I went running today!

It was so fun to wake up and lace up my shoes for my first run in 6 weeks! I couldn't get out the door fast enough. For the week leading up to the show all I could think about was drinking coffee and going running and I have to say I waisted no time doing both.

For the final week the diet got ugly for 3 days. That carb depletion before the loading was hard by the third day. Day 1 & 2 were not so bad but by Tuesday night I was beat. That night my evening cardio left me dizzy and shaky. But....the good news is I got to start loading back carbs on Wednesday. The caloric intake was different everyday starting on Wednesday. Starting at about 1500 calories and ending at 1200 on show day. I ate 8 meals a day, all very small and perfectly balance with proteins, carbs and fats. My water intake remained at 150 oz until Friday were it went to 75 oz then 60 oz on show day. My energy was off the charts on Wednesday as my body gobbled up the carbs. I had to slow myself down during cardio and I had good strength for lifting. By show day I was ready and felt like I did the best job I could have done in 5 weeks. Mark told Sarah he thought I stepped on stage at about 8% body fat. The girl that won my height class took the overall winner for the show and she had muscles I didn't know existed. I don't know how low her body fat was but standing next to her I looked like a twig with padding. :) She looked amazing and I am sure she works her tail end off to achieve it.

Friday we drove down to Canyonville and I started the painting process. No one told me how awful this part would be. I got painted at 4:15 then again at 8:00 p.m. NO SHOWER OR WATER can touch the body. Sleeping was icky. It feels like you put a ton of sunscreen on, hung out at the beach all day then go to bed. A lot of the paint came off in the bed and my clothes were ruined. I had a good idea the clothes would never be the same so I was prepared with an old t-shirt and shorts. The smell is disgusting and since you have to be in the paint, get touched up and glossed many more times throughout the day you smell horrible! Here are some pictures of the before and after painting.....I was black! The next morning it's up early then hair and makeup. My hair and makeup looked awesome. Tori (another competitor) did my hair and Mendi (a figure pro) did my makeup. I looked really good and hardly recognized myself.

The day of the show is busy in the morning and since I was doing both open and masters (over 35) I had to do both suits twice. The masters class was big and they held us up there a very long time which was exhausting and hot with the stage lights. On my first trip out and posing for the judging my legs were shaking like a leaf. They were uncontrollable. Even as I flexed with all my might they just shook and shook. As I was standing there I wasn't really nervous but the shaking seemed humiliating. All that was going through my head was how embarrassed I was to be shaking like a leaf. But as we began the turns I glanced and saw others shaking too. Whew....I am not the only one. Immediately upon exiting I asked Mark and he said it was totally normal, everyone is shaking and the audience can't see it. What a sigh of relief because from my standpoint it seemed like an earthquake had struck my body.

Overall I had a blast. It was a very cool experience and my body came out great. I was very pleased with the athletes and their camaraderie in what would seem like a very superficial endeavour. What I found was very professional people who loved what they do, helpful, encouraging and down right fun to be around. I suppose it can be different in different venues and different people but the ones I was around were great and I felt honored to be among them. I placed 3rd in my height class and feel really good about that plus I got this really cool bronze eagle. The number 2 girl got me on the two piece round when her 8 pack appeared. My mini 6 couldn't compete. :) Getting up on stage was easy knowing my support group was one row away from the judges. I could see their faces, clicks of the camera, tips from Mark as I posed and I heard a few rooster calls too. It made it so much fun. The big question is....will I do it again? I loved the switch to my body for sure, the break from the pounding and a different focus but I wouldn't trade it for ultra running for one minute. I did something that scared the hell out of me and I am thrilled to have done it and thankful for it taught me about me. I may do another show next year in the off season again but for now I can't wait to get muddy!

So, I wasted no time getting back into the swing of working out. I was up at 5:30 preparing to hit the road for boot camp at 6:30. Mark does a book camp which is all about nutrition and working out group style. It's 1 hour long, 3 days a week for 6 weeks and you measure your progress from start to finish. After that is was more running for a total of 8 lushes miles. We did 2 miles as fast as you can at boot camp for a base measure. Then it was weights with Marlin and Erica, then walking at an incline with Sarah. I worked out from 6:30 to 11:00 today and loved every minute of it! I got coffee on the way home as I dreamt about my 90 minute run on the trails tomorrow.