Geezer's Long March Toward the Elite Sneaking Up On the Finish Line

[Mark E. Hurling]

MEET


The usual nerves were assailing me before this meet. This time it was over my weight, which had been creeping uncomfortably close to the top limit of 242 lbs. I ate and drank very sparingly and managed to come in I was told at 5.5 lbs. under the limit during the weigh-in and equipment check on Friday evening. As I was leaving the gym one of the younger guys there called out to me “Good luck tomorrow young man.” To which I said “I'm just getting warmed up!” Well now, that got some laughs from a few there.

Even so, I slept poorly that night and woke up feeling sore and with my left ankle and right foot aching for no apparent reason. It might have been the weight of a very heavy combination of blanket and comforter on the hotel bed. That eased off through the course of the morning, luckily. There were competitors from all over, Missouri, Michigan, and Ohio. We learned later one guy came from California for this meet. Which tells you all you need to know about that place. A truly amazing meeting came later in the meet with the 2nd oldest guy there, a mere pup of 66, introducing himself to me. He worked at One Space Park for the old TRW in Redondo Beach when I worked next door in El Segundo. It's astonishing to run into another retired aerospace type who came 2000 miles back home, like me, and then compare notes at a powerlifting meet.

There were no chairs provided for this meet (Covid was the excuse) so Dearly Beloved made a hasty trip to Walmart for something to sit on. Despite that bit of fundamentalist nonsense, mask wearing was not adhered to, let alone enforced, by many in the gym.

My squat warmup to 235 felt heavy which was a little nerve wracking. But I made my opener at 242 was a breeze. My 2nd attempt at 281 was not too bad either. So far, I was right on track for that 2nd place in the international and multi-lifting federation rankings for lifters my age and weight. I frankly lost my nerve in my 3rd attempt with 303 and and only got ¾ of the way down and popping back up.

The bench press opener of 187 was also no issue, although I thought I might have anticipated the “START!” command. But then disaster struck in my 2nd attempt with what I thought was 226. Right after the spotter's hand-off it felt VERY heavy. My arms swayed a little and I had to fight to get the bar back under control. My back felt like it suddenly got nailed to the bench. Then my left hamstring cramped as I began my surge upward after the “PRESS!” command. That really distracted me and I could not get the bar past the sticking point halfway off my chest. I repeated the weight for my 3rd attempt and did no better. Which is why you always open with a weight you know you can do. But more on this lift later. This also meant that getting a 2nd place ranking was out of the question after those two failures.

I was getting tired now and my confidence was really shaken by those fails. So I modified my attempt plan for the deadlift. I opened with 341. Then instead of going for 385 for my 2nd attempt, I played it safe with 363. Both of those exceeded the USPA/IPL World records. The 363 went up without too great an effort so I cautiously called out 385 for my 3rd attempt. Still, we had been at this meet since 8:00 and it was 6:30 when I had my 3rd attempt. I was feeling tired and I was still shaky from not making what I thought was that 226 bench press. I didn't make 385. If I had not lost confidence and gone for it on my 2nd attempt, I likely would have pulled it, but 20/20 hindsight is always faultless.

I mulled over that bench press for the next 48 hours after the meet. Was it age, fatigue from bad sleep, the hamstring cramp, or simply an off day? Last night as I was dropping off into a very uncomfortable sleep (being profoundly sore) it occurred to me that somewhere along the way, there was an error made. Maybe by me, maybe the official writing down my numbers, maybe by the loaders on the platform. I've had misloads at meets before. My first year of competition I had 4 of them at the IPL Worlds. I didn't double check at this meet, as I have at a few other meets. It had never happened again in 10 years and the other meets I was in so I got complacent. I had benched 235 in the gym within the last 6 months. But it was all I had, and I didn't believe I could quite make the next jump to 237 lbs. (105.5 kg.) , so I played it safe and planned on going no higher than 231 lbs. which is 105 kg. With 226 lbs. (or 102.5 kg.) as my 2nd attempt I knew I was good. But it seemed not at the meet.

So this morning, despite a lot of lingering soreness I went to the gym to try 226 lbs. again. It went right up with no problem. So now I know. Either I screwed up and called out 107.5 kg. instead of of 102.5 kg. for my 2nd attempt, or it gotten written down incorrectly at the officials' recording table. Or it could have been a misload. Ultimately, the responsibility falls on me for having failed to double check the loading and calling it out before the “PLATFORM IS READY!” command was called.

Even so, I set USPA Illinois state and National records in my lifts and qualified for USPA Nationals and USPA/IPL Worlds on Saturday. Now, back to the gym and see if I can better my total.

[57bergstrm]

Thanks Mark, for your story, I think you did good with all you could considering the situation, Im impressed by your motivation and fighting spirit. Never give up!

[Mark E. Hurling]

Thanks Bergs. We folk of Baltic heritage are a stubborn lot.

[Mark E. Hurling]

A careful re-entry to some mild conditioning today. I am SO sore. My left ankle is now giving me grief as well as some lower left side lumbar pain. Not conducive for a restful night's sleep.

But into the gym to metabolize off the remaining cortisol and lactic acid with upper body type things. Speed bag, medicine ball toss, crunch machine, heavy bag.

[Cheesepuff]

Nicely done at the meet.
State and National records, and qualified for Nationals.
Hard to argue with that.

[Mark E. Hurling]

Thanks CP. Not the triumph I had hoped for, but it'll do. For now. Oh, and I qualified for Worlds as well as Nationals.

[Mark E. Hurling]

Cold here this morning at 19F. It snowed yesterday, both of which are a little unusual for this time of year. My left lower back was spasmed up so off to the chiro which helped a bit, but it's still uncomfortable.

It was rounds of box jumps, speed bag, SciFit, Jacob's Ladder, heavy bag, plate halos, all done gingerly to keep the worst off my back.

[Mark E. Hurling]

A lot has happened since my last post. I came home Friday morning to learn that Our Daughter was feeling ill. I'd felt fine since I woke up, but within hours began to feel ill myself. DB as well.

Daughter tested positive for the Kung Flu, she learned on Sunday after the results came in. DB and I tested Monday morning and are awaiting the results ourselves. I'm the only one who can still smell and taste things. My fever got up to 100.4 Friday afternoon and returned to normal in 24 hours or so. The only symptoms I have is being drowsy and a little congested. DB and OD are still having more fatigue and more congestion.

The results of the Indiana meet posted this morning and review of the entries for my 2nd and 3rd failed attempts in the bench press show that yes indeed, the official wrote exactly what I thought I had told her, 102.5kg/226 lbs. So either I had a sudden attack of the weaks after my 1st attempt or there was a loading error on the platform twice. I can accept my failure, but it doesn't jibe with my test on the following Monday having no problem with it. Whatever the cause, it cost me over 40 lbs. on my total and probably as much as more than 70 lbs. when I got spooked by these failures for my final attempts in the deadlift. The records I made haven't yet been recorded, nor have my lifts been picked up yet in the Powerlifting Rankings.

After resting and sleeping a lot the last several days, and being bored stupid hanging around the house, I decided to lift at home.

Deload @ 70% of 1RM.

4 sets of 2 for all lifts.

Bench Press: 165.

Close Grip Incline Bench Press: 95.

Barbell Row: 165.

[BrooklynJerry]

I hope you all fell better. If it were me I would treat this just like I had the old fashioned flu. Rest, and take some OTC meds

[Mark E. Hurling]

That's pretty much what we're doing Jerry. I'm monitoring my girls' breathing closely though since they seem to be more affected by this than I am.