My latest Highland Games competition didn’t go as well as I’d hoped it would, but I learned some stuff and didn’t finish too badly. I took second place overall, and second in the stone championship. The first event was the open stone. I wasn’t gliding all the way across the trig and ended up with a throw of only 46’10”. We threw this event again with the professionals, and I went 48-something. I think I’ve gotten so worried about coming across the trig fast that I’m not getting a full push with my right leg. This causes me to muscle the throw with my upper body – so I’m not hitting a good power position and throwing with my upper body instead of my hips.

The next event was the Braemar stone. This went well, and I took first place. My best throw was 39’8.5”. This isn’t bad, but I’m still looking to break into the forties.

Then we moved on to the 56lb weight for distance. I’ve been having a lot of problems with this event, and my goal was to be in better control this time. I ended with a 29’3” throw. This is not very good, but I did feel like I was in better control. Now, if I can just gradually increase my speed, I’ll be okay.

The 28lb weight for distance was terrible. I went 56’9”, which is way short of my best of 70’. On my second attempt, I saw myself heading out of the trig, and thought I could stop. I was wrong! I ended up on my ass again – I seem to do that once a competition – and I almost took out the judge. I was so pissed with my numbers that when they broke for lunch after this event, I stayed to practice. One of the other guys – I can’t remember his name, but I want to thank him for his help – stayed to help me for a bit. He let me know where I was going wrong, so now I know what I need to work on.

I ended up going 104’10” on the light hammer, which isn’t too bad. On the first throw, my tacky seemed slippery, so I didn’t get too aggressive with it. The second throw was my best one. I really wanted to go for it on the third, but I let go late. I think that throw would have been really good if I’d let go on time. I was actually happy with this event because my balance is really coming along, and I can feel where I’m starting to get my hips into it. I think I can really increase my distance in this event soon.

Next was the weight for height. This event started really well for me. I came in at 13’ very easily, then smoked 14’ – in a throw that some of the guys said probably went over 16’. I ran into trouble at 15’. I started getting more aggressive, and messed up my timing. I’ve been told that swinging the weight to the side is not a good way to get it started, so I decided to change my technique at the competition. I know this is not generally a good idea, but I still have so much to learn, so I figured, “What the hell?” Then, as I got more aggressive, I was rushing my pull, which made me throw backward a little more. Instead of going over the bar, I was taking the bar out and still going higher. I won the event, so this didn’t matter much, but I really want 16’. I’ll call this a rookie mistake and remember not to do it next time.

Last came the caber, an event I don’t get to practice. Even though I made a caber, my father sold the trailer I was going to use to haul it around, so it just sits in the yard. In any event, it gets better every time, and I ended up with a 1:00. The first run was my “drunken sailor,” but it flipped. On the second, I squatted and then paused. This made me late, and it didn’t flip. On the third run, I finally went straight and timed it a little better. I have a ton of power, but if I don’t time it right, it won’t go. After you throw, you and the guy before you pick the caber up and stand it for the next guy. Admittedly, I’m terrible at remembering this, so when the guy before me forgot, I chalked it up to karma and just picked the caber up by myself and carried it back. The announcer wasn’t happy with me for doing this. He told me never to do that for safety reasons, and because it made things less dramatic for the fans by making the caber look light. I commented that I thought it made me look stronger, but he wasn’t happy with me. I mean, come on – I can deadlift well over 700lbs, so a caber really isn’t that heavy.

So, I suppose I did okay, but I’m still not happy. The Braemar was probably my best event. The hammer and caber are coming along. I have a good idea of what I need to work on in the weight for distance and the open stone. The weight for height is just a matter of timing. One of my big problems is that I need to find a coach. The reason I am where I am in powerlifting is that I’ve had good guys to work with – guys who stayed on me and made sure my technique was correct. I can already tell that in practice, I’m doing my techniques right, but my results in the games show that I’m really not. I’ll start by videoing and watching every throw until I can find someone to help. I’d kind of funny how I can know the technique and think I’m doing it right – but my body really isn’t doing it properly. I think there’s a messed up connection somewhere between my brain and my body.  

Another big factor for me is the damned heat. It was hot as hell that day. In the afternoon, there were some clouds in the sky, and I found myself focusing on the fact that I wanted them to block out the sun. We even had a few raindrops, but not nearly enough for me. I’m down to 350lbs, and hot all the time, plus I work in a warehouse. I’m not used to that kind of heat and sun all day, and I’m impressed with myself for not dying of heatstroke.

I decided to cancel my appearance at the games in Monterey over the July 4^th weekend. My sleep and everything else has been very bad lately, and I felt like doing what I could to get my shit straight. The idea was to keep the time off to get as much sleep as possible, rest up, then put all my focus on the Pleasanton games in August.

I was pretty happy to have five days off – Friday through Tuesday. I can’t remember the last time I had five days off without something to do. Every vacation I’ve taken has been for a competition. My sleep and my attitude have been so shitty lately that I figure I’d better do something to change the direction in which I’m headed. My plan for the weekend was to sleep as much as possible and hopefully get a little work done. I’m way behind on my training log, emails and other business.

I thought I might just fall right asleep on Thursday night, just because I knew I had some time off, but it didn’t happen. It took forever to get to sleep. Luckily, I was able to stay in bed until noon. I still wake up a lot, but I sleep much better in the morning. I drove for a while so I could watch and photograph the fireworks over the city. My mother, sister, niece and nephew came. At one point, my nephew Travis had to go pee. My sister just opened the door of my truck so he could do this on the ground where nobody could see. He didn’t want to pee on the ground – only in the toilet. I didn’t really understand this, because I would pee outside all the time when I was a kid. I would do it right in the yard if it saved me a trip inside and kept me from missing even a minute of playtime. I told him he would have to pee outside, or hold it and pee in his pants. He eventually did it outside, but he was worried that someone would step in it. That killed me. I gave him a big high five and a “Good job.” I also had to help my sister move a few pieces of furniture that day. I’m sure I don’t have to explain how much I hate moving furniture.

On Saturday, I got up at noon again. I’m getting a little more sleep, but I still feel so shitty the first few hours I’m up. I’m so tired that I just want to sit and watch TV all day. In fact, I don’t even care about the TV. I’d just sit and stare at the wall all day. I want to get up and do stuff, but I’m just so damned tired. I did actually clean the house some, and I started getting all the windows in my living room blocked up. So much heat comes through them, and my A/C bill is insane.

Around 4, I got a call that my Mom broke her ankle, so off to the hospital I went. She was at the dog park, and a few dogs knocked her over. I guess one must’ve been a Saint Bernard, but I still don’t get it. They’re dogs! Just smack them! In any case, I looked at the x-rays, and yes, it was broken. She broke her distal fibula in a kind of spiral fracture, and then broke a piece of the distal posterior tibia. They’ll basically just brace it up for a few days until the swelling goes down, and then she’ll see the orthopedist. I suspect she’ll need a few screws and a plate. I helped my Dad get her back home, then headed over to a friend’s place to watch the UFC fights.

I’d been looking forward to the Jackson-Griffin fight for some time. There were good fights leading up to the main event, but I particularly enjoyed the Joe Stephenson fight and the bloody mess that took place before that one. I like both Rampage and Forrest. I had the chance to meet Rampage a few times, and he’s one funny SOB and strong as hell. Forrest is also a funny dude with an unbelievable work ethic. Both of them are very intense competitors. I knew this would be a great fight, but I thought Rampage would win.

I thought Forrest won. He came out strong and very aggressive, whereas Rampage didn’t seem as aggressive as he usually is. I still can’t figure out why Forrest seemed to lay off Rampage’s leg in round three. I would have kept up with the leg kicks. I also can’t figure out why Rampage didn’t seem to have his usual aggression. In any case, it was a great fight. Rampage was an outstanding champion, and Forrest will be the same way, and now we’re set up for a big time rematch. One of the best parts of the telecast was the post-fight interviews. I love the fact that those two have the intensity they do in the ring, yet are still funny, laid-back guys away from it. I also appreciate the fact that they both respect each other. Congrats to Forrest!

It’s now Sunday, and I again got out of bed at noon. Three days off thus far, and I’ve pretty much accomplished nothing. This has kind of pissed me off, but the goal of the weekend is to try and get some sleep. It hasn’t been great sleep, but I did get a lot more than usual. I’m still surprised at how bad I feel when I get up, and how much better I feel at night. Hopefully I’ll feel better with a couple more days of sleep. I did get my home cleaned up, and I blocked the window in the living room – which made things a little darker and cooler, which is how I like it. I’ve also finally got this log caught up!

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