“This year was different. I definitely had expectations of myself. I wanted to go back to the Games.”
In 2013, Emily Carothers had no expectations at the North West Regional. This year, her approach was different.
Carothers came to the 2014 regional with a game plan and she dominated the Leaderboard, never finishing lower than fourth, with first-place finishes in Events 2, 3, 5 and 7.
Event 5 exemplified her steady, forward-focused strategy. Never rushed, Carothers simply knocked out 10 rounds of rope climbs and sprints, finishing in 5:32, nearly 30 seconds ahead of second-place regional finisher Regan Huckaby.
“This year was different,” Carothers explained. “I definitely had expectations of myself. I wanted to go back to the Games. I toyed with it at first because it is a big commitment. But I had a new coaching staff, and they really pressed me to go forward. They didn’t think I had really reached my goals and wanted to work with me toward a return to Carson.”
Fully Invested
Carothers’ decision to return to the Games required her to go all in—and it was a process, she said.
“I allowed myself to invest a lot more emotion this year,” she said. “That was hard at first. … I committed to it.”
Carothers’ strong regional performance had a peace about it. It is a mental state Carothers trained for.
“(Mental strength) is something that I have always trained for, that no matter what is going on around me, to not get caught up in it,” she said. “Not compare myself to so-and-so, but to execute my strategy and adjust when I have to. I have learned that the hard way. If you do that, you are done in competition.”
Carothers found that the regional events, teamed with her new strategy, complemented her strengths as a former NCAA gymnast.
“I never imagined the Open to be what it was, and I never imagined the regionals to be what they were,” she said. “So it may be a little frightening what they will throw at us. That is all a part of the sport. I just continue to train for the things that may come up, improve my strengths and listen to my coaches.”
A Balancing Act
A wife and mother to two young boys, Carothers struggles with common issues faced by busy families—CrossFit or not.
“I don’t know if you can ever achieve that balance,” she said. “Some days you can feel like you are doing a great job and others you feel like you are failing. Some days you have to let certain things go and push toward others. We can only try to do our best in regard to that, keeping your priorities straight.”
Carothers and her husband work together to keep family and training in balance.
“It is an on-going conversation with my husband,” she said. “‘How are we doing?’ ‘Where are we at?’ ‘Is this too much?’ He is very supportive, so we just work on it. It is important to us.”
Carothers’ two sons’ laughter filters in through the background music. They come to the gym with her daily as trains for the Games, and they require her attention, sometimes mid-workout.
“I train like this,” she said. “I know a lot of other people don’t. I have to stop workouts to take care of something, to wipe somebody’s nose or get a drink of water. That’s what I am up against. You just make it work.”
Ready
This year brought a lot of change for Carothers. She now trains at Tiger Mountain CrossFit in Issaquah, Washington, and she began working with coaches Spencer Arnold of Power & Grace Performance and Mike Poppa or Real Fitness Sarasota.
“It is a much more individualized programming for me,” she said. “Between the two of them, they have assessed my weaknesses and my strengths. They have been diligent about some nagging injuries I have, so we can get very detailed in my training.”
Carothers has seen improvement in her strength capacity over the last year, and attributed it to her coaching.
“Last year I was just following a blog, and now it is geared specifically for me and I am in communication with (my coaches) every single day,” she said. “Mike came up for regionals and it was interesting to talk with someone throughout the weekend, going over anything that we had planned that needed to be changed or tweaked and keeping me on track. That was a great experience.”
After spending a lot of time with a barbell over the past year, Carothers added 45 lb. to her deadlift and can squat snatch 160 lb.
“So some of the strength components still classify as my weaknesses—there were some gaping holes in them for me last year—but everything has gotten better,” she said. “I have definitely closed those gaps.”
Carothers has also changed her approach to nutrition.
“Last year, I ate what ever I wanted and now there is more purpose behind it, which I think has made a big difference,” she said. “I am eating much more clean and now am taking supplements, which I had not before. I have seen not only a change in my performance, but in my body composition, as well. My last pregnancy was a year-and-a-half ago, so perhaps it was timing, but these changes have really improved my outward appearance.”
StubHub Ahead
Anticipation about what will be required at the 2014 Games is building as the events are announced and hints are dropped.
Carothers does not let that intimidate her or veer her from her training regimen.
“You just have to keep doing CrossFit,” she said. “I am training multiple times a day, multiple days a week in preparation. I am training for the best outcome. Having the experience from last year, I know I can walk into the StubHub arena and it will be familiar. I know what it will feel like. Last year I had no idea what to expect, so mentally I am better prepared and will be less distracted by it all. There is a comfort in that.”
As steady as Carothers is in her preparation for competition, she is thrilled to represent the North West at the Games.
“I am really excited to return to Carson and compete,” she said. “Last year I did make a point to enjoy myself while I was there because you never know, so to be able to go back is incredible. It will be nice to see some familiar faces and again experience the camaraderie that is at the heart of CrossFit competition. Yes, we are competitors, but we also respect what each of us is trying to achieve out there. It will be fun.”
