So for anyone that wondering/paying attention, you may have noticed that I didn't compete at USAPL Raw Nationals.
While I don't feel the need to justify my decision not to compete, I figured I'd give a brief update as to why my coaches and I decided to sit this one out.
After Pan-Ams (which was ~3 weeks before Raw Nationals), I felt physically beat up and psychologically exhausted due to an unanticipated harsh weight cut. When we tried to jump back into training-- I didn't feel physically or mentally prepared to get back onto the platform so soon (or make weight again for that matter).
It was at this point I asked myself: "Why am I/ should I compete at Raw Nationals? What outcomes do I hope to achieve? How would competing in this competition move me closer to my long term goal of being the best 72kg in the Open class?"-- I couldn't come up with anything. I realized that competing prematurely would simply be to satisfy my ego, and because people expected me to. If I had competed, while I would've probably placed just fine-- a World's position wasn't going to be within reach this year, and I wouldn't have had a performance I was proud of.
I broached the idea to my Coaches to see what they thought-- to make sure I was thinking rationally/it made sense to them. They agreed that while it wasn't an easy choice to make, it was the smart & responsible decision.
With that-- we jumped right into a Recovery/Transition Block, and I'm looking forward to:
1) getting my weight in check so that it's never an issue (how many times have I said that? Lol. This time-- we have time on our side, no competitions I'm committed to where I have to make weight anytime soon. This means we can actually go SLOW.)
2) Building up my strength foundation so I can be more competitive in the Open Class at not only the National, but International Level.
