|
Robo and Nancy's Adventures in Wacky Land ! Nancy and I decided to take the Greyhound to get to the meet...in line there was a completely insane wacked out babbling idiot woman who we both made a note to ignore and get very far away from on the bus...as soon as we take our seats we realize we've landed right next to this loon..she had somehow gone from the end of the line to the front --(shapeshifters are like that..) I tried to offend her with outrageous comments so she'd deem US too crazy to sit by...It didn't work, she seemed to embrace the idea that this was the lunatic express... and 'she'd never be lonesome again' So Nancy and I moved way to the back...we sat in front of a lone traveller who looked quiet...NO !! He wanted to talk from the getgo..and LOUDLY and about church and the Assbergers disease which he claimed he had, we hadn't even said hello and he was bellowing opinions that could be heard at the front of the bus...well,that's nice we'd jumped past all the sane folks on the bus to land in the midst of the only other NUT on the bus...dont get me wrong,I'm nuts, and Nuts are some of my favorite people but this guy spoke loudly and frequently and totally out of context to anything that was being said by others...I tightened up my body hoping it might stop the blade if this guy decided to try out his new 'shiv'-- "Yep! that proves it ..prison made knives make it thru Greyhound seats and into fat guys backs." My shoulder started to hurt from keeping my self tucked away from Nancy's space and I thought 'no biggy' that cant stay til meet time ..well the little "owee" did --and it hung up my tricep movement a bit...We get to Chilliwack and I recognize the hotel as the same venue as the WDFPF Worlds back in the early 90's of course it is now the Rhombus Hotel...it looks pretty good...the check in hostess was overworked and harried and I cut her some slack when she did every thing BUT check us in...we finally get our rooms on the ONLY non smoking floor and when I get my bags sorted..I hear a knock on the door from Nancy...she's laughing...she says her room has a TV with a dial (knob) and NO remote...I check mine....same thing ...whoo hoo we're back in the 70's...the place was clean but CSI would've had a field day with some of the carpet stains that wouldn't come out of the rug...still NOT bad...we've got Starbucks -Panago-Subway -liquor store-HOMER'S Restaurant all within the shortest distance...and the lifting venue is great --there is a big screen to see the event plus lots of booths and we're looking like a "BIG time meet" here! Then I start noticing the lifts ---ooh that's a beauty...turned down...another great lift....turned down...Look,I know I always rag on the judges when I see what I think is a 'good' lift get red lights..but this was scary...AND it did plant some doubts in our minds that we'd not get the BIG lifts we had our hearts set on...we decided to hit dinner at the Rhombus ...our waitress brought me a white wine when I'd asked for a Merlot...when I said "Miss, this is the wrong wine" she said how do you know til you taste it??--well my first tip off is a Merlot is RED !--she did a quick Merlot blush and got me a color coordinated glass....our Peppercorn steaks were $18.00 ea. and not what we get for the same price tag at Cactus Club or even the Keg...we were hungry so we ate the food (mashed potatoes--from instant ???--seemed like it) and then noticed it's Friday nite and there's 3 tables full in what should be a crowded restaurant...maybe the word is out ...not the BEST place for dining in the 'Wack'..was it terrible ? No..was it worth it for the price? NO !-still,when dining out 'ya takes yer chances' no burn, just wouldn't go there again ...however the banquet food Sunday nite WAS very good (same kitchen?) go figure. Later in the room I noticed the sound of amplified Bass from the jam session in the lounge--OH GREAT !! I need sleep to get strong for the meet on Saturday and my room is throbbing to semi amateur music from the pub...I ask if I can get moved ..the lady at the desk says the entire first 5 floors are effected by it and she's completely booked so I have to put up with it..maybe the vibration not the 'sound' as much, will shake my room enough I can convince myself I have a "vibrator bed" and BS myself that I'll rest better...I get 3 hours sleep...and 2.5 hours of tossing and turning 'dreaming you're asleep while awake' type rest..not good for a guy who needs to be his best in the 3 lift meet....after weighing in at a slightly lower weight than last year ( trying to lose weight and stay as strong or stronger..works on some days..not today) I down a few sports drinks and a MetRX bar..warm up for squats everyone is saying I'm not low enough..this IS embarrassing because I'm using token weights kinda like bodyweight squats...I hit a few that look good..go to the platform and take my first one way down..then I 2nd guess and take it lower..that is perceived as a double bounce and 3 reds--well, how nervous would that make ya? you're really only at the meet to bench and you cant get a 'token' squat in...on my 2nd lift I just go all the way down and bounce back up instantly, truly testing my inner yo- yo..well goody, I got that one...people ask me what was wrong with my first?? anyway I pass and get ready for the bench...that shoulder tricep thing that happened on the bus is still hovering over me..but I seem strong in my warm ups ..actually I feel like I can and will break that World Record today..shoulder..lack of sleep...and judge fears combined ..I know i'll be OK...after all I did a perfect IPF style Bench in the BCPA February 12th..so I'll just transfer that frame of mind...On my first attempt I take 217.5 KILOS (480) and It seems I paused it 4 seconds (times may vary in your imagination) and rammed it up perfectly...3 WHITES --YES !! I'm on my way to breaking the 501 Barrier in IPF ( I've done it 4 times in the sanction just not with the right amount of INTL IPF Judges) for a new world record...2nd attempt...something is wrong ..head judge doesn't perceive me as being in 'start' position so I get a huge time to support the bar before the attempt...outta gas ..I get the signal START !!! --down... pause...back up..little crooked..ONE white TWO reds..no lift...3rd time around same LONG start hold..then a better lift..and a real pause ..I'm thinking I got it !!! ....lights say-- NO ! 2 to 1 ---so, No world record for me...afterall it wouldn't have been nice if I got it and BEAT ME ! (I hold it @ 220 KGS from last year) --on the deadlift I pull 200 kilos and I can feel muscle spasms, not a heavy weight ! I'm just the recipeint of an 'iffy' back lately ...so I decide NOT to do the 232.5 it woulda taken to get a 600 KG total..yes, 600 IS BAD...but 567.5 is worse....but I AM tokening...AND I qualified for the IPF Masters Worlds in October might as well save my back for the morrow' after all you need a back to bench again in 24 hours...meanwhile..the place is in panic, our friend Sean Brown is in the hospital due to a benching mishap where the bar with 541 pounds on it... flipped back onto Seans face and he's lost teeth he was bleeding profusely... many stitches needed...emergency oral surgery and a tricep injury as well...the lifters are a bit spooked..the spotters are shaken up..and the audience has a shock going thru it...Sean is on all of our minds and in our silent prayers. That nite, terrific camaraderie from the lifters I hear the stories that some TOP people bombed..some lifters did just fine and loved the judging...actually I like all the people who were judges at the meet ...maybe I'm mad at ME or my LUCK of not being as ready for this meet as I was in February...maybe I need to be able to do 530 in the bench ordinarily in order to do 501 IPF style?? Anyway it is a good gathering of great Canadian lifters and we're all looking to do great at the Bench Only Championships the next day.. That nite the music is not throbbing... a good sign...but what kind of a 'nite scene' has Saturday being a quiet night? I'm glad this is the way at the WRONGUS Hotel for I might sleep tonite...Next morning I get ready to help Nancy and Rosilin in their bench days and after warming up and shirting them ..I have Paul Wells watch Rosilin and run her numbers and I watch to make sure Nancy is alright...well actually she has a worse 'tweak' in her back than I do but she bravely benches a strong opener..gets 3 whites and moves to attempt #2 --this one is turned down..on attempt # 3 Nancy puts a weight she's done numerous times 72.5 KGS up a third of the way...then she pushes it further...it stops a bit then pops up all the way to the top..what a show of strength... WHAT ?? 3 REDS??? one referee card said downward movement of the bar..I did not see that ..I was 2 and a half feet from her..all she did was tough out a lift most would've given up on ...Man!! talk about puzzling?? --She was 2nd place to Jane Smith, one of our favorite people...Nancy is 'back to the drawing board' as am I... In the warm up room for my flight of benches I was strong and I thought it's easy to lift max weight 2 days in a row..I was looking forward to getting the World SINGLE LIFT bench press record... BUT, I had no use to get passed the 210 KILO Mark that John Blackmon set by a small amount..I wanted at least 220 as an opener then 227.5 (501) but no getting it by 2.5 or 5 KGS here..it was only valuable to me if it broke the 500 barrier ..so I set out with 220 KGS and it should fly like 217.5 did yesterday....on my opener it doesn't go up...the long holds before the start signal were doing 2 things ..tiring me out AND distracting me from my proper form...so the first 2 did not go all the way up...on the 3rd I did what felt like a smooth lift...I was sure it was the world record....it wasn't (2 reds) ..Bill Nickoli took a video of it...on his tiny screen it appeared to be PERFECT (stay tuned) I was feeling great about ME and bad about the tightness of the judging... BUT, it's now 5 days later and I've seen that video on a clearer ..bigger screen...and the judges did see infractions..the lift WAS FLAWED ! So now I theorize I must be more in control of my training movements and form before stepping on the IPF platform again..and as added insurance,be able to lift WAY more than I want to achieve... IE: Have a sweet 'demo' lift ready ! Save the 530 to 560 attempts for the 'freer' feds out there...which of course I will... as I have plans to try the new CPO and get an AAPF drug tested World record there...of course I have a quite a few WABDL meets to do as well. Sunday nite the Banquet was the best ever with First Nations dancing and music..then East Indian martial arts dance..and finally Belly Dancing..what a show!!!...some of us got up (when asked) to mimic the belly dancing ..I tried to hide but since my silouette puts the 'BELLY' in dancing I got up and shook my tail feathers ..but it is rumoured that Shawn O' Halloran and Colin Bonneau managed to distract the audience from my corner...whew ..that's a relief only 80 or 90 people got to see me do that...my daughter who lives in Arizona is a leader of a dancing troup there ..she would never speak to me again if she saw my parody of her 'art'.... The dinner was splendid..I was thinking "What have you done with the restaurant chefs?--this cant be their food??" anyway, the presentations to our top lifters and the friendship of the lifting community took this nationals to a wonderful crecendo of success...Pat ling, Jacqui Sandu, Lana Bonneville and the volunteers of Chilliwack made this a wonderful event !! the banquet entertainment was deemed by many the best ever!--yes, I second that emotion ! Leaving Sunday nite, our pal Rosilin Hanna (won her class in the BP ) drove us home in her Jeep...she had forgotten the back windows so I was seated in the back with a blanket wrapped around my head and torso..I enjoy chilly air whipping me on drives like this (I'm part dog?) but I was concerned my throat would clog and I had a London Drugs ad to voice on Tuesday and didnt want to sound froggy...so, if you passed a Jeep after midnite on Hiway 1 with two women in front and what appeared to be a 295 pound Avacado balancing in back..that was us. I will remember the event as a great total experience in spite of personal disappointment over my own lifting...the 2006 Canadian Nationals was a fantastic show ! The CPU lifting community was stellar ! For MANY more photo's by Harnek Singh Rai -- Click Here |