Meet Report

Without some big crazy introduction here is how the day went -

Felt like shit when I got that up yesterday morning, and here I sit writing this with a full blown cold. Drainage, sore throat, and all sorts of shit. Lovely.  More on this later. 

Anyway, I passed it off as meet jitters, ate breakfast and went off. 

Started warming up in the back and my left VMO felt tight. Like it wouldn't release.  

Stretched it for a long time but no dice. 

There were 5 flights in this meet and 10 guys per flight.  The first two flights were raw and the next three were geared.  Due to nerves I started warming up a bit early for squats, then had to kind of re-warm up later as the first flight (I was in the second flight) started on their third attempts.

I opened on squats at 550. Shook a bit from nerves but the weight itself was super easy. 

Went to 600 for my second. The plan was to stay conservative on the opener and second attempt, then look for something good on the third.  So 600 was the planned 2nd attempt.

I unracked it, and it felt light so I already knew 640 was in the bags. Took it to the basement and felt my left VMO pop at the bottom.  I finished the squat so easily that when I told my wife I tore my quad she was shocked.   

I passed on my third. 

Took my a while to get my head around the injury.  It took a lot out of me physically and mentally because I had put a lot into doing well at this meet.  But my wife told me, "quit being a fucking pussy and go bench mother fucker.  Do what you came here to do." 

That pretty much settled that.

I close gripped 369 easily for my opener. 

Went to 418, and when I unracked it my right ass cheek tightened up into a fucking knot and I was in all sorts of pain. Still made the lift but it was harder than I had thought. 

So instead of 440-450 I played it safe and went to 430. 430 ended up being easier than 418 and now I was pissed that I left some on the platform.  The 440 was easily there.

I wasn't sure how pulls would go because by this point the meet had been going on for about 9 hours and my left vastus was stiff and painful.  I knew that transition point was going to be painful and my hope was to pull fast enough off the floor to let the speed move the bar past it without too much muscling it up.  Because that was not going to happen on this day.  I had ground out a 650 a few weeks ago, but I figured that would probably be out since the injury.

Opened at 570 and smoked it.  No pain on this lift, so I was feeling ok about things.  Maybe that 650+ would have a chance.

Smoked 622. 

But when I walked away after the 622 the pain in the leg was excruciating. I knew I had 650+ in me but not if that VMO wasn't going to fire properly. So again I stayed conservative and went 633 again hoping the momentum would carry it over that sticking point. It popped off the floor like no weight on the bar but at the transition point there was just nobody home and I shut down. 

1650-something. Whatever. I'm supremely disappointed. Many good months of being smart and staying injury free. I am happy I gutted it out and won best lifter award (don't ask me how, I don't think it's purely based on total). 

Got to hang out with Ed Coan quite a bit, and Ernie and Eric Lilliebridge.  Ernie told me it's the same shit with him now. That he hit a 2K raw total in 07 but since then he can barely get through a training cycle w/o an injury. Coan said the same. That it was injury after injury in his later years. Now he has a hip replacement. 

Anyway, I will compete again and I know without the injury I was easily good for 640-440-670 yesterday. Two more good training cycles and I think I can push the dead up above 7 and the bench closer to 500. Ernie told me if I learn how to use a belt and wraps properly and push my dead over 700 and bench right up next to 500 I could be right on top of 2K (around 1950) but I don't know if that's my thang, with the belt and wraps.  

either way, it was a good journey and I already know some things I did wrong as far as planning and training and am going to remedy that for the next meet.


I also wanted to say that this meet was ran about as well as a meet can be ran.  It was incredibly professional and everyone did an awesome job.  They even had several massage therapists in the back for anyone who needed it (I guess I shoulda taken advantage of that with my VMO?).  The judging was INCREDIBLY strict.  I mean no one got gifts, everything was to the letter.  I didn't see a single high squat passed, no hitched deadlifts, and pauses on bench were long enough that you could call it a fucking pause for the love of God.  Ted Isabella did a phenomenal job as did everyone involved.  I can't say enough how great the event was.