My first NPC figure show experience and details

WOW, what an experience...one i will NEVER forget! You really have to have a lot of courage to get up on that stage, yet ANOTHER big goal accomplished in the books for Sandra! Family is proud and this is only the beginning of more shows to come! So this is how it went...

Friday 5/9 - Had my last "good" meal the night before the show accompanied by a glass of red wine. I didn't get to bed until around midnight as i was applying yet another coat of protan and finishing packing my things. I did 3 coats of Protan with one more to do in the morning. I could not use the Jantana i bought because my silly butt forgot to purchase the sponge applicators that go with it. Opps! I will save this for next time for sure, i felt the Pro tan did not get me dark enough.

Saturday 5/10 SHOW TIME - I set my alarm for 4am, but finally got up about 4:15am. I didn't really get enough sleep as i was anticipating the day of the comp and just the whole worrying process before any big event leaves me with a lack of sleep. Couldn't have any sleepy time tea or fluids as i was water depleting. I applied my final coat of Protan and then proceeded to apply my makeup and fix my hair, this time using a medium barrel curler instead of using the straightener for curling. I finally decided on going curly for the prejudging and straight for the night show. I was running short on time so my hair wasn't the greatest and the rest of the eye makeup was applied in the car. My sis, my oldest daughter Karina and I all rode together. Elsa was driving while i was applying my eye makeup and getting my meal in of steak, white rice, 1/2 banana, and 1/2 container of baby apple sauce. I did drink a bit of coffee before i left the house as i REALLY felt i needed it. So here we are off to Duluth, Ga for the show, we got a bit lost, but still made it close to the time indicated. I saw all the competitors waiting outside the arts center, then someone had come out saying that we were all at the wrong building and instructed us to go to the next door building. Good thing, cause some people like me were running a bit late...hehe. It was weird, everyone with their dark tan, heavy makeup, stained tanned shirts...quite a view. I felt a little awkward at first. Thinking to myself, wow i'm i up to their level? Am i capable of going forward with this? Am I CRAZY?? yeah, all the silly questions were running through my mind.

So I got dropped off at the front of the building as my sister and daughter left to go to Chick fil A (OH MY!) while i went through the competitors registration/meeting which started at around 8am. There were about 20 figure competitors and only like 4-5 of us were newbies, everyone else competed before and one of the girls is doing junior nationals in a few weeks so i guess this was just practice for her. Lots more guys than gals and they were in TIP TOP shape! I did run into one girl that recognized me from the figure workshop that i attended in February. She is 18 years old and has already competed before, but in a SNBF April show this year. Very sweet girl and it was nice to actually know someone there. She and this bodybuilder chick were like the only ones that would talk to me at first. I had some peanut butter balls that my trainer recommended i make and let me tell ya...OH MY GOD, THEY ARE AWESOME!! They are so scrumptious! I gave one to the sweet bodybuilder chick and the 18yr old chick. They were curious to know what they tasted like. Mostly everyone had granola, fruit, rice cakes or something of that nature (boring foods!). While waiting around, there were vendors setup so we checked them out. Finally the registration and all that was done and then we were informed that there would NOT be a NOVICE category, so they had put all the figure competitors in a OPEN category (National qualifier). All the figure ladies were measured by height, there were 4 in my height. I heard there was a big deal about the height being right last year so thats why they wanted to make sure all the ladies were checked this year. After the measuring, we had a chat with the promoters that gave us a run down of how the show would go and also "KEEP IT REAL" tips. They were pretty positive, yet very straight forward and to the point. I believe they said if you placed in the top 2 or something that you would be eligible for nationals or juniors. I am still learning about the stepping stones of these shows.

Anyways as time proceeded, they were about to start prejudging so we had to get our 2 pieces on. They did provide enough time for us, but all of the ladies had to share a bathroom with only a little bit of room. Talk about stuffy!!! GEEZ! It was crazy in there too at first! Everyone was helping each other with adjusting suits, applying bikini bite, posing oil, can i borrow this and that, do you have bobby pins and what not. Butts and boobs all over the place...lol. Needless to say, a lot of us were way too oiled up!! They called us backstage as they were about to start prejudging. I definitely did not forget my pump up bands, most of the girls didn't even bring anything to pump up with and wanted to borrow everyone else's stuff. OH LAWD! I was nice enough to share mine with a couple of girls for a bit. I was a pumping fool though cause i wanted to look my best up there under the lights. First up was the A class (short) and they were looking pretty good! Next up were the B class girls (5'4") which i was in, there were 4 of us in the group. Only one of the chicks in the class was talkative. 2 of them seemed to know each other and were friends, they only kept to their selves. They did switch us up in the lineup and had me in the center and then to the side. They compared 2 and 2. Pretty much all of the girls physiques looked alright to me, but i have to say it, the posing was so bad from some of the girls. I was surprised because most of these ladies have competed before. I know my posing wasn't perfect, but lets just say I'm glad i really practiced hard the last few weeks. I know i gave it my all and did MY personal best. After the figure ladies did their thing, the men were up and then we were up again, but this time in our one pieces. This time i felt just a bit more confident when i got up on that stage, also i think because the mommy marks (i really need to get over this if i want to keep competing) were covered up by the one piece helped. Everything my trainer told me to do for posing was running through my head and i did just that. I felt like a little robot up there in a way and just remembered what i did in practicing. This was my chance to show the judges not only my physique, but the total package (posing, makeup, hair, poise). We had to do our 3-4 individual poses first and then they would line us up tor comparison. My sister Elsa and my oldest daughter Karina were at prejudging and reminded me to SMILE! Most of the girls were shaking and some weren't smiling too much. I really had a hard time smiling really big up there, my smile was jittery and just kinda frozen. My legs didn't shake though, Elsa said she could see some legs shaking up on stage, but not mine thank God! I kept my eyes on the panel of judges and smiled away. I did see 2 specific judges that were talking to one another while looking at me, i wondered what they were saying. I was really hoping some good things! Made me feel good that they were acknowledging me though even though i didn't know what they were talking about. Elsa said she was trying to listen in to the judges, but couldn't hear a darn thing! LOL. While backstage, i did have some more peanut butter balls for carbing up, just a few sips of water. Prejudging was over, so time to get back to the hotel for a bit of a break while still staying off my feet. I was pretty much in contact with my trainer throughout prejudging. It really helped to talk to her and let her guide me through all of this.

So we arrive to the hotel, i just really want a bath! I forgot my hair clip in the car. TIP: Have a hair clip or tie backstage to use while waiting your turn to get on stage. This will prevent your hair from getting oily from the posing oil on your back. Only one girl had a tie in her hair and everyone else including me had grease bucket hair by the time the one piece round came up in prejudging. YUCK!! I had to wash my hair, there was no hope for it. I made sure to have a long sleeve shirt on and get some help washing my hair so i wouldn't ruin the tan. I was successful at it and got my hair nice and clean and OIL FREE! Time for the straight look! OK, seriously i wish i would have fixed my hair straight also for prejudging. It looked SO MUCH better and also my makeup was redone and looked A LOT better since i wasn't rushing like in the morning. TIP: Make sure you get enough rest at least 8 hours and wake up early enough to get everything done (makeup, tanning, bags, food, etc.) I did get some rest while at the hotel and i ate another meal along with a few sips of water. I was really thirsty though and just wanted to chug down some ice cold water, ay ay!! My trainer wanted to keep me dry. Stupid TOM was still lingering around although i thought it was over. UGH! I didn't really feel bloated though so that was cool. I was checking out all the pics my sis and daughter took while at prejudging. The really good clear pics were on my sisters camera, but she forgot her cord to her camera for uploading (special thing she gotta do with hers) so we couldn't upload those. I have yet to see those and curious what kind of shots she got.

TIME A TICKING and we are off to the night show! I had to make it back by 6:15pm for the competitors meeting and recommended my sis and daughter get there early to get some good seats :P This time we were already in our 1 piece suits as they told us that they would end the show in our 2 pieces. Went through the meeting, carbed up some on backstage while pumping and here we go again! The music was louder this time, lights seemed to be a lot better and the excitement was in the air! You could hear all the family cheering on and really excited to see their loved ones on stage. A few of us were peeking out of the curtains to see if we could see our loved ones. My husband unfortunately did not make it out :( I had a feeling that would happen, but what am i to do. He is not handling all this too well, he knows i'm going to keep doing other shows though so he will have to compromise. He did try to stay in touch with my daughter to see how i was doing. I really liked the music they played while there, it was just right for my tastes. So here we are lining up again to hit that stage, feeling a bit more confident each time those heels hit the stage! Too bad i couldn't see my sis and daughter over the judges and lights. I kept hearing my name being called and kept wondering who it was as it didn't sound like my sis or daughter. I know that 3 friends were going to be there, but not for sure. Loved to hear the rooting so it made me feel more confident up there! Now if my husband was there, i think i would either feel more confident or more nervous depending on what mood he was in. Horrible, huh? Life. We stayed backstage until time to change out into the 2 pieces and get some trophies, while waiting we got to view the show from the sidelines and what a show!! LOTS of eye candy and just awed in amazement by all of the physiques from the guys! I mean the girls physiques were awesome, but you know i'm going to be looking harder at the men...hehe. I know my sister was going crazy out there! Geez, i will never forget the guy in the gold sparkly trunks performance! A lot of them did REALLY WELL and those muscles! There were 2 guest posers there that performed for the audience, i mean they got up close with all the flexing and stuff. Going around to different corners of the audience for an up close view. Funny, the women and men competitors were peeking through the curtains watching the posers show as well...haha!! It was awesome!

2 piece round coming up! So we get ready again in the restroom thats all congested and that the families had to use as well, they seriously need to get it together next time. They didn't even have weights or chairs backstage. Lots of ladies were complaining about that. Good thing i brought my pump up bands. Every time i would walk out of the bathroom onto backstage, i would catch a glimpse of my sis and daughter, what a great feeling knowing they were there supporting me 100%!! My daughter was really proud of me and told me that i was one of the prettiest competitors up there, that made my night! She told me this during the intermission break. So here we are lining up again, i was lucky enough for one of the bodybuilder women to point out to me that my back was a bit too oily (she was experienced) and offered to help pat some of it off. Thank goodness she caught that! You live and learn! Then another figure competitor got all paranoid and wondered if she was too oily too...lol. This time at the night show, i had my hair clip, yay!! No grease bucket hair!! The girls thought it was much cuter straight then curly :)

They called only the top 3 out of each class out for the 2 piece round and then distributed the trophies from 3rd place to 1st place. I heard my number and got 3rd place, i was happy i placed, but then again i was hoping to at least make it to 2nd place. I know i shouldn't think that way, but i worked SO HARD for this and thought that i would do better. I then remember how subjective the judges can be and all so i was just enjoying my moment! I DID THIS AND ROCKED THAT STAGE! I didn't back out and went ALL THE WAY BABY!! I was up against some experienced competitors so placing was great! This just gives me a way to come back stronger and with an overall better physique! The class before ours (Class A), my sis told me that the chick that got 3rd was smiling before she knew she got 3rd, once they announced it, she frowned and looked down like she was disappointed. I'm glad i didn't do that although i did get this something in me that was like "wtf, 3rd place thats it??" you know the ego, then the better part of you that reasons comes out and reminds you of what you have done and did to come this far. How hard i worked for this and got the chance to display my hard work on that stage. How happy my family that was in the crowd was for me and how they were more than willing to take pictures every chance they got! This was a big moment and you never know if you will have this moment again! Life is too short to deal with the "what ifs", so i'm glad i did this and its only the beginning of better things to come! Like i say in my blog, OUT with the NERVOUSNESS and time to shine!! Ok, something like that! You get the point! After the show was over, most of us went to the judges to get our critique. There were only like 2 of them there and they were short with us. There was a girl in front of me and i overheard one of the judges tell her how they were impressed with her stage presentation, but she needed to fill out as she was too thin. Then i ask what was the deal with me, he proceeds to say that it was the same thing he just told her for me too. I tried to get more information from him, because his answer just sounded really recycled to me. I asked if my symmetry was good, he said it was and that all i needed to work on was filling out. Hmmm, i didn't even try to ask the other judge what she thought, they both looked like they were having a bad night or something. Geez, thought i would get something in writing or some better feedback. I need to know the whole deal, geez! I was warned by someone who competed there before how that show was not that great and the people that run it are not that friendly. Well, now i see about the staff...not only the judges, but my sister was getting attitudes from the ticket attendant about her tickets. Then the whole crammed bathroom situation. Well, we did the best with what we had. Got to be friendly with some of the competitors, some were just not friendly. Oh well. I felt PROUD to carry my trophy and i got flowers from my daughter! I got to meet Mariah, her friend, and her husband Steve that video taped the show! How COOL!! I got to see 2 of my friends there as well. So cool, even though i was nervous stepping on that stage, i want to continue working on it and compete in other shows. I know it can only get better and gives me such a great sense of accomplishment! What a great goal, even though there are so many sacrifices behind it. The glory of being all polished up there and looking pretty yet strong is worth it!!

Show is over, girls are eating girl scout cookies! LOL, i'm ready to go as i'm thirsty as heck! Talked to my trainer and told her how it went, she was very proud of me! My sister had already bought me some of my favorite candy since she knew i forgot my candy at home. WHAT A LIFESAVER AND DOLL! I was like HELL YEAH!! HAHAHA!! Since it was late, we went to eat at Waffle House, i was missing some hashbrowns! I ordered a Coke with cherry flavoring, a water, Bacon cheeseburger DOUBLE plate with cheese and onions on the hashbrowns. You bet i tore all of that up! I was so tired though that i didn't get to fully enjoy it. I felt good though, i bet i told the waitress to for a refill on both drinks like 3 times. GOSH, i was thirsty! Went back to the hotel room and crashed out! It was awesome, so many emotions! Off to find my next show ;)