Snake River Strongman Challenge May 4, 2013 Nampa, Idaho
The last couple months of my training have been interesting
to say the least. From two black eyes, 5 stitches, and smashing my hand with
the stone, I was mostly hoping to come out of the Snake River Strongman
Challenge injury free. Aside from the blonde mishaps, there were also a lot of good things as well. About two weeks prior to the contest I finally
humbled myself into asking for more help, mostly with nutrition and contest
prep. I love learning about different thoughts of training and dieting, so I
nagged Relentless Gym with endless questions and comments. Without this step, I knew I'd be cutting myself short in reaching both long and short term goals. About four days after starting this new plan,
I hit a PR with my deadlift, pulling 305. Not the smoothest deadlift, but a PR
I was happy with.
So back to the contest... so I decided to follow up afterwards because within two days following, a handful of people were asking me about strongman, where to train, and how to get started. It really hit me at the contest that not much more than a year ago I competed in my first contest. I am incredibly thankful for strongman and the difference it has made in my life, so promoting the sport is what its all about. If someone can learn about it from a small blog or video I post, cheers! My friend Kalle also mentioned a blog would be a good idea, thanks for the nudge.
The contest was held outdoors at a local Crossfit gym in Nampa, Idaho. JoAnn Hagadorn was the promoter of the contest and did an amazing job running a fluid event. We started with the competitors meeting, the head judge telling us what you can and can’t do…me trying as hard as I could to keep what little food I had in my stomach and to focus on what he was saying without my nerves getting the best of me. I am still learning how to best warmup the day of a contest as well as eat throughout the day without getting sick. The first event is always a little sketchy.
Event 1: Last Man Standing Log Press
Women’s Light Weight started with 100lb log. Each press
increased by 10lbs. Fail to lock out your press, you’re done. The first few
presses were basically my warmup. Up to 150 felt good as I tried to ignore the
sound system screeching mid press lol. At 160 I had to split and was a little
shaky, but locked it out. 170 I missed. It’s my PR in training, but I didn’t get
it when it mattered. My back was really tight with the clean and call me crazy
but pressing outside in open space is very disorienting. So outside training
begins J
Event 2: Farmers
LWW
started with 110lb suitcase farmers in each hand. 15lbs were added after 25ft,
once you drop, you are done. I went up to 170 in each hand and finished at 173.9'
Event 3: Tire Flip
I changed my shoes I don’t know how many times thinking the
next event was the deadlift…nope tire. They had two tires going at the same
time, moving things right along. The tire stood upright and once they said
“flip”, I shoved the tire and just kind of zoned out and got in my awkward
groove that works for me when it comes to a 450lb tire for 60 seconds. I think
I got about 9 flips and won in distance by a short 4’.
Event 4: 18” Tire Deadlift, Reps for 60 seconds
Finally, the deadlift. I don’t think it was quite 18”, but
didn’t matter too much. My blonde hair was obvious in this event as I pulled
the first rep and stared at the judge like I was going to get another command.
LOL, just go he yelled. Oh, shi* okay…just pull, down command, pull; down
command, pull... Finished with 24 reps. A weird rush of both adrenaline and
exhaustion hit you all at once. This is where I say, I absolutely love
strongman :)
Event 5: Stone Over Bar (49”)
Stones. The last few contests, the stone event has not been
my claim to fame. More like a fine line of punching a window and wanting to
scream. August 2012 I zeroed the stone in Reno. In training I was getting
better, but still the height of the bar was always a challenge and getting more
than one rep just didn't happen. So, I tackied up, told my brother, “I’m not
going to zero this *&%! stone.”
Again, very weird mindset you get into as people are screaming, the
judge staring at the stopwatch, and hoping the stone will just cooperate this
time. I finished with 4 reps. Had the 5th up, but it turns out it’s
a good idea to breathe and I got dizzy, stressed on time and dropped it. I wasn't even sure how many I had gotten I was so out of it. Once again, I love strongman J Roller coaster of emotions, but these are the best. Overcoming something that
had knocked me down and felt so discouraged from in the past.
My goal going into this contest to was to win each event.
Some were close, but I did it. I won each event and more importantly I walked
away learning more about myself and what I need to do to continue to
improve. Almost anyone in Strongman will
tell you the best part about the sport is the people. I've made the best friendships with people from
all over the world.
My training will now focus on preparing for the Nevada
Trucking Association Strongman Record Breaker in Reno, Nevada. Until then, I will keep working hard, dialing in my training, and remember to breathe as I can hear shouted at me almost in every video :)
 |
| Deadlift Face :) |
 |
| I'm behind the tire on the left. Too small for Strongman? |
