Notes
Went out for pizza on Friday and had a few drinks plus a lot of salty food so was feeling more bloated than I would have liked on Saturday. Reduced salt intake substantially Saturday and stopped drinking liquids around 7pm so this allowed me to flush out quite a bit of fluid. Felt confident I would make weight but didn't expect to be so low at 145 pounds. Luckily I felt ok and had a shake and some food to replenish before the bench press. Weighed in around 7:30 and benched around 45 minutes later.
The bench press was in the exhibit hall this year with a slippery concrete floor so I wasn't able to screw my feet in too well. This really prevented me from using my lower body during the press as my heels weren't even on the ground. The weight felt a little heavy from the start and unracking was awkward. I had problems getting into a groove but luckily the counters were kind and were giving me every rep. By around 15 reps I was really fatiguing and thought I was in trouble - it just felt really weird lifting this early in the morning. Was able to make it to 18 reps before taking a brief pause and then started pausing after every rep once I hit 20. The pauses got longer but I really focused on speed and power with each rep and it the bar didn't appear to be slowing down too much as the reps went on. Triceps were holding up ok and by the time I got to 27 I was committed to getting 30. Really drove as hard as I could on the last 3 reps and was able to lock them out. I think the key to success this cycle was stronger triceps and better use of lower body to really drive the bar off the chest. This has allowed me to recover during reps at lighter weights.
After completing the bench portion I just wanted to go out and put in a solid effort on the run. I started right on the front line and went out at a conservative pace. Maybe a bit fast but not too bad. Garmin said I went through the first km in 3:41 but it was probably closer to 3:51 due to GPS error. Started to slow a bit approaching the 2K mark but wasn't feeling horrible, still pretty much in tempo breathing. The 3rd K was slightly downhill leading into a bit of a rise. I just focused on maintaining pace through the 3k marker and then maybe getting a bit of a breather in the 4th K. Goa was just to keep the pace as close to 4:00 as possible and then give it everything in the last km. This seemed to work out ok as my body responded during the slight uphill grind of the last km. Breathing was accelerated but legs were still turning over and pace was being maintained. When I hit the final stretch I saw 19:35 or so on the clock and just kicked it into high gear to make sure I came in under 20:00
Still shocked I hit my ultimate goal of finishing under 5:00 adjusted time. Good for 17th overall. Would have had to run about 18:48 for top 10.