Last post before competition!

Hey everyone,

Thanks so much for checking in and reading my updates. The few comments I have received here, on Facebook, and on Reddit have been supportive and encouraging. The kettlebell community as a whole has proven to be tight-knit and helpful. I especially want to thank coach Valery Fedorenko for helping me train for the 2013 West Coast Kettlebell Sport Classic. He and I started talking in the beginning of the year, but only really started working together about a month ago when I achieved Rank 2 with the World Kettlebell Club. In that month, he and I have talked on the phone about my goals, and we set a rigorous training plan that has prepared me as best as possible for the upcoming meet given the time constraints. I don't think either of us expect a kettlebell lifter to be able to achieve Rank 2, and then one month later compete and hope to achieve Rank 1. This is my own personal fantasy, but it may not necessarily be grounded in reality. but you never know. I'll have adrenaline and the excitement of a competition working for me (I hope!), and I will also have a solid month's worth of hard training under my belt. Stranger things have happened. We'll find out this Saturday...For what it's worth, if I show up and give my best, even if for some reason I only lift one repetition, then I will be satisfied.

Here are my workouts for this week. I only worked three days this week because the meet is this Saturday. The results are encouraging. My best day was Tuesday, on which I lifted 40 reps in Jerk with the two 24kgs over six minutes. This is my personal best so far, and as hard as it was I think I may have had some energy left in the tank. Maybe I can go farther during the competition.

Monday:
24kg
Jerk-6min @ 6rpm--36 reps
Snatch-6 min @ 12rpm--36L/36R

Tuesday:
24kg
Jerk-6min @ 6.666667rpm--40 reps--Personal best
Snatch-6min @ 12rpm--37L/38R--Personal best

Wednesday:
24kg
Jerk-5min @ 6rpm--30 reps
Snatch-6min @ 12rpm--33L/41R

Here is Tuesday's Jerk set:

And here is Wednesday's Snatch set (for some reason I cannot figure out how to embed this video:/)

I will check in again after the competition to give my feedback on what it was like to be coached for a competition (taking into account the limited time I had), and how the training compared to my own personal development in kettlebell lifting.

Wish me luck!