American Masters Championship Meet Review

It's been five months since my last trip to Savannah. Prior to my last trip I had spent a frustrating couple of months training alone in my new home. My routine was off, I had no programming to follow and I was unfocused. Lifts that had been routine prior to our move weren't even close to happening. I was nervous and was hoping that a miracle would happen when I got out onto the platform for the Masters Pan-American Games. There was no miracle. I bombed out on my snatches and sat teary eyed in the crowd watching the ladies of my session clean and jerk.

That meet became a turning point. I realized I needed to be mentally stronger.  I needed a focused training plan and a nit-picky coach who would help me fix the nagging faults in my movements. I was going to be focused and see how far I could take my weightlifting.

Event Details
The event was held at the Anderson Cohen Weightlifting Center in Savannah, GA. This facility has to be close to a one-of-a-kind in the country. It's part of the Chatham County Recreational Department. For $20 a month you have unlimited access to platforms and top end bars and plates. It operates as an open gym, but coaching is available for no additional fee. The coaching staff is led by Michael Cohen. An Olympian himself as well as a two time Olympic coach. Coach Cohen is who started me on my path from crossfitter to weightlifter.

But back to the event. The event ran from November 12-15th with several sessions each day. The competition was held on a single platform with eight warm-up platforms available. As this was a National level event, the competition bars, weights and scale are certified and National level referees run the event. For Master lifters this means your totals can be used to qualify for International events as well as the Masers Nationals also being held in Savannah March 2016. I lifted on Saturday afternoon and can only speak for the day I was competing. Weigh-ins ran on time and my session of lifting was only a few minutes behind schedule.

The event brought a couple hundred participants from across the country. Lifters range in age from their 70's to barely 35. Experience levels also run across the same spectrum. Split snatches and cleans are not foreign sights. 36 individuals set new event records which made for some exciting sessions.

The entry fee for the event was $65. A National level event includes the requirement of drug-testing and so entry fees reflect that in the price. There was no live-feed, up-to-date results page or photography offered. Event shirts are an additional cost. Food is available on site. Locker rooms contain a sauna, showers and changing areas. Weight class winners received medals and the best lifter in each age went home with a nice plaque.

Love shirt from Ladies Lift Here

My Results
My goal was to lift a 163 total and qualify for Senior Nationals. I jammed my thumb severely the week before the competition. The knuckle was still swollen and I was unable to hold a hook grip to the top of a snatch. This concerned Coach Cohen who was handling calling my lifts and he chose to start me low. Snatches went 59, 63, 66 resulting in the first time I've ever gone three for three at a meet, a 2 kilo meet PR and a American Masters record.

Going in to the cleans I knew I needed a 97 to make the qualifying total, a one kilo all time personal best. Coach agreed to let me go for it if I made my first two lifts. Again he opened me conservatively with an 85. I was following myself and sat in the back while several weight changes were called. I came out to lift 92. It was an easy clean, but the jerk was out in front and my back leg buckled. I was caught off guard. I haven't missed a jerk in weeks and certainly not at this weight. Came out to try it again. It was an even easier clean but again the jerk was out in front.

I ended winning the 58 kilo class and best lifter for the 35 year-olds. I broke three records; snatch, clean and jerk and total. I walked out to take my last two lifts hearing my daughter yell and cheer for me. I stood on the podium and smiled at my husband who was proud of me. It was a good meet.

Singlet Adidas from Hookgrip

My Favorite Things October Edition

October brought a visit from my mom-in-law, weightlifting meet at MDUSA and a whole lot of time spent at physical therapy trying to strengthen and relearn how to use my right shoulder.

Training I've Loved

• Downloaded some Barbell Shrugged podcasts for my drive home from the weightlifting meet. Mind Gainz: The Psychology of Strength and Conditioning is one of the best hours I've spent in a long time. What I keep replaying in my mind is the line about hating bumper plates. That their use implies that you think this lift isn't going to happen and you may need to drop the bar. I keep telling myself that if you put it on the bar you're going to lift it. I've PR'd my back squat, jerk and front squat triple since listening. If you're not taking your mental preparation seriously you're missing out on a key training element.
• Physical therapy, or getting an expert to watch you move and then doing what they suggest. I have a reoccurring shoulder issue and have been through PT several times. This time I've gone in with the attitude of an athlete who wants to keep moving for years to come, not just getting some relief so I feel better right now. Most days I leave cursing the therapist and mentally drained from having to think so hard to move my shoulder correctly. The goal is to strengthen my traps and upper back and to make the correct movement pattern sink in.

Good Stuff to Eat and Drink

• My mom got me this Black Raspberry Green Tea while in Savannah at what my family dubs the fancy gas station. I love having a cup of this in the afternoon. And if you're ever in downtown Savannah, GA looking for a place to buy wine, cheeses, gifts and coffee head to the Parker's. Seriously.
• I had a butternut squash and other vegetables that needed to be used so I made soup. This recipe is a great place to start and then improvise with what you have at home. I tossed a chopped red pepper, several stalks of celery and carrots in butter and cooked till they were soft. Threw the cooked veggies in a crock pot with a couple cans of coconut milk, the roasted squash and chicken broth and then used my stick blender to make it smooth. You could add chicken or sausage to make the soup a little heartier.

Workout Apparel/Accessories

• I have developed traps and lats and not much boobs to speak of. Sports bras are a pain in the ass to fit. They are too tight underneath my arms, are baggy in the cup or don't have enough padding and you give everyone a show. These Under Armour sports bras are my absolute favorite. Adjustable straps, good fit and some padding so I look like I have a chest. I have gotten my last two at the outlet mall and I paid around $35 for them. I wear an XS or Small. The blue one pictured I've had for over a year, worn once a week or so, and still is in great shape.
  

Little Einsteins Inspired Our Vacation

The Bligh's are headed to Norway. Yep all three of us. J and I haven't taken a big overseas trip since K became part of the crew. We've been itching to bring K along with us, but weren't sure if she was old enough or where we would go. After the move and new schools and all the adjustments she's made it was clear to us that she was mature enough to handle the long flights and unfamiliar food. But more importantly that she would remember the trip and could appreciate seeing another country and another way of life.

Enter The Little Einsteins
The first tv show that K ever watched with interest was The Little Einsteins. The first time she saw the aurora borealis she was hooked. We would spend weekend mornings getting sucked into a YouTube wormhole of breathtaking videos. When a friend moved to Alaska she sent links to watch the lights live and photographs of the amazing show she witnessed from her backyard. It seemed natural to make this her first big adventure.

Norway
J showed me we could fly round-trip to Oslo for cheaper then a trip to Cleveland and I said let's get K her passport. We'll be using Norwegian Air out of JFK. They bill themselves as a budget airline offering non-stop services from a few US airports to Europe and the Caribbean. You pay for in-flight services ala carte (Want a blanket? That's $5 but you get to keep it. That sort of thing.).

Once in Norway we'll be spending a couple nights in Oslo, then flying north to Tromso. Even though we both have traveled overseas several times, it's always startling to see how much cheaper it is to get transportation within a country in Europe. Be that a train or flying. For less then the price of one ticket to get from Norfolk to Savannah all three of us are flying.


But forget all the prices and numbers. Why take a five-year-old to Norway? Because it's supposed to be one of the friendliest places to visit. Oslo has lot's of children appropriate museums and a castle to see. Because it looks like where Frozen took place. And the Northern Lights are like magic.