Meet Recap

I left for Dubuque, IA Friday early afternoon and got there and checked in without a hitch.  From then up until I got to the meet on Saturday morning was an adventure to say the least.

Upon entering my room at the Motel 6 I tried not to think about the literally gallons of bodily fluids that were hiding out in random places in my room.  I checked out each towel before I used it which was a good thing.  The hand towel by the sink had a few stains from guests past.  I'm sure it had been cleaned but probably should have been retired a while ago.  By the look of it it was either used to clean up blood or it was used as a C-rag.  I've been a guy for 26 years and expressing that masculinity successfully for 13 or 14.  I know what it looks like and if not taken care of it can leave a stain.

On my way to weigh-ins which was five minutes from my hotel I got stuck in traffic.  There was a huge car fire about 200 yards in front of me.  A major thoroughfare in Dubuque was then closed for an hour while firefighters got the fire under control and cleaned up the scene.  While I was sitting in traffic it began to snow.  It wasn't a blizzard but it definitely made the rest of the trip interesting.  I narrowly missed weigh-ins by the skin of my ass.  I weighed-in at 214 pounds of twisted steel and sex appeal.

After weigh-ins I went straight to a Chinese buffet about a mile away from my hotel to get my bloat on.  Two and a half plates of MSG laden food stuffs later I was ready to call it a night.

Saturday morning I woke up to about five inches of snow and an unpaved lot.  The way Motel 6's building was set up I had to drive down a fairly steep incline to get to park by my room.  My truck has rear-wheel drive (which is by far the dumbest invention ever.  I hope whoever invented it and decided it would go good on a truck has had a very unhappy life and dies alone and sad.) and does not do well in the snow.  I had to try five times getting a running start to get the truck up the hill.  I was not happy to say the least.

On to the meet.  Here's how it broke down.

Squat
518- good lift
540- no lift- depth
556- no lift- depth

I was kind of disappointed in the squat.  The second one I was high.  But the third I took video of and watched it and I really don't think I was high.  I'll admit it could have gone either way and it's up to me to leave no doubt but I saw some other squats that were high than mine and were given three whites.  I'm not a judge and I didn't see it from their perspective so I really have nothing to complain about.  I know I'm strong enough to handle the weight.  That gives me confidence moving forward.

Bench
264- good lift
286.5- good lift
292- no lift

Second attempt went up like nothing.  I stalled on 292 about half way up and couldn't fight through it.  I think I let it float out a bit and that's what did me in.  Moving on.

Dead lift
538- good lift
584- good lift
589.5- good lift- all-time PR

Not much to say here.  I was happy with the PR.  It was a struggle but I think 600 is not too far out of reach.

Total- 1393.5

All in all the meet was definitely a success.  I hit a PR and narrowly missed two others.  I also learned a lot about how to set up my training.  Here's a few nuggets of truth I stumbled upon.

1. I do better only dead lifting once every few weeks.
2. I need to bench more than once per week and do more pressing in general.
3. I'm going to start wearing my heavy knee sleeves again to keep my knees healthy.

Now it's time to rest, relax, and recover.  I'll be getting back at it tomorrow.  My long term goals are still not fulfilled and I fully intend on fulfilling them to their fullest.  Full.

Song of the Day:

"There is nothing so fatal to character as half finished tasks."
-David Loyd George