Invictus Athlete Profile – Rachel Doucet

Invictus Athlete Profile – Rachel Doucet
Interviewed by Jaimie Bougie

Jaimie: Rachel, tell us about how you became a member at Invictus. You were following the programming on your own initially, right?

Rachel: Yes, Before Invictus, I was “all over the place”, I had tons of goals but didn’t know how to handle them. I wanted to be fast, strong, lean, etc. I was just finishing up from triathlon season and I had been doing crossfit about 3 times per week and swim, bike, and run training 4 times a week. I didn’t take any days off, and I wasn’t seeing major gains as I wanted to.

In January, during one of my military temporary assigned duty (TAD) trips to Washington, I started training with fellow Invicti, Blake Sewell, who works at NorthEnd Fitness in Oak Harbor. He was just starting the programming and talked me into it. I started seeing immediate results and knew that this is what I wanted. Triathlons no longer!

Although I didn’t have a muscle-up, pistol, HSPU, and I was weak in my Oly lifting, somehow Blake talked me into signing up for the OPEN. He believed in me when I didn’t and pushed me to my next level. After my hard work at Regionals, I learned so much about myself. It was life changing and I owe it to Blake Sewell for showing me that I can do whatever I set my focus on – which I did! I hit four major goals in just 3 months!

You came in 14th place at the SoCal Regionals – that’s pretty awesome! Tell us about your experience with that.

As I stated before, life changing! That is how I can describe it. I learned about the power of human spirit, mental focus, visualization, and self-belief. I had visualized the intense workouts every day, so much that I dreamt about it! My goal was to make it to the 6th event and not get disqualified. I had to be realistic about it, I knew I wasn’t going to the Games, but I wasn’t truly confident that I could make it to the top 18, however, I kept focused. I feel like I have a story about every workout, but I’ll keep it short! During regionals, each morning before I would go “on stage”, my family would call me and provide me intense pep talks which would help me get through the day.

“The bloody hands, torn callouses, bloody shins, sore muscles, clean eating all culminates this weekend. No more I’ll do better next times, no more I can practice for the next one. When you step into that arena it is time to let it all hang out. The time for holding back is over. Make those workouts YOURS and when you are done KNOW that every second of training, deprivation, and determination came into that one defining moment when you held nothing back and performed to the absolute best of your ability” -Jed Bailey (Cousin).

My family helped me control my “negative thoughts”. Every time I felt intimidated, or not able to do something, I would kick it out and keep focused on positivity. This truly helped me get through and the outcome was huge! I went from 35th to 14th place and it felt incredible to know that I pushed myself farther than I thought was possible.

What was your favorite workout at Regionals this year?

My favorite was NOT the 6th event because I failed. I hate failing by the way, but it was just amazing that I was there doing/attempting muscle-ups with the Sea of Green rooting me on! I really loved the 70 lb dumbbell snatches – because I was most intimidated by it, and then I rocked it! I focused on form and getting under it and kept a positive mental attitude through each snatch. Visualizing that 70 lb dumbbell helped!! I even had a picture of it at work to keep me motivated each day.

Tell us about your athletic background; did you play sports in high school or do you have a job that is physically demanding?

I grew up in a small school. I graduated with a class of 42 and Kindergarten-12th grade was in one building. I played the only sports they offered: volleyball, basketball, and track. My job is definitely not physically demanding since I’m in the IT business.

Your husband, Derek Doucet, is also a member of Invictus. Do you see any advantages or disadvantages to working out as a couple?

I know that when I look back on this time in my life, I’ll realize how great Derek and I have it! I love it – being on the same program keeps us motivated and we are seeing so many results, it is surreal! We are a bit competitive which is great for us! We’ve both seen HUGE gains in our progress since we’ve started and we should have started this programming years ago! We argue here and there about what the workout needs to be, etc, but all couples do! He just needs to understand that I am always right! Ha!

It sounds like you get a lot of support from your family towards your Crossfit goals; have you talked them into joining a Crossfit yet?

Regionals was a life changing experience, not only for me but it also influenced my family! My sister has joined a crossfit gym in Missouri, and her life and her daughter’s life is now all about crossfit! Also, my cousin, Jed and his wife, Sarah have built their own box in their yard where they are able to perform workouts as well. They are too far from a crossfit box, so they brought one to their yard! They both now follow Invictus programming and are crushing it! Additionally, their two small kids constantly mimic Mommy and Daddy and are growing up with the culture of fitness, which is extremely important! My friends at NorthEnd fitness follow the Competition programming as well. We share results, and keep each other motivated. It is truly amazing how we continue to push one another even from afar!

Sadly, Rachel will be leaving us in September to attend Naval Post-Graduate School up in Monterey, California. She plans to continue on with the Invictus Competition programming in preparation for the 2013 Crossfit Open and she hopes to be able to come visit Invictus every other weekend while she’s gone.