First Olympic lifting meet done!
Have you ever been so nervous that you thought you could see your heart pounding out of your chest? That is how I felt on Saturday. It was the strangest feeling in the world. Instead of being calm and confident, I was a ball of nerves! Besides the fact that I completely bombed the clean and jerk, I’m happy that I made myself do something that I hadn’t done before.
I opened with 53, 56 and 58 on the snatch. These are all under my max. I was happy to hit all three lifts….even if I wasn’t dropping under the bar like I know I can. I believe this video is of my last attempt at 58 kilos.
The clean was another story. I opened with 70. It felt much heavier than usual. I missed the clean at 75. I got on my toes and didn’t turn my elbows fast. So frustrating! That is a weight I haven’t missed in a long time. I stuck with 75 for my third attempt. Nailed the clean, but pressed out the jerk so it was not counted as a good lift. Also extremely frustrating. The jerk continues to be a struggle. Even though it is getting better I still have a long way to go. Mainly, I need to be more confident. I was anything but confident on Saturday!
Next time I lift in a meet like this I know there are some things I will do different. I will warm up more and do a better job of hitting in-between lifts. I think that will help a lot.
It was so fun to compete with some amazing lifters. We saw girls that had been lifting since they were 9. Their speed was incredible. I was in awe! A big congrats to Kristen Dolf who won her weight class and Paige and Christina who won their classes as well! I took second in mine. Christina and I were in the 63 group together.
On another note, The Open starts tomorrow! Last year I was a ball of nerves. This year I feel calm and ready. No freaking out week to week. No neglecting the rest of training. I have a lot of things I still want to focus on! The last two Sunday’s I have been hitting a max weight 20 rep unbroken back squat. Last week I made 165#. This past Sunday I made 175#. It took me about 1:25 to get through 175#. Not too shabby. I love the challenge of being better than the week before. It helps me stay focused and fight through that desire to drop the bar.
Happy Open everyone!
Stronger and Faster 