Let's jump right into it, shall we?
The last weekend was one for the books. I would, honestly, put it in the front of the "books." It was so much FUN! Everything I have sacrificed, changed, and created as a [new] habit, the countless hours spent in the gym, the aching muscles, the endless cardio sessions has been so worth it. I cannot wait to do it again! (Hello, SPRING 2016--I'm coming for you!)
The last weekend was one for the books. I would, honestly, put it in the front of the "books." It was so much FUN! Everything I have sacrificed, changed, and created as a [new] habit, the countless hours spent in the gym, the aching muscles, the endless cardio sessions has been so worth it. I cannot wait to do it again! (Hello, SPRING 2016--I'm coming for you!)
I have to be honest...When I started this in June, I was pretty sure I wouldn't step on stage. I didn't know what the future was holding for me. I wanted to do it, but if you haven't seen my Instagram *first off, what the heck?! And second off, here's part of one of my posts post-show this weekend that might explain reasons why...
In 2013, I cut out a picture of a bikini competitor and put it on my wall. I looked at it every day for the past two years. In 2014, I attempted to train for a show & was not mentally ready so I quit. I worked extremely** hard on myself and my personal growth for a year and a half. Don't think it's just all glitz, glam, dark tans, and a bunch of broccoli and cardio obsessed people. It's a group of fighters, encouragers, go-getters, focused, driven people who set high expectations for ourselves and work harder when we don't meet them, and [[most importantly]] humans. Being hungry, tired, having weird cravings, bad days, tears, set backs, and obstacles to overcome definitely happen. It's hard work! Yesterday, my dream came true...I stepped on stage with a beautiful group of women. My mind was in the right place and the feeling was like no other. ✨ One of the best feelings I've ever had. I will take every single thing I learned in the last 24 hours and apply it to my plan for my next one! Cuz imma #GoGetta
When I started at the beginning of the summer, I was in WAY different shape. Not happy with myself AT ALL. I weighed something around 153# on a good day. In August, I found myself at a point where I needed to decide what I was going to do. A relationship I had been in a for a couple of years had ended and I was at a "fork in the road," if you will. There were a LOT of people that would say, "everything happens for a reason." And this is when I would roll my eyes, stop listening to what they were saying, and break down inside when I would rather be punched in the stomach. But I remember the exact moment--day, where I was, what I was doing... when I snapped out of it...I decided to stop feeling sorry for myself and get going. To be very raw, the few weeks prior to this moment, I felt like I was living in hell--to put it lightly. This was my test. I found myself stepping out of my comfort zone in more ways than one. I participated in the MAT Games, an individual CrossFit competition---which I have never done, and did very well...8/66 competitors! Whoop! Prepping for this show, and moving to name a few other things. There were days when I questioned what I was doing, why I was doing it, what my intention and purpose was...sometimes I figured it out, sometimes I didn't and I was OK with that. I'm very grateful to anyone and everyone that I crossed paths with at that time and especially the very few who asked if I was OK. <---That meant the most.
So fast forward to this last weekend...WOW. I walked on stage a completely different weight (by 20#) and person than when I started. I can't exactly describe the feeling. I remember a feeling much like this one when I was in dance and we would be performing. I believe at one point when I was on stage this weekend, I blacked out. I've seen some pictures and I'm like, "when was I there?" And the poor girls that had to listen to me swear up a storm right before we went on, I'm so sorry! ...I think I said F#$% approximately 265x before each appearance. HA! But to put it simply, I had a BLAST.
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Here are a few simple things to know about these competitions, from my perspective.
- I lived on egg whites & broccoli. Chicken was an option. But I'm weird about meat. Don't ask. I never got sick of the egg whites. But the broccoli--different story--when I did switch it up on the veggie, I wasn't happy with myself. :P
- You have to shave your ENTIRE body. (Or well, it's recommended)...I went home over my lunch on Friday before the show to do this. I had never shaved my arms before...it was actually a little sad for me. RIP cute, blonde arm hairs.
- NO deodorant before or after your spray tan. I didn't have deodorant on from noon Friday until about 8pm Saturday night. It was not fun...but I gave 0 f#$%s. It was worth it. (Apparently it can turn your spray tan a different color---green?!)
- (It's highly recommended to have) your suit glued to you. I never understood until I got on stage. If I didn't have that bad boy glued to me, it would have migrated to unknown territories. HA!
- Know exactly where they are in the line up. I was trotting around backstage, shoeless, not glued, and not glazed yet thinking I could prance around and talk to people. A lady walked back stage and asked for the bikini girls to line up "RIGHT NOW" because we were next. I'm pretty sure the tanning peeps saw the look of sheer terror on my face because they turned me around, glued me, glazed me, and put my shoes on in a matter of <20 seconds. WHEW! Thank you, ladies!
- EAT before you go on stage. I made the mistake of NOT eating. I completely forgot. My nerves were all over the place and my muscles felt like they were going to fly out of my skin. Idk if eating would have helped, but I'm sure it would've helped the "blacking out" that I think I did.
- Prepare to be on stage for >10 minutes.
- If you're in more than one class, think wisely about your strategy. I was in 3. In. a. row. I remember being on stage for the first round, and I was like, "There's no way in hell I will be able to do this 2 more times." It's tiring, folks. It's more than just looking good and turning in circles.
- Petroleum jelly. Thank you, drill team for teaching me how this works. Put some on your teeth before you go on stage. EVERY time. I would've had cotton/dry mouth NO doubt without this stuff.
- Get to know the other competitors. They went through the same, possibly more, shit than you did. Encourage each other, laugh, talk about stupid things...Be real. It's so worth it. I loved every single person I talked to over the weekend. They were all beautiful, handsome, and respectful. Such a great group of people. I could go on and on about them.
- Have FUN. Seriously...nothing to stress about. You made it as far as to put on the suit, tan, and shoes (if you're a girl)...so why not enjoy the time you get on stage? I'm pretty sure that one specific person had to tell me this MULTIPLE times before I got what he was trying to tell me. Thank youuuu ;)
I don't remember what songs were playing, but I know I sure did enjoy them and incorporated my actual personality in my posing and T-walk.
I cannot wait to get my butt back on stage, pick a new suit color, get a stupidly dark shade of a tan (pretty sure I got sprayed 5x!), skip the deodorant for over 24 hours, sweat my ass off, get muscle twitches like no other, and most of all...IMPROVE, again.
Now for your enjoyment...
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| Deuces for the win! |
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| June 2015 - October 2015 |
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| Straight up LOVED the tan! |
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| NO idea what I would've done without this girl. Thank you x a milli Taryn! *She carried my Caboodle around for me! :P |
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| Like this photo for example...I do NOT ever remember being in the middle. |
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| I only ate one of these...but it was really good! :)
My AMAZING friends that came to support me!
Taryn...simply a heart of gold. She's brought me out of the dark a time or two. I thank God for her every single day.
Hailey. Ah <3 She's my inspiration. I wouldn't have done this without her or her transparentness with me. I love her so much<3
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| The sweetest, Lilly bear! She got on stage and got to strut her stuff and flex like mommy and Mollie! She asked me to wear her necklace before I went on stage. I should've said yes ;) |
I learned a lot about myself, others, and life in general through this experience. I am so thankful for it and my coach, Ryan. I can't say enough thanks to him for putting up with me and my random, commonsense answer questions! What a gem!
Here's to prepping for the 2016 season!
