Day two of my return

Wednesday was my first day back to weightlifting in 6 months. It was wonderful. My clean and jerk form felt pretty good considering how long I'd been out. And although I'd lost a lot of strength, I didn't lose as much as I thought I would.

Today I was so sore! I couldn't walk normal. After a few sets my legs lost the sore feeling and I was training again. I did my first set of snatches in half a year. They were kinda ugly. But it was still a ton of fun! I'm so glad to be back with my coach's, my team, and weightlifting!

back at HDAC and most blog hits

Tuesday and Wednesday was my first day back to weightlifting in 3 weeks. It felt great being back in the gym. My weightlifting coach seemed genuinely happy to see me- I really think the world of that guy. The members of my weightlifting team were giving me hugs, high fives, and yelling "Cody!". It was wonderful being back. It was a perfect welcoming. And surprisingly my form was a lot better than I thought it would be after a three week break.

Yesterday I had a the most hits on my blog in 10 years of blogging. I'm not sure why. Might be all my fellow 12 steppers using 12 step terms in Google search. Or fans of the show I talked about. I usually only average 30-40 hits a day. Yesterday I had almost 900. Interesting. I'm dumbfounded.

if ya spot it ya got it

I watched a documentary on Netflix called "Last chance U". It was an awesome flick. It's about division 1 talent who has to play college football at a comunity college because of poor grades or getting in trouble. There's one kid on that show who's a bad ass defensive lineman, Ronald Ollie. He was amazing. The only reason he wasn't playing for an SEC team was he was an idiot. Anytime things didn't go his way he disappeared. I told my wife about how bad that kid pissed me off. That he was a waste of tallent. I told my kids that it takes 2 things to be successful, good attitude and good effort. And that kid lacked the right attitude. 3 weeks later, and that kid Ronald Ollie is still on my mind. One of my old 12 step buddies once told me,"If ya spot it, ya got it". It dawned on me that the reason that kid on Last Chance U got under my skin is I'm the exact same way. I'm the "go to guy", until I think someone close to me is going to give up on me or I'm going to be unable to meet thier expectations. And then I disappear just like him. Ronald Ollie's guidance counselor said he has trust issues. I think a better explanation is he has abandonment issues. He feels its better to disappear on someone than to have them give up on him or hurt him. He and I are exactly alike.

If there's something about someone that annoys or infuriates you, that means there's something in you that is just like that. "If you spot it, you got it."

I was a blue chip high school football player. I gave a verbal commitment to go play for the University of Wyoming. Before I could go play football I became a homeless teenager. I lost my scholarship. And because I had to provide proof of my parents taxes to get student loans and I wasn't in contact with them, I wasn't able to go to any college at all, much less play collegiate football. I always wondered what my life would have been like if I'd have been able to play football and get a degree. But after watching that show I found closure. I probably would have ran away half way through a season. And then my heart would have been overflowing with regret amd guilt. I'm exactly where I should be. My life couldn't have ended up any better than it did.

being a mediocre weightlifter

I recently came to the realization that I was just about at my full genetic potential in weightlifting. My body is better suited to powerlifting than weightlifting. So I switched sports last week to powerlifting exclusively. But this week something happened that took me completely by surprise. I missed weightlifting. I missed the speed lifts. I missed my team. I missed the group workouts. And I especially missed my weightlifting coach Joaquin Chavez. I'm really glad I tried powerlifting because I learned something. I learned I'd rather be a mediocre weightlifter than a great powerlifter. So starting on Friday I'll be back with weightlifting at High Dessert Athletic Club. I feel like the last week I've been an athlete with no impulse control. "Hey, I'm a weightlifter. Now I've decided to dedicate myself to powerlifting! Now I'm a weightlifter again!" Man, the last couples weeks has been a trip.

the masters national weightlifting championships and the American open series

Friday was my last big day of training before I tapered for the October 29th weightlifting meet. My snatches were great but my clean and jerks were absolute crap. I'm pretty sure I could only clean a 127k right now. And I couldn't jerk 125k to save my life. If I can't clean and jerk at least 130k there's no way I can qualify for the masters national weightlifting championships. I was really hoping to compete in the masters national weightlifting championships. But it might actually work out well. Coach Joaquin Chaves asked all of us to compete in the American open series as a team. At the American open series not only could I compete as an individual on a national meet but I'd also get to be part of a national team competition. My coach and team are awesome. That sounds like a blast to me.