PR Day 2

Well, it seems that being stressed/angry at work helps me make PRs at my training sessions! Tonight I jerked 65kg (2kg PR), and I cleaned 65kg for triples (5kg PR). But then I didn't make 68kg because my head started taking over. The 65s felt relatively light. There was really no reason for me to miss the 68. Richard says I seem to think I don't deserve success, and perhaps he's right. I've started listening to The New Psycho-Cybernetics, which has really helped me refocus my thinking. Olympic lifting is SO mental, and my coach and fellow lifters keep telling me that I'm built for the sport. I have to believe in myself and let my body do its thing. So after I missed the 68, I tried the 65 and kept "clarking" the bar, much to my chagrin and Richard's disappointment. It seems that once I miss an attempt or two, I start doubting myself and over-thinking to compensate for the misses. So I finally went back to 60, my old triplet weight, and worked to make each rep perfect. But by that time, that weight felt "heavy" to me. Ugh! I still made my reps but not confidently. I am thrilled about my PRs tonight but feel like I cheated myself out of the 68kg. Next time!!! BTW, as of today, my total student count is 174, and I probably will have to teach yet another prep (that makes 9) since the online vendor for the virtual curriculum does not offer Speech, which the students have to complete to graduate. The fun continues!

PR day

Somehow, after eating only once yesterday and drinking less than a Liter of water during the workday, and eating hardly enough today plus not drinking enough water, I managed to PR on my snatch triples (45kg), front squat (95kg), and back squat (105kg). After the crazy adrenaline rush, though, I felt sicker than a dog. I think my lack of sleep and poor nutrition have wreaked havoc on my recovery...already. I didn't get enough sleep on Sunday because the darn fire alarm in our building went off at 3:30 and didn't get turned off until almost 4. For some reason, I've been waking up at 4:30-5 all last week and this week. I blame my hectic job. Besides the fact that we have one planning period and a shorter lunch period, we have 30-35 students in each class, and we are responsible for teaching eight different preps in each period. I still haven't wrapped my head around how on earth I'm going to be able to effectively teach my students and help them succeed on the TAKS and college entrance exams. I'll do my best, though, as that is all I can do, really. I should just be thankful that I have a job, I know. But I'm venting a bit. :) Anyway, today turned out to be a great training session and I'm looking forward to more. Gotta drink and eat more though!

Gains

Update on the gains I've made since starting at Spoon (with a 1.5-week hiatus for vacation/cruise):

Snatch - 43kg (3-rep working weight)
Clean - 60kg (3-rep working weight)

Got greedy and tried to max out my clean at 62kg after doing triples, snatch shrug-unders and snatch high pulls. I had to do cleans today again after doing so badly on Friday off the boxes. 55 felt great, but when I put 5 more kilos on, my mind freaked out...and my body didn't know what to do. Today's cleans were redemption for Friday. After some 4/8 squatting at 70kg and some pull-ups, I felt like it was a good training day. Tomorrow I start work full-time, so I know that will affect my training. Will keep y'all updated!!!

Update: Well, I survived two full workdays and training for three hours tonight; Tuesdays are my toughest workout with snatches, lift-offs, heavy squats, and straight-legged DL with a shrug. Did my 4 sets of 4/8s with 80kg, and they weren't very pretty. Got a nice scrape on the nape of my neck from a stupid bail on the last set. When I felt the bar sliding off, I didn't let go so it scraped me on the way down as I landed on my tush. Haha. Then I had to get up and finish my final 4 back squats. I need to learn how to bounce strongly out of the bottom. Jose has me doing weighted hip extensions and 200 situps a day to strengthen my back and core. He really inspired me today! He told me that if I keep training hard and stick with it, I'll be a good contender at Nationals next year. I want to make it and do well!!!!