2010 USAPL Illinois State Championships

I haven't posted since I tapered for the meet, so I'll do a quick write up of how it went.

This meet was the first USAPL meet we did 2 years ago, and only our second meet ever. This year, it was our last as IL residents, but hopefully not the last we compete in. We're going to try to make it to this meet annually, even from Seattle if we can. We've made a lot of friends and built great relationships with all of the people responsible for making this meet what it is, including but not limited to Mark & Suzanne Motsinger, Rick Fowler, Jim "Popeye" Bell and his Irish singlet, and many others.

Competing in this meet for me was a huge mental accomplishment for me given that I had fractured my left wrist and pulled & partially tore the tendon in November, had it misdiagnosed as a sprain for 3 months while I still lifted with it, and then had to stop training for 2 months while it healed. This gave me 8 weeks to prepare. Props to my awesome wife who had to deal with me crying like a baby about my wrist and knee the whole time :)

My plan for the meet was to hit 1100lbs total. I split my attempts so that as long as I hit all of my second attempts and only 1 of my third attempts, I'd get it. I thought it was a good plan...

The Meet

There was 1 platform for 60 lifters, so there were 4 flights, which made for a long day. Fortunately, my wife and Beth (the woman she is training) were in Flight A, and I was in Flight C, so I could handle them, then warmup during Flight B, lift in my flight while they handled me, and then warm them up during Flight D. This worked out pretty well for us.

On to the results. We competed raw, so nothing but wrist wraps, knee sleeves and a belt. And some ammonia caps. :)


Squat

350# I buried this and have the pic to prove it :)
375# failed
375# failed (would have been 400# if I got the second attempt)

Not a great start. Opening with 350# is a milestone for me, especially since the USAPL banned the Inzer velcro knee sleeves and I am squatting with Rehbands that do little more than keep my knees warm. I also have never opened at a meet that high, but I was really hoping to get at least the 375# on the second attempt so I could go for 400# on my third.

Grinding both attempts at 375# killed my right knee. Thankfully, some ice and rolling my quads on our PVC pipe worked out the issue and the day continued.

Bench

265# this flew up
275# this also flew up. Man, I should have done 280# here
290# stuck right out of the hole and failed

The 275# was a meet PR. I've done 300# in the gym, but I am notoriously bad at benching in a meet. Still, I wasn't complaining, given my wrist injury from a few months prior.

Deadlift

385# very conservative, but I never deadlift well in the gym leading up to a meet, and I still had a shot at 1100#. A very long shot...
415# this was very slow to move, but I got it. I needed 475# to get 1100#, but I knew I wasn't getting it, so I set my third attempt lower to at least get a meet PR in my total at 1070#.
445# big. fat. fail. You know your form sucked on your deadlift when people come up to you after and say "Man, I'm just happy you are OK after that."

I used an ammonia cap for the last attempt. It amped me up, but it wasn't enough. As soon as I started, I felt my back round over and I knew I was done, but it was the last lift of my day, so I kept trying to move it for a few seconds before dropping it. As Jim Bell said, I left it all on the platform.

The Results

Overall, I wasn't happy with my performance, but I got a total and qualified for Raw nationals in Denver this July, so I need to come back strong there. My final numbers:

350# squat
275# bench
415# deadlift
1040# total
5 for 9 on my attempts

I placed 2nd in the IL State Championships, and 3rd in the Great Rivers Open. I lost to Mike Bridges. Yes, the Mike Bridges. So I'm not complaining. The man is a legend, but he and his wife are damn cool, even when I proclaimed during the medal ceremony "How did I lose to THIS old guy?"

Jessica, my wife, also qualified for Raw Nationals. She's not happy with her numbers, but I am proud of her. She left it all on the platform. She went for an American Record squat at 302#, attempted the biggest bench she'd ever attempted at a meet, and attempted a 335# deadlift. She didn't get them, but I don't care. She can do all of that, and more, and she will. 2 years ago she wouldn't have even thought about going all out like this, and for that, I can't be any prouder of a husband.

Beth, the woman who Jessica trains, competed this weekend as well. It was her first powerlifting meet, after having only trained for 4 months. She did really well, and recorded a total. She also won the 132 Raw Open class. Great job, Beth!

On a special note, it would be a shame if I didn't mention that Paige Schutt was awarded "Best Lifter of the Meet" by Rick Fowler. She didn't lift the most weight or set any records, but what she did was much more amazing. She was in a serious motorcycle accident last year, was in a coma and suffered heavy brain trauma, but there she was this weekend, lifting! It was truly inspiring and just an overall awesome thing to see, and puts a whole new meaning to the "Power" in Powerlifting.

Lift Strong, people.