I went to my second weightlifting meet last weekend, the Unrivaled Classic 2017. I kept a running diary.
4:47am Unwelcome alarm clock but I set it so I’d have room for one Snooze.
4:54am I didn’t even make it through the whole Snooze. Disappointing.
5:40am Coffee in-hand, I’m in the car and driving. I’ve got to deliver a forgotten gym bag to another lifter so I need to get to Chesapeake by 7:30 (for my 8M weigh-in).
6:28am Construction cut I64 down to one lane but it only lasted 10 minutes. Still on time.
7:20am Parked at the Chesapeake Conference Center. Easy enough drive. Gym bag delivered. I could use a nap.
7:45am Nap cut short by a vendor who was trying to set up in my nap corner.
8:03am Weighed in. It’s not a stressful occasion when there isn’t a ceiling on your weight class. I declared openers of a 64kg snatch and a 92kg clean and jerk. Those are doable based on training results.
9:08am Potty break. Apologies to the Chesapeake Bay Watershed. I had to get that out. Like my old friend Bob used to say, “Better an empty apartment than an angry tenant”.
10:00am Group photo for the session.
(The timeline gets a little hinky in here because I was either backstage warming up or on the platform competing and I didn’t have my phone.)
10:10am-12pm Getting coached up by Chris. I am still such a newb at these things. I’d be lost without him. Seriously. The gifs below are my best lifts of the day, a 72 kg snatch and a 100kg clean and jerk for 172kg meet total.
I had 6 good lifts in 6 attempts and it all felt great. I’m probably a little stronger than my numbers suggest and meet-day adrenaline carried me even further.
12:15pm More friendly faces from my gym got to the venue for their weigh-ins. Even though it’s a solitary sport we definitely share the support you get from being on a team.
1:10pm I stuck around for the award ceremony from my session and got my 2nd place medal. It was easy, since there were only two people in my class.
1:15pm I wished everyone well and hit the road for home.
I’m already signed up for the next local meet, the Old Dominion Classic, in January. It’ll be fun.