Out of My Comfort Zone Part 1: my physique competition experience

Have you ever set a goal so big and crazy that it made your stomach hurt every time you thought about it?

I have. And I'm happy to share that I reached my big, crazy goal and lived to tell about it.

To be honest, I'm not really sure what made me want to do this... but I'd been thinking about it since last year. And so the day came - March 5 - that I filled out the online registration, closed my eyes, said a quick prayer and clicked submit.

And then I panicked. And then I calmed down. And then I panicked some more. This cycle repeated right up until the actual event. The event being The Classic, a physique competition where you're judged on body composition, personality and stage presence. You have a pre-judging session Thursday and the final on Friday night where they narrow the field down to their top 10 and award trophies for the top three men and top three women.

I was a newbie, doing this on my own, but with the endless support of Justin. He pushed me when I needed pushed. He reassured me when I needed reassuring and encouraged me to keep going every day.

Like I said, I had no idea what I was doing, but my plan looked like this:

Wake up between 3-3:30am.

Drink my pre-workout and eat breakfast,
Head down to the basement and push play on my first workout of the day from my 80-day program

Push play on my second workout, a muscle-building program. And, if time allowed, push play on yet a third toning workout.

5:50-6am, wander back upstairs and jump through the shower.

6:15ish, get dressed and wake up the kids.

6:45am and we're walking out the door.

6:50-6:55 drop off the little one at daycare

7:05 drop off the boys at school/summer camp

7:45-4:30pm Arrive at work

5pm Arrive home from work

5:30 Eat dinner

6-6:30 Help with baths

6:30-7:30 TV time as a family

7:30 Put the kids to bed

7:30-8:15pm Extra cardio session

8:15-8:30ish Take shower

8:30-9:30 TV time with Justin

9:30-10pm Prep lunch and snacks for the next day

10pm Crawl into bed (if I was lucky)

Just writing it all out is exhausting!

But somehow I managed to make it to Tuesday night. We were driving to Indianapolis Wednesday morning and I didn't want to worry about scheduling a spray tan for when we got there, so Tuesday night I got my spray tan at Recreating Rays.  It's quite the experience if you've never been air-brushed before 😉 But they were super awesome and I loved my results!

So Grandma arrived early Wednesday morning to watch the kids and Justin and I began our road trip to Indy. We arrived mid afternoon, got settled into our hotel room, picked up my registration packet for the conference and went and took a peek at the pre-judging stage.

It was so little and HUGE at the same time! And carpeted?!? WTH? Did they not take into consideration the heels we wear?!! LOL

The rest of Wednesday was spent relaxing in our hotel room and dinner at Weber Grill

My pre-judging time slot was at 9am on Thursday morning. I slept like crap and woke feeling grateful for the mask of makeup that was going to cover up my tired eyes.

I curled my hair, did my make-up, I
threw on a tank and some shorts and flip flops grabbed my ridiculously high heels in one hand, took Justin's hand with the other and headed to the convention center with more butterflies in my stomach than I could count.

I got checked in and Justin and I hung out in the "holding" rooms until my number was called. And while the nerves didn't totally dissipate, I felt a sense of calm come over me as I took in the scene. This is what I saw:

Women and men... all ages... all shapes... all sizes... all at different points in their fitness journey. Some were planking, using resistance bands, doing push-ups. Some were getting oiled up by friends. Husbands, wives, friends. And it hit me. An overwhelming sense of pride in everyone in that room. We all knew how hard we'd worked and the sacrifices we'd made to get there. So I just kept repeating the mantra in my head... the same one I tell my kiddos when they're feeling anxious: you are strong and brave!

And then my number was called. I lined up in the hallway with my group.

 We walked inside the judging room and one by one, got our 15 seconds in front of the judges. With every part of my body shaking, I smiled and walked up the steps to the stage, went through my posing routine and as I walked off the stage caught my heel on the tape holding the carpet in place. Insert mortified face!!

I didn't fall, but I definitely felt my heart jump into my throat! But as I came around the corner in the back of the room, the ladies who had gone before me shared smiles, silent high fives and congratulations. Women, building each other up... encouraging one another. Who would've thought 😉 This continued for each and every lady in that room.

And then, they called my number to go back up!!! I went back up on that stage, confident, and an excited smile on my face. Got through my routine and WITHOUT stumbling, walked off stage. I was called back up a second time in a group with a few other ladies, asked to pose certain ways and then it was over. The hard part was over!

And this guy was waiting for me with a giant hug and smile on his face. My friend. My rock. My husband and biggest fan.