For the past 4 months I've been writing about my journey to get ready for my first contest of the season, which I finally was in this past weekend. What a great way to start off the season, by winning my first show! While getting ready for this show was much easier this season than last, I've had some serious self-doubt and self-criticism creep in. In fact, instead of relishing in my victory, I've been focusing on how bloated I felt all day, how washed out my abs looked, and how I don't think I looked as good as I could have. It just goes to show that no matter how much experience you have your mind can really mess with you! 
The roadtrip to the show was eventful to say the least. We left home about 2 hours later than I'd planned so traffic was a nightmare, our GPS got us lost and added an extra hour to our trip (needless to say, I almost chucked that thing out of window at the lady who wouldn't let me over on the Bay Bridge), and the competitor check-in meeting went WAY long so we didn't even check into our hotel until 9pm!
About 10pm, after I tanned my client with our fancy new machine, my poor husband attempted to do my color. He'd never used the spray gun before and let's just say that he has a very heavy trigger finger. It was so dark that if you would of put me against a black curtain I'd have disappeared! So, I had to wash it all off the next day and redo it myself in the morning. Talk about having some added stress! In spite of the tanning fiasco, I woke up feeling really good. I wasn't holding water and I could see all the definition in my abs and legs. Somehow though, throughout the day, I became totally bloated and had some major issues with holding water. Talk about a competitor's nightmare! I felt terrible right before hitting that stage, so Mike and I have to re-visit my competition day food strategy before this next one in 3 weeks.
The actual competition itself was good though. There were some strong competitors and they moved through it quickly, which is one thing I really like about the NPC organization. I saw several competitors from past competitions and lots of new faces too. While I was in line backstage, waiting to go out, these two girls behind me asked me if I'd competed before. I answered "yea, a few times." and they asked me for some advice, any advice. I just told them to have fun on stage because that 10 minutes you're up there is what you've dieted and worked for this whole time.
That truly is the best advice I can give to new or even seasoned competitors. Have fun! If you look scared, miserable, or tuned out, the judges are probably gonna notice and you'll pay for it. But, if you get up there, strut your stuff, enjoy it, smile genuinely, and really try to light up the stage, the judges won't want to look away from you! I've seen several girls with "ok" bodies place higher than the girls with the best bodies there. That's proof that it's all about how well you present your physique to the judges!
Now it's on to the next one! The "Cal" May 28th!
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