Winters Wrath Update

Winters Wrath 2019

Lee competed at Winter's Wrath last weekend in Somersworth, New Hampshire.  It was his first competition in more than a year and he was beyond ready.  With a few exceptions, he had a really good training cycle and his teammates felt confident about how he would do at the meet.  But of course, life always throws a few curveballs.  I've had a hectic schedule at work, Emily got injured playing basketball (which was emotionally draining for everyone) and Elizabeth's academic, athletic, musical and social schedule has been jammed packed, so we had absolutely no breathing room leading up to the day of the meet.  I dropped him a the gym before 7am the morning of, his earliest start ever and he really pulled it all together.  He squatted 620 pounds, a new personal best; benched 380 pounds, his best bench in more than 5 years; and pulled 600 pounds, tying his previous personal best from last December.  His total of 1600 pounds was a new PR and earned him Best Lifter accolades.  We are so proud of his hard work and how he mentally and physically executed his team's plan to perfection.

Lee with the girls and his Best Lifter award. 

So thankful for these guys.

Winter's Wrath Post Script

Winter's Wrath

On December 1st, Lee competed at Winter's Wrath, his first powerlifting competition in more than two years.  He has taken time off for a variety of reasons, both physical and mental and by the time he decided to compete again, he was more than ready.  He competed full power - squat, bench and deadlift - and ended the day with three personal bests.  Lee squatted 615 pounds (PR), benched 370 pounds, and deadlifted 600 pounds (PR), for a total of 1585 pounds (PR).  It was both exciting and nerve-wracking to watch him compete again and we are incredible grateful to Nick and Morgan, both of whom made the trip to New Hampshire to handle Lee for the day.  We are so proud of his accomplishments, especially at the ripe old age of 44!

The 600 pound deadlift at the end of a full power meet (9th out of 9 attempts over a 10 hour day) was the culmination of years of hard work - no greater evidence of its meaning to Lee than this ultimate man hug with Nick.

Huge thanks to Nick and Morgan. 

A hint of a smile.

Connecticut State Championships

At the end of June, Lee competed at the Connecticut State Championships.  He had a tremendous training cycle, but tweaked his back about a week before the competition and also went through a couple of emotional weeks.  Because his training went so well, he decided to go through with the meet, despite all of physical and emotional factors that were weighing on him.  To my surprise, he got  a new PR in squat (615 lbs at a body weight of 197 lbs) and I thought that things were going to go his way.  He had a bit of mental breakdown with the bench press and tweaked his back again and by the time he got to deadlift, he was unable to complete that lift and withdrew from the meet.  He is still nursing his back a bit, icing it every night, but was able to go back to the gym last week for some light work.  It was a difficult and emotional day, with triumph and failure, and I know that in getting through it, he will come back even stronger and better.

19th Annual Power Challenge: Boston

Team Refuge put on a show at the 19th Annual Power Challenge in Boston:

Chasing PRs

Last Sunday, Lee competed at the 19th Annual Power Challenge: Boston.  Although late summer and early fall is a very challenging and busy time at our house, he was able to get in some really good training and had high hopes going into the competition.  After attending a wedding in New Hampshire on Friday night, he left his parents' house at 5:30 am and drove down to Boston to weigh in on Saturday morning. He then drove back to Connecticut and early Sunday morning (another 5:30 am start), we drove up to Boston.  Despite going one for three in the squat, he got a new personal best of 610 lbs.  Bench has been his Achilles heel for a while and Sunday was no exception - he also went one for three, benching 375 lbs.  He was able to pull 590 lbs, good enough for a new personal best in dead lift.  His total of 1575 lbs. was also a new personal best.
Although he was initially disappointed, Lee has come around to the fact that it wasn't a wasted day.  He fell short of the goals that he set for himself, but yet still did better than he'd ever done before.  During the meet, our friend Nick pointed out that when you are always chasing PRs (always trying to do better than the last competition, never settling for what you've already accomplished), these competitions are extremely difficult.  On Monday morning, Greg Panora (one of the greatest powerlifters of all time), who lifted as part of The Refuge on Sunday, posted a great line on Facebook: "Powerlifting is not a sport of how much u can do, it's a sport of how much can u do on that day."  Regardless of what you can do in training, it all comes down to what you can pull together over 9 lifts on one long day.  We are incredibly proud of all that Lee has accomplished.

Lee actually missed his opener of 575 lbs. (the judges said that he didn't break parallel) and in a genius move, Nick stuck with their plan and moved him right up to 610 lbs.  "We didn't come here to lift less than 600 lbs."

The Old Men

Apparently, if you want to lift like a rock star over the age of 40, you need to train at The Refuge.  All of the competitors from Lee's gym at last Sunday's meet were over the age of 40.

New England Revolution

Last weekend, Lee competed at the RPS New England Revolution and did incredibly well.  He achieved a new personal best in squat, deadlift and overall total.  Although his bench was not where he wanted it to be, he didn't let it get to him and went on to pull his best deadlift ever.  For the last several years, I have watched how hard Lee works and while he has had some very good competitions, he never seems to meet his full potential on competition day, much to his frustration and that of his teammates.  This time around, something was different.  He was very focused during his training cycle (and considering the schedule in our house, that alone is quite a feat) and lifted very heavy weights.  He had a plan going into Sunday and executed it almost perfectly.  I am so proud of him for achieving new personal bests in his first competition as a 40 year old and I am happy that his hard work paid off in such a great way.

600 pound squat (after squatting 550 lbs and 585 lbs).

385 pound bench press.

585 pound deadlift (after pulling 570 lbs).

First place in both the Open and Masters (40+) classes.  And Best Lifter, Pro Lightweight Division.  Not too shabby.

His first Best Lifter trophy since turning Pro.  Could not be more proud.

2014: Year in Review

2014 was another amazing year for our little family.  We had plenty of adventure, plenty of sports and plenty of fun.  Each and every day served as a reminder of how lucky we are and how precious the time with our family and friends is.  We are truly blessed.

December Odds and Ends

Some photos that didn't make the many posts of December:

They love it when their desk gets moved into the living room for December.

A very merry powerlifting Christmas party....

Last day of foot skills. 

Last day of school in December! 

Irish Dance 

Santa visited Irish Dance!

Posting this not for their great dance moves, but for Emily's little move at the end, after the dance stopped.

A big day of powerlifting (with some big name powerlifters) at the Refuge on December 26th.

Our 2014 ornament - how could have I have missed posting this one?

Elizabeth, busily working on her new tablet.

What little girl doesn't love a canopy with a chandelier?

Just trying to keep calm....

October Odds and Ends

Photos that didn't make the cut in October....

You'd be hard pressed to find another dad that sews badges onto his daughters' Brownie and Junior Girl Scout sashes.

Lee and I enjoyed a lovely dinner out at the Capital Grille for our 13th wedding anniversary, including this complimentary dessert.

Lee handling his friend Nick at a meet in Everett, MA. 

Off to Irish Dance. 

Elizabeth played lacrosse on Saturday mornings this fall and absolutely loved every minute of it. 

Reading and Baxter - two of her favorite things. 

Not quite sure when our 10 year old started looking like a 16 year old...

5th graders at the school Halloween party (so grateful to the parents who get photos when I'm not around!). 

3rd graders at the school Halloween party (same as above).

At her Brownie troop's Halloween party!