This year, Schmarrah McCarthy is stronger and more mentally prepared.
Schmarrah McCarthy came to CrossFit with an athletic background from university.
She had only been CrossFitting for six or seven months before entering the Open last year. She didn’t know what to expect and wasn’t prepared for the mental aspect. She just did what she could to help her team qualify.
This year, she is stronger and more mentally prepared. This time, she’s keeping calm and seeing the Open Workouts as just another workout at her box, CrossFit 7 Mile.
In terms of 13.1, she is happy it’s over. She was preparing for a miserable seven minutes of burpees, but when 13.1 was announced, she had a change of heart. It was a good workout for McCarthy.
“It shut everyone up,” she says. “It definitely shut me up. I was surprised at how heavy a 100-lb. snatch feels after 90 burpees.”
Her coach and fellow teammate, Chris Spigner, says even though they have focused on strength and let other parts of her training suffer, McCarthy was able to maintain technique.
“She has progressed really well in the last year, in terms of met-con/cardio work,” Spigner says,” and we are really proud of her. She is now able to do multiple muscle-ups in workouts, and she keeps getting stronger.”
McCarthy made a prominent entrance into competition scene during the Snatch Ladder at the 2012 Latin America Regional. While many women dropped out at the 125-lb. bar, McCarthy power snatched her way up to 155 lb. Not only was that a PR, she helped her team win that event, as well.
Now, as she prepares for the Open, she’s working with fellow teammate, Jenn Chailler. Chailler is helping her with met-con work and McCarthy is helping Chailler with lifts.
“She has a lot of cardio experience, so she has really been pushing me,” McCarthy says. “I have a lot of strength, so I have been pushing her weights wise.”
She finished 13.1 in third place in Latin America.
As she moves on to 13.2, McCarthy is looking to the future. She is training with her team with an eye set on Regionals. Their aim is to stay among the top three teams of the region after the Open. To her, the Open is fun, but Regionals are the NCAA of CrossFit, and she wants to be more prepared and ready for it this time around.
Of course, her ultimate goal is getting back to the Games. As a team, CrossFit 7 Mile is trying to get as strong as possible in all aspects.
