Monday, August 26, 2013

Little Me, Meet Strongwoman - The Competition Blog

Life is unpredictable. No matter what your creed, that much is true.
Little Me
We step into it with the greatest of intentions. As kids, we dream of who we'll be as adults, what we'll accomplish, who our friends and family will be, and what our lives will look like

I never thought for a moment that Little Me would grow into this...

Me at 26
This...


Me at 32
And most of all perhaps... this
Me at 33
This past Saturday I competed in my first (of most likely many) Strongman Competitions.
Here's the run down of events in order -
70lb 60 yard sled pull for time

 



200 lb tire flip 40 yards for time 


20lb, 25lb, 30lbs, 35lb Kettle Bell Shots


 Atlas Lifts For Time


Deadlifts 135lbs Max Reps in 1 Minute

Rope Pull, 25lbs + Tire + Rope 60 yards for Time


And after all that... I tied for FIRST....
I went into the competition with the expectation to FINISH and just do the best I could with what I've learned so far.



I think I found something I'm good at. First place beat me by about 30-45 seconds in the tie breaker.

Credit where credit is due though - My Sailor was an amazing support during this emotional roller coaster of a day. I had already steeled myself to fly solo (with the support of my trainer and new-found fitness friends) so the fact that he was able to be here is amazing. He gets extra kudos with the fact that he was very 'present' during the entire day, even when I dashed off to cheer on my friends and TrainerGuy. He's always understood how to actively support me, no matter my endevour. When I am in a show, he runs lines with me and makes sure I make time to eat healthy. During this, he was my videographer, keeper of the gallon jug of water, and always ready to dash back to the car for whatever I needed. Often times what I needed was a shoulder to cry on. He was there for that too. I'm a lucky girl.

Victory has it's own bittersweet taste at the moment - not because I didn't win first place, but because this is still the 'year of firsts'. This was my first Strongman Competition EVER. Just like my first triathlon, profound things happened that are life changing.  One of those things (probably the biggest thing) is that this is the first big victory since April. That snuck up on me. I know Dad is never far away. He's astounded and proud of me, I'm sure. I feel it all the time. There are just some days I really wish he had skin on.

My shirt for the Strongman
On a lighter note, it was also Trainer Guy's Birthday so one of my fellow ladies of badassery came up with the idea of surprising him with fake tattoos. It was pretty epic. More photos to come of that later.
We had a great time, one and all.
Honoring Trainer Guy's Scottish homeland
Worth every bruise, scrape, sweat, and tear.

Trainer Guy and Fellow Ladies of Badassery

 *For those of you just now tuning in - I'm a PCOS patient with Stage 4 Endometriosis, standing at about 5'8" and weighing in at about 223lbs. Oddly enough, I weigh MORE than I did this time last year, and I'm down 3 dress sizes but that's for another post... ;)  Stay tuned! As for the medical conditions - they are just labels. Since my diagnosis with PCOS in 1999 and my diagnosis with Endometriosis in 2010, I've made the concious decision to refuse to allow them to define me. They are something I cope with and bumps in the road of my journey, but they aren't who I am. I'm me. Not a diagnosis.*

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