Deadlift Compeition: The Reason for My Weight Training

I spent most of the summer preparing for the deadlift competition I participated in. During my time at the gym, I dropped a lot of my upper body exericses and focused on strengthening the body parts needed to lift heavier on the deadlift. In other words, I trained my hamstrings, quads, abs, shoulders, back and inner and outer thighs.
I increased my strength on each of these moves. In fact, I was able to add 50 pounds to my deadlift. Last year at the competition I set the state record with a high of 253 pounds. My goal for this second time around was to lift over 300 pounds. My first lift was successful and put me on the books at just over last year's record. The second lift I got 275 and my 3rd lift I got 303, thus reaching my goal.
Because I hit the state record I was given the opportunity for a 4th attempt. Unfortunately this didn't work to my advantage because while I was standing at the bar in front of the small crowd and panel of three judges, there was some confusion over the amount of weight I was lifting. It turned out that the sign still read 303 even though I was attempting to lift 314. By the time they fixed it and I was able to lift I was a little thrown off and had lost my concentration. I only got the bar to my knees. While I would have been thrilled to make that final lift, I ws still happy that I got the state record and met my goal of lifting over 300 pounds.