Today was three weeks in the making. I tipped the scales at 160.5 last night, went to bed with little to eat and drink and woke up feeling pretty good. not too achy, not too weak. skpped the morning cp of water. skipped breakfast. had to be under 160. just hopped into the shower and got on the bus.

The ride to work was a bit long. The stomach started growling a bit. felt a little woozy. seventy minutes is a long way to go on a parched mouth and empty stomach. anyway, we rolled into campus and i headed straight for the scale, stripped down and weighed in. 160.75. good. the offical scale is a pound lighter than the one in the locker room. I head out and get on the official scale and balance it out. half a sliver left of 160. sweet. didn’t even have to run any weight off. I called the attendant over as a witness, got the measurement, dressed and quickly found the closest donut.

One donut, one banana, one cliff bar, and some orange juice and i’m feeling better than i have in weeks. Now, just needed to wait for 11:30 game time.

I leave my cube at 11:00 and head over to the gym to warm up and stretch out. a five minute run. stretch. a little jump rope, stretch. feeling good, time to get the game face on. I don the bandana.

First event, log press: a 120lbs “log” that you must lift from the ground and press above your head as many times as possible in 60 seconds.

We draw numbers to see who goes first. I luck out and get to go last. knowledge is key. Matt goes first. He puts the log up 5 times. Some other dude goes second, i think he got 3 or 4, then Will goes. 11. wow. that’s a lot. My turn. So, the key to this event is the pelvic thrust. you want to lock your hips as you pick the weight up off the ground and get it to just below your pubic bone. once there, you want one big pop of your hips to get the weight moving out and up and then catch it on your shoulders. if you do it right, you’ll be in a half squat and then your legs are set up to propel the weight up and over your head. complicated, i know.

I step up to the platform. take a deep breath. It’s been a while since i’ve had an audience. I remember my crew days. The pre-race jitters. I feel that kind of excitement again. a tingle. It’s been a while. except now it doesn’t make me nervous. it makes me smile. it makes me want to laugh. i ponder throwing a peace sign and thanking everyone for coming out cause they could have been anywhere in the world . . . i think better of it. stay focused. it’s game time. step up to the log. deep breath. get down. hands on. 1 . . . oh but a peace sign would be so cool . . . 2 . . . shut up and focus . . . 3 . . . careful. get under it, jason . . . 4 . . . use the legs . . . 5 . . . 6 . . . whoa, had to work for that one . . . put the weight down . . . deep breath . . . deep breath . . . 40 seconds . . . pick it up . . . 7 . . . 8 . . . 55 seconds . . . 9 . . . time. what’s a brother to do? Move on to the next event.

Sled Pull: 200lbs sled pulled toward you through the sand from a sitting position

The order now switches to reverse points. so, whoever is in the lead goes last. unknown dude gets 17 seconds, matt pulls 23 seconds or so. my turn. this event is all back. you can start out compressed through the legs, but that’s about it. after that, you want nice long back movement. stretch out grab the rope, pry open with the back and repeat. I start. i finish. 14 seconds. pretty good. Will goes 16 seconds. sweet. back in the game. bring on the next event.

Crucifix Hold: 20lbs dumbbells held at arms length to you sides for maximum length of time.

Matt goes first. He shucks the shirt. he means business. 30 or so seconds. unknown dude puts in for about the same time. Will is up next. it’s a long hold. 53 seconds. 53 seconds. holy cow. alright. clear the mind. get to that special place. there is no weight. just me, my arms, and a whole lot of people. and, lift. There’s no trick to this one really. you just lift and hold . . . lift and hold . . . 20 seconds . . . breath . . . 30 seconds . . . inhale . . . exhale . . . breath . . . 40 seconds . . . the arms start falling . . . breath . . . falling . . . hold it . . . hold it . . . . focus . . . deep breath . . . use your core . . . inhale . . . ooooooooooph. 51 seconds. so close.

Medly event: Pick up two 95lbs dumbbells, walk 100ft, put dumbells down and drag 200lbs sled back 100ft.

So, this is it. one more for the tie. I go first. Only trick here is to keep the feet moving. Here we go. get down, hands on. lift. movemovemovemovemovemovemovemovemovemovemovemovemove drop weight. pick up the sled. pullpullpullpullpullpullpullpullpullpullpull . . .. finished . . . “keep going!” shit. i missed the line. pullpullpullpullpull. finish. fuck. i still have the fastest time so far, but fuck.

Will is up. he picks up the weight. he isn’t moving as fast as i was. i might have a chance. he grabs the sled and gets to the other side. it’s going to be close. very close . . . i lose by .13 seconds.

So, it looks like i’m not the strongest man under 160. damn. oh, well. maybe next year.

Many thanks to the team for coming out to support me. sorry i didn’t bring home the trophy. Special thanks to boss 1 for the videos and boss 2 for the pictures. next year dammit. next year.

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