Post Meet Reflections

A successful meet is officially in the books! This past Saturday I competed in NASA Unequipped Open Nationals and I could not have asked for a better day. I felt like I made some excellent progress during this training cycle and I went into the meet with the mindset that I was going to get four PR's. The meet started on a great note when I had zero trouble making weight. I basically was just careful about what I ate all week and drank a lot of water and was able to weigh in at an easy 147. After weighing in Brandon and I hit a near by buffet and enjoyed a nice carb loaded supper.

Saturday morning I woke up and was ready to go! I felt good, strong, and well rested. The meet got underway about 10:00 with the curl and clean competitions; two events that I wasn't competing in. The meet started for me around 11:00 with squats. Brandon and I agreed beforehand that I would pick my opening weights but after that I wanted him to make all my calls. Knowing what is on the bar and having time to think about it juts psyches me out and kind of intimidates me, especially if I know I'm going for a PR. Since all the weights are measured in kilograms, I could have Brandon make my calls without me even knowing what the weight was since I always train in pounds.

I chose to open my squats at 170; my former PR from just three months ago. I knew my squat had progressed way more than my other two lifts and felt very confident in this; especially since I was able to squat 175 for a fairly easy triple towards the end of my training. I took my opener and got three white lights! First lift of the day and I already had a tied PR! I wasn't sure what B would pick for my second attempt but I knew he would be a bit riskier with attempts than I would be which is another reason why I wanted him to make my calls. I always play on the safe side with  my numbers, even when I know good and well I could do more. I did my second attempt having no idea what was on the bar and once again it was a good lift! When the third attempt rolled around, I knew that it had to be at least 200 pounds, since that was a goal I had in mind for this meet. I tried not to think about it and took my attempt. Sadly, it was my first (and only) miss of the day. I got out of the hole just fine but about halfway up I just couldn't go anymore. Looking back at the video it looks like I really just need a little more time to get a bit stronger; it will certainly be there in a few weeks with a little more work. After my third attempt I found out I had successfully done 187 for my second and missed 203 for my third. I was a little bummed for a second when I found out I missed 200 but hey, I just got a 17 pound PR, that's a huge accomplishment for a short amount of time!

Next up was bench press. I opened with 105, the same thing I always open with. Bench press is very hit or miss for me. Some days I'm on and feel like I could do 130 pounds with no trouble and other days 90 pounds feels like a ton. I took my first attempt and could tell it was going to be a good bench day. Attempts two and three were also good and I ended up with 121 pounds; a six pound PR!

After bench press we had a little down time so we ventured over to Subway where I was finally able to enjoy a sub for once! (I follow a gluten free lifestyle and typically only deviate from it on meet days) I was starting to get a little tired just from the day so Brandon ran and got me some coffee so I could get a little caffeine boost. I had originally planned to open deadlifts at 220 but after crunching some numbers we realized if I opened at 225 then I would have tied my old total and everything else would just be icing on the cake. I went ahead and changed my opener and hit 225 pretty easily. The second attempt was definitely harder and the third was a straight struggle, but I got it! I walked away with 253 pounds on deadlift, a five pound PR! My total for the day was 562, which was a 28 pound PR! For only three months I was beyond thrilled with that!

It was a fantastic day and I'm so happy with how things turned out. Not only did I reach  my lifting goals but it was really awesome to meet other female lifters! I don't plan to compete again until around March so until then I plan to train hard and stay focused. I have some big numbers in mind for my next competition and can't wait to take some recovery time this week and get going again!

I want to end this post by giving a huge thank you to Brandon, without whom I never would have come this far. He is the greatest coach I could ever ask for and always believes in me and has never once given up on me. I've always been a good self motivator but with his encouragement he gives me that extra little boost I need and I can't thank him enough for all the fantastic programming he does for me! All in all I'd say we're a pretty great team :)


B and I with my Junior Division champ trophy!

Thanks for always seeing the greatness, B!