing.
• 12:19
  Like, okay,
• 12:20
  I know he's going to get me on this,
• 12:21
  but I just have to stay
• 12:22
  within X and I know I can catch him here.
• 12:28
  Is that the stuff that's
• 12:28
  going to be going through
• 12:29
  all the athletes minds all weekend?
• 12:31
  I think so.
• 12:33
  But I also think it's like,
• 12:35
  you have to still run your own race.
• 12:37
  You have to still know
• 12:38
  yourself as an athlete and
• 12:40
  not kind of let,
• 12:42
  anyone else get in your head
• 12:44
  almost like and I feel like
• 12:45
  a lot of to the fact that
• 12:47
  we've had these workouts for so long,
• 12:49
  you have so much time to
• 12:51
  practice and strategize and
• 12:52
  see like where you can make
• 12:54
  up time here where you can
• 12:55
  make up time there.
• 12:56
  So I really think that, like you said,
• 13:01
  Sunday is definitely going
• 13:01
  to come down to execution,
• 13:03
  I feel like the people that
• 13:04
  are kind of like, ready for the weekend,
• 13:06
  like it's all going to come
• 13:07
  down to how they execute
• 13:08
  running their own race, not letting
• 13:12
  someone kind of get the
• 13:12
  better of them or have them
• 13:15
  race a different way
• 13:15
  because they're actually
• 13:17
  like with other people on the floor.
• 13:20
  The run's going to be on the road,
• 13:23
  on the flat surface, the mountain,
• 13:25
  wherever, wherever you're at, who knows,
• 13:28
  but it's not going to be on
• 13:29
  an air runner.
• 13:30
  Yep.
• 13:31
  I'm so disappointed because
• 13:34
  it would be so cool as a
• 13:35
  spectator to be able to
• 13:36
  watch those races.
• 13:38
  Yeah.
• 13:40
  I'm tired of the watch 20
• 13:42
  people on an air runner and
• 13:44
  you just get to see the
• 13:44
  click of a little thing saying, okay,
• 13:47
  200.
• 13:48
  Okay.
• 13:49
  Right.
• 13:49
  Right.
• 13:50
  Right.
• 13:50
  Um, it,
• 13:53
  but how excited are you as an
• 13:54
  athlete that you'll get to
• 13:55
  see where you are in the pack?
• 13:58
  I think honestly,
• 14:00
  as I I'm like super excited,
• 14:02
  I think it's going to give,
• 14:03
  a better opportunity.
• 14:05
  I think it's going to be
• 14:05
  more fun for the athletes.
• 14:07
  Like you can actually race and you're,
• 14:09
  you know, where the person is with you.
• 14:12
  I honestly think that
• 14:13
  running on the ground kind
• 14:14
  of gives us all like an
• 14:16
  even playing field.
• 14:17
  Like you said,
• 14:17
  like last year in the programming too,
• 14:19
  there was a lot of machines.
• 14:21
  Machines are obviously a
• 14:22
  little more biased towards the bigger,
• 14:25
  heavier athletes.
• 14:25
  You can get a lot more power out of it.
• 14:28
  So I think that the fact
• 14:29
  that we're running on the
• 14:31
  ground really is going to
• 14:32
  kind of like showcase,
• 14:34
  are like us as athletes a little bit more.
• 14:36
  And I think that will be more exciting too,
• 14:38
  just for like all of us.
• 14:42
  So I've been to the venue in Knoxville.
• 14:46
  It's not on a flat piece of ground.
• 14:49
  Right.
• 14:50
  Um, it,
• 14:52
  the venue itself inside is not big
• 14:54
  enough to like build a track.
• 14:57
  So you're probably going to
• 14:58
  be running Hills advantage
• 15:00
  or disadvantage.
• 15:03
  I think,
• 15:08
  I mean, we're all going to have to do it.
• 15:11
  We're all going to be
• 15:11
  running those hills if they're hills.
• 15:13
  So, I mean, for me personally,
• 15:17
  where I've been running with my coach,
• 15:19
  we have a little bit of a hill.
• 15:21
  So I'm kind of used to
• 15:22
  running up a hill and then
• 15:23
  going right to that barbell.
• 15:24
  It does not feel good.
• 15:26
  But if that's the case, I mean,
• 15:28
  we're all going to have to do it.
• 15:30
  So, yeah.
• 15:33
  any difference if you have
• 15:34
  to run downhill to the barbell?
• 15:38
  Um, you know, I don't know.
• 15:41
  Cause I feel like running downhill,
• 15:43
  it's kind of like, at least for me,
• 15:47
  I'm like kind of like just
• 15:48
  like running without a lot of control.
• 15:51
  So maybe if you have to run downhill,
• 15:54
  like might get, honestly,
• 15:55
  I think it might Jack my
• 15:57
  heart rate even more than
• 15:58
  if I had to run uphill.
• 15:59
  Yeah.
• 16:01
  Whenever I was running back in the day,
• 16:03
  like every downhill,
• 16:04
  I would just let it rip.
• 16:07
  Gravity helped me.
• 16:07
  Yeah, exactly.
• 16:10
  You know, make up the time where I can.
• 16:14
  So have you been to that?
• 16:17
  You did the MAC,
• 16:18
  but it was at the other arena then,
• 16:20
  right?
• 16:20
  Yeah, it was at a different venue.
• 16:22
  So I've never been to the syndicate venue.
• 16:23
  Yeah.
• 16:24
  Yeah.
• 16:27
  It's,
• 16:27
  it's a really cool place because like
• 16:29
  the seats are elevated and it, it,
• 16:33
  it's really cool.
• 16:34
  And I think you'll like it a lot,
• 16:36
  but the only thing I can
• 16:36
  think of is they have these
• 16:37
  like loading docks.
• 16:40
  Like if you look at the
• 16:41
  floor where the finish line
• 16:43
  was right behind that,
• 16:44
  we're loading docks.
• 16:45
  Okay.
• 16:46
  All I can think of is you're
• 16:47
  going to run out through
• 16:49
  that door out somewhere to do something.
• 16:52
  Yeah.
• 16:53
  Yeah.
• 16:55
  Um, so this year you come in,
• 16:59
  in a really good position,
• 17:00
  like better than you've ever done before.
• 17:04
  Um,
• 17:05
  does that give you confidence that
• 17:06
  changes you've made in the
• 17:07
  off season are paying off?
• 17:10
  A hundred percent.
• 17:11
  I think for me, just personally,
• 17:13
  as an athlete, I've,
• 17:15
  I feel the fittest I've ever felt.
• 17:18
  Um,
• 17:18
  and I feel really good going into this
• 17:21
  season.
• 17:21
  I think the leaderboard kind
• 17:23
  of reflected that.
• 17:24
  Um,
• 17:25
  with the quarters workout.
• 17:26
  So I'm really happy with
• 17:28
  where I'm going and really
• 17:29
  happy to just showcase all
• 17:31
  the hard work I've put in
• 17:32
  during the off season.
• 17:34
  Did you do any off season comps?
• 17:38
  I did water Palooza.
• 17:39
  Okay.
• 17:40
  Um,
• 17:40
  I think that was probably the biggest
• 17:42
  one that I did.
• 17:44
  Um, I also did Metcon rush too.
• 17:47
  So those were two kind of rush.
• 17:51
  Yeah.
• 17:52
  Such a fun competition.
• 17:53
  Um,
• 17:54
  So I did those two kind of bigger ones.
• 17:57
  Metcon Rush was so much fun.
• 17:59
  I was really happy with how that went.
• 18:00
  Wadapalooza more so was for
• 18:02
  me to kind of just, well,
• 18:05
  one was my first year doing Wadapalooza,
• 18:06
  so I've never experienced it before.
• 18:08
  So it's like an experience in itself.
• 18:11
  But also too,
• 18:12
  I just wanted to be able to
• 18:13
  go to a bigger competition
• 18:15
  and work with my coach
• 18:17
  there before semifinals
• 18:18
  because I had just recently
• 18:20
  switched under him.
• 18:22
  So we kind of just wanted to
• 18:23
  get like that in-person
• 18:24
  feel of how I am in a competition,
• 18:26
  how he is in competition,
• 18:29
  and just kind of know each
• 18:30
  other more before going to
• 18:31
  semis so that it's not new to us.
• 18:35
  And what a time to test your
• 18:37
  relationship as coach-athlete then.
• 18:39
  Sensory overload where
• 18:42
  weather changes constantly.
• 18:45
  Yes.
• 18:45
  Yep.
• 18:46
  Yep.
• 18:48
  So how did that work out?
• 18:50
  It was good.
• 18:51
  I mean,
• 18:52
  I really had a lot of fun that weekend.
• 18:55
  It was more so I didn't,
• 18:57
  I didn't really train for it at all.
• 18:59
  Um,
• 19:00
  just because kind of working under my
• 19:02
  new coach,
• 19:02
  he has this really planned for
• 19:04
  me to really like peak
• 19:06
  during the season for semifinals, um,
• 19:09
  to potentially get a spot to the game.
• 19:11
  So it was more so just kind of go have fun,
• 19:15
  see what happens type of competition.
• 19:17
  Um,
• 19:18
  so I had a lot of fun just because I
• 19:19
  didn't put a ton of pressure on myself.
• 19:22
  Um, my placing like wasn't the best,
• 19:25
  but I knew that it wasn't,
• 19:26
  I wasn't really there to place.
• 19:28
  Well,
• 19:28
  I was there to kind of just see what
• 19:30
  I needed to work on, um,
• 19:32
  see how our athlete to
• 19:34
  coach relationship was and
• 19:36
  just kind of have fun.
• 19:38
  So it was a good experience.
• 19:40
  So I think there's two
• 19:42
  attitudes with off-season comps, right?
• 19:44
  You're either there to win
• 19:46
  some prize money,
• 19:48
  support yourself through the season,
• 19:49
  or you're there to test things out.
• 19:52
  Right.
• 19:53
  Right.
• 19:53
  And it's okay to be either way.
• 19:57
  Sometimes the fans don't understand,
• 19:58
  though.
• 19:59
  They're like, why did you finish blah,
• 20:00
  blah, blah, right?
• 20:00
  Yeah.
• 20:01
  Yeah.
• 20:02
  But I've talked to people who are like,
• 20:04
  well, this comp,
• 20:04
  I just wanted to go and see
• 20:06
  what I could hold on to,
• 20:07
  like all out and see where I broke down.
• 20:11
  Yep.
• 20:12
  I got a frog.
• 20:13
  Hold on.
• 20:20
  Okay.
• 20:22
  So does that change for you
• 20:25
  from comp to comp?
• 20:28
  I definitely think so.
• 20:30
  Some competitions, like for example,
• 20:32
  Metcon Rush,
• 20:33
  that was a competition I did
• 20:34
  to get on the podium, win some money.
• 20:37
  Again,
• 20:38
  Wadapalooza was for fun to go up
• 20:40
  against athletes, amazing athletes,
• 20:42
  athletes that I would be
• 20:44
  competing up at the game.
• 20:46
  So just kind of getting
• 20:48
  experience in that elite division,
• 20:50
  being with my coach,
• 20:51
  seeing how we worked in competition.
• 20:54
  Yeah, it all has to do.
• 20:55
  And just like,
• 20:57
  obviously every competition
• 20:58
  is different in programming.
• 21:00
  it can really show you, okay,
• 21:01
  I did really well in this workout.
• 21:02
  Maybe that's not something I
• 21:03
  need to work on as much in
• 21:04
  training anymore.
• 21:06
  And I didn't do so great in this workout.
• 21:08
  So this is what we need to
• 21:08
  kind of work on.
• 21:10
  So, um, yeah.
• 21:14
  And you succeeded at both.
• 21:17
  You podiumed at Metcon Rush.
• 21:19
  Yep.
• 21:20
  And you got to test out the
• 21:22
  relationship with your
• 21:23
  coach at Wadapalooza.
• 21:24
  Yep.
• 21:26
  So now going into this season,
• 21:28
  what's the realistic expectation?
• 21:33
  I want to make it to the games this year.
• 21:36
  That's my goal.
• 21:38
  That's my expectation.
• 21:39
  I think that if I go out on
• 21:41
  the floor that weekend of
• 21:44
  semifinals and I execute,
• 21:46
  I can get a spot to the games.
• 21:52
  And you've proven that you
• 21:54
  have the capacity and the
• 21:55
  ability by missing by one
• 21:57
  spot a couple times in a row.
• 21:59
  Mm-hmm.
• 22:02
  You change coaches.
• 22:04
  Yep.
• 22:04
  So what has that been like?
• 22:07
  And who are you with now?
• 22:09
  So I'm with Tommy Pomatico
• 22:11
  with Conquer Athlete.
• 22:14
  It's been amazing, to say the least.
• 22:17
  I think that making the
• 22:20
  switch under him has not only –
• 22:22
  helped me as an athlete, like fitness wise,
• 22:26
  but also to just confidence wise.
• 22:28
  And I think that's why I can
• 22:29
  really sit here and say
• 22:30
  that I'm going for the games this year.
• 22:32
  Um,
• 22:33
  he has put so much time and energy and
• 22:35
  effort into me and it,
• 22:38
  it really just shows in how
• 22:41
  much I've progressed since
• 22:42
  starting with him.
• 22:43
  I've only been with him
• 22:44
  since I think November.
• 22:47
  Um, and just,
• 22:48
  The leaps and bounds that
• 22:50
  I've made with him over
• 22:51
  such a short period of time,
• 22:52
  it just makes me so excited
• 22:55
  for what we could do in a
• 22:56
  year or two years.
• 22:59
  And one of the big reasons
• 23:02
  why I moved back up to New
• 23:03
  York was so that I could
• 23:04
  train with him and my training partner,
• 23:09
  Nikki.
• 23:10
  We both trained together.
• 23:11
  We're both under him.
• 23:12
  I just wanted to have that
• 23:15
  environment and be with other athletes.
• 23:19
  And so Friday, Saturday, Sunday,
• 23:21
  I'm training with them at
• 23:22
  CrossFit Milford.
• 23:23
  We train with the team.
• 23:24
  They have a team going to
• 23:25
  semis this year as well.
• 23:26
  So just kind of being in
• 23:27
  that environment and being
• 23:29
  pushed by all these amazing
• 23:30
  athletes has been a game changer for me.
• 23:33
  So it was definitely the switch I needed.
• 23:36
  You've been doing this since
• 23:39
  you've been a teenager.
• 23:40
  Mm-hmm.
• 23:43
  And you still look like a teenager, but,
• 23:47
  but you've been doing this for a while.
• 23:48
  I can't remember.
• 23:50
  When did you first start?
• 23:51
  I started in 2015, but I was just doing,
• 23:57
  I didn't start like being
• 23:58
  competitive until probably
• 24:00
  the end of 2016.
• 24:01
  So I did CrossFit for a year
• 24:03
  where I was just going to
• 24:04
  the gym every morning with
• 24:05
  my mom and doing class and
• 24:07
  then going to school,
• 24:09
  being a normal teenager.
• 24:10
  Yeah.
• 24:13
  So when,
• 24:15
  when you say like you switch
• 24:16
  coaches and how much of
• 24:17
  that is just like some,
• 24:20
  you just needed something
• 24:21
  different because you've
• 24:22
  been at this for so long.
• 24:24
  Yeah.
• 24:26
  Is there like a newness to
• 24:28
  it that gives you like,
• 24:31
  makes it easier to train this year?
• 24:32
  I think so.
• 24:34
  Yeah.
• 24:34
  I think, you know, having that change,
• 24:37
  it really kind of lit a fire under me.
• 24:40
  And just being with other
• 24:42
  athletes as well has really
• 24:43
  lit a fire under me.
• 24:45
  I think last year with the
• 24:47
  programming and semifinals,
• 24:48
  it really kind of showed
• 24:49
  you that all of these new
• 24:51
  things can really pop up
• 24:52
  and you really need to stay
• 24:53
  on top of the sport if you
• 24:55
  want to be able to progress.
• 24:56
  And just with all of the new
• 24:59
  movements that showed up
• 25:01
  really out of nowhere.
• 25:02
  And I just really needed a
• 25:05
  coach that was like really,
• 25:06
  really into the sport and
• 25:08
  knew kind of what was
• 25:09
  what was happening and all
• 25:11
  the little new things that
• 25:12
  could pop up potentially so
• 25:13
  that when I got to competition,
• 25:16
  I wasn't blindsided by any
• 25:17
  movement or didn't train
• 25:19
  that movement enough.
• 25:20
  So that was something that
• 25:22
  was kind of a big factor
• 25:24
  into why I switched over as well.
• 25:27
  Do you,
• 25:28
  do you work full-time or part-time
• 25:30
  or to support yourself?
• 25:32
  Yeah, I'm a full-time CrossFit coach.
• 25:34
  So I work at two CrossFit
• 25:35
  gyms and coach at both of them.
• 25:41
  is there a goal someday that
• 25:42
  you won't have to do that?
• 25:45
  Yes.
• 25:46
  A hundred percent.
• 25:47
  Um,
• 25:51
  you know, I,
• 25:52
  I do a show with Carolyn Prevo
• 25:53
  and she takes,
• 25:55
  she takes a lot of pride
• 25:56
  that she's a full-time
• 25:58
  school teacher and a
• 26:00
  professional athlete at the same time.
• 26:03
  Yeah.
• 26:03
  Um, and I think it,
• 26:06
  it means more to her when
• 26:07
  she shows what she can do,
• 26:09
  knowing she can't spend
• 26:11
  full time being an athlete.
• 26:12
  Right.
• 26:13
  Do you ever get that sense of pride?
• 26:20
  I think she got a phone call.
• 26:21
  Maybe.
• 26:22
  There we go.
• 26:27
  I have your back.
• 26:36
  Callista.
• 26:43
  Oh, no.
• 26:50
  We have lost Calista for a second.
• 26:53
  Hopefully she'll make it back in.
• 27:05
  So if you've missed today,
• 27:07
  we had Saxon Pancheck on
• 27:09
  right before this.
• 27:10
  That's available out there now.
• 27:11
  We're going to be
• 27:12
  interviewing Kyra Milligan
• 27:14
  this afternoon at 4 p.m.
• 27:17
  Eastern time.
• 27:19
  Be sure to check that one out.
• 27:22
  We also interviewed Aaliyah Miller.
• 27:24
  Oh, we have a second screen.
• 27:25
  And there she is.
• 27:27
  Sorry about that.
• 27:30
  Okay.
• 27:31
  I am going to kick your
• 27:33
  other... There we go.
• 27:36
  Computer just completely died on me.
• 27:39
  Okay.
• 27:41
  Yeah,
• 27:41
  just went to a circle thing in black.
• 27:43
  I don't even remember what I was saying.
• 27:47
  I was just running down
• 27:50
  promos for the show while
• 27:51
  you were walking back on.
• 27:55
  It was about working
• 27:57
  full-time job and training as well.
• 28:01
  there a sense of pride that
• 28:02
  you don't have the full
• 28:03
  time the full day to train
• 28:07
  and yet you're still very
• 28:08
  very competitive yeah I
• 28:10
  mean 100 I feel like it was
• 28:13
  really hard too just when I
• 28:14
  was a college student and I
• 28:15
  was dedicating a lot of
• 28:17
  time to school and training
• 28:19
  um and it's tough too being
• 28:23
  a coach as well like I'm on my feet for
• 28:26
  six hours a day not
• 28:28
  including training so it's
• 28:31
  really really taxing on my
• 28:33
  body um but I just think
• 28:37
  that it kind of like when I
• 28:38
  get out there I'm like you
• 28:39
  worked really really hard
• 28:40
  for this and no matter what
• 28:42
  was kind of going on how
• 28:43
  much you had to do you had
• 28:45
  no excuses and it kind of
• 28:46
  makes it like a little bit
• 28:48
  like the reward a little
• 28:48
  bit sweeter if that makes sense
• 28:51
  Totally makes sense.
• 28:53
  So the week of the comp,
• 28:55
  you're going to be going to Knoxville.
• 28:56
  Do you take time away from
• 28:58
  your coaching job to kind
• 29:00
  of like get the body ready for this?
• 29:02
  Yeah.
• 29:03
  Yeah.
• 29:04
  I did that for quarterfinals as well.
• 29:07
  I took almost the whole week
• 29:10
  off from coaching just so I
• 29:11
  could really focus on training.
• 29:14
  I'll probably do the same thing.
• 29:15
  I might coach a little bit.
• 29:17
  I know I leave on Wednesday,
• 29:18
  so I might coach a little
• 29:19
  bit on Monday and Tuesday, but
• 29:21
  Nothing crazy and just
• 29:22
  really prioritize recovery, sleep,
• 29:25
  making sure I'm doing all
• 29:26
  of that because that's what's super,
• 29:28
  super important.
• 29:32
  So if you punch your ticket
• 29:34
  to the CrossFit Games,
• 29:37
  what kind of celebration
• 29:38
  will that be like?
• 29:40
  Oh, I mean,
• 29:42
  probably going to cry just
• 29:44
  because it's been such a long time,
• 29:48
  but definitely going to go out.
• 29:51
  gonna celebrate with my
• 29:52
  family and my loved ones
• 29:53
  that are there and have a
• 29:56
  have a glass of prosecco
• 29:58
  that's that's my drink okay
• 30:02
  any food choice to to
• 30:04
  celebrate I'm really into
• 30:08
  sushi so I might have to do
• 30:10
  a lot of sushi you and my
• 30:13
  daughter everywhere my
• 30:15
  daughter goes she looks for
• 30:16
  like the sushi place yep I love it
• 30:23
  And she's probably right around your age,
• 30:24
  too.
• 30:25
  She's 22?
• 30:25
  Yep, 23.
• 30:27
  Yeah, she'll be 23 in July.
• 30:32
  Oh, nice.
• 30:34
  So, yeah.
• 30:36
  So,
• 30:38
  do you have a big contingent heading
• 30:40
  down to Knoxville?
• 30:43
  Yeah.
• 30:44
  Yeah, my...
• 30:46
  My family is coming.
• 30:48
  Got a couple friends coming as well.
• 30:50
  So I'm super excited.
• 30:52
  Most of the people that are
• 30:53
  usually there to support me
• 30:54
  are going to be down there as well.
• 30:56
  So and then I have just the
• 30:58
  whole kind of conquer crew
• 31:00
  that's going to be there as well.
• 31:01
  The team, my other training partner,
• 31:03
  we have some people from
• 31:05
  that gym coming down as well.
• 31:07
  So I'm excited.
• 31:10
  So who handles the accommodations?
• 31:13
  Do you do that yourself or
• 31:14
  do you have family member or?
• 31:16
  My mom took care of it this year.
• 31:18
  Thankfully.
• 31:21
  Yeah.
• 31:21
  Yeah.
• 31:22
  I was a big weight lifted
• 31:23
  off my shoulders.
• 31:24
  Her just kind of like figuring things out,
• 31:26
  but they usually stay on top of it.
• 31:31
  So as always,
• 31:33
  it's been a blast having you on.
• 31:36
  We'll be there rooting for you.
• 31:37
  Thank you.
• 31:39
  And can't wait to see what you do.
• 31:41
  Hope this is the year.
• 31:42
  You've been so close.
• 31:45
  It's bound to happen.
• 31:46
  Yep.
• 31:47
  Yep.
• 31:48
  Thank you so much for having me on.
• 31:50
  Just go up to tea and be like,
• 31:51
  this is my house.
• 31:52
  Yeah, exactly.
• 31:57
  Well,
• 31:57
  thank you everybody that's in the chat.
• 31:59
  It's been a blast hanging
• 32:00
  out with you today and
• 32:02
  we'll see everybody next
• 32:03
  time on the Clydesdale
• 32:04
  media podcast where we are
• 32:07
  featuring the athletes of
• 32:08
  the 2024 CrossFit semifinals.
• 32:11
  Bye guys.