Another year of RUM, another weekend of 5thSet lifters kicking ass on the platform. Thank God no one I work with broke a world record, right?

I learned what it was like to feel old and weak, but my heartbeat was a war drum again. As long as I was breathing, I would be moving — I would be moving toward the conflict.

After the competition, my body was ready to rest — but my mind wasn’t. My determination got me back on my feet, but I wasn’t on them for long.

Illness didn’t stop me from competing, and dropping 525 pounds on my chest didn’t stop me from finishing the meet. But later that night, I realized I was in more serious pain than it seemed at first.