2009 December - A Gripmas Carol - MalachiMcMullen

[MalachiMcMullen]

I don't think there was anyone there who wasn't having a great day in both strength and mood. Per the usual, I finished mid-pack, made a few stategic mistakes that wouldn't have mattered anyway, sucked up the 2HP something incredibly fierce(it is now official, my setup is better than Jedd's in my mind), did piss-poor on thickbar and picked up the really easy stuff in the medley.

The level of competition was apparent the moment you walked into that gym. It was intense. There wasn't a person left out of when it came to crowd participation either. Everyone got the screams of encouragement like I've never seen before. The events, while hardly suited to me, were awesome. It was a great list and I trust if Chris hadn't been running the show, this may have been a 15hr comp instead. The slowest, most boring event of the day was, surprisingly, the axle deadlift. Maybe that's just me having pulled an abysmal 154, but it definitely was the slowest. Chad, of course, did great here and I think this is where Jedd lost some MUCH needed points that ended up costing him near the end.

2 new world records in the calibrated choked gripper event with Audrey's 209 and Chad's 212(which had to be cal'd for him before his attempt), that was awesome. I'd like to say "Brad has some potential" but I feel it would be a bit late to call it mere "potential." He'll be kicking ass in strongman this year too, no doubt.

Jedd's 2HP lift was... I'm speechless. Jedd, man, Robert Collier said "Success is the sum of small efforts repeated day in and day out." You sir, are successful. How long has it been? 6-7 years in the making? You deserve every bit of it man, every flipping bit. On top of that, Michelle Carns took what has to be the best picture in gripdom of Jedd holding his 256 at the top roaring in unmitigated elation at his dad who was there to not only see it, but film it. Jedd was screaming at the top of his lungs and yet, you could barely hear him in that garage because everyone else was screaming at the top of theirs. It was incredible. I don't want to put a damper on Chad's ridiculus 255, it was the same kind of feeling for Chad's 255 that we all had for Jedd's 256, but Jedd has come so damned close so many times and been working so hard for that exact moment for so long, it just made Jedd adding a pound to Chad's fresh record that much more enjoyable. Something else crazy, both Chad and Jedd made their 255 and 256 look easy and BOTH went on to get 260+ off the ground at least once.

The axle was next, I didn't really watch much, I just know I was near the bottom and Chad was at the top with a 236 lift and had a few more in the tank.

The lever came next. I knew after warming up in Chris' setup that people would pull big today, but I had little clue as to just how big. I wanted to break the old WR of 23.75, not that it would've mattered much, but I skipped the 23lb attempt and went for the next which was 24.2 and missed it twice, the first time I actually levered it but in the ugliest push with a nice bounce and a clear shoulder raise. It wasn't to be. Pity, I could've gotten that 23! Live and learn. I don't remember what all everyone got, but Dave managed to sneak in with a 28.3 lift for 2nd place while Bob and Mike Krahling ended up with 29.5. It wasn't easy for either of them, but despite my efforts, no one wanted to add that half pound on until after the 29.5 attempt. We may have had 2 30lb levers. I'd like to say too that this event wasn't perfect, but it was handled pretty well. Some of the biggest levers done today were done with virtually no bounce or any major shoulder movement, so those were SOLID levers, not gifts or Texas-style events... (all in good fun guys ).

The medley was tough, but not tough enough for the top 3 who did all the objects except Jedd's fatman clone that he recieved from another Chris(I think he said Chris?) on here. SOLID piece of equipment those blobs as evidenced by even The Chad failing to lift Jedd's. Jedd, Chad and even Dave could get it to kind of float accross the floor on one corner, but none lifted it. I'm going to say this because it doesn't happen often, Chad actually struggled a bit with this medley. The 12lb slim lever confounded him for a few minutes. Once he got the technique down, it flew up and he ran over to lift the inch without hesitation(or difficulty). By far the most interesting part of the medley was what came to be known as "The Walking Stick". It's a stick with about 5-10lbs on the bottom that you had to sledge walk about 1-2ft. People made the most interesting faces while performing that particular lift. I hope everyone got a picture of their face, that would be quite a picture album. The walking stick was not easy for anyone and it seemed that the big guys, despite having a slight advantage in sheer hand length, were slightly less dexterous than those with smaller hands. The weight wasn't a problem for anyone, everyone got that lift, it was figuring out how to move your hand down the darned thing! It was great fun to watch! More than 1 person ended up being 1-3" from the finish line on the stick and people started screaming encouragement for A SLEDGE WALK!!! It was too funny, but not ridiculus. It was a great implement to have and I hope to see its return next year.

Chris, you put on a Grade A contest. No questioning it. That chicken that your wife makes, it seems to get better everytime I have it!!! It was delicious and a great way to finish the day. Oh yeah, despite this being one of the most competitive and intense comps in a long time, people couldn't stop afterwards. We kept going with the feats. I don't think anything too amazing went down, but Jedd, Dave and Chad lifted Dave's fatman clone, Josh came close.

Chris, I'll be coming to every comp you hold for as long as I am able.

Shoot! I forgot any mention of the ladies!!!! I typed up that response on my wordpad here on my computer and just copied and pasted here, apparently the rest of it didn't make it over! How embarrassing. Well I didn't save the document but the writeup for them went something like this:

Andrea, Mary Ann, Melissa and Lindsey were awesome throughout the entire contest. Mary Ann was almost scary in her focus throughout the comp, Melissa was strong throughout the day and Andrea and Lindsey did great and were just plain fun to have around! Mary Ann got a monstrous 12lb lever, I know a lot of guys who can't do my 8lber let alone a 12lber! I confess that I was not as attentive to the women's and most of the HW's as I could've been, so I missed a lot of the weights done by quite a few folks. I did see Melissa's 105 on the axle, edging out Mary Ann if I recall correctly. The day was Mary Ann's in the end but it was a well-fought victory. Mary Ann did VERY well on the medley!!!