Success, failure, and lessons learned

Yesterday I competed in my first-ever Weightlifting competition. What a blast! The atmosphere was very encouraging, and fun, and very competetive. I only had 1 female to compete against, and she was in a different weight class (even though we are only 4 pounds difference in size!) and I pretty much knew ahead of time she was going to beat me. See, she had been training the olympic lifts at least weekly for several months. I have gone for 2 max snatch attempts and 2 C&J attempts each since last July.

I usually get really, really nervous in front of a crowd, so I started my lifts conservatively. I started with a 45kg Snatch, which I have never, ever missed before. I got it! Not only that, but it felt EASY. Something about being on the spot makes the bar feel 10kg lighter. I went up to a 50kg snatch, which is a bit trickier, and something I have only done once. I got that, as well, so I decided to go up to 55kg, which would be a PR. Much to my surprise, I got it over my head as well! But, I think I was so shocked by that fact, that I lost my concentration, and I missed the lift. AND, I missed it to the back. Usually when the weight gets heavy, I lose it to the front, because I get scared and don't get under it. Even though I missed 55kg, I am really pleased with my snatching.

Then, for the Clean and Jerk. I started out at 60kg, which was easy. My goal for the day was 65kg, but I decided to make that on my second attempt. I got it, and that was a PR. I was feeling tough, so I went for 70kg. I got the clean, which was a PR for the clean. I went for the jerk, and I missed it. Honestly, I think I've got that jerk. I think, again, I just didn't believe that I could do it.

I can't wait to go for another max Snatch and Clean and Jerk. I also can't wait to do another weightlifting meet. I learned that I don't get as nervous in front of a crowd as I had thought I would. I also learned to maybe not be quite so conservative with my starting weights. In both cases, I was wishing I had another attempt. I am confident that with another try for both weights, I could have gotten them. That would have given me 10kg more in my total! AND, more PRs!

I'm going to do WHAT? In front of an audience?

I don't know what in the world I was thinking, but I signed up for a Weightlifting meet next weekend. It's being held at CrossFit 4800. Yes, our local rivals/competition. They extended an olive branch. I grabbed it. How could I not? I mean, I just set a 10# Clean PR, which brings me to a total of 20 pounds MORE than I could ever clean when I was at CF4800, being coached by world-class coach Steve Gough and former Olympian Mike Karchut.

Of course, then, I realized my Jerk isn't up to par. And, unfortunately, it's the Clean and Jerk. I decided to add some Split Jerk as a Buy-In to the WOD.

I also realize that I haven't gone for a heavy Snatch since my 110# PR that I set in February, when I was motivated by Dutch to do so. That will have to wait. Until Sunday.

Here's the latest workout:

WOD 090416

Buy-In: Split Jerk technique work. Go heavy, but not too heavy.

35-85-95-105-115-125-130PR

Good enough for me.

Metcon:
5 Rounds for time of:
95# Thrusters, 5 Reps
10 Box Jumps, 24" box

5:39

That beat my boyfriend by 4 seconds. Yes, I am proud of that one. Same size box. 35# less than my bodyweight, 65# less than his. 95# Thrusters have never felt so easy.

Cash-Out: Muscle up practice, strict transition work. I suck at these now. I keep going through one arm first at a time. That's no good. I am going to take a break from the kipping muscle ups for a while and just get my form back. I might even make a rule that I need to get a strict muscle up before I do any more kipping ones. Still thinking about that....

Here's a video of my 130# Jerk PR. It's a crappy Jerk. I need to take more video and jerk more, and maybe I will be able to fix my form. My goal for the weightlifting meet is a 65kg C&J and 53kg Snatch. That would be sick.

Jenna puts 130# overhead from Jenna Rettenmayer on Vimeo.