A winning mentality

All the lifters from the 2014 USAPL Alaska State Championship with Matt Baller’s 3rd SQ loaded on the bar

My favorite piece of writing is called The World of What Could Be by Lisbeth Darsh, in the piece there is a section that has especially resonated with me over the last year:

“I hope you’ve seen a glimpse of how glorious life is on the edge, in the clouds, beyond the pale of the mediocre. I hope you know the thrill of doing one thing — anything — with such grace and beauty that it takes your own breath away to even think about it. That it makes your heart beat faster. That it makes your eyes wet and a big grin spread like warm sunshine across your face.”

Success.

Over the last couple of weeks before the USAPL Alaska State Championship this past Saturday, a couple of strong role models and teammates that I look up to presented the concept of having a positive mindset. It does not matter if you are the only person who believes in yourself, as long as you embrace a truly positive mentality you are capable of achieving anything. Until the last couple of months, that is something I have struggled with. I have put limits on myself and allowed others to put limits on me… I underestimated the power of a positive mind.

On Saturday, the Best Female Lifter award came down to my last Deadlift of 402-pounds. Even my wonderful, loving, and supportive parents thought someone had “lost their mind” when they saw the bar loaded with 402-pounds and their daughter approaching on the platform. At meets, my mom keeps notes of what my previous PRs have been so she can have something to refer to… And nothing close to 402-pounds was written anywhere, so she found herself scrambling to figure out what was happening. I’m pretty sure the head judge was caught leaning forward, squinting at the screen and rubbing his eyes to make sure that’s the number he saw. None of that matters to me, though. I was in the staging area getting ready for war. Ryan (my boyfriend coach) told me it was going to feel heavy, but not to give up… There was no way I was going to give up because I knew I could do it. And I did. It was the most intense moment I have experienced thus far in my athletic career and I grew into a stronger human being from just a few minutes.

Once it was all said and done, I finished the meet with –

SQ: 363-lbs/165-kg

BP: 198-lbs/90-kg (missed my 3rd attempt, which was 209-lbs/95-kg)

DL: 402-lbs/182.5-kg

Total: 965-lbs/437.5-kg

Here is video:

Going into the next 10 training weeks before Raw Nationals, I could not be more happy with where I’m at. My experiences leading up to this year have left me hungry and now I’m confident.