♫ Sherwood: If we're talking about who the top male individual most competitive CrossFit athletes-- After you say, "Mat Fraser," you have to say, "Vellner." Two appearances at the Games as an individual. Two trips to the podium. That's ridiculous. Last year, I was not sure still how that 2016 podium placing turned out. Did I get lucky? What just happened here? It's my first time around and things just went well. And last year things didn't go well and I still finished near the top. So to me, that gave me a lot of confidence to say, "Hey, I belong in this group." I think I've just got a little bit more drive to try to win. [male announcer]: Event 1 win for Tia Wright! One year ago, with one event left, she was in. She took a 32nd-place finish in the final event of the weekend and missed qualifying by 23 points. She has reason to smile to start Day number 3. One event remains, and Tia Wright will be in the top five once again. An Event 5 win for Tia Wright! And now Tia Wright for the second straight year is in trouble. She is last in the heat. [male announcer 2]: 460 points... ...Casey Campbell! [crowd cheering] Since last year, I've worked so much on my mind and learning how to be confident, learning how not to doubt yourself. Learning, honestly, that your mind is everything. If you think you're gonna lift that bar, you will. If you doubt yourself at all, you're probably gonna miss it. So when I'm faced with those moments, you have a choice. And I've chosen to be positive and be confident. This was when I lost my shot to the Games the first time. I'm hugging Molly and Stephen. It's called a victory wall. Just a really good reminder of things that are firing you up. I dunno. For me, it just shows my journey and how cool that is and how much I want to continue this journey. I want to see a full one. They showed that in '16. I haven't seen them do a list of career history yet. I want to see that list, would be sweet. Win the West Coast Regional. Be one percent better every day. I am a Games athlete. Just making things a reality. And I'm excited to apply that onto Regionals. [interviewer]: All right, Pat. Where are we right now? [Vellner]: We are at the CMCC clinic. So, at the Canadian Memorial Chiropractic College. This is where I work as an intern. I'm not too pleased about the workouts so far. The Triple 3 is just-- I think it's gonna be the driest event ever to watch. The most boring spectacle of all the time. Right now we're about 10 days out from the East Regional start, the first week. It's getting down to crunch time and start time to polish details and get ready for the nitty gritty. We had a functional movements lesson earlier today.
- Yeah. I was watching them overhead squat and I was like, "Oh. Come on!" [interviewer]: You got a roommate?
- Yeah, I have three roommates. How's Clint?
- He's good. [Vellner] I live with three other chiropractic students that I go to school with. Which is great 'cause we're all in the same circumstance and have been for the last couple years. So we help each other out and commiserate a little bit over little things. [Interviewer]: Whose dog? - Um. We babysit dogs on an online service called Rover. Yeah. [laughter] My one new roommate signed us up and he takes on puppies. [Roommate]: This dog is a shithead. [Interviewer]: So people go out of town and it's like Airbnb for your dog? - Yeah, basically. She's been disruptive. She loves to chew on stuff. [Interviewer]: Are those freshies, bro? Right out the box? - Fresh wheels. - All right, man.
- These are for Regionals, so I gotta break 'em in. Bam! New colorway: camo. - Pretty dope. I like it. Yeah. They announced two Regional workouts. [Interviewer]: Is it a max though? - No, uh. It's like 195 for lots of reps. It's a benchmark workout. - Everything's max for you. - For me, yeah. Oh, yeah. But we'll see. Not ideal. We'll see, I'll fool around with it today. ♫ Regionals, to me, is to set the tone for your season. This year especially, with Mat being gone out of the East, there's an opportunity for me to try to win a Regional and dominate a Regional. I would love to and just set the tone and show people that I wanna be a threat again at the Games and people need to look out. That's hard. That run is... vicious. You're fucking on there forever and then you hit one mile. I didn't row super super hard. Held like a 145, 144 the whole way through.
- Yeah. Gets you off in a reasonable time without blowing your legs up. Because the difference in the Assault versus road running is that it just tires your actual leg muscles out more. It's still aerobic but you use more musculature to drive the belt. I honestly just work out all the time. [laughs] It's so bad. People are like, "Do you have a social life?" I'm like, "Yeah. My social life is at the gym. "I hang out with members "and then I go home and sleep. "And then I wake up and train and it's like —that's it." [Interviewer]: What time is it? - 5:30. First class-- well, second class of the day, but first class for me. So what it looks like: you're gonna do a burpee and a box jump over. Whenever the rowers get done, I feel like it's nice to get them clean. Ah, yeah! I hate it when there's marks on the floor. For me it's presented an opportunity to grow. Get on the ball, get on the ball! Ten seconds! I can't get my fist in there. The transformation that people go through, it's so rewarding for me to be there along the way for them. Nice job! And fitness doesn't only transform your physical body, it also changes your mind and how you look at life and your job and your work ethic and that's the stuff that I love. ♫ [Interviewer]: Okay, fair enough. Are you gonna make it to the Games? Yes! I'm gonna make it to the Games. Oh! The Del Mar Fairgrounds. I've recognized the roof from across the street, when we were turning left, I like, "That's where we're going." You're gonna go get your tattoo put on, over here to the right. This is by far the coolest thing we've ever had at Regionals. Oh, yeah! [Vellner]: So we're in Albany, at the East Regional. Always nice when you get here and get going through the process. It starts to make you feel a little bit better. Gonna go measure how long my stupid-ass arms are. [laughter] [Paulson]: He's gonna be on a nine, I'm gonna be on a three. All these fancy bars.
- I know, right? Okay, that's good. Thank you. I think that we're gonna see a swift change back to the marker. My one, fucking, already rubbed off. It was just stuck to my hair. It wasn't even stuck to my skin. I remember you from last year.
- Yeah, you remember? You had me in Event 1 last year.
- Of course. There you go—19, sounds good.
- There you go. Good luck. I think there's a lot of people that kind of want Tia Wright to win. I mean, I'm not trying to put her on Front Street, but the past two years, kind of blowing it. I know there's a lot of pressure on her, but I think this is her year. I think Tia's forever on the bubble. I hate to say it. I think Tia's too small and not experienced enough. I would probably go with Patrick Vellner. I think he's got to be the athlete to beat. Just because of his performance last year and what he's done consistently. It would make sense that he would be the front-runner, I think. Everybody handles competition differently. Everyone has a different mode of focus. Everyone has a different game plan. I'm just not nervous. I dunno. I'm always a little bit nervous until the first event starts. Once you get moving, it's better. It's always the anticipation gets to you a little bit. And no one knows. Everybody's sizing each other up. No one really knows what everyone's been doing. You don't know how fit everybody is. It's fun to just get it going. Let the training talk tomorrow. The one in my package was for my folks. This is what? Friday? [Interviewer]: Dude, are you just straight up scalping right now? Don't put that on there. Caity Henniger gave these to me. I got tickets! All right. See ya in the morning.
- Yeah. [Head judge]: "No rep" on three. One, two, three: "No rep!" Thank you guys. Hell yeah. Love it. [Arnold, on speakerphone]: It would not surprise me to see you at the top on that podium at the end, when all is said and done and this all shakes out. Believe in yourself. Don't settle for fourth. Go chase first. I'll be watching, I'll be yelling, I'll be screaming at the TV and at my phone probably all weekend long. And I cannot wait to celebrate with you on Sunday. Good luck! Spencer has stipend USA athletes. And USAW put Nationals on the same weekend as the West Regional, so he has to be there. He's like a brother. I'm just so excited. I am. I'm excited for Tia. These are great opportunities. And we just love her. That's why I'm crying. I'm crying because I love her so much that I just want to see her just crush it. [laughter] Yeah. [Interviewer]: So do you guys come to all of Pat's competitions? We do, yeah. We try. I don't think we've missed anything really. No, not the big ones. [Interviewer]: You do CrossFit? Just kind of started, just in January we started. We went to a masters kind of a little class just to kind of see what it was all about. And found out fairly quickly we were a little ahead of that group of people. So we started going to the regular classes. So I try and go three or four times a week. Masters, look out. Age groups coming soon. I was sticking to the sheets a little last night, but they're still there. [Interviewer]: We're just gonna go back to Sharpie here in a minute. There's no way they don't.
- Yeah. It looks a little big for you but it's a small.
- Okay, good. Oh, I'm so excited. 'Cause I do have a positive attitude. Yes! Yes! Go Tia, go! All I'm gonna eat this weekend is chicken, rice, oatmeal and egg whites. Maybe a couple fruits. [Interviewer]: Is that usually the plan when competition's around? Things get very boring around competition time.
- Yeah? It depends. Regionals a little bit more so than the Games. I think the Games you sort of-- You have to eat so much that sometimes it doesn't matter what you're eating. You just have to get the calories in. So you can afford to be a little better, but you don't want to be very adventurous around competition time. Time to go. ♫ [Interviewer]: How are your nerves, watching Pat compete? I get my belly butterflies for him. Thinking about what's going through his head right now. - Yeah. Compared to what I used to do and what my brothers and stuff do, it's not that stressful. I take a lot the deep breaths. Oh, let's do this. We got a guy working his legs. Should I go over and do something? Marz, let's get our hands in there. [Vellner]: I'll probably try to do a little bit after the run. Could de-tone a bit. I'll talk to these guys and see what they think is the best move. I might even try to jump in the ice bath very quickly, just to kind of bring my core back down. Trying to stay warm. It's cold. [Interviewer]: How long have you guys been dating? Uh, about a month. Are you nervous? Yep, he's nervous. I'm not nervous. Yeah... It's emotional in a different way. [Matossian]: Vigneault's gonna take it, make Mat Fraser shake in his boots. Miller's gonna do great. Like every year, he's gonna be a great second man. - She's gonna crush it.
- No. You know what? I'm warm, Heber. That's a good thing. [Heber]: I don't believe it. You don't warm up. - She's just a hot lady. What can you say? - I only warm up at Regionals. I'm gonna say Alex Parker right now. It's gettin' real. ♫ [starting beep sounds] [Three male announcers, back and forth]: Heat 2, Event 1 underway here for the women's individual competition—West Regional. - The longest event that we've ever had in a Regional. You can't get a more true test of just pure endurance. - Took 10:20 for Alex Vigneault, unofficially, to get through the row. Now he begins his 300 double-unders. Hey, here comes Patrick Vellner right behind him. He is about 14 seconds behind. - Now the whole crowd's coming to join the party here on double-unders. - So there's Vigneault at 13:24. - Abbott is the first one up onto the Assault runner. She is our leader here in Heat 2 of Event 1. - Vigneault, Vazquez and Vellner right now, the top three here in Heat 2 of the Triple 3. - Vellner moved the piece forward. He has expanded that lead over Adler, the seconds ticking away. - Lee's hand is up at the top of the screen. But it's gonna be Patrick Vellner! - He is gonna outrun the rest of the heat. He is in! And he will have the heat win. - And she will take Event 1 here. Dudley comes in second. There's Abbott. Lane 17, Carleen Mathews. But for Tia Wright, it's time for her to come across the line. 47:13 unofficially. Now we again are looking at Delaina Snider in lane number six. So that wraps it up for Event 1 here for the women here at the West Regional. ...That last half mile, it was not feeling so hot. - Water? Yes, please. That'd be amazing. Thank you. I was gonna bring one on the runner and try to splash Alex a couple times, but I left it at the start line. I was getting the sticky teeth, running. That was so fun.
- Did you have a good time? I just was like, "Suck it, Dave! "You frickin' fooled us." I seriously was like, "Oh my god, we're only half way?" I was going back and forth from positive to negative, positive to negative. Oh, man. Glad that one's over. Nice sprint! I would hug you but you're all groase. Yeah, I'm groase. I'm thinking about actually just dunking in the bath quick to cool my core off. Then I'll probably make a shake and-- what are we? Three-and-a-half hours? Four hours? - No, no. A little bit less than that. You wanna eat something solid. I have a-- - I have some solid food.
- You do? - Yeah, I brought all my food for the weekend. Okay, Alex was rowing a fucking 141. Who does that guy think he is? - What an animal! Yeah, I was looking at him and I'm like, "What are you doing? "I want nothing to do with that." I think that was maybe a little bit too fast on the row. I needed to have more gas on running. Yeah, I rowed a 145 across and it was easy, didn't get my heart rate up too high. Big, long strokes. Oh no! [Interviewer]: Gonna do the dog shake? Oh, man. Look at you, getting in—just no problem. She did good. That was a little bit off of her time she practiced, but it's different in competition. First one's in the books. I'm excited for the next one. [Interviewer]: How do you think she's gonna do on the next one? I think she'll do good on this one. I wanted to get that one out the way and see what she does on Linda. Oh, look who wants to come in. Hi! [cat meows] Hi, shnookums. What's up? We're gonna do Linda. "Linda!" Have you seen that video? - What video? The little boy that's like, "Linda, listen to me." Linda, listen, listen, listen. Linda, listen, Linda! Do you know what I'm talking about? "Linda, you're not listening to me!" Linda, listen to me! I did Event 1 earlier today, so I'm gonna throw down on Event 2 at the home gym. What? [Interviewer]: What are you trying to do here? Look at that sub in here! - Yeah. It's all about the music.
- Rollin' with some base! - Yeah, if you're gonna listen to Transformers you gotta make it real. [Interviewer]: Who's the composer for Transformers? Oh no! I don't know. I'm not good with that stuff. Is it Hans? - No, it's Steve Jablonsky. Oh. What? What's his name? - Steve Jablonsky. Oh, I've seen that. I know it. Yeah, I recognize that name. I don't have a bench. So we're gonna have to maybe bench on top of a box. [Interviewer]: So we're makeshifting a bench. - Yeah, we are. I think it's great! We'll try it. I'll try a couple benches. Yeah, this is great. Duck down underneath. It's only 135. It's a little narrow. How fun is this gonna be!? Okay. My head's not even on the bench. [Interviewer]: Yeah, so I'm thinking... Damn, that's sketchy. I'm gonna grab an ottoman, maybe try that for a bench. Extensive circumstances, I guess. This is the best warm-up ever. Heber, I can't get the door! Can you get the door? Okay, good. Oh, god. Oh my gosh, I can't believe I made it all way down. This is perfect. Wow. Okay. [Heber]: What'd you carry down here? All my knitting. Knitting patterns, sweaters. I made this sweater. I knit sweaters.
-Whut. Come on. - Yeah, come on. I knit sweaters. It's actually really cute. I just have never worn it. Anyways! Just carry it. Whatever. Living room furniture. Oh my gosh, it's nice and squishy. Oh my gosh! It's all squishy. This isn't gonna work. This is ridiculous. Even the box is a little wide. [grunts] Some Drake. Canada's number one export. The Drake? Yeah, 100 percent. The fastest women's time I've heard was 12:00-ish, 12-something. The guys were all a little over 15:00. So we'll see. Hopefully go sub-15:00. Just to throw it at 'em. Hey, we got a bench! Hey. Oh, it's just a beautiful thing. Whoo. Yeah. Nice! This workout music's good. Maybe some soundtrack will come on. What do you think? - Awesome.
- Maybe. ♫ Okay. 3, 2, 1... Go! [Vellner]: If you're underprepared for Regionals, you don't go to the Games. It doesn't matter. You need to be prepared. You need to be one of the best versions of yourself. You better damn well be ready to put out at Regionals 'cause you know that the rest of the field is going to be. Phew. Okay, that's awesome. After getting the first one out of the way this morning, now I'm just super excited to try them all. That was fun! Oh... I really hate benching. First five rounds of that workout are... something. I got to the 6s and was genuinely enjoying it. I died there around six, five, four. Completely fell apart. Uh. My chesticles! [Matossian]: Are you nervous about Regionals? Does it stress you out at all? No. I'll be ready when Regionals comes. Yeah. I've got a lot of experience and I've got a lot of Regional events where I just... pooped the bed. Deadlifts in 2013, Randy in '15, legless in '16 and Assault bike. [Heber]: Before those workouts, did you know going into the weekend, like, "Oh man, this is one I gotta make sure I'm on my A-game"? I had this specific feeling in my gut going into those workouts and it's the same feeling. I don't have that feeling for any of these events. ♫ [male announcer]: Linda, a CrossFit classic. Okay, in the back, in the warm-up area, as I was benching-- yeah... Honestly, I don't know what it was on last time. As long as it's lower than it was back there, it'll be fine. -Okay.
- I'd rather it be lower. I'm not gonna risk an entire event on my placing any of this and then having to adjust it. Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Cool, okay. [starting tone beeps] [female announcer]: This looks methodical, it looks composed and it is exactly what he should be doing. [male announcer]: Patrick Vellner taking a look. He knows exactly where he is, exactly what he's doing. Vellner's got a 2-rep lead, as he rolls it forward. Vellner can get second and get 95 points. He slips but he's okay on his bar. 95 points, second place overall. [female announcer]: Impressive for Vellner. Very impressive. [ominous music plays over ticking clock sound effect] [male announcer]: Alex Vigneault. We've not even said his name in this event. [time-cap buzzer sounds] I was looking at the ceiling in the event center thinking, "Oh my god, the energy is so high in here right now." You can feel all the competitors getting more and more excited. I was like, "Let's go faster." It was so fun. Yeah, I love that event. That was awesome. Yeah. Not near my freaking practice time, but I'm totally fine with that.
- Cool. It's good, I think I got second in that event. That's an event that I was worried about going into the weekend. I mean, all things considered, that's a good first day. You don't need to be a hero on the bench. Everybody wants to be because it's a by-the-beach workout. Everyone wants to show off their bench. But you don't need to do that to win. [interviewer]: What happened to Vigneault? I'm not sure. He's not feeling super well, so hopefully he can turn it around. Wasn't the first day he wanted I don't think. Vigneault. Very sad, you know. - What's going on with him? He says he's sick. I think if you look at him, he looks puffy. He looks like a guy who has congested sinuses. That being said, we've seen Rich Froning do a pneumonia Regionals and we've seen that kind of stuff. My worst day of competition ever.
- Really?
- Yeah. I'm not feeling good. I don't want to have, like, reason and stuff like that, but my--how do you say that--sinus?
- Okay. Is it that in English?
- Yeah, sinus. Sinus. It's full of liquid and just as soon as my cardio go up, it just want to go out. - Yeah.
- Yeah. Last week I had cold headache. I think it's last Tuesday. So, I guess this is that. [interviewer]: Where did that show up? On Brooke Wells' story. - Oh, man. That's a classy Canadian right there. He needs to get his ass over here before we dig up more dirt. - He's got a mustache. Look at that face. [Vellner]: What are you doing? [laughter] Can you explain what this is from? Oh, right? Damn. Brooke's looking pretty good. I look weird though, eh? That shirt though. I want that shirt back. - What is this from? It was for the WOD on the Waves thing in January. That was when we went to Miami a few weeks ago. Spend two years in the top five and spend Day 1 of your third year in 27th place. I dunno. You kind of just wonder, you know. I did all the same stuff, I did better stuff. I'm better. It's weird. Sometimes I wish there were answers but sometimes there's just not. At this point, you just have to... one rep at a time and... just do your best. Enjoy the experience. - Is it emotional?
- Yeah. -Why is it emotional? I love winning. Competing's fun, but I love to win. I mean, it could still happen—just have to win the next four events. I'm calling my sports psychologist. Could be emotional, but I'm excited to see what he has to say. Um. It's been a day. [dial tone] Why is nobody answering? [recording]: You have reached the voicemail of... You just have standards for yourself. I don't know. You put in all the work and you just kind of hope for the best, I guess. Sometimes I guess you don't get the best. But you put in the work, and that's confusing to me. My head game and my emotions and my nerves— I didn't really have any of that. Maybe I should have some, I don't know. I think I'm just not physically where I was two weeks ago, which I don't understand. So that's why I like would like some answers. It's weird. I did not perform well today. [interviewer]: Are you trying to impress your boyfriend right now? No.
- No? I've had a boyfriend every year of Regionals. - Every year of Regionals? Is it a different boyfriend every year? Almost.
- [laughs] Oh, no! They're supportive. Haynes is different. - How's that? He knows me better than anyone. I think we passed... He respects me a lot. He treats me differently. He knows what I'm capable of. He calls my journey a rocketship—like it's only getting there, it's about to take off. I don't really know what's going on. I don't know if I don't have the fitness or if I wasn't in the right mindset. I felt like I went out-- I went out there and I felt prepared and my nutrition was on point and we've put in so much work mentally. I was like, this is so great. I'm so prepared and I'm apparently not. I'm confused that you can put in such good work and not see the outcome that you're looking for. - Okay. Well, let me ask you this: You being a coach and you having a client in the same position, what would you tell them? To enjoy it.
- Okay. What else? To learn.
- Okay. I dunno. I had fun today. It's just a lot of new things, but I'd probably tell them to enjoy it and to have fun. - Okay. How do you feel about that? I'm in the middle of learning and I just don't understand why right now. - Okay. And I did have fun today. It's just a different kind of fun. You visualize for so long winning and fun being related to winning. - Right. Okay ... And what else would you tell them about today? - That there's a lot left. - Right, exactly. There's four more events and they're classic CrossFit and they are opportunities to win. - Right. Thank you. I agree with you. Good job. Ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. - Good job. I don't think you should be frustrated, I think it's just learning, like you said. Enjoy it, learn from it. And I know why. It's to make you a better athlete. You said, "Why?" I know "why." Fun is about winning. You've done the work, you've done everything. So get yourself out of this state. Can you do that right now? - Yeah, I can. - You're fine. - Yeah, okay. - You learn from it and move on. - Okay, yeah. Thank you. Bye. Housekeeping! What's up?
- What's up? Talked to Anthony.
- That's good. Yeah. He was like-- I bet you can guess what he said. Day's over. Yeah, he was like, "Put it behind you." He was like, "I literally want you to have amnesia and wake up and forget that yesterday or today happened." And then he was like, "If you were coaching someone through this exact situation, what would you tell them?" That's really good, it's true. Um, can we get ... God, I just want a hamburger and fries. That would be ideal. - Can you have that? Yeah, I can have whatever I want. After every day of Regionals in the last two years I've had a hamburger and fries. And I want to just feel that again. So I'm gonna do it. I just needed carbs and fat. Ooh, Event 3. [cell phone notification pings] Let's see what we got. [Interviewer]: Is there one in particular that you're calling your shot, like, I'm gonna win--? Yeah, Event 3. [Sean Woodland announcing event]: 3 rounds of 9 muscle-ups, a handstand walk and then ascending reps of pistols— we end with 54 pistols, but it's that handstand walk that's really unlike anything that we have ever seen at Regionals. I like pistols. I think that doesn't really matter. That's where you recover your shoulders. But the muscle ups, especially with the benching and stuff the day before-- I think the handstand walks are gonna be a little harder than people might think. And even just 9 muscle-ups. Most guys probably think they're gonna do that unbroken, but I don't think so. I'm gonna win that event. And muscle-ups, I'll do all those 9s unbroken. Then handstand walk—okay, cool. Go back and forth. It's gonna be good. It's only 13 minutes long though. That's cool. VersaLifts, they're so good. I've had so many people come up to me and be like, "You should work on your ankle mobility." I'm like, "Um, I do. And I'm pretty sure my bones are hitting each other." So, this is the best solution. Gives you a little bit of ankle lift for things like pistols. Oh my god, that's so gross. Gross! Look how red it is! Aw. How sad is that? You go in, get all fired up to put chalk on your hands and there's no chalk in the bucket. - You don't like the 80s one?
[Wright]: Do not play that. I did not like it. - The 80s one?
- Yeah. I'm from the 90s! It's a perfectly mixed hour of 100 percent 80s dance music. ♫ [Vellner]: The handstand walk is gonna be a big- time game-changer. See who can navigate that when they're tired and be fast getting on to it, not hesitate too much or take big breaks before you kick up. Fell on the first one. I think that's from when you warm up and then you stand around for 15 minutes. - Yeah. It's good practice for the corrals at Regionals, but that's what happens. That's why it's important to practice it. I just got surprised on the first one. Kicked upside down and just fell straight on my head. Figured it out from there though. It was good. I dunno. I'm only a little bummed. But I'm not gonna let it change the fact that I still think I can win that event. Just know that I'm gonna win it in two weeks, not right now. [Vellner]: I'm excited for today. I think it's a fun day. Second one's gonna hurt pretty bad. First one's gonna be interesting. See how the new obstacle is—something fun to play with, something new. Last night was not easy. I think it was good, but not easy. I'm used to being the athlete and being able to control it. So having to watch it happen and just be their support is different for me. So I just listen and try to give her the best advice: get it all out of her system and get ready for the day. I think with the events, I think she's got a great shot. She is currently in ... No, even if she was to win the rest of them, I don't think that there would be enough point for her to get to get in there. Hi! I'm recovering. I'm like mentally recovering. Pressure's off. Just go be fit. We started working together in ... I want to say 2016, but it was early 2017. After the invitational, we went to compete with each other. We were in Toronto. So a few weeks or a few months after that, we started working together. But I really think all in all, he's showing that there's a difference between what a Games athlete is. And not just a Games athlete, but a top-level Games athlete. They love talking about that Run Swim Run event. Fuuuck me. I'm never gonna escape that. He's ready. When his hair looks like that, he's ready. Ready to flip a switch. It's already half on. Let's go. Darkness. On this next event, you can win this one—you know that, right? That's a huge opportunity and a comeback story is always cooler than the person on top all the time. I have a feeling that, deep down, Tia loves those comeback stories. The comeback stories are the best. Have you ever watched "Homeward Bound"? Uh, yeah. That's the saddest movie ever. Shadow comes up over the hill after he's been gone, and it's just like this epic comeback. If you don't cry when you're watching that movie, you're not human. [Matossian]: What's your vibe right now? My vibe is good. I'm all smiles. I'm watching these guys do this handstand walk. It's good. - Who's your pick to win Event 3 for the men? Vellner and Katrin. Unstoppable forces. Sorry, I wish I could be more out there and say something just absurd like Paul Tremblay. [female announcer]: This is his event. This is where he took a 3, he took a 2— I'm telling you, he is taking a one in this event. [starting tone beeps] [male announcer]: Here comes the fun. The new obstacle. We gave you the test, did you do your homework? [female announcer]: Tia Wright, up and over that handstand obstacle. Resetting at the yellow line. [male announcer]: Jones and Vellner, moving their piece at the same time. Vellner nearly had to do a handstand push-up on the first step. [female announcer]: It is Tia Wright, stepping into that first-place position. [male announcer 2]: Tia Wright, crossing that yellow line. Oh, no rep! [male announcer]: He is about 20 or so reps ahead now. [male announcer 2]: Tia Wright, chasing down Casey Campbell. [female announcer]: Look at this footrace we have going on, ladies and gentlemen of Del Mar! Tia Wright, looking to catch up to Casey Campbell. Here comes miss Tia Wright! [male announcer]: Vellner comes on across, makes it look cool. Pat Vellner, making a statement. He will take it here. Second overall in Event 3. [Vellner]: I can be better at that. [interviewer]: You upset? Yeah, I didn't win it. Execution error cost me the win by a few seconds. [interviewer]: What was the error? Coming down the ramp in the last round I stepped on the line outside, so it's no rep. On my last step on the walk before the yellow tape. That's something that's totally inside my control and I just messed it up. I touched my fingers and not my full palm. That's alright. I planned on something happening that was out of my control. So I was like, "Okay. Well I'll go back and do another one." And then muscle-ups went perfect. It actually feels really good out here. I was honestly all over the place on the handstands. It wasn't very well done. But I had a couple that I had to save and it just costs extra energy, right? If you can avoid doing that, it's good. But, I mean, I saved it. I didn't have to restart the wrap, but it cost some energy and that was the first handstand walk, I think— or the way back on the first round, so—too early to be making mistakes like that. I'm happy with that. I'm very, very happy. [interviewer]: Would you say that Thor hurts the most? Yeah. - More than the Thruster? There's three different kinds of hurt this weekend. There's the long, slow death of Triple 3. The fast anaerobic hurt like Event 4. And then the Strongman kind of hurt that you have in Event 5, where it's just like everything in your body just wears out and you're fed up. But I dunno. I just personally don't like sprints and anaerobic hurt like that. It's just not the background I'm from and not what I'm used to. So we work a lot on that and it's just not my favorite thing to do. When I looked at it I thought, "All right. The four rounds—the last two rounds are a sprint with the light bar." I think that 20 snatches at 175 will hurt people enough to not let them speed up and accelerate in the last two rounds if you're not careful with them. And then once you're done all the 20 snatches, now it's like-- you've gotta just black out. You've got 3 sets of 12 burpees, with the transition in the middle of each one, and 2 sets of 10 snatches at 115. You gotta be able to absolutely bury yourself. Fuck. I don't like that. Each one of those workouts, you finish it and you're like, "Man. I gotta do that again. Shit." - You feel good though? Yeah. I just don't want to do this next one. [laughter] It's like the same as when we did it in training. I thought about it for two hours. Gave me anxiety for two full hours until I did it. Look at this! I'm gonna eat pineapple. And I have my first string and coconut water and beet juice. There's some stuff in beets that is really helpful. She's a doctor. Uh, I'm just happy that I got a lot of points on that event. Capitalized on things I'm good at. We're at the top of the roller coaster right now, just gonna stay high. I would love for it to be a stubby bar, and watch Pat Vellner have to bend that shit. Watch me just fucking come unglued out there. - Dude, did you see the times out of the South Regional? They're awful. I saw that Sweeney was third on the Triple 3 with 44-something. No! Yeah. Fuck off. He won Linda in 15:00. Venus sent me a message last night. He was like, "Yeah, you guys are killing it. Rooting for ya." And I was like, "Fuck. Hopefully it's going well." He was like, "Dude, the altitude's killing everybody." Like, "Really?" - Where are they? - They're in Utah. So it's like 5,000 feet. - I mean, it takes a difference but not-- I find it's not that big of a difference. -You adjust quickly. If you go there a couple days beforehand, you'll be fine. Still, it's like, "Fuck." I was like, "Man. If Linda was killing you, have fun tomorrow." - Are you guys fit or ...? [male announcer]: Here we go. It's gonna start out with 10 snatches at 175. We may see a lot of singles early on with the 175s. Vellner's gonna start out hanging onto this 5 reps at a time. [male announcer 2]: Here we go. Tia Wright, trying to finish up her snatches as she moves that barbell up. [female announcer]: He's a calculated athlete. He knows pacing, he knows how to maintain, keep the bee's in the hive—he knows how to do all that. [male announcer 2]: Tia Wright, getting up and over the bar. [male announcer]: So here is Pat Vellner. Now they're gonna move down to 115 lb. on the snatch. [female announcer]: Wow, that was awesome! Tia Wright and Joey Kimdon still on the floor. Last reps for Tia Wright. And there she is, over that Rogue barbell and into the end zone. [crowd applaudes and announcer continues narrating the event] It sucked just as bad the second time. [singing]: "I hurt myself ... today." Can you take a picture for us? We're a big group here from Canada. Ya get out of here in a hurry.
- Thanks for coming. I just didn't have it in me. I couldn't go. I just literally could not move. I was paralyzed. - Thank you so much!
- No problem. Take care. You don't catch old Vellner two times in a row like that. You gotta get up pretty early in the morning. I was like, "Okay, Tia. Now's the time to speed up." I tried and then I just stayed at the same pace. I'm just freaking bummed right now. I could see people's faces in the crowd. I dunno. I thought he was gonna take over on that lighter bar. But he got third place in a snatch event, which I think is pretty good. - [interviewer]: It was great! It was hard to watch. I wanted her to go, and it just went the way it went. That happens in events. Um ... From my perspective, this is being an athlete. That's kind of what happens is you have ups and you have downs. You have to always stay in the fight and figure it out, and battle through competitions, no matter what. To do all the little things right, to learn from every experience, to grow and to just to remember when you get like rocks and something doesn't go your way, to remember why you do it and then lean back on those whys and lean back on your support system so you can recover again and do it again. But it's not easy. You had a legitimate shot of winning that workout. It's always that way though. I never look at it that way, I was looking at like— Well, it's not two years ago, it's now. And I had a legitimate shot of winning in and I didn't. It was, like, a second off. But still, you're kind of like, "Ah." And I feel like all weekend it's been that way. Event 1: the screen thing, like whatever. Event 2: a no rep here, like kinda cost me. Shit. Event 3: a no rep cost me the win. This one: a second here. Fuck. It's always that way, it's always seconds or inches. I dunno if, like, people want me to go to the Games as bad as I wanna go to the games or what, but they were bummed, I think. I dunno. I just feel it in people's faces. Maybe they saw written all over mine. Shoot. Oh! The shrinkage. He's filming the shrinkage. You'd have to close-up real close. Every workout I've been, like, a second away from first kind of thing. So it's annoying. I'm just missing a small bit of execution in every workout. But that's okay. There's not-- Things are going great. Obviously it's not the end of the world, but I just always try to look for where I can make up time. There's no point in sitting there giving yourself a pat on the back and high-fiving yourself over how great you're doing. ♫ Got lots of people who are fans of Pat.
- We wear our Vellner shirts. This is podium Pat. This is blacked-out Pat. [laughter] - Is that from your bro? What's it say? Tell Pat to mix in an event win for once. [laughter] We'll be mini celebrities here, for sure. Because of the shirts, basically. When we get our medals and our belt at the end, if you qualify, you don't get to keep them. You give them back and then when you're drug-testing comes back then they'll ship them to you. - That a good idea. They send it to you, you don't get to keep any of that stuff anymore. - Something they learned last year. I saw that rule changed. [laughter] Yeah, I had a good laugh. I was like, "Wow." - That's the "Pat Vellner" rule ... or the "Ricky Gerard" rule, really. Thank you so much. Let's get out of here. Convincing yourself that something is okay, like, trying to just move forward with it-- So, like, convincing yourself like, "Oh, it's fine. It's okay." Or assessing the fact that it's not okay and then making it okay. That process is very different. [interviewer]: What do you think is more effective? Assessing the fact that there's a problem and that you actually need to fix it and then it will be okay. You can't just ignore it. You can't just convince yourself it's fine and just be positive through something that's not. You have to assess the fact that it's not okay and fix it by layering positivity into it. I'm not living in the moment. You have to be able to be like, "I'm not living in the moment and I need to get back there." Yesterday I thought I was, but I wasn't. So being really real with yourself in those moments is so important. I think my fitness is there. I'm just-- There was something missing this year. 50 calories just going on the bike, with legs that are tired like that is gonna be painful. - [inteviewer]: You gonna be first off the bike? [laughs] Hey, I learned that lesson. Hopefully not. I'm not gonna try to be first off the bike, but if things are going well and I'm just like-- I know exactly the pace I need to bike at, and if it gets me off the bike first— hey—then it gets me off the bike first. But I'm not trying to get to the dumbbells first. That's the whole workout. - [interviewer]: Have you seen "Icarus"? I have, yeah. Of course I've seen "Icarus." God, the amount of times that people site that to me. Everyone's on drugs. Haven't you seen "Icarus"? Ah. Yes, I've seen "Icarus." We're gonna listen to some "Transformers." It's so good. ♫ Are you ready? Here it comes. [ ♫ music intensifies] [male announcer]: Here's Pat Vellner. Vellner now the overall leader. Makes his way toward the box. He'll take a look over, he's hoping to get one competitor down there. [Vellner]: I'm always paying attention to what everyone else is doing, listening to what the announces are saying. [male announcer]: Two reps remaining. He's well ahead of event-record pace. If you're aware of what other competitors are doing, it just helps you make smart decisions. If I know that I can finish first in this workout and I don't need to kill myself to get those points, don't. [male announcer]: Look at Vellner, he is the only one on the lunges—he is already about half way down the floor. Tim Paulson, trying to wrap up his. [male announcer 2]: We see Tia Wright in the center your screen, she's getting close as well. [female announcer]: Look at this! He's on the ground. Oh, the effort—just to hold that thing up overhead. [male announcer]: Event record. And for Vellner, his first event win of the weekend after two seconds and two thirds. Good job, girl. You did awesome. If there's anything that this is about, it's about intensity and digging deep and pushing yourself really hard in workouts. So that was fun, being next to these guys and just chipping away at that. It was good. It felt good in my soul. [interviewer]: Got your first win, yeah? First win of the weekend.
- There you go! How's that feel? Good for one a year. [laughter] It's good. That's how I want to start the last day, set myself up well for the last workout, where I don't have to sell out. I like that. [crowd repeatedly chanting]: "Let's go, Vellner!" The fan's blowing. You got the hair flowing. Is that part of the plan: growing the hair out, let it flow on the Assault bike there? Oh, absolutely. Its only half how good you are. It's also half how good you look. When I get out there, I get the hair flowing. It's great for the fans, it's great for the photos. It's what everybody really came to see. [interviewer]: So, much faster than in practice? Yeah, about a minute. That's kinda what I expected though. That kind of workout, it's easy to lose focus on the box. But in a competition when you have people next to you, it's much easier to stay focused on where you are. I can tell if I'm gaining one rep on, say Tim next to me, every time I move, that gives you a bit of energy. You're like, "Shit, I'm losing him." And you want to keep that pace or speed up even in the last couple rounds. As a competitor, his ability to compete is one of the biggest strengths. He's got all the tools from a fitness standpoint. There's not a lot of weaknesses there, but I think his ability to adapt in a workout—he keeps a really good head. He doesn't get swallowed up by negative results or bad events. But I think he's also got that killer instinct. He's not just aloof and happy all the time. He just knows how to process it and channel it in a way that makes him better. Where a lot of people, it makes them a little worse. I ... am really excited to sit by the pool when this is done. But this final event is gonna be awesome. [interviewer]: Feeling good? It's gonna come out hot. They re-shuffle the heats for the final event, right?
- I think so, yeah. No, I'll go out there and just win it, win this one, too.
- There you go. Show up on Sunday. Yeah. Yeah, I'm excited. This final event is gonna be real fun. Fast. And then I'm gonna go lay by the beach. I think for me, because I don't really have a dog in the fight as far as the race, I dunno. I'm just gonna try to go for broke and go unbroken—give the people what they want. Ya know? Burn. It. Down. [male announcer]: Here we go. Underway in the final event of the weekend. 100 points on the line. [female announcer]: This guy knows how to compete. Here comes miss Tia Wright! [male announcer]: Vellner, final few reps. But it's gonna be Pat Vellner! - That's exactly what I said not to do. Michelle was like, "Walk forward overhead with the last rep, no matter what." And I would have done 4/4, but I walked I just almost missed the second one. So I was like, "If you fail one, it's bad." I'm so glad it's done. Ah! It's gonna be another year 'til we get back. So I just want to soak it up. Look at this place. [interviewer]: What emotions are you feeling now? I'm just excited to train. I'm really excited to work out. I'm gonna go get a beer as soon as I can. [crowd cheers] And then we'll see what's going on tonight. I don't have to work 'til Tuesday. I'm gonna get, hopefully, a good sleep in tonight and maybe ... driver aburger and a beer into my belly. See where that takes me. [male announcer]: Coming in first place here at the 2018 Reebok CrossFit Games East Regional ... with 558 points ... Patrick Vellner! [crowd cheers] When the rollercoasters end, you want to get back on and do it all over again. You know? So, I'll wait 365 days ... to ride the roller coaster again. [intrviewer]: I heard you cried last night. Oh! She told you that? - Yeah. Did you, bro? She outed you. Oh, man. Yeah, I did. [interviewer]: Why'd you get emotional about it, bro? Just learned a lot this weekend. As boyfriend, as a worker, as a person—I just learned a lot. There's a lot of learning and growth about what's important, what matters ... what to say, when not to say, when to just listen. My perspective on these athletes has changed. I thought I respected them a lot. But it went through the roof. This is amazing—what they do is amazing. I think he is super invested in me doing well and my journey. He's been a really big part of it, too. So, as emotional I was, he was as emotional. Way to go, Pat!
- Thank you. I'm not allowed? Okay. Hold that for me. - I was just trying to get him his beer. Going for the drug test. Let me do my job real quick. Just gimme a second. Let's call him the people's champ:
Patriiiiiiiick Vellllll-nerrrrrr! 3, 2, 1 ... rocket launch! That's why you gotta have all the bags. I've seen the bottom. I've seen the top. I've been through experiences all in between, the taste of both makes for quite the ride. But oftentimes in the midst of something great, we have the hardest time realizing what lessons we are learning. So what are we all doing here? On this Regional floor, we are all taking steps forward each moment to become a better us—not just workouts or impressive movements, but we're here to be challenged, to endure to fight, to be real and to be positive. We are ultimately here to improve our lives and to improve other's lives. I'm here on the floor with all of the learning to gain. This floor is where our greatest lessons come to life or they come full circle. Thank you for everyone for all the support. Stay with me. Rollercoaster! Most of the athletes at the Games probably have been competitive for their whole life, like, it's all you know. Even when it comes to my school or work or whatever, I want to do better than everybody else. I want to be the best version of myself that I can be. And try to just prove yourself every day and just be better. I would love to win. We work too hard to participate. Fuck. I don't like that. I'm not going there to get a participation medal. You want to go there and you want to earn your spots in the podium and you want to win. You want to be the best.
Vellner's bluntness and (seemingly) laid back nature is pretty great. The coverage should have been 70% him.
Figured I'd focus on that instead of complain about Wright.
WOW. 40:35 Bill Grundler. "I think she's got a shot" looks at notes "ahh nvm"
I loved that they were talking shit about the south regional.
Tia said in the CrossFit Podcast that she was gonna win regionals for sure and that she was gonna beat Chyna Cho.
I get it. She’s confident.. but after following her for about 3 years on IG, now it’s just all talk and no results. Every year she says “I’m gonna make it, I’m fitter than ever, it’s gonna be epic, wait for it”.. she works hard and stuff. But I like athletes that let their results talk!!
This doesn’t mean she’s not an awesome athlete. Holy fuck she is legit!! I mean- 7 times regional athlete. She almost made it twice.. but I think she needs to stop talking so much about how great she is.
Edit: I forgot. She also put an Instagram story when event 3 of regionals was released saying “yessss 100 points for sure!!” 😂
Vellner absolutely wins it for me with his upbeat attitude and outlook on life. So much more personality compared to Fraser. He'd be a hoot to hang out with. His life balance with work, and training is refreshing show of a regular joe making it. All around good guy.
Tia.... oh boy. She's a beast, but man that battle she has going on in her head is almost too brutal to watch. Like watching a trainwreck. I do wish her well in the future though, it's sad to see anyone with such internal struggles.
Realistic expeditions = realistic results. The difference in the two mindsets of Vellner and Wright are complete opposites. Vellner takes the time to reflect on the how/why meanwhile Wright was talking about looking at other people’s faces mid-workout and glossing over everything with all that faux-positivity.
No wonder she felt over/underwhelmed - she never got to talk through anything on her mind with anyone in her camp. They (and her included) all just told her that should could win it all vs being realistic about it. Even when she was saying she was having a great time while smiling it didn’t look/sound honest. The sports psych didn’t do much, her one coach just said she would win it and then told her he was excited to celebrate her going to the games (which is so much pressure), the other coach (were they the same guy?) said she would win event 3, her bf saying it was tough to watch her...woof.
At one point she discussed finding a problem, assessing it, and then fixing it but then says,”you can’t just ignore it.” Which is basically exactly what she did. She talks about convincing yourself something is fine when it isn’t. That statement combined with her saying she feels good winning and that competing is winning/competing to win (versus just enjoying the act of competing) is just....a lot to unpack.
If you’re enjoying yourself, it shows as you’re focused on doing something you enjoy. Conversely, if you’re not enjoying yourself, you find yourself staring into the crowd at people you may/may not know imagining they’re disappointed in you. She sets herself up for failure (even if she knows the issue, she doesn’t do what needs to be done aka actually enjoying herself). Plus she looked like she was on the verge of crying the entire episode. Don’t know if she only does the open/regionals but maybe more competitions would give her more of a realistic confidence in herself.
All that aside, I laughed loudly at the comment,”it’s the Ricky Garard rule” from Vellner’s father.
20mins in and I can feel the set up for Tia mounting.
Watching now.. liking Tia or not I still enjoy these behind the scenes types of things
I legitimately thought this was going to release just as a Patrick Vellner RTTG episode. I guess all that work filming Tia was too much effort to justify editting it out.