My First National Show

Just recently I had the opportunity to compete in the NPC National Show. Of those who take the time to look at my life, many would say that I took to long to compete; but for me it was the perfect time. Yes, it took me five years to get to the national stage, but I finally did it. I reached my goal. Every experience was worth it, every new friend I made along the road was one more supporter. Every mentor that guided me there, and my sponsor ProFight, for helping me fight my way there.

Looking back on it now, my trip to Vegas was fruitful. Because I don't have the financial backing up most athletes do, I found a quiet little hotel just off the strip. Maybe, 45 bucks or so at night. Most will say it was seedy, but it worked perfectly - as my tanning appointment was at that exact same hotel. I also packed all of my food: the thought of wasting my hard earned paychecks to pay for food, kind of drove me crazy. So I packed unsalted canned vegetables, hard-boiled eggs, and chicken, with microwavable rice. Essentially, I wanted to find a way to keep the calories on without eating garbage. I was actually more surprised at the fact that all that food went through check in at the airport.

Every morning before showtime I would get up, do a form of plyometrics, or some kind of activity to keep my muscles pumped because there was a crappy gym at my hotel. I don't care though, I came because I finally reached my goal. And I wanted to be the best that I could.

At prejudging, I felt like I finally arrived. My husband and my client both came out to support me, and it felt like I was meant to be there. Everyone was incredibly nice, helpful, and nobody was as carb depleted as I thought.

I did notice most of the girls in the bikini division all had their coaches with them or some sort of team. I'll be honest, I didn't have either. But what I did have, was the same desire and drive to be there. My team was a family that I built within my community of friends. My coach was my husband telling me that I am good enough, and have every right to there, even when I doubted myself.

Moving onto finals, I found myself chatting with most of the crowd while I was hanging out at the ProFight booth. It felt almost surreal, like a dream I was going to wake up from any minute. And it absolutely went by far too fast.

Once they had all the bikini girls onstage, I knew I wasn't going to get picked for even a top 10 spot. There was no way. I wasn't even looked at. How did I know? I stared at every judge in their face, and not one of them made eye contact. Either way, the feeling that I had up there being compared with some of the top bikini models in the nation, still made me feel pretty good.

I would do that experience again, as a matter fact I will continue to compete until I'm unable to compete any more.

A huge thank you, again, to NPC for putting on a great show at the USA's in Vegas; thank you to Muscle Contest for voting me to get to a national show; a massive thank you to ProFight for being a spectacular sponsor and supporting my journey; and I couldn't have done any of this without my supporting husband and my team of friends and family who continue to support my dreams.