Ulster Open opulence

I drove up the night before and after a good night's sleep, I did not feel as drained as I felt all week. I think Jordanstown is the best competition and training venue in the country and all the lifters loved being there. There was space to move about and warm up at your leisure. That morning I had a breakfast of scrambled eggs and toast with a bit of fruit. I had a little under a pint of water and weighed in around half ten at 93kg on the dot. I did not realise I would weigh that light, but I felt pretty good so I didn't mind.

In the first session the two ladies lifted very well. Byrdie got 112 and got called for a pressout with a very smooth looking 114kg. He then Clean and Jerked an impressive 147kg for a 1kg pb. Zag was treating this one as a training session and Murph hit 98/115, narrowly missing 122 in the Jerk twice. Germans hit 117/148 in the 85kg class and Alex hit 117/145. Cillian hit 90/102 and narrowly missed 106 twice. Here's how I did:

I had the luxury of time and space to warm up fully. I had a lovely twenty minute stretch followed by some mobility work and then some bar work. This was followed by a 15 minute rest. Around half an hour later I had another little stretch and got going with the bar again. I worked up to a single with 90 and realised I was warming up too quickly, so I took a break for around 8 minutes. I then went back to 80kg and then I missed 90kg despite the fact that I was feeling awesome. I then Snatched 90 and 95kg and in order to make sure I was finishing my pull, I power Snatched 100 and 105 for a new Power Snatch pb. Even though I was only 93kg, I felt very strong and almost like I was 100kg again.

In the competition I opened up with 110kg in what felt like the easiest 110 I have ever made. 114kg was then a better lift because it was faster. I then went up to 118kg and made it. I felt very strong in the Snatch, but this felt like the most I could get on the day. The catch was the type you feel on a max weight where it wobbles without pressing out. I enjoyed the lifts though and there was a great atmosphere with the rest of the lifters.

I chilled out for ten minutes and got going on the Clean and Jerk warm up. I did a bit of bar work for a few minutes and did two doubles with 70kg. I then did singles with 100, 110, 120, 130 and 135 in the warm up room. None of them felt great, but I got them all anyway. This was the most I have Cleaned in three and a half weeks and I felt a hell of a lot better than over that time period.

I opened up with 140kg which went pretty smoothly. I then went up to 145kg which felt ridiculously heavy and I was happy to get it. Because this was such a struggle--the video makes it look a lot easier than it felt--I went up to 148kg instead of the projected 150kg. Instead of following my regular routine, I psyched myself up and got far more aggressive than I usually would have. I think that because my Cleans have been so bad over the last month or so, I was lacking the confidence I would normally have. I ended up deadlifting the weight and it caught me as much in surprise as it did everyone else. Lesson learned: follow your routine, particularly when you are going heavier than you ever have before!

That was it. I really enjoyed the competition and as always, the venue and organisation was brilliant. It was great watching Byrdie and Neil Dougan hit pb's in the Clean and Jerk and five out of six was not bad for myself considering my state of affairs over the last few weeks. Have a look at the videos and leave any constructive criticisms you may have.

110

114

118

140

145

Byrdie's 147