Masters Nationals -- Part II

Ok - so now it is time to lift the weights. My coach couldn't make it down, so my dear friend Suzanne Leathers (an Olympic alternate) had a coach who agreed to take me on. I don't know what I was feeling. It's all a blur. Snatching felt easy and CJ did not. I just know that the clean and jerks took every ounce of my emotional fortitude to get through. Physically, I was done. Done. End results were the following:

Snatch: 55, 58, 60
Clean and Jerk: 72, 75, 77

Let me just say that I made the 77...it was a new clean PR. I also jerked it - probably a bit of a press out. Needless to say - 80 I'm coming for you.

A 135 total was good enough to win the 75kg 40 year old group. I'm really proud of myself. I cut 9 pounds. Traveled under less than ideal conditions and frickin' won gold!!

So then I needed to coach my friend Amylynne. This girls is a boss. She impresses me to no end. A 48 kg lifter throwing just about my body weight over her gosh darn head. She's got an amazing jerk and her dedication to Olympic lifting is loyal and unwavering. She's lifted at the American Open on the A stage, and has every 48kg New England record possible.

Coaching is stressful! Thank the good lord that Suzanne Leathers was there to do most of it. I just loaded the bar and told Amylynne what weights to lift on the platform. By the C&J I was so wrecked and Amylynne was yawning before her lifts. After the travel day we had, for good reason.

End result was:
Snatch: 52, 55, 55
Clean and Jerk: 69, 70, 72

Her 124 total was good enough for a silver medal. I know she's not happy, but she did really well. (I cannot get the photo to cooperate and will update tomorrow.)

Masters Nationals in Savannah - Part I

To live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering.
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/suffering.html

 To live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering. -- Friedrich Nietzsche

To live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering.
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/suffering.html

To live is to suffer, to survive is to find some meaning in the suffering.
Read more at: http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/suffering.html

 What a crazy, amazing weekend. Last blog post I was suffering through a weight cut for this...

Traveling:
This was by far the worst travel trip I've been on in a long time. On the way down, we were delayed at JFK for 8 hours. The plan was to arrive at 5:30 PM to have time to sweat if needed. Instead, due to mechanical issues we were stuck at the airport, where I sucked on Jolly Ranchers and spit into a cup to try to cut water. Never mind the mechanical issues, the weather was supposed to be terrible in Savannah. There were tornado watches and severe storm warnings. I love to fly in good weather and have near panic attacks in bad. I couldn't drink, so I'm lucky that I had an extra Ativan from my MRI.

We arrived at the airport at midnight and still had to grab the car before we could venture off to the hotel. We were upgraded to a Toyota Sienna minivan. The thing drove great. In any case, upon arrival at the hotel, now at 1 AM, we were told that our room had been sold. Because we were so late, they thought we were a no show. We weren't alone. There was a woman there in the same boat as us. She luckily got the very last room. (That woman ended up being one of the IWF officials who conducted the weigh ins.) Luckily there was one open room available at a sister hotel a mile down the road. We received the night at no charge.

Finally at 1:30 AM we were able to get into bed. I was scheduled to weigh in at 7 AM and had no idea how much I weighed. The original hotel was supposed to have a check scale, though no one knew where it was. Thankfully, I made plans to go to the Cohen Weightlifting Center at 6:15 AM, where there was a scale and a sauna.

I awoke at 5 AM, raced to the nearest Starbucks to get a black coffee before heading to the sauna. To my absolute happiness (and surprise) I weighed in with only .3kg to lose - that's about .6 pounds. I had on sweats, leggings, a tank top, t-shirt, long-sleeved t-shirt and a sweatshirt. 15 minutes in the sauna and I was at weight! SUCCESS!! As the owner of my gym said at this point, "part 1 done, now finish part 2!!!!!"

Lift the damn weights.