I should probably break this post into 3 parts: before the meet, the meet, and after the meet.
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BEFORE:
So I left off a few weeks before my meet. I went to Las Vegas, I actually drank for the first time in two months and totally enjoyed myself. I was there for 2.5 days, then the Bay Area for 2.5 days. Throughout that time, I was able to find a good balance between indulgence, eating mindfully, and making healthy choices. For example, I would try to eat a healthy breakfast and lunch, and then splurge for dinner and dessert. During that time, I had one real workout and then one half-ass workout. I also rested and enjoyed my vacation.
When I came home, I weighed myself and I was surprisingly a 1/2 lb less than when I left. Then Thanksgiving weekend. I ate a ton. But I also worked out a lot. I ran the morning of Thanksgiving and walked after dinner. Friday morning, I ran, then benched later that day. Saturday I deadlifted, then walked. Sunday I ran a mile in the morning and got rained out, so tried running again in the afternoon. Monday when I weighed myself, I was the same as Thursday morning. I was really afraid I had eaten myself out of my weight class, but even though I was a little over, it still gave me confidence about cutting the rest to be slightly under my weight class, because you never know... different scales. I'd rather be under than right where I needed to be.
On 11/28, Monday before the meet, I went to the gym and tested my maxes. I was able to do 175lb squat, 100lb bench, and pulled 260lb for deadlift, which was a PR. I was a little bummed about my squat because I feel like I haven't made much progress since my last meet. But I am at a lower body weight and at least my bench and deadlift have gotten stronger.
The rest of the week before the meet, I didn't do much. I think I may have walked a few times. I ate dinner early and even then didn't eat much. I didn't eat a lot of carbs. Ok so this is where low carbing affects me. I can't sleep. I can fall asleep, but around 2 or 3 in the morning, I wake up and can't go back to sleep. So around Wednesday, I started eating some sweet potatoes. That helped a little.
As for my weight, I got all the way down to 95lbs. That was my official weigh in. And after that, I totally ate. It was a glorious two days of eating!!! I realized though that I can only handle so much. I can indulge to a point, and these days, it is getting easier for me to stop. And I love that I am really enjoying these indulgences. I am fully present and not eating mindlessly. I am savoring every bite. There is no guilt. It's so liberating.
I'll talk more about weight later. But now for...
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THE MEET
I was nervous a few days before the meet. I even thought about pulling out. I was afraid of so many things. Not meeting my weight class, not pulling numbers that were higher than my previous meet. Then I thought about how hard I've been working for the past 3 months. How much time and effort I have put into getting to the gym and watching what I eat. How awesome I felt in my stronger body. I also looked at State and National records for 44kg submaster and decided to go for broke and attempt to set new records for both.
The meet was held at a small gym. There were only 3 flights. I felt more comfortable this time around because it was my 2nd and I made the effort to talk to other lifters and it was just fun and exciting.
Squat. This is my hardest lift. Like in triathlon, swim is my hardest, so I am glad they both come first, to get them done and out of the way. Because I hit 175lbs on Monday, I went for 176lbs for my 3rd attempt. I didn't feel comfortable going for 180, because I couldn't do 177.5lbs when I tried on Monday. During that 3rd attempt, I almost stalled coming up. I can still remember that moment, telling myself to push, push, PUSH, and the crowd yelling, then louder and louder, until I stood up and locked out. I knew I was going to cry at this meet. I could feel myself breaking up inside as I walked off the platform. Thank goodness I had someone to hug. And it was a long hug, because I needed that long to cry. I was so proud of myself and couldn't believe how far I had come.
Bench. I was able to set a new meet PR of 99lbs. My 3rd attempt was 105lbs which I wasn't confident about since I barely benched 102.5 once before the meet, but I was feeling good from my squat so just went for it. I didn't get it, and I was ok with that.
Deadlift. My favorite lift. Like in triathlon, run is the last and my best. I went for 259 as my 2nd attempt and felt awesome so went for 264 for my 3rd, but I was red lighted because I leaned back too far =( Whaaaaat! I had no idea. I was bummed but still super happy about how I did overall that day.
This meet stats:
176/99/259 (missing decimals) = 534lb total @ 97lb weight class (95 at weigh in)
Set State and American records for all three lifts!
Previous meet stats:
165/93/248 = 507 @ 105lb weight class (103 at weigh in)
LEAN GAINZ!
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AFTER
I am still feeling amazing even though it's been almost two weeks since the meet. Proof that experiences make me happier than material things. Two weeks of happiness! Ok, maybe a new car would do that, but this is a different type of happy. This is a feeling of accomplishment and pride. This is empowering and motivating.
I've lifted a few times since the meet, and have committed myself to running my own 10k before New Year's. I have missed running a lot. I've deloaded on all my lifts but am taking it more easy with squat, since my knees are kinda important for running. And squats hurt the most. That's probably why they are my weakest lift. But I am happy with my short term goals right now.
As for long term, I am feeling a little lost. I don't know what I want to do, but I know I want and need to do SOMETHING. I've been asking myself why is this so important? Here's why. Because I am a goal oriented person. I thrive on consistency, routine, and structure. I like to know what's next, and I like to know how I'm going to get there. So I'm going to do this 10k. Then I'm going to figure out what I want to do next. I do want to do another meet. But the question is when? (Right now I'm thinking before August) And how hard do I want to train for this? I've thought about how I got into running and how I ended up becoming a triathlete. I ran for years, then made it too technical with gadgets and tracking and got burnt out. I got into triathlons because I was terrified of the swim and wanted to overcome that. The biking and running were just fun. So I do want to enjoy powerlifting. I don't want to get burnt out. But I also want to see where I can go with this.
As for eating and my weight. I'm still under 100lbs right now, which I am pretty stoked about. I've drank a few times since the meet, and am just really soaking in the holidays with friends, family, and food. Lots of cookies. Lots of desserts. I am happy.
I feel like I am in a really good place with my health, my body, and my fitness. I know there is a lot more I could be doing to get a rock hard body, but I know what the trade-offs are, and they are not worth it to me right now. On the other hand, I know I could be relaxing a lot more and maybe not working out so hard and eating whatever the hell I want, but again, I know what the trade-offs are, and no, I don't want to be fluffier than I am now. I look strong, I feel amazing and confident.
This powerlifting training and weight cutting was mind opening. I'm glad I decided to compete. I'm glad I made the effort to tweak my diet and cut back on drinking these past couple of months. I would do this again, for sure.
