CELTIC NATIONS COMPETITION

I lifted in the Celtic Nations Weightlifting Competition in Cardiff, Wales last Saturday. This is my first international competition in 2 years.

I was a very excited and more than just a little nervous in the week before hand as the snatch had suddenly become a little inconsistent in training. What a week for it to happen! Where I had been doubling 50kg and 52kg easily and managed to get up to 57kg for two singles, I was now suddenly missing 50kg a lot and it felt like I'd completely forgotten how to snatch. I was starting too far over the bar and yanking it off the floor which was a bad habit from the before time. I hadn't been doing as much glute work as in the few weeks before so it's possible I was reverting back to my quad dominant movement patterns. (However, this didn't occur to me until after I saw the video of my lifts from the competition!)

Clean and jerk had been going better than ever. The new idea of just firing it up seemed to be working well and I'd gotten as far as 72kg in training with the feeling that there was much more there.

Travel to the hotel in Cardiff was uneventful and we arrived about 7pm in the evening. I then went with two of the team coaches to check out the venue. I had the option of resting but I like to see the place where I'll be lifting. This helps me mentally prepare as it allows me to repeatedly visualise making good lifts there. When it finally comes to actually lifting, it feels like I've already done it and done it well.

Dragon CrossFit is an impressive facility and would be a great place to train. I walked around the competition platform and warm up area for awhile picturing how it would be and then headed back to the hotel for a light supper of boiled eggs and some rest.

I couldn't sleep after about 5am and 7am couldn't have come fast enough! I was out of the bed and getting ready so fast. We arrived at the venue a few minutes before weigh in and I checked my weight. I was just under 63kg. Making bodyweight hadn't been too much of an issue for this competition; I was 65kg two weeks out. I just upped my carbs for the two weeks and cut out any treats. Within a few days, the bodyweight had come down to 64kg and settled there. With 3 or 4 days to go, I was hovering around 63.5kg. I reduced the carbs the day beforehand, reduced water from about 9pm and weighed in at a comfortable 62.35kg feeling great.

I spent 30-40 minutes refuelling with homemade protein bread, porridge and fruit and rehydrating with dioralyte and at 10am I got into my singlet and started warming up. Competition was due to start at 11am. I was on to the bar by about 1030am but was feeling very tight, my ankles in particular. Even in my bar work I was up on my toes so I had to spend some time stretching them out between sets. Because of this, the warmup didn't go very well and it felt a bit rushed. I didn't miss any lifts but I just wasn't in my groove.

I opened with 51kg or 52kg on the platform and it was rushed. I was lucky to get it. At least I had one snatch. Next I took 54kg and completely rushed it. I swung it behind and got spat out. No lift. My coach called for 55kg next to give me some time to reset the head. There were a few lifters taking 55kg so this gave me about 3 minutes which helped me a lot. When I took the 55kg, I was a bit more settled. Looking at the video, it was still a little rushed and hips were too high but thankfully, I made the lift. 55kg is 3kg above what I hit in Cork in October and is 6kg below my best ever competition snatch. While I would say that it could have gone better, I'm so happy that it didn't go worse. It's still progress and I know what I need to do to lift more next time. Strength is not the issue yet, just a few technical quick fixes.

There was 5 minutes between the snatch and clean and jerk so I had no time to relax, I had to get straight on to the bar. Because everything felt so rushed, I didn't have time to follow my usual competition routines. I normally have a caffeine tablet at the start of the snatch warmup and another at the start of the clean and jerk warmup and I find that this gets me fired up for just the right time. I only had time to take the caffeine tablet during my clean and jerk warmup. I had to fire through my clean and jerk warmup taking 5kg jumps and the only rest was when my team mate Mary was taking her lifts. Neither of us got to catch a breath really. As I was taking 60kg, I heard my name being called to take 65kg on the platform. This distracted the hell out of me. I got my coach to raise my opener to 70kg and took a rushed but solid 67kg before getting myself set for the platform. There were a few taking 70kg before me so as it turned out, I had quite a while to wait then.

When I got called for 70kg on the platform, I swaggered out and absolutely nailed it. I felt really strong and it was unbelievably easy. Good lift. My coach called for 72kg next and there were a few taking that weight and a bit of chopping and changing so by the time I went out for my second attempt, I was feeling a little cold and I'm pretty sure the caffeine was wearing off. The clean was solid but I bucked under the jerk. My coach called for 72kg again and I tried to get myself fired up for it but same thing happened; a really good clean but got crumpled by the jerk.

A lot of this might sound a bit negative and I think the problem here is my expectations were too high. To get 55kg snatch and 70kg clean and jerk only  6 months after an extended layoff due to injury is not too bad at all. It was only this time last year that physios and doctors were telling me I'd probably never lift again.
I'm taking the week to rest and reevaluate, do some mobility work and mentally refocus. My next competition is the Capital Strength open at the gym where I train on December 28th and I'm going to go and do the best I can at that with no expectations.

Expectations lead to disappointment which can take the fun out of lifting. I'm just going to lift and lift as well as I can!

Thanks to my team mates and other coaches for their support and thanks to the Welsh Weightlifting Association for running a really enjoyable event. Can't wait for the next one! 

http://youtu.be/Lb-KQjoSbwQ