Alison Stall | Athletes of the Legend's Master's CrossFit Games

We catch up with Alison Stall who is going to the CrossFit Games in the 35-39 Year Old Division and competing against a stacked field.  Last year Alison competed at the North America East Semifinal while pregnant with her second child and now she is back on the competition floor ready to throw down with the best in the world.

What is Clydesdale Media Podcast?

We cover the sport of CrossFit from all angles. We talk with athletes, coaches and celebrities that compete and surround in the sport of CrossFit at all levels. We also bring you Breaking News, Human Interest Stories and report on the Methodology of CrossFit. We also use the methodology to make ourselves the fittest we can be.

Hey, hey, chill.

Let's go.

I was born a killer.

I was meant to win.

I am down and willing,

so I will find a way.

It took a minute,

now it didn't happen right away.

When they get hot in the kitchen,

you decide to stay.

That's how a winner's made.

Stick a fork in the hay.

What is going on, everybody?

Welcome to the Clydesdale Media Podcast,

where we are currently on

the mission to interview as

many of the Masters Games

athletes as we can over the

next several weeks before

the CrossFit Games in Birmingham,

Alabama.

We started with Rudy Berger

a couple weeks ago when I

got to go over to his house

and hang out with him.

Then we featured Allison and Zoe Fiala,

who both are a teen and a

master's athlete mother-daughter,

qualified and compete on the same weekend,

and how they're dealing with that.

But our first true profile

is the sweetest woman in CrossFit,

Allison Fiala.

Oh, thank you so much.

It just that made my day the

other day when you were like, Hey,

let's get you on the back on the show.

So yeah, I,

I've met a lot of people in this journey.

And you are above and beyond

the nicest person I've ever met.

Oh, well, thank you.

I don't know.

Hopefully people close,

like very close to me would

agree to that.

Hopefully my husband and my

children would so.

So yeah.

when you get out on that

floor there's a switch that

flips and and then it's all

on competitive fire uh

savage out there so uh it's

cool to see that kind of

transformation when you hit

the competition floor for

sure yeah try to at least so so yeah

So if people haven't seen

you on here before,

I need to tell them that

last year you made the

elite semifinals in North America East.

Yes,

that stacked North America East where

all the big time names are.

Allison made that and she was pregnant.

Yes, I competed.

I think I was 14 weeks

pregnant during that weekend.

So, so yeah.

And feeling it pretty well.

I had some good and some,

some not good at all, but, but I was,

I was so thankful that

there was not a movement

that came up that I was like, Hey,

I just have no business

doing this 14 weeks pregnant.

So,

so I was just thankful to get to do the

whole weekend and,

and not have any pressure

and just go and have fun and enjoy it.

So it was a blast.

It was so much fun.

What I thought was cool is

you actually competed in

regionals in like 2016.

Yes.

And then what, like seven years later,

you make it back to that stage.

Yes.

And it just shows like what

consistency hitting your gym,

like consistently every

week that you can get,

but you can do amazing things.

For sure.

Yes.

Um, yeah, it's been a long,

a long journey.

I've had two Achilles

surgeries since then.

I've had two pregnancies, two C-sections,

um, one full recovery from a pregnancy.

And then one that I'm like, I'm,

I'm right at eight,

eight months postpartum right now.

So with my little girl, so, um,

so I'm getting there.

Still have a long way to go though.

That's a perfect segue into

what I wanted to talk about now is how,

how far into your pregnancy

were you able to work out?

Oh,

I worked out the entire pregnancy and

wow.

I am so glad that I did.

Um, I, now this wasn't,

I wasn't doing like full

CrossFit training every single day.

What I really loved being

pregnant was taking full

advantage of our class

workouts and going to class.

especially after semifinals was over.

I had that whole summer last

summer just to jump in

class and just be a part of

our community.

I love our community at our gym,

CrossFit Electric City,

and just do our class workouts.

And I was able to modify as

my pregnancy progressed,

which meant if they were

doing GHD sit-ups, I was doing

no sort of sit-ups,

but I was doing things like

kettlebell swings or slam

balls or something just to

get like a hip opening and

closing movement.

I was still doing, you know,

things like pull-ups,

but my butterfly pull-ups

became kipping pull-ups and

then it became banded

pull-ups and then it

So getting to go through the

whole progression and just

getting to modify as I went,

I'm so thankful.

And I feel like that helped

me as a coach as well.

Just, you know,

we've had pregnant women

come and go at our gym and, you know,

getting to be an example for them,

but also getting to like

gain knowledge and gain

experience to be able to

help others as a coach as well with that.

And so, yeah.

Um,

I was able to thankfully do a good bit.

Um,

some days I just did not have the energy,

especially from chasing a

toddler around all day, um, as well.

So it was like, you know,

today I'm just going to go

for a two mile walk.

And, um, that was great as well.

But, um, but thankfully, yeah, I was still,

you know, on the machines at the gym.

I was, you know, doing,

doing what I could.

So, so yeah.

Yeah.

I think every time I have you on,

you pre-read my notes,

and I don't know how you

get a hold of them.

And then you give me segues

into the next thing I want to talk about.

Okay, cool.

Yeah.

But you are a coach.

Do you have to take time

away with this pregnancy

and subsequently postpartum?

Yes.

So I actually did not take time.

Well, I think the week leading up to birth,

I did not coach that that week,

that morning.

But I want to say I gave

myself three weeks after

giving birth and then I was

back in the gym.

But I do want to preface back in the day.

So probably three, four years ago,

I used to coach full time

and I had a good bit of classes.

I coached.

I had personal training clients.

Um, but we, we moved, um, to the town,

like one town over and then came back.

Um,

and then I had a kid in that time that

I stay at home with.

And so it's just been hard

to like get those hours to coach.

So, um, when I came back coaching,

I was coaching one morning

a week and then filling in as needed.

So it's really not like I'm coaching, um,

in the capacity that I used to, um,

I do remote coaching.

So I have a couple of

clients that I program, um,

for like their competitors,

they want competitor style programming.

Um,

but then I also have nutrition clients

remote.

So that's great to have the

remote cause I can do it, you know,

after my kids go to bed,

my husband's very,

very great about that as well.

I'm helping out in the

afternoon so I can go, um,

get some check-ins done with

people or take advantage of

it on Sundays.

So remote is kind of where

I'm at right now.

But I do,

I love the morning that I get to

coach every morning.

So I hope and pray that one

day the opportunity will be

there for me to step back

in and coach more hours.

But,

having a very newly

three-year-old and an eight-month-old,

it's tough when I stay at home with them.

And I will say some people

do a great job bringing

their kids to the gym.

And I definitely have done that before.

But if I were to go coach,

I would not trust my

three-year-old to behave.

He loves the gym,

but he needs supervision at the gym.

So we don't have like

childcare or anything.

So yeah.

I think my wife's phrase is

seasons of life, right?

This is the season you're in.

It's going to change at some point.

And then you're going to get

to do other things you love

again and get to then love

on your kids in a different way.

For sure.

And I'm that's I love the

way you said that,

because that is like what I hope.

I hope that one day, you know,

when I have a little bit

more child care for them,

that I can jump back in and do some more.

But but yeah, so I coach five and six a.m.

every Tuesday morning.

But but yes.

And then, like I said, fill in as needed.

So.

So your husband is Dan.

And I've heard.

And we both know Jamie.

She's my co-host.

She's one of my best friends.

I know that you two have

connected through competition a lot.

She says that if you're a

competitive athlete at the

level you guys are at,

you have to be somewhat selfish.

Do you feel that you are?

And do you think your

husband helps you to be that way?

He definitely helps a lot.

He actually we've had a lot

going on this summer.

He took on a new job,

a new and he's a sales.

He does like medical sales.

And so he now sells a new a new drug,

a new product.

And he has been slammed like

some mornings leaving the house at seven,

not getting home till five.

But he's been great about like, hey,

you take the time that you

need to go to the gym.

So some days that means I

show up at the gym after

five and I stay for two

hours and then I get my

stuff in all packed in.

I mean, it's just very focused at the gym.

Get it in.

Get out.

Like last Saturday,

we had an appointment for

our son in Greenville.

And so I went to the gym

when we got back that afternoon.

So he took care of the kids

while I went to the gym.

by myself that afternoon and

got some stuff in then.

Um, so yes, he's very good and he's,

he's awesome about it.

I'm probably the problem.

I get the worst mom guilt.

So I like the thought of not

being able to be at home

for like bath time and

tucking my kids in.

Um,

is to like, I,

it's like one of those

things I can't sacrifice,

which is another reason why

I don't really love to

coach in the afternoons

because I don't want to get

home at eight because my

kids will already be asleep

or on the way to being asleep.

And so,

so that's something that I

definitely struggled with,

especially this pregnancy

is just trying to find that selfishness,

I guess.

Because I,

I just want to be at home with my family.

So, but I also want to be in the gym.

So it's, it's tough, but, but yeah.

It's funny when, when my daughter was,

and she just turned 23 yesterday.

So like this was a long time ago,

but when she was a baby, um,

I would always take the evening shift,

like,

cause she liked to stay up my daughter.

So I would stay up till like 10 30, 11.

My daughter,

my wife would go to bed early

and then my wife would be

up for like the early

morning so that we would

just do these shifts to make it easier on,

on both of us.

Love that.

Yes.

And he's great about that.

For example, like I said, last Monday,

I didn't make it to the gym

till after five.

I actually jumped in and did

our five 30 class and did

some lifting before that

did one other piece that

had some running and cleaning.

It was basically very

similar to that semifinal

workout with the running

and cleaning jerks after class.

And while I did that, he bathed both kids,

got our baby fed, got her down.

And then he was pretty much

getting our son to sleep when I got home.

So, so yeah.

But that's rare.

I don't want I'd rather just

come in a little bit

earlier if I'm able to.

And we've been able to hire

a babysitter the past several weeks.

So that's been helpful.

So, yeah.

So, and,

and my wife would feel that guilt too.

She was, you know, she was mama bear like,

and to this day she is mama bear, right?

Yeah.

I'm glad she let me have that time.

Cause that was just,

those evening hours were

just me and my daughter and I,

and that gave her and I that time alone.

For sure.

And, and as a dad, I wanted that too.

I love that.

Yes.

That's great.

So, so yeah.

Um,

So you're eight months postpartum.

I believe that's what Tia

was when she competed at Rogue.

Okay.

Yeah, that sounds about right.

Six, seven, eight, somewhere around there.

When you see someone like

that doing what you're doing, again,

Tia's a different level.

Yes.

Does that give you

inspiration and hope that,

Oh yes.

Yes, for sure.

Tia at Rogue.

I watched,

I watched that competition and it I think,

yes, it was end of October.

I gave birth the next month.

And so I'm over here thinking I'm no Tia.

So I'm not dumb enough to

compare myself to Tia and

think if Tia can do it, I can do it.

But it is so inspirational to see her,

you know,

just come back and you can tell

that she's not like, she wasn't like,

you know, full, full Tia back,

but she did her best.

And I remember hearing

something afterwards of her

just saying how proud she was of herself,

um, for that.

And then another,

another instance was in the games, 2021,

I just given birth, um, to my first.

And I remember just being

super emotional postpartum

and then watching any

Thor's daughter snatch,

whatever weight that was 200 and whatnot.

I can't remember what it was after,

you know,

almost a year of giving

birth to her first.

And I remember crying, like just, you know,

so inspirational.

So, so yes.

What do you think that these

female CrossFitters are

doing to redefine what it

means to be a mom and to be

postpartum and what being

healthy going into the

pregnancy does for your recovery?

Oh, for sure.

Yeah, I I think that's so important.

And that's kind of what what

my mission has been as well.

I've never want anybody to

compare themselves to me

because we all have

different journeys as far as like,

you know, our pregnancies are different.

We have different complications.

We have different things

that may be going on.

We have different births, different.

postpartum journeys,

different support at home.

So it's definitely,

you never want to compare,

but I definitely want to be

an inspiration to others.

And that was kind of why,

in the back of my mind, I was like, hey,

this may not be my year for the games.

But the fact they were

taking 40 did give me some

hope that maybe I could.

But I had said from the

start that if I did make it,

that I want it to be for

all the moms out there, just to show that,

hey, when you have a kid or two kids,

you can still do these

things and it does require

a lot of hard work.

It's not going to look the

same as it used to.

You're not going to be able

to spend five hours in the gym.

Um, your,

your sessions in the gym may be a

lot more focused.

You have to really focus on

recovery outside of the gym

because there's not a lot

of time for in the gym.

Um,

But it can be done.

And I know for me, when I was pregnant,

I sought the help of a

pelvic floor physical

therapist who she's a very

good friend of mine.

And so she was super helpful

for me and gave me

confidence when I was

pregnant and gave me all

the rehab to do postpartum.

So those first couple months

after getting birth are so

crucial because you've got to know,

you know, that you can't push it yet.

That athlete brain kicks in.

Uh, but you have to just do your rehab.

So I did lots of core strengthening,

lots of glute strengthening and, um,

and yeah, and that,

that makes a huge difference.

So, so yeah,

there's a lot that goes on

behind the scenes and what

people see on social media for sure.

So I look at you and, and I'm like,

there's no way this woman

was pregnant eight months ago.

Right.

Yes.

You've bounced back.

From a looks perspective,

like really fast.

And I'm sure that like

you're saying pelvic floor,

like even Tia said at Rogue,

like she couldn't even wear

a weight belt because of recovery.

She was still going on.

Right.

Going on inside the abdomen area.

So where are you today with

your fitness and recovery?

Yeah.

80, 90%.

Probably not anywhere close to that.

But thank you for that.

That means a lot because I

think we're our worst critics.

And it's so easy to still

compare myself to who I was, let's say,

beginning of 2023 when I

felt like I was in my prime.

I was just fully recovered

from having my first after 18 months of

Um, and, and now it's like,

like I was just at the gym

literally right before I hopped on this,

I got to go to the gym and

we had a three by five back

squat and we've been trying

to progress every week.

And my numbers are just nowhere near,

they're actually weaker

than they were when I was pregnant.

Like just those good pregnancy hormones,

um,

that were pumping.

I just do not have a lot of

that right now.

So, so it's, like I said, it's,

things may look a lot

better on the outside than

they really are.

I think on social media,

we love to like portray our best when,

you know, behind the scenes, it's,

It's a struggle for sure.

So just trying to stay super

positive about it, trying to stay like,

hey, you know,

I even did a post on my

story right before I jumped

on this of like, hey,

I used to be able to do

this weight for 10 plus reps.

And today it was a struggle

to do three by five, but I did it.

And yeah.

And so just like it's just

enjoying the rebuilding

process is so huge.

And and so, yeah,

that's that's been that's been key.

I will say after I stopped breastfeeding,

I stopped breastfeeding

after five months.

So for a couple of few months now,

I've I've not been breastfeeding.

And for me, both pregnancies,

that has actually made a

huge difference in how I felt.

And I think Tia had said the

same thing that once she

stopped around that time, um,

and now some,

some ladies may be totally

different and can

breastfeed and be totally fine for,

you know,

a year or however long they

choose to do that.

But for me, um,

it's like your hormones are

really just off while

you're doing that and, um,

always tired and, um,

your body holds onto a lot of fat.

Um, or for me it did, um,

just trying to produce milk, I guess.

And, um, and so once I stopped doing that,

I felt like that was when I

started to see some like

changes like aesthetically.

So, so yeah.

So I've heard both Annie and

Tia talk about how their

strength came back quicker

because of the way their

hormones reacted to the pregnancy.

But if you're saying that

yours didn't do that,

it just shows that every

pregnancy is different.

Yes, for sure.

And same with weight.

People are like, oh, you know,

breastfeeding just takes

those pounds off of you.

And I'm still five pounds

from my pre-pregnancy weight.

And that's fine if I never get back there.

You know, after giving birth,

your body's just different.

And that's fine.

I know that for me, I'm doing my best.

I'm making healthy eating choices.

I'm eating enough.

I'm not going out and

getting crumble cookie

every weekend that I would

which I would love to do, but I'm not,

you know, I'm, I'm trying to be very,

very good about what I'm eating,

what I'm putting in my body.

You know, so, so yeah, so that,

that definitely makes,

makes a difference as well,

but it's still,

you just have to be proud

of the effort you're

putting in and then let God do the rest.

So, so yeah.

So we'll get,

we'll get to the games in a second.

And you mentioned God.

So through this all, it sounds like

that you've had some

struggles like mentally just with like,

and I, and trust me, I am,

I am big in this.

I compare to my pre-back surgery, Scott,

right.

And, and comparison is the thief of joy.

For sure.

And it,

and it is something I struggle with

all the time.

How much do you lean on your

faith and your church

community to help you through all this?

Oh, so much.

Just knowing that everything

happens for a reason.

I feel like if I don't have

that foundation,

then everything's going to just crumble.

So having that foundation of

my faith and just knowing

that I firmly believe that

everything happens for a reason.

And if it's

you know, if it's not good, what good,

you know, for me,

like there's a reason behind it.

And God has always shown that to me.

And I guess an example of

that would be my pregnancy.

Like I think I share on the last show,

getting pregnant last year,

I struggled with it so much

because I had that momentum.

Like I was,

it was 18 months after having

my son and I was starting

to feel like myself again.

I just won Wadapalooza.

I was like,

I really want to make the games

this year.

I think I can do it.

I finally believe that I can.

And then I'm pregnant and I'm

And I, you know, so it just,

I was a little upset with

the timing of it,

but I wouldn't want my life

any different right now.

Like I'm,

I'm so thankful as hard as it's been.

It's been the hardest thing

I've probably ever done

going from one child to two children.

I wouldn't want it any, any different.

So it's just always having

to surrender to that.

And just knowing that like, Hey,

my life is, I'm just open-handed and I'm,

whatever comes at me, we'll just,

we'll figure it out.

So, um,

and it'll make me stronger in the

process.

Cause I'll be honest,

it's shown me how selfish I

was going from one child to

two children and just the

thoughts that I've had of,

I wish I could be at the gym.

I wish I could go be coaching.

I wish I could be doing this or this,

but instead I'm holding

this baby that's crying and

screaming and trying to get her to sleep.

And, um, so, so yeah, so it's,

it's been tough for sure.

But if I didn't have my faith and, um,

I don't know.

I would be a mess.

So, so yeah.

Every, every time I have those thoughts,

my mom always says to me, it's God's time,

not your time.

For sure.

Yeah.

And, um, and when I first heard, I'm like,

Oh, you're probably right.

But man, it stinks.

Like I, um, but I think like,

like God uses us.

Right.

And,

and you could be such an example to so

many, um,

and the way you're handling it, right?

For sure.

And I'm trying.

I sometimes have some

moments where I'm like,

I get very frustrated.

I get jealous even.

I see people around me who have, you know,

a lot more time to work out.

And these are people who, you know,

don't even have any

competitions coming up, but they're,

you know, training, training, training.

And I'm here like

Oh, I wish I could, but I,

I'm not going to bring my

kids up to the gym and make

them sit in a hundred degrees.

Like it's so hot.

Um, you know, and I just,

I'd rather go to the park

with them or go make some memories and,

um,

which is, it's tough.

And all my mental capacity,

I feel like goes to that.

And then I go to the gym and

it's just kind of like,

here's what's left over.

But at the same time,

like as important as CrossFit is,

it still is.

I hate to say it's not the

end all be all because we

all were here because of CrossFit,

you know, we love CrossFit.

I'm so thankful that I get

to do CrossFit every day,

but I'm always having to remember,

it's just not the end all be all.

And there's so much more going around than,

than this, you know?

So,

this is just the icing on top.

So.

See, it's funny because it's,

it's all about perspective and,

in your not as up, like you're right.

2023.

Like I, cause Jamie's my,

one of my best friends,

you two were battling

competition after

competition after

competition for podium spots.

Yes.

And, and so that's how I got to know you.

And I,

and I got to learn about what the athlete,

the kind of athlete you were,

but in less than optimal

situation as an athlete,

you're going to be a rookie

at the CrossFit games.

Yeah, for sure.

So isn't that really cool?

It is.

And it's just so cool how, I mean,

so humbling how it happened

because I was on the

outside looking in and

somebody declined and

actually two people declined.

And that's how Haley Murillo

and how I both got in.

We were 41 and 42 and

somehow we both got in.

So, so yeah.

God's time, not our time.

For sure.

Yes.

And I love that he's always

going to make it to where I am not just,

you know,

easily getting in and that can

make me prideful and go

into something just like, oh, well,

I got this.

I'm better than everybody else, you know?

And it's like, no, you're literally...

next to last place, you know,

ranked going in and, um,

only up from here though.

So, so I feel good.

I feel I'm a much better, um,

athlete now than I was a

couple months ago during semifinals too.

So.

Again, you're, you're in my notes.

So I know you finished

better quarterfinals than

you did semifinals.

I did.

I, and that's what after quarterfinals,

I was like, wow, maybe I can do this.

Cause the open,

I was a couple months postpartum.

I was, um,

even that burpee dumbbell snatch workout,

I was just a mess.

I could,

I couldn't even really jump over

the dumbbell correctly.

Like I was like,

I had to like practice

jumping over lateral over a dumbbell.

Um, so the open, I was like, wow,

I think I was like right under 200th.

Um, and then quarterfinals.

Yeah.

I, that's what gave me hope to think, wow,

I can actually probably

going from 200 to 30th.

I think I was 30th.

Um,

is a big jump and,

and I feel great about it.

And so, um,

but then I got very humbled

when submissions were in

for the first night of

semifinals and I was like

50 something and after

workouts one and two, and I was like,

Whoa,

I thought I would be better than this.

So, um, so it was,

it was a rollercoaster for sure.

But yeah, quarterfinals, I know that row,

the EMOM workout, um, went well for me.

Um,

the snatch and the row and the step ups,

um,

Um, yeah, there,

I think the burpee one was fine.

The wall ball burpee box jump over, uh,

the gymnastics one was not good for me,

but like I said,

I was three months

postpartum and I would love

to retest that one now.

So, so yeah.

So I talked to Rudy and his

wife Lynette a couple of weeks ago,

and I find it like bizarre

that the master semifinals

ends before the elite.

Yet your games are after the elite.

So that gives you like a

three month period of

nothing until you get to the games.

Right.

Right.

For Ruby,

that's two-time champ going into

this year trying to like three-peat.

That would be frustrating

that you have to kind of

like woe back your training

so that you don't overtrain

and then figure it out.

For you,

every day you get postpartum is

better for you.

For sure.

And I feel that 100%.

So that's been nice.

I love just the rebuilding process.

I loved it after my Achilles surgeries.

I loved it.

Um, after my first child and,

and getting to do it again

has been really cool.

So, so what,

what have you done in this

three months to one,

not overtrain and to like

take advantage of that time

to be the most ready you

can for the games?

Yeah.

Thankfully, as far as volume goes,

the volume I'm putting in

is not not that not a lot.

So my coach has been great.

So my coach is he he coaches

just like the people who

like to compete at our gym.

So we do class programming,

but we can modify it up to

kind of fit more of like where we're at.

And then he gives us extra

stuff like some competitor

training that has been

super helpful for me.

So so I prioritize that.

I'm also doing it with, for example,

there's a boy who does his

name's Caden Myers.

He went to the games last year.

17 year old did really well.

And now he is he is so good now.

And I'm like,

I don't need to be doing the

volume that Caden's doing.

He's he just turned 18 years old.

And, you know, I crash crucible, right?

He did.

Yes, he did crash.

Yes.

And so so it's like I it's

all in there and I just

prioritize what I need to do.

So I do that on my own.

Usually I'll ask him for

guidance sometimes, just like, hey,

here's what I'm thinking.

I'm going to back squat,

then snatch and then do

this conditioning piece.

And that's probably all I

have time for today.

He was great and very clear about like how,

hey,

let's really dial it in six weeks out.

And I've known for me,

he's he's coached me over the past, gosh,

since since regionals 2016.

So he really knows me as an athlete.

And that six week time

training block has always

worked really well for me

to not get burnt out and not overdo it.

So it worked out perfect

because we had a vacation

plan to Mexico to an inclusive resort.

My husband and I did with

seven couples from our gym there.

And it was a blast,

but we had it planned for a full year.

So it worked out great that

right when I got back,

the six weeks started.

So went and had a vacation,

stayed super active on vacation,

went to the gym every day.

Played volleyball every day, walked,

tried to be mindful about

water and eating and all that,

but came back ready to roll.

And honestly,

it took a few days to kind of

get in the groove of being back.

But since the middle of last

week into this week,

I feel like a new person.

Like, I feel like...

I feel motivated now.

I feel like I'm seeing some

progress now and it's

really bumping my confidence up.

And when I'm confident,

I feel like I can do even better.

So yeah,

so that's where we're at five weeks out.

So I think the goal is to

push it for the next two,

three weeks and then back

off that last week and a

half and kind of taper down.

So yeah.

So a couple of fun questions.

You're going into this games

as a rookie and there's a

lot of like perennial

semifinal athletes that

I've gotten to know over

the last few years.

I think,

I hope everybody has like Haley

Murillo and Holly Henderson

and Kelly Kelly and like,

and you're competing

against all these people

and it's going to be their

rookie year too.

I know that's cool.

Yeah.

So when you look at it like

a leaderboard like that,

do you look at it as a challenge?

Like, hey,

it's fun to be out here with

these ladies.

Like,

what is your perspective at this point?

Yeah, that's a great question.

So I originally like at first glance,

I'm super intimidated to be

to be real with you just

because I'm not where I

like want to be yet.

You know,

and I know it's going to take

probably nine more months

to where I'm like back to

like 2023 Allison.

Yeah.

But I have to remember that

I've been in this situation before.

So like before I became a master's athlete,

I had the opportunity to do

some sanctionals and to do

things like the Mayhem Classic,

some big competitions like that,

where I was in a heat with Tia,

Christy Aramo, Daniel Brandon,

Fisa Goffey, all in one heat one day.

And I was in that last heat on Sunday.

And, and so I have to remind myself like,

Hey, you've done this before.

Like, and yeah,

you can, you can go do it again.

And not that I'm going to go out there.

I'm not trying to say I'm

going to go out there and

crush everybody and win.

Like I'm, I'm not,

but just to enjoy the experience.

And like some of these girls, I do know,

cause I've competed with them.

Like Haley and I have,

have done several

competitions together and, you know,

she's a newish mom as well.

And so her and I talk sometimes, um,

And I have all the respect for her.

And, um, even like Jamie Higia,

we've talked very briefly

on Instagram and like,

I have all the respect for her.

Um, I don't really know, like Kelly,

I mean, Andrea, Andrea Neisler,

is that how you say it?

Neisler?

I'm not saying your name right.

But I mean, how do you, you know,

how do you not have respect

for somebody like that?

Especially how newly postpartum she is.

She's newer than you.

And like,

Yes.

Crazy.

I feel like she gave birth

in like March and then was,

did that open workout with

bar muscle ups or yeah.

So yeah, super insane.

Um, and I mean, that's awesome.

And so just to get to go and,

and share these experiences with,

with these women,

as well as some women who, um,

when I did some masters

cops pre pregnancy that I

got to connect with like Amy Morton, um,

you know, just,

just some really great powerhouses who,

you know, so it's just,

it's an honor to be out there with them.

And I'm a little intimidated, like I said,

um,

but I have to just keep reminding

myself like, Hey, you've,

you've been here.

You're not like, I am a rookie,

but at the same time, I,

I feel like I could

consider myself to be a

so do you think that the

masters games being

separate from the elite is good or bad

I think it's bad personally.

But, hey,

we won't know till this year when

we get to be the testers for it.

You know,

I will say when they first announced it,

I knew it was coming.

I had a feeling it was coming,

but I was a little bummed because,

like I said,

there's still part of me that

stings a little bit.

Last year,

I was so close to making the

games and then.

got pregnant and then got 16th at semi.

So I missed out and probably

wouldn't have been able to go anyways,

because I would have been

like seven months pregnant for the games.

But like, I just, I don't know.

There's something about that

that still stings that I

didn't get to go to like Madison or this,

you know,

this year would have been in

Fort Worth and get to be a

part of that whole

experience that stings.

But all I can do is just

hope that this is a good

move and that they're going to make it,

bigger and better and

they're going to give the

masters the coverage that

they deserve and

You know, so far, I don't really know.

I don't know.

It seems like CrossFit has been,

to be honest,

it seems like CrossFit kind

of just passed it off and

it's just kind of like

y'all figure it out.

So the Legends competition I

did at Mayhem last year was top notch.

And so I know those guys

really know what they're doing.

And so hopefully it'll be

it'll be a lot of fun.

So.

But I don't love it.

I wish it could have been, you know,

at the games.

But I also know they can't

take 40 people in every division to,

you know, the main CrossFit games either.

So I'm very thankful because

I wouldn't be there if it was just 10.

So, yeah.

Yeah.

I think it's, yeah, I don't know.

I think initially I thought it was bad.

I think that it could be good.

It's all, it's all dependent on how,

how they do it.

Right.

Right.

If you get there and they

make you feel like a rock

star and you get like a

cool kit and all that stuff,

I think like that will heal some wounds.

For sure.

Yep.

Um, there's a lot of people ready to see.

So yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Uh,

Who's going to Birmingham with you?

So my coach is going to go

when I go on Wednesday.

We'll probably just,

cause it's like a four hour drive,

which is so nice from, from Anderson,

South Carolina.

So we'll go Wednesday.

And then my husband with

work and everything, I think it's,

He's still trying to figure it out,

but he may not be able to go till Friday.

So so he'll go Friday.

We are debating on bringing our son,

which that's on him.

So I'm like, hey,

I even mentioned trying to

get a different hotel room

and bringing him.

But I was like, no, it will be fine.

He can obviously be and

it'll be it'll be great.

So our son, he's three.

He just turned three.

He'll be he'll be there, I think.

And then we actually have a

handful of people from our

gym that are going to go as well.

So probably like six or

eight that have already

committed with like hotel

rooms or Airbnbs.

And then there's some other

people on the fence that

have like said they're going to go.

But I think still trying to

find some like somewhere to stay.

So.

So, yeah.

Yeah.

I love that people are

committing from your gym to go.

Yes.

I think that's going to be a

big tell as to how this

separation is going to go.

For sure.

Yeah.

If people come and support

and there's a good crowd there,

then that's only going to

make it get bigger.

Yes.

I hope so.

And it's meant so much to me.

People like they'll text me

their tickets that they got

and they're like, Hey, we're in,

we'll be there.

And

We have some,

so we're right by Clemson

University and I'm a Georgia fan,

but that weekend, you know,

football starts, college football,

and that's big here.

And so I think some people

are going to go to the

games or they've mentioned

it and then go into Atlanta,

which is a quick, you know,

hour and a half, two hour drive,

I think from Birmingham and

then go to the Georgia

Clemson game that night.

So I think people are trying

to make like a whole weekend of it.

So, so yeah.

Just,

just have figured out and have a

tailgate party in the parking lot.

Right.

That would be fun.

I'm all for that.

So for the day, go out, eat on a barbecue.

Yes.

I do better.

And that those situations,

then just going back to the

hotel and just sitting there and,

you know, being in my thoughts anyways.

So Bob and Joe,

that's how you make this

thing a festival and a fun thing.

College football opens up,

get some big screen TVs in

the parking lot.

People barbecue.

Yeah.

you're onto something.

So being in Alabama, I mean, that's,

you know,

you're down South college football.

So, yeah.

So, yeah.

So my last question for you

about the games is you're, you came in,

you were the last person in the door.

Yes.

So it's all up from here.

Right.

How do you,

how do you view that and what

will be success?

Yeah.

So like I said,

it's only up from here and I will say.

Go dogs.

Oh, go dogs.

Yes.

Go dogs.

So, and like I said,

Haley and I have talked

about this cause we

technically were both the last,

the last ones to be let in.

And we were, I even told her, I was like,

well,

only up from here, you know,

but it honestly,

it kind of takes some pressure off.

Um, I'll be honest when I went to legends,

like legends is a great

example and masters fitness collective,

both like the year before I

actually placed first in the qualifier,

I think if I'm remembering correctly.

So when I went, it was like,

I felt the pressure.

Like I was like, you know,

I feel like I have to win now.

And it really,

sometimes feeling that

pressure makes me like not perform great.

Um,

Um,

so it's kind of nice now to just to be

like, Hey, you know what, like you said,

only up from here and I'm

going to go and just showcase what I got.

And, um, I firmly believe too,

that people like,

they're going to forget where you placed.

I even forget where I placed

in competitions, but like,

they're going to forget that,

but they're going to always

remember like how you carry yourself.

They're going to remember, you know,

what you stand for.

They're gonna remember how you act on the,

on the field, um, or the,

whatever, you know?

Um, and, and so I,

I feel like that in life I've,

I've had just like a lot of people,

I've had a lot of hardships

within CrossFit and, um,

had to overcome a lot.

And hopefully people just

kind of remember me as that and not like,

Oh, she's the girl that, you know,

got 13th place, you know, or whatever,

who knows what it will be.

But, um, so yeah.

Yeah.

Well, when I think about you, as I said,

at the top of the show is

it's not where you've placed in anything.

It's that you are the

sweetest person I've ever met at the,

through CrossFit.

You hold yourself so well.

And you should be proud of that.

Thanks.

I try, but I, I think those closest to me,

hopefully they would agree.

I have some moments.

So, so yes, as we all do, but yeah.

Well,

as I told you before we got in the air,

we got full approval for

full access at the CrossFit

Games Masters.

And we're going to do a full

behind the scenes.

So, you know,

I'm going to come talk to you

at some point.

Okay.

I would love that.

backstage and, uh,

and we'll just get you in

your natural habitat and, uh,

hopefully you do well and

we'll be there rooting for you.

Of course.

I love that.

Thank you.

I think you'll get some good content.

I just, all these masters comps,

at least the ones that I've

done with like the girls,

it's like everybody's just

talking about their families and, um,

you know, maybe their job, their family,

their kids,

like we're all in the like

corral talking about that.

And then you go out there and you,

you know, kind of focus, but it's just,

I think you'll get some good,

some good content from people.

And I think that's what I

want to highlight is the friendships,

the camaraderie, the, that you,

you all had, like that you,

how many people are postpartum, like in,

within a year in your division,

then you have, like,

I've been talking to Kenzie Riley.

She's got a couple of years.

She's another one.

Yeah.

All the respect for her.

So like all of you are

sharing the same stuff and

that's what I want to capture.

Like how it's a true

community at a master's event.

For sure.

I'm not there to show who

won and who lost.

I want to show how you all

hang out together and you

communicate and you support

one another in life,

not just on the competition floor.

That's awesome.

Well, I know you'll do a great job.

So, yeah.

Well, thank you very much, Allison.

Yes.

Thank you to everybody in the chat.

This has been awesome.

We're going to keep doing

this all the way up to the

Masters CrossFit Games.

And Allison, it's the beginning of this.

Yes.

A huge honor.

And I can't wait to watch

the other ones too.

Come back in 20 minutes and

we'll be with Ryan Redkey.

Quick fact about him.

He is going to the CrossFit

Games for the second time,

but he also won Fear Factor.

Oh, cool.

The backstories with Masters

athletes are so much cooler

than the elite athletes.

Right.

Yes.

We will see everybody next

time on the Clydesdale Media Podcast.

Bye, guys.