Children of the Corn High School & 2 weeks out

Today we're in Illinois, not really sure where though! Somewhere outside of Rockford, Illinois.

Wow, I'm really bad about posting! You know, I think about little things all day long that I want to blog about then I get out my computer and forget it all, haha. It's been hard lately because there hasn't been great cell service or internet. Needless to say, I still have a lot of catching up to do on what I've been up to the past 7 weeks, yikes.

In a nutshell:

We had a month of move-ins at Denison University. I had the opportunity to go train with my coach, Mike Davies, about twice a week. He really, really kicked my butt and completely changed my training style, for the better. I went into move-ins on May 20th at ~174lbs. I worked really hard, doing non-fasted morning cardio 6 days/week and weights and cardio in the evening. I tried my hardest to resist the temptations of the food on the food truck (pb&j,pancakes, lasagna, etc) but I slipped more than I'd like to admit. Although I saw some changes while I was there, I was still kind of dissappointed in my progress.

When I went home after 4 weeks of being with the Bluecoats, I was home and ready to work super hard. I guess just from being able to take time to sit and relax and de-stress, I lost 10lbs that first week home!! It was kind of scary, but also a relief. That brought me down to 160 lbs.

The first week was very rough, I was completely out of energy and it was hard to push myself during my workouts. That week I had started fasted cardio in the morning so my body was pretty shocked. I was home in Austin for 2 weeks, then got my wisdom teeth out. For 2 days I "ate" only greek yogurt and protein, haha. I'm not going to lie, that was kind of nice until about the 9th one. I had another week before I was going back on tour so I decided to surprise my family and go home for a week! They were very surprised. I pushed myself to stay on track despite all the sweets around my family's house, their meals and going out to eat a lot with my family. I got all my workouts in and only slipped into sweetsland the first night I was home. I felt really guilty about it but really pushed hard in my workouts.

So, now I've been back on tour for a week and I am 2 weeks away from competition. It's been hard finding a place to workout, running in the heat, and once again, avoiding all the temptations of the food truck. I'm down to about 155lbs though, so that's about a 20lb loss overall.... which I really can't even wrap around my head!! All I have to do is get through another 6 days though and then I'll be home, then on my way to Vegas for the show.

I am hoping so hard that I can keep focused during this last week on tour. I know that the circumstances that I have been under this spring and summer are not in any way conducive to a productive contest prep. That really shows in the fact that I "started" prep at 18 weeks out but have only seen progress in the last 7 weeks. I really wish I could see what it would be like if I had been able to truly prep in a scheduled environment, without all the traveling, for 18 weeks. I mean, I lost 20 lbs in 7 weeks, while living like a carnie, the stress of avoiding foods and being pressured to eat bad food and drink alcohol all the time, living on a bus, having no control over access to food or a kitchen or a store or a gym and walking everywhere I go. That's pretty insane. If I had been at home, with a consistent workout schedule, a consistent work schedule, availability of store, food and gym and less stress (and my bed), what could my progress have been? Oh well, who knows now!! All I can do is keep forging forward.

I think I look absolutely fantastic. I am so in love with my body and my athleticism right now. Before this training, I literally could not run for more than 5 minutes. Now I run 4 miles two times a week!! It's just amazing to me how the body can adjust. My taste has changed and I really don't crave sweets or bad foods. The food I"m eating for contest prep doesn't TASTE fantastic right now because I can't cook it the way I want to (no kitchen or seasonings) or season it the way I want to (no salt) but I know it's really good FOR me. People say all the time that they're glad that they're not eating what I have to eat. Well, I actually really enjoy eating these foods when I can prepare them correctly. In fact, if I weren't on contest prep then I'd probably be eating about the same things.

Back to what I was saying.... I am in love with how I look. I feel confident and back to my old self. I didn't think I was fat before but that wasn't me. I lived 24 years of my life at 145lbs and then went up to 175lbs for a few years. I get that I wasn't fat and that I still looked pretty good, but I was very uncomfortable with a body that I wasn't used to having. I hope people can understand that. Now that I am back to my "normal" size, I feel much more comfortable and confident in my own skin... not whoever that person was the past few years. That larger person also symbolized a lot of bad things that happened in my life and I'm happy to have to shed the weight and the other baggage from my life. I feel much lighter and happier as a result.

The reason I began saying that I"m happy with the way I look and feel is because I absolutely don't think that I will be lean enough to make a good placing at contest. As much as my competitive side wants to do really well and place high, I'm also going to be quite ok if I don't place high because I am so happy with how my body feels that it doesn't matter what judging they give me. This is the place that I wanted to be, for me. I just masked that depression of hating how I felt and looked, with a contest. People are understanding of that, they're not understanding of you being sad, that's a no-no in this society. One of the reasons I wanted to do a contest so bad was to drop weight and get to a certain place, so that I could be back to where I was and then be able to move forward from there. Sometimes it takes something to drastic to get to where you want to be, and that's had to happen for me to get there. Now that I'm here, I'm super excited about the contest but I'm super excited for it to be over so that I can have fun with food and really be this happier person. I'm giddy about eating clean and healthy and being locally grown, organic fruits and vegetables. I'm really excited about cooking and continuing to make good choices and feel clean and fresh and happy inside (my stomach). I'm excited about this lifestyle and continuing to be active, and you know what, I"m probably going to still be carrying my own food around, and that's ok by me. The fact of the matter is that I don't want to put junk in my body. That's all America has around, is junk. If I get hungry and I didn't bring my food with me, well then I'm screwed unless I want to pack in some processed white bread, 2 week old vegetables, sodium-filled, diseased, fried chicken and some sugar filled coke.

Agh, ok I have to pee (2 gallons of water a day!)

Bye bye

It's been awhile!

It's been quite awhile since I've posted last! I really need to get back on this, this post is a step in that direction haha.

I am 18 days away from competition now! Things are going well. My carbs are really low for a final push into the last 2 weeks before peak week. I actually feel really great and have more energy than I thought I would. I'm at about 1500 calories - 65g carbs and around 300g protein! whoa! The workouts are just as demanding and lengthy but they are getting easier to accomplish as my endurance is 110% better than it used to be!

Wow, I have so much to say about the past 6 weeks or so. I might have to come back to this and add a whole lot more. I have compiled pics from throughout this transformation time and wow, there is a big difference. Looking in the mirror I didn't see any difference but now that I put the pictures side by side, there definitely is. I included a pic up there for ya.

I'm going to do a bunch of posts to get caught up! I downloaded an app so that I can upload blogs more often while I'm on tour. I can't always get online while on tour and sometimes I just don't feel like getting out my laptop.

17 days!!

Staircases, Blueberry Pancakes and getting my butt kicked!

It's been awhile since I"ve updated because I'm lazy. I also haven't used my laptop in awhile.

We're well into Bluecoats move-ins now, tomorrow will be a week. We're here until June 15th so we have quite awhile left thankfully.

What's fun about being here in Granville, OH at Denison University is:

1) I don't have anywhere to go.... no errands, no driving anywhere. Everything is right here within walking distance.

2) There's no stairmill, which is ok because the place is just rolling hills. There are few brutal staircases that I have made my personal enemy and try to beat everyday.

3) Instead of running inside on a treadmill I have a bunch of other options, that once again I don't have to drive to!! The stadium track, trails through the forest, hills through the campus, "the Hill", running through the town.. all kinds of fun places!

4) the food truck is open to the outside so it's fun to cook in there and talk to people and be pseudo-outside.

On that note, I met my trainer/coach/nutritionist Mike Davies on Tuesday and got my ass handed to me. I definitely haven't moved that fast in a really long time. Granted, I had worked out back on Monday and then showed up to him and we were working out back... awesome.

Also, I'm having a lot of trouble recovering. My legs are so tight and swollen and painful. and my back, and shoulders, and neck, and lower back and shin splints.... and everything haha. and I have blisters on my feet. and my arches hurt. haha. I'm on contest diet so I can't use carbs to recover. and there's no chance for rest.

Currently I work out 2.5-3 hours per day. I have ~45 min lift everyday, plus 3.5 miles of running, plus 30-45 min stairs, plus another 30 minute cardio program. on like 1300 calories...ouch.

I have faith that Mike will get me to where I need to be... I think. I don't feel like my body is responding though. I feel like I look exactly the same as I did 3 weeks ago... which isn't good. I have been really good with my diet... despite the food that they serve on the food truck. Omg... the food from the food truck!! Pb & J, brownies, chili hot dogs, blueberry pancakes and bacon, cereal, hamburgers, waffles, sausage...uuugggghhh not fair!!!! I have found that if I allow myself to have one bite of things sometimes then it helps me to not go over the edge and just blow my diet. I had two bites of blueberry pancakes, a couple scoops of pb here and there, and a bite of a brownie last night. I know I'm "breaking my diet" but seriously, if I didn't have just one bite, I know myself... I'd go crazy and just go on a binge. Thankfully I do get to eat greek yogurt with protein powder, and it saves my life!

I felt like I had a lot more to say but that's all for now! I'm meeting with Mike again today to work on legs...yikes :(

Training, Bluecoats & Awesome Tan Lines

I'm sitting in the airport in Dallas... who hates sitting around all day in airports? I do!! I pulled an all-nighter last night getting everything ready to go so I was pretty tired when I (barely made it) got on my 7:00am flight (at 6:58am). The kid next to me started to kinda freak out and I was a little worried. Turns out he left his MacBook at security, well the dude got SUPER lucky. We were on the runway and the pilot came over the loudspeaker and said that we had mechanical issues and would be going back to the gate. The attendants let the dude get off the plane and run to security, he got his laptop and made it back on the flight!! Fantastic for him, crappy for me... I missed my connecting flight by FOUR minutes. So I got to DFW at 8:34am (it's not 11:57am) and my new second flight was delayed by an hour. Well, that means that I'll get to Columbus at 4:30.... the Bluecoats bus leaves at 4:00. So I'll have to wait in the Columbus airport until 7:15 to take the van. Haha, sweet. well good thing I always pack my food!!

Since I only slept from 4 - 4:45am, I didn't have time for breakfast. When I got to Dallas I began the search for something other than Starbucks muffins, Cinnabon, Dunkin Donuts or beer. After about 45 minutes I found a Pappasito's and ordered my 4 egg whites with red peppers... they didn't have rice cakes though, damn. It was kinda nice though. I sat at the bar and had my egg whites and coffee and wrote out my workouts for this coming week.

Bluecoats move-ins rehearsals start bright and early tomorrow morning and unfortunately for the members, they start with me :) hahahahahahaha, this'll be fun. Last year I started them inside on the first day.... but doing plyo, allll plyo. an hour of plyo. Now I know you've talked about making sweat puddles before, but you have no idea about sweat puddles until you see 150 fat marching band kids doing plyo for an hour. It was evil, I admit. This year is a little more structured since we had a solid strength and conditioning program in the off-season. I'll be determining group leaders and see who will be the leaders of the pack and the fat kids. Last year I didnt' do too much of standing in the food line and taking food off people's plates.. but this year I will be. It's kinda fun when a kid is holding a ladle of ranch dressing over his plate and they look up at you and you just shake your head. The disappointment in their eyes is thick but it's for the good!!

So on to training. I CAN NOT WAIT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't wait to have TIME to train how I am supposed to. I'll post some pictures of the awful hills around campus so you can get an idea of what I'm up against. The gym there kinda sucks but they do have a rockin weightlifting room with like 20 platforms, chains, etc. I'm stoked that I'll get to actually physically train with my trainer Mike Davies and get my ass handed to me. No one has ever been able to push me to the edge or make me throw up... I think Mike will and I'm ex.ci.ted!

My diet will be on point. My training will be on point. and I'm gonna look gooood.

The BEST thing about drum corps is that clothing is optional. If you wear a shirt people look at you funny. Shirt off, roll those shorts up, throw on a hat and flip flops and get your tan on haha. I loooooovvee spending three months in a sports bra/bikini and shorts. Let me tell you, my tan is gonna rock. You'll be jealous. I probably have skin cancer after 8 years of this but oh well. Once thing I don't miss about marching is the horrible shoe tan lines. At least as a staff member I can wear sandals and get rid of that tan line.

Okee doke, battery is about to die.

Oh wait!!! News from the past week. I slammed my toe with a sledgehammer and it's been all big and purple, hurts. Also, from the wreck with the semi truck, my back and neck are a complete mess. The numbness and tingling in my arms went way but the whiplash is really bad (super stick neck, shooting pain, stinging pain) and my back is so so tight that it's been spasming for days now. I've been to therapy everyday and it's helped but there's still a long way to go to recovery. Right now I hurt pretty bad and it's just so uncomfortable. No position feels good and it just hurts all over, yuck. Oh well. On with the show...

Update Pics - May 15, 2011

75 days

the "Inner Winner"

From: Rationale and Coaching Points for Olympic Style Lifting to Enhance Volleyball Performance

"Motivation - Coaches strive to develop the "Inner Winner" by emphasizing the consistent pursuit of excellence. These concepts help the athlete see the benefits of investment of time and energy. Teach, encourage, repeat, communicate and help the athlete set goals that are sport-specific, not weight-room specific.

Vroom Vroom - Full Speed Ahead!!!

Ok, I feel like my last posts are so down and negative. Most of that was because I was so super stressed but it's dying off, thank goodness!
Today is a stormy, rainy day and I just feel like being lazy.... and I have been haha. I slept until 10:30 and don't feel bad about it at all! My body needs to heal, mentally and physically, so I feel perfectly ok sleeping for 10.5 hours.
Just an update on the wreck: I've been going to therapy and the chiropractor everyday because of the injury that I got from the wreck. My car made it out ok, with just a crunched trunk and broken light. We'll see what the inspection says though. As for me, I have a C3 compression and some whiplash. Those are causing a pretty tight neck, and the inflammation from the compression is causing pressure on the nerve roots. That pressure has caused some vision problems, makes it hard to breathe, and numbness of both arms. The left arm is better but my right arm is entirely numb and tingly. With therapy, NSAIDS and ice, the numbness is getting a little bit better. It's really just annoying! I've still been working out though... my strength is a little diminished though.

Other than that... football is on break, grades are submitted for the classes I TA, finals are done and all I have left is a big, fat paper that is coming along nicely (as my arm heals...)

Like I mentioned, my trainer wants to KILL ME!! hahaha. I have 5 lifts/week and 14 cardio sessions, woowoo!
I've gotten in my workout everyday and yesterday was the first day that I did two-a-days.. since I finished up everything with school (YAAAAAAAYY) I'm pretty excited to see the changes that arise from all of this and being to go full out. Next week I leave on Friday to go teach Bluecoats from a month, from May 20th - June 19th. I'm super excited to be able to just totally focus on training and have the time especially. No errands, no driving anywhere, no driving to the gym, nowhere even to go! The town is literally one street haha. The only downfall is that there's this really fantastic custard shop on that one street, dangit. I did only eat there twice last year. I might have to just stop by once to test it out, make sure it's still good :)

Alright..... time for training. and meal #2

Mental Clarity & Run-ins with Semi Trucks

* this post is kind of deep*

I'm avoiding working on my biomechanics paper so I'm going to write a blog instead!!

As the semester is coming to a close, I can feel the stress peel off like layers of an onion. I have a tendency (clearly) to take on way, way too much. This semester is no exception and definitely sent me over the edge. I have learned what my limits are, in so many different ways.

As this blog is a little more personal than facebook status updates and tweets, I feel safe mentioning personal things that I have gone through. Every competitor goes through so many personal battles beyond just working out and trying not to eat cupcakes. Each competitor tries to keep their occasional carb- depleted bad attitudes hidden behind caffeine and thermogenics. There is no exception to other things that are happening in their personal lives. We see these women, and men, on stage or in the gym and we get the overall picture of how their training and diet are going but it's always a conversation in passing, or while they're on the stairmill or wishing them good luck as they go on stage. We never know the struggles that they go through at home - whether with their kids, or financial, or an injury, etc.

So anyhow, this year has been a really tough one, full of losses. You never know how much losing somebody effects you mentally and sub-consciously. June 10th of last year was a turning point in my life and it's been a struggle dealing with the emotions that have been involved. There's been an evolution of those emotions as time as passed - extreme sadness, sorrow, despair then to avoidance then to being mentally affected then to grief and questioning. You never think that you will be the one to receive that call, you think this could never happen to me, this doesn't happen to real people, only in the movies. But it does, and it's happened to more people around you than you know about. Nobody recognizes grief as a handicap, but believe me, it has to be one of the worst handicaps to work through. You can't just fix it, there's no surgery, there's no getting away from it, and you can't ever, ever, ever reverse what happened. What's done is done. I always thought I was such a strong, independent person that could make it through anything. I've met my match. I spent a good 9 months avoiding dealing with my emotions and just telling myself that I could get over it and move on. I felt like I was too good for stress and that if I gave in then I wouldn't be a strong person. Most of all, I feel liek other people don't care. No one cares about what happened to you, they just expect you to get over it and move on like nothing happened. They don't want to hear you whine or cry or see you be sad and depressed. But you can't help it! It wasn't until I just started to break down mentally and physically that I knew I had to give in and do something. I was losing my ability to speak or think clearly. I couldn't retain information and I was having regular extreme panic attacks and thought I was having a heart attack. I tried to work harder to try and make up for my inability to concentrate, or remember people's names or for forgetting things. I've never been the person to misplace my keys or forget things but all the sudden I was leaving the house without anything I intended to take with me. Wow, this isn't what I meant to write about AT ALL. Anyhow, I guess my point behind this is that it's been a really tough time that I've been dealing with internally and it sucks. I've seen what some of my other close competitor friends have been going through and it just makes me realize how much strength these ladies have, to get through the training and diet and also deal with other things that are going on at home. It doesn't matter who you are - Monica Brant, Ava Cowan, Erin Stern... they have shit in their lives too.

Oh, and I meant to say that now that the semester is comign to end, the stress is becoming less and I can finally start to think clearly.

On to other things!

Last Thursday I was rear-ended by a semi truck 3 times. It didn't damage my car too much, although I still ahve to take it in to get repaired. I thought I was fine but when I woke up the next day, I realized that I had gotten some pretty bad whiplash. My neck is pretty tight and I can't look up or to the sides. The worst part is that my arms and fingers are numb and I don't have as much function as before. That part is mostly annoying because of the tingling. I also have this massive twitch in my left triceps that's been going on since the day of the wreck. I'm hoping that I can get in with my chiropractor and get fixed up pretty quick because this isn't good!!

I got my new diet/cardio program from Mike. YIIIIIIIIIKKKKESSS!!! I have two-a-days.. every day!! This is about to get really interesting! On some days I have to run 3 miles.... ummm.. I can jog about 3 minutes right now haha. I am not a runner in any way. On some days I get to do my "own bootcamps" and that's fun because then I can get in those Olympic lifts. I'm really excited to see the results though. The new diet is one of my favorites - avocado, red peppers, cream of rice, greek yogurt with protein (SOOOOOOOO good!)

Maria and I went to the Texas Shredder last night and it was really great to see a competition again. It was enlightening and motivational and fun! Our friend Mimi won first place, yay! My friend, and also Mike's client, looked fantastic last night. She was SO lean!

I'm fat and this loud typer guy is really annoying

Alright, I need to update pretty bad! I feel off the wagon a bit. Over the past week, there have been many moments that I have wanted to blog about, but then when I sat down at the computer, I had to study <-- run-on sentence? I dont' care.

Let me start by saying that I'm at the coffee shop that I've been living at recently and there is this guy that is slapping the crap out of the keys and it's driving me insane. I"m really tempted to ask him to keep it down. He's like the hopped up on 5 espressos, hasn't taken a shower in 3 days and his dissertation is due tomorrow kind of guy... reading the words out loud, moving at an annoyingly jerky, quick pace. Calm down dude. Haha..

So the past week - only got THREE workouts in, and let me tell you... you can see the difference plain and clear. My abs are gone, I got super fluffy, my body hates me. My diet was not right either. I tried.. kinda, well actually I failed. Umm.. what else. I had one day where I had road rage all the way home because I was hungry and traffic really really really really really really really REALLY sucks at rush hour aka always.

I pretty much lost all motivation last week. and it's really not back. In my mind, I've given up. I hope my motivation comes back because the hotel is already booked for Vegas!!

Ummm... let's see. By Wednesday I was crashing from complete exhaustion - mentally and physically. It's just all built up and I severely need some recovery time. Not just like - oh I need a vacation, woe me, I'm tired of working. Like - my body is breaking. I am shutting down, this is necessary to my life kind of recovery time. Yikes. Thank goodness school is completely over next week. I will celebrate by spending 3 days in bed. and not regretting a moment of it haha.

My trainer Mike still has faith in me... he probably wouldn't if he saw my un-progress pics from this week (great English huh?). My other competitor friend, who also trains with Mike posted a quote from him today:

Words of wisdom from my trainer: "SAY IT, PURSUE IT AND ACHIEVE IT. IT'S THAT DAMN SIMPLE." ~ Mike Davies

So yep.

I spend 8 hours straight yesterday typing up an outline of only 5 lectures, which comprise half of the Advanced Exercise Physiology exam. Ugh. I really love the material but come on dudes.. we can't truly learn all that info in that short amoutn of time.

I probably seem like a huge Debbie Downer and complainer and whiner, etc right now.

So something positive - I went to my college roommate's graduation from Baylor Law this past weekend. I can't believe the day finally came!!! I am so proud of her!! It was great to see our group of friends too. We don't get to see each other very often since we're all STILL in school! haha. Students for life. But someday we'll make a lot of money and get to travel a lot. Well, they will because they'll be lawyers and doctors. I'll enjoy the pics on facebook because I'll be a coach haha.

Alright, it's time for me and my double shot Americano to get back to work. At least I got in a workout today!

ONLY 13 WEEKS OUT!!!!

92 days

WHEW!!!! deep breath

Alright alright alright. ALMOST THERE!!!!!!!!!!! Two more days of 3:45am, I can do it, I can do it, I can do it! Then finals. Then sleeeeeeeeeppp.

I shouldnt' have taken two thermogenics for the second dose, overload!

I found this great list of "50 things to give up today". I'm a quote person, so I think you shoudl read it.

http://www.marcandangel.com/2011/03/28/50-things-you-need-to-give-up-today/

As far as training goes... well, this week is gonna be sparse. I"m trying to get in at least 30 minutes/day of something, anything. I know you're probably thinking - if you want this so bad, you should be able to find time to workout. ..... I wish it were that easy!! Let's see: 3:45 - wakeup, 5am - 4:30pm - football, TA, football, class, 30-45 min workout, 6-9pm study, 9-10pm get ready for the next day, 10-3:45 - sleep. Yep. No complaining, just sayin.

I don't know if it's the caffeine or if I really am this excited about class being over. Don't get me wrong, I like what I'm learning and being in school but I just want to sleep! and eat. but really, just sleep haha.

Despite not being to really workout lately, I'm still seeing progress. Get it right, get it tight.

Most of all, I'm excited for the stress to be off. For the 5 ton elephant on each shoulder to be off my back. I'm ready to be ME again. I can handle stress, but I'm not good at the on/off switch. It's either all on or all off and right now it's all on, and that gets old. I'm a goofy, happy person.. although no one I've met in the past 6 months would tell you that haha (Lisa: mello dance!!!! hahahahah). So I'm ready for two weeks from now, to be myself. and laugh. and just relax. Never thought I'd say I want to relax, cause I'm a busybody. but that is all I'm going to do until I leave for Bluecoats. Which, by the way, I'm SO excited about. I want to see how the kids are progressing, I want to see the show, I want to hear the show, I want to eat from the truck, I want to eat custard from the village, I want to hang out with the staff, laugh with the staff, play volleyball with the staff, I want to be out there under the lights on a muggy summer night watching a run through and getting goosebumps. I want to hear the trumpet sectionals on the wind coming through my window while I take a nap. I want to hear the mello runs, over and over and over, seriously! I even kinda want the phantom met sound in my head haha. I'm ready for Justin's apple cider (hehe), bus rides (only if I have my own seat), random bars around the country, sleeping in press boxes, listening for that lingering power chord hanging in the Dome after a perfect release. I could go on and on. Oh and I'm ready to win a few gold medals :)

Ready to DO THIS!!!!

98 days

Progress... a little bit..

I havent' posted in awhile, guess I didn't have much to say. Basically last week I fell off the diet wagon. I just didn't want to cook or bother eating. Throughout the week I got in one workout per day, not good! Something is better than nothing though right?! I ran out of my meals Thursday and didn't want to cook anything, I was just so exhausted. Friday, Saturday and th emajority of Sunday I just kinda ate whatever. It wasn't bad but wasn't the prescribed plan either. Oh... and that Reese's egg on Sunday. Oh well. On Sunday I cooked for about 3 hours and used the new vacuum sealer that I bought at Wally World. That thing could be pretty awesome, we'll see how this week goes. I talked to a friend of mine and she might be willing to cook all my meals for me, yesssssssssssss.

As far as my progress, I don't feel like I made any but Mike seemed happy with my pictures that I sent him this weekend.

THe next two weeks are going to be really rough. Finals are coming up next week and we have football all this week. I'm just gonna forge ahead and try to make it through! When I finish finals on May 5th, then it's GAME ON!!

99 days!! in the double digits

Pulled butt muscle, haha

Don't have too much to say. Just in the grind, trying to get through the end of school. Every day is a count down.

ON Monday I did incline walking/lunges/running, and I think I pulled something. The next morning I was picking up balls off the turf and it started to hurt. Throughout the day it got better and today it was fine... until I started doing lunges. I did about 4 then I had to stop. I still ran for 1.5 miles and it actually was ok while I ran.... now after the run is a different story. Now it really hurts!

My new diet has a large volume of food, which is nice because I feel like a normal person again! Although, now I can't eat all my food for the day haha. Funny how that works.

Alright, legs are like lead. Butt hurts. Exhausted. Protein Shake. Bed.

104 days

I've been slacking!

Alright, I totally slacked on the blog posts last week. Sometimes I just don't even use my computer throughout the week and do what I need to do on my phone.

Last week was kinda rough, I was just exhausted I guess. Every day I came home and pretty much went straight to bed. I got in this routine of sleeping from 5-7 or 7-9 and then waking up, doing some work and going back to bed around 11 to wake up for football at 3:45am. It worked out because I have times throughout the day that I get super tired and then times when I'm wide awake. 3pm is when I usually crash in class and it's a struggle to get through.... good thing the other interns are falling asleep in there too haha. If I can make it through 5pm awake then I'm good. From 9-11pm I'm wide awak no matter what but if I stay up past 11 then I might as well stay up all night. Why am I telling you this? haha. Oh well.

So back to talking about working out - I think the low carbs were really hitting me... and being back at football lifts @ 5am. I didn't get all my workouts in during the week so I decided that Friday and Saturday I would make up for them... not my best plan ever!!

Friday I worked out chest/leg shaping aka plyos, then ran around Town Lake for an hour (which was fun bc it's Austin), then I headed over to Gold's and worked out Arms theeeenn did #8 which involves sprinting on an incline and pop squats haha. Needless to say, I got home and did nothing and fell asleep at 8:30pm hahaah.

Saturday I did legs (again... ouch) which included 150 "ass-to-ankle" squats, 150 leg press, etc... then followed that up with #18... stairmill sprints!! I thought I was either going to fly off of the thing or die... either one would have hurt less than the actual workout haha. For part of it you have to do 30 seconds at level 20... sweat was flying everywhere, I couldn't hold on to anything because it was so slippery, my legs were like lead bricks.. I was trying to watch the stairs, which were moving so fast that I couldn't see them quick enough.. and then at the end of the 30 seconds I was trying to move the level back down. It was silly. I was tripping and slipping and probably making all sorts of sounds haha. Luckily Julie (another Mike Davies girl) came along beside me as I was finishing and I saw her rockin bod and boulder butt and it encouraged me to know that I'll look like that in the end!

Sunday I took a battered body rest day

I posted a pic from Saturday mornings progress photos. Mike said things are looking good, which is definitely encouraging! I was feeling pretty down last week that I didn't get my workouts in like I was supposed to. Even if I get everything in the end, I still dont' feel good about it unless it's like it's supposed to be you know? I had a loooong talk with Coach on Friday about all of my training and wanting to get sponsorships. He told it to me straight and helped me out with some ideas on how to get my workouts in without actually having to find a full one hour block. That was very helpful and makes me feel a lot better about getting everything done. It's so nice to have support and encouragement from the important people around me.... from sharing "I dont' wanna workout" feelings to only giving me the lime from the margarita haha to sharing recipes and even just the weekly "how's "it" going?"

Thank you so much to everybody. You don't know how much I appreciate it!!

Over and out.

106 days

Diet #2

I have so much to say about this past week but I don't feel like writing about it right now, I'm ready to go get some cardio done!

In the meantime, I got my new diet. It looks fun!!! I get colored veggies, banana pepper rings, lots of fish, grapefruit, even pickles!!! That's awesome because when I'm on contest prep it makes me crave vinegar and salt for some reason.

Here's the breakdown:

1,700 cals

F 40g

C 90g

P 240g

Progress Photo

108 days!

Miserable

As I drove to campus at 4:35am, all I could think about was how miserable I was. I was thinking about what I would write in this post and here's what it would have said: "I'm miserably tired, miserably hungry, miserably exhausted, miserably over this, miserably over school." Yesterday I didn't sit down for 10 hours straight, yes, 10 hours. The worst thing is that it's the regular routine, blegh. So I worked for 10 hours, managed to throw back some food that I had hidden in the pocket of my hoodie, then ran to class late and really all I remember is about the first 2 slides and then the rest of the class I fell asleep about 3 or 4 times and tried to not be completely rude. Then I went and trained my ladies, who always cheer me up! I headed home in the wonderful Austin traffic. I got home at 7pm (14 hour day at that point) and still had to read for biomechanics, read for conditioning, start my biom outline, work on my lab due tomorrow, clean up the wreck of clothes in my room, oh yeah and sleep? If I had gone to bed the moment I got home, I would have gotten 8.5 hours of sleep, all I can do is laugh at that. Needless to say, I didn't work out yesterday. Honestly I don't know that I will get to workout this WEEK!

So those were the thoughts in my head this morning. Now I still feel miserably tired, miserably exhausted, miserably out of it and miserably stressed but I feel a lot better about it. Less bitter, more put on a happy face and deal with what you got yourself into and be glad that I have the ability and opportunity to all of this. How can I be bitter when I got into grad school on the first try?! How can I be bitter about getting the chance of a lifetime to intern with Football? Surely I can't be bitter about my TA position that pays me a salary, paid for school, and gave me insurance! That's absolutely ridiculous! and hello, who said I have to compete and be hungry and weak? no one, but me, myself and I.

On that note, it's a FANTASTIC day and I am SO grateful to have the life I have... the life that I worked so hard to get and now have, with wonderful, beautiful people in it!!

Vision Board

I don't really do things for other people to see them, I do it for myself i.e. vision boards. I feel like I'm a super motivated person but I still need all the help I can get! I've set up a lot of things within my personal space to help me through the process. No one else besides myself has ever been in my room or bathroom at my house and this weekend someone came over and I realized they're probably going to think I'm a nutcase haha. We went upstairs and I was like ummm let me show you something before you see it and think I'm crazy. So I showed them my countdown calendar in my room and the craziness that is my bathroom mirror... quotes, countdown, pictures, the whole deal. It was the first time anyone has seen any of my motivational stuff (except M of course) but it was kind of good to get it off my chest. On Sunday I made a vision/training book that includes all of my training materials (they were getting kind of torn up) and pictures of what I want to look like, a pic of the gold medal and some quotes, like M and I's fav #speakitintoexistence . When I did my cardio I propped the pic of the gold medal up on the cardio machine and it definitely helped!! Speaking of that cardio session, I literally don't think I've ever sweated that much in my life. I'm at the point where I'm pretty much just in fat-burning mode and my body temp is super high. I sweat just walking up the stairs in my house haha. It was a 40 minute session, all at an incline of lateral shuffles, running, back pedaling and walking at 15%. I was not dripping sweat, it was literally streaming off of me buuut I like being sweaty so I was having fun!

Excited for a good week!

113 days

Submission

http://youtu.be/-qR0Uke2XNI

Theme of the day: I will not submit.

This morning I heard a great talk about submission. Don't submit. Be the one to stand up for what needs to be done. Don't follow the masses if that's not the way you're going. Just because everyone else is going out for drinks and staying out until 3am, if you have a training session at 9am, make the wise choice for you. I attached a video from 300 that displays this idea perfectly. I couldn't embed it but take 56 seconds and check it out.

112 days

FANTASTIC day!!

Today has been a really great day! To start, I got 5.5 hours of sleep.. about 2 hours more than usual. I was already laughing at 4:45am walking into football, which is always nice. After practice I went and taught a class how to run the 40 yard dash and about running mechanics... and it was interesting to say the least haha. Luckily two football players were in the class and helped me out. Then I headed back to the weight room and got a good arm workout in, followed by hill drills!! One of the other interns ran with me, which REALLY helped out.

Then, I tested my body fat..... dun dun duuuuunn. 16.4%!!! Right on track! Down another 1% :)

After finishing up in the weight room, I went and watched the Texas Relays for the rest of the afternoon. I hate to admit it but I really know nothing about track. I went with one of the other coaches and after asking him a few questions about things, he was like, you really weren't kidding, you know nothing about track. haha. I didn't wear sunscreen and I'm super sunburned, oops.

I feel like I had more to say but I guess not... happy day!

115 days

Cross-Eyed

I'm not gonna lie... I am so exhausted that sometimes I catch myself going cross-eyed haha. One of the other interns said that to me one day - "After class, I went home and studied until I went cross-eyed." The sad thing is that it's so true. I want to post something super happy and optimistic but really all I want is my bed.... and about a week to sleep haha. Before you get into this post, I'm going to go ahead and apologize for the run-on sentences and lack of grammar... I don't really care to think about it right now. Lately I don't know what's coming out of my mouth. Yesterday morning I said I was going to eat some spinach and meant that I was going TA class.... wtf?! Today I drove halfway to campus then realized I meant to go to the grocery store a block away....

This diet is really catching up to me... I'm past the point of starving and I'm just weak and tired, which is just annoying. I can deal with being starving but when you can't pick up and move simple things, it gets on your nerves. The first week and half I was super optimistic and doing great at keeping my attitude positive. Now I feel like a cranky old woman on the inside and I'm trying 110% to be positive on the outside. Only a little more than a week left on this stage of the diet and I am hoping and praying that Mike will cycle it with a high carb diet!! Keep your fingers crossed for me!!

The changes are coming though. I can see some definition and I feel harder, but then again I feel like I'm pretty fluffy and have to remind myself that it's because I'm so carb depleted and that when I carb up then I will look so much better. Although I've seen some progress, I know that I'm not seeing enough. Primarily because I haven't been able to do all the workouts I'm supposed to do (5 lifts, 10 cardio). My lats, arms, delts need to be built up and my lower body just needs to cut cut cut cut.. it's a lot of work that I'm afraid won't happen in time. I'm trying my hardest not to be overcome by all these emotions, thoughts, feelings, hunger, pain, weariness that I feel, but sometimes you can't help but just buckle.

Something I do to keep myself motivated is by creating a vision board and by having my influences in places that I will see them often. I feel like I'm angry at all of them right now though... like I'm jealous at these pictures. That's lame. It feels hopeless this far out. It feels hopeless with waking up at 3:45am, football all morning and class all day. My lat spread feels hopeless, my delts seems hopeless, my glute-ham tie-in seems hopeless. I trust that my trainer is going to get me there but I'm so scared that I wont' work hard enough. When I see these pics or see such quick progress in one of my competitors, it makes me feel like I"ll never get there, that the road is just too long.

Yet, we press on. The marbles in my head might be loose from carb-depletion but I'm not going to give in to hunger, I'm not going to give in to myself, that's just not acceptable. I set a goal, and I know I can be that person.

Something else that I was thinking about is the whole going Pro thing. When you go Pro then your job is compete. You make money when you compete and win. I've never ever wanted to win my Pro card for any other reason than a personal goal. Lately I feel like I have to win my Pro card just to prove something to all these people around me that think I just workout too much and eat a weird diet for no reason. How come a track athlete that runs as a pro for living and is sponsored and makes money by running, isn't ridiculed? No, they are praised and held up on a pedestal. Why then, if I were to win my Pro card, get a sponsorship and win money by competing.... why is that nothing? I don't understand. I get that you don't see the "athletic" side on the stage, but seriously, how do you think we got there? SMH. Pisses me off.

Alright!! Protein pancake time yesssssssssssss

116 days

All-nighters

Just a quick post. Yesterday I managed to get in my second cardio session, which felt good to finally do. Granted, I was reading for my Adv. Ex. Phys. class, but hey, sometimes you have to multitask.

Today, I got in a super quick back workout but no cardio for today. I'm about to start studying for my exam tomorrow, but have football at 5am sooo... it's lookin like an all-nighter.

119 days

Picture time!

Multi-tasking at its best!! Turkey, protein pancakes, chicken... the donuts (and cookies and brownies) are my roommates!

Protein city over here

It can get messy

Cardio that I did today after chest:

Bags o Protein:

NPC Lackland with my Mom. My first contest!

I kinda lived at the gym....

Putting my tan on the morning of the show

Feelin good

Had a great chest workout today. That's something that I really need to bring up.. my back and chest need a lot of work.. because they're non existent!

Cardio was fun! I think it's #15 of my cardio workouts, it involves a lot of incline walking and running, shuffles, running backwards and sweat.

We switched my breakfast to post-workout to hopefully help with recovery.

I need some new Pandora stations to listen to... suggestions? Usually I listen to Kid Cudi, Yin Yang, Nicki Minaj, Salt Shaker, Rap/Hip-Hop, 50 Cent... so I want something along those lines just not those haha.

120 days

and Hi Mom!

------------------

Wow. I'm sitting here looking at the costs for everything for this show, yikes. I have to start looking for sponsors NOW! This is crazy!

Flight - $400

Hotel for 4 days - $600

Suit - $400

Hair, Tan, Nails - $300

Rental Car - $200

NPC Card - $100

Entry Fees - $150

Trainer - $600

Time for a lift and cardio to work that stress out!!!

My trainer said that I look better for sure :) Yay! Progress!!!

Recovery

Whew, got that off my chest. Now, I need to post something that is not so intense!

Had a weigh-in today. 172.0 lbs down to 169.7 lbs. yessss.. now 20 more to go!

This week has been the first week on diet and training. My diet went well and actually wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. I wasn't painfully hungry but I could tell that I was depleted when it came to training. I've been implementing a thermogenic with meal 2 (which I find my body to like a lot better than meal 1), followed by b-complex and b-12. All of which really help with feeling better.

Tangent.......As I mentioned before, M and I are trying something different. We're not trying to be champions, WE ARE CHAMPIONS. We are what we want to be. I've been trying to use this new approach towards everything pertaining to contest. I know I'm goign to be hungry and I'm going to hurt, and this time around I'm working on accepting that it's going to feel that way. I understand it's going to feel that way to get my goal then I can push it aside and move on. There's no reason to think about the hunger and think about the pain every moment of the day.. that's just going to lead to a lot of grumpiness and everyone hating you and you hating the process, so I am not going to do that. No thank you. I'd rather this be a happy process.

Back to the point of the post - I felt like I wasn't recovering well from my workouts and that it was having an additive effect. I was tired, as is usual with cutting, but mentally I felt great. My legs were starting to cramp really bad and when I walked up stairs it felt like I was about to tear a hamstring.. and that was only with one lift and one cardio a day. For some reason, in the past few months my calves start to cramp up/tighten up very quickly after just a few cardio sessions and seem to continuously get worse. I knew that if I wanted to stay on track then I had to find something to help recovery, that wasn't carb re-loading after workout. Ding ding, duh. BCAA's. So I pulled my Scivation Xtend back out and started filling up on that. It's BCAA's, glutamine, and citrulline malate. I feel soooo much better. Also, my sleep has to get better. With school and football there really isnt' time for sleep, so that whole recovery thing doesn't get a chance to happen naturally. Meh. Only 5 more weeks left of school anyways. I just have to fight through this and do what I can do then try to make up for it over the next 11 weeks until contest.

My mom and her new husband decided to make the trip out to the show! At least this time she won't have to help me with my tan, hahaha, I don't think she liked tanning my butt and gluing my suit last time.

121 days

This is who we are, this is what we do.

I'm a little behind on the blogs already! I actually didn't post yesterday on purpose because I was thinking a lot about some things. My second cardio session was nice and therapeutic! During my lifts, and especially cardio, is when I get a lot of thinking done. In retrospect, I'm glad that I waited because I heard a quote today that pointed me in the right direction of how to organize my thoughts from yesterday.

"This is who we are, this is what we do."

This is who I am, this is what I do. I feel like, especially when it comes to this, people have very strong opinions. They have opinions about what I'm doing, that they have made up in their minds and have talked themselves into being true. They force these opinions that they have made up about me, on me. I am a grown woman, and I'm not perfect in any way, but seriously, I think I handle this. I've got this figured out people. Clearly, contest prep takes time but I do realize what my priorities are: school first, football second then contest prep. But I'm not just dieting, and training for the fun of it.. there is a purpose. Whether YOU see it as pointless or worthwhile or purposeful, I do not care. You can eat cheesecake, I"ll eat my tilapia and spinach and guess what.... it doesn't take me that long to prepare. Let's go over this really quick because people have really strong opinions on this and tell me that it's taking me too long and taking up too much of my time. So I'm going to break it down for you:

Sunday -

2pm - grab my grocery list that already has my list of foods and amounts for the week, plain and simple. i.e. 5.5 lbs chicken, 7 dozen eggs, etc...

2:10pm - arrive at grocery, zoom through... I have the layout memorized

2:45pm - checked out and home, $50-60/week

2:45pm - 4:30pm - cook like a maniac, chickens in the oven, eggs boiling, turkey in a pan, finish cooking, weight everything out, put into individual containers, wash dishes, DONE! My food for the week is completely prepared.

M - S - wake-up, xx:00 -xx :10 turn on the coffee pot that was prepared the night before, oatmeal in a tupperware, water, microwave, while coffee and oatmeal cook, grab my food for the day, that's already in individual servings, and put in the cooler. Pour coffee in mug, protein in with oatmeal, top on and I'm done. Let me reiterate: I am done with my food for the entire day. No running around anywhere, no spending money, no choices, and it usually takes <5 min to eat each meal.

So bam, slam, take that. Don't ever bring it up again. and please, just accept that my goals and ambitions are different than yours. I want to be 8% body fat and win my Pro card and make money, you want to eat cheetos and cheesecake and spend your hour that I'm working out, watching the newest episode of American Idol. Realize that we are different and the way you spend your time is different than the way I spend my time. My working out and dieting, etc is who I am, it's what I do. I hope nobody is offended by what I've said but it makes me feel bad every time someone brings this up and thinks that I haven't thought things through... that I haven't taken a close look at my load... that I have really weighed the stress and time... that I haven't done everything possible to make this as streamlined as possible... and most of all, for you to think that I don't have my priorities straight.

121 days

Not so Ladylike

As I was driving to campus this morning, I was thinking to myself about something that I wanted to post in this blog. Then I thought, I should probably post a warning.

Warning: Before you move forward with reading this blog, if you have any interest in keeping a ladylike, classy, feminine, graceful, clean image of me... you probably shouldn't read any of this!

It's the reality of contest prep, the stuff nobody tells you. So if it's happening, I'm going to write about it. Not because I want people to feel sorry for me, not to gross people out, maybe a little to know there's some support out there but mostly so that I have somewhere to vent.. and I don't really care if anyone is reading it or not. It's for my own sanity.

Moving onward.. yesterday I printed out and made a laminate card so that I can check off my meals everyday and check off my lifts and cardio throughout the week. Because I am so busy, I have to make sure that I am uber organized so the day can move flawlessly, or else this contest stuff has to go. It's nerdy, but I'm pretty excited about this little card :)

I'm looking forward to working out shoulders today, but not excited about cardio. If it were low intensity steady state stuff then I might be a little more excited, but, no. Mike has me doing some crazy stuff! It does keep it fun, although I've never been so sweaty in my life! The ketosis is really starting to set in. For those of you that haven't cut for contest, when you go into ketosis, that's when you're on really low carbs and using fat for your energy. When this happens you start to get pretty groggy and it makes you pee a lot, which can be annoying if you're a busy person.

Well, back to TA'ing class.

123 days

Solitude

There is something about bodybuilding (and I use the general term "bodybuilding" in place of figure, physique, fitness..) that is different than every other sport. Being alone. Every single day is a struggle with yourself... the emptiness in your stomach from the diet, pushing yourself through the last 10 minutes of a 2 hour workout.. no coaches, no teammates, no partners, saying no to staying out late with friends when you have to get up for an early session, choosing the dry chicken and broccoli when everyone else gets potatoes and chicken fried steak, talking yourself through the mind fog, posing, getting show plans made... all by yourself. Yes, team sports are hard. Yes, they work hard. Yes, they go through the pain, sweat and tears too. But they have others there to cheer them on, they have coaches to push them, they have the responsibility of showing up to practice or they have to suffer the consequences. Most of all, they get to eat. If you've never done it, eat 3oz of tuna and 10 almonds before your workout, do 1 hour lift, 1 hour cardio then eat 4 oz chicken and a plate of asparagus... feels awesome huh? NOT!

Back to the subject, why is bodybuilding so lonely? Does it have to be this way? Even if you have a significant other, they don't understand either. Hopefully they'll support what you are trying to accomplish and maybe help push you through it but most of the time either they think you're crazy and let you know it or they think you're crazy and just sit back until the insanity is over. Friends are the same. No matter how much they understand, they're still going to eat that brownie and pizza in front of you and not realize how much inner struggle you're going through while they sit there and enjoy it.

I like to think I'm a really strong person and that I can get through most anything. Today, my lift was good and I felt ok. When I got to cardio I had to psyche myself up a bit. Halfway through, I wanted more than anything to stop. Sweat was pouring, my calves were cramping and I could literally feel that there was no more glucose left in my body. Somehow I made it through, but it would have been nice to have others there to go through the pain with me!

Well, it's time to start homework.

124 days

#speakitintoexistence

If it weren't for my girls Maria & Lisa, I don't know where I'd be! It is SO important to have a strong support system when you are preparing for anything. Fortunately for my friends I learn from my mistakes and I started this blog for this contest prep so that I'm not completely relying on them for support through this.

Last night M and I were talking about USA's... hair, makeup, gold medals, hotel, flights, extensions, you know... I made me super excited about dieting and training!!! I have this really intense exam in about 2 hours, that my entire graduate career is riding on. If I don't get a B on this, then I'm out of grad school. Not because I've done bad on other exams but because you have to maintain a B in each course in order to stay in the program.. and there's only 2 exams. Clearly I'm going on a tangent.

My point is that 1) support systems are a must 2) motivation is key.

My motivation - Valerie Waugaman, google her. She's my phone background, first thing I see in the morning, last thing I see at night. Also, just #speakitintoexistence. M and I are trying something new out, we're just going to talk like we're already there. Like we're already 8% body fat, already tanned and on stage, already holding our gold medal and trophy. We're ready for this and nobody is going to stop us!!

Now back to the test. Oh yeah.... that's where I was going earlier. I can't wait for my workout session after the exam, it is going to be EPIC! Second day of diet (which is going well btw) and first day of training :) :) :) :)

125 days

.....

I ate somebody's leftovers today. That's all.

Stress & Breakfast

Usually I would never write a blog, because I keep myself WAY too busy. But I've been studying every spare moment of my life recently and I need somewhere to de-compress for a few moments. I've learned that I can go really strong for about 45-50 minutes then I need 10 minutes off and I can go in about 3 hour bouts. My goal for today is about 3 3-hour bouts. First one is well under way... re-listening to Ivy & Tanaka's lectures. Then I have a meeting. Then a bunch of us are meeting to ask each other the most obscure questions we can think of to try and mimic what Tanaka might possibly ask us. Ivy is supposed to be pretty straightforward but there's just so much information! Tanaka just wants to fail us out. He'll give a true/false question and the answer will be "can not be determined"... thanks, jerk. Third bout will be talking myself through the stress, trying not to pull my hair out and trying to get at least a few hours of sleep.

Anyway, back to contest talk. Today I officially started my diet. 126 days to go! Breakfast was interesting. Cream of rice and chicken upon awakening is kind of awkward but it was fine. If you saw my bedroom and bathroom, you might be a little freaked out. You know those cop shows where they find some basement of a stalker that is covered in pictures and scribbles and quotes... it might slightly resemble that. The quotes and pictures on my bathroom mirror are getting to be a little excessive but hey, whatever gets you through the day right?

Ok, 10 minutes are up. Back to work

Stats

I know that whenever I find a competitor (or when M.S. does ;) ) that we search them like crazy on Google, Bodybuilding.com, SimplyShredded, etc, etc until we can tell you their contest diet from 3 years ago, the date they got engaged, what they wore in that photoshoot for M&F, their cats names and what color their toenails were at Nationals last year.... and of course, their height and weight. So I figured I'd just start off with all that so that you know where I"m coming from and where I"m headed; this is a contest prep blog after all.

Name: Frances

Location: Texas

"Occupation": Ex-musician, currently working on my Master's in Kinesiology - Exercise Physiology and a strength & conditioning intern with a wonderful football team.

Age: 27

Height: 5'9.5"

Weight: 171.0 lbs

Body Fat %: 18.1%

Lean Mass: 140 lbs

what else?

No competition that I care to admit

Was the Transformation of the Week on BB.com (which is how I met one of my best friends! she found me my article, transformed herself, won many 1st place trophies, contacted me, she became the Trans of the Week and we've been attached at the hip every since!)

Here's a copy & paste of what I posted on my Facebook:

It's official! On July 30th, 2011 I'll be competing at the NPC USA's in Las Vegas in Women's Physique. There will only be one class and the overall top 3 women will earn their IFBB Pro Card.... which is what I'm aiming for!

My trainer, MIke Davies, will be flying out to Vegas to help out and support sooo anyone else want to take a vacay to Vegas?! I'll arrive on July 28th for weigh-ins and athlete meetings on Thursday and Friday. Saturday will be pre-judging at 9am and then the night show at 6pm. After the competition on Saturday, I plan to stay Sunday and Monday then head back to Bluecoats.

Currently I am 18 weeks out, so it's already time to buckle down on the diet and training. I'll be chronicling my journey from now until contest.

http://www.lindsayproductions.com/11EventInfoUSA.php

Week 18: Got my new diet and training last night.. yikes, we're going RIGHT into two a days! Dang it. I thought I'd have some time but I guess we're just going full force.

Weight: 172 lbs

Bf%: 18.0%

Diet:

1400 cals (this is gonna hurt)

P210g, C100g, F22g

Training:

Lift 5 days/week, on a split

Cardio following lift on 5 days

Evening cardio 5 days

This is how it really is...

I love putting on my game face and acting like nothing will stop me, nothing hurts me and that I can make it through anything. No competitor likes to show their weak side and let others know that it's really as hard as it is. The truth is - it's really, really, really.... really f'ing hard and I really hate it. 99.9% of the competitive world isn't going to tell you that, or even elude to it. Because of this, and all the questions I get, I feel like it's time to lay it all out there. This blog isn't really for anyone and I don't care if anyone reads it or not, but if you'd like to then I hope you have fun and feel free to leave a comment or question.

I'd say I'm a pretty happy person in general. I like to make people happy and I like to have fun and I don't like to complain, I just do it. On that note, this blog is going to see everything that is actually going on in my head.... that's the point. At times, I'm going to seem like a really grumpy person, or beat down, frustrated and over it, or someone you would never want to be friends with. Sometimes I'm going to be happy, elated, determined, ambitious and you might want to be best friends with me.

Everything that you read here is going on in your friends head that is preparing for competition. The only difference is: 1) they want to keep you as a friend 2) they want to have your support 3) they're on so many thermogenics, mood enhancers and 5 pots of coffee, that they can't help but be smiling and happy. In real life, I'm that person, but that's not why I'm making this blog... because that's boring and any future competitor will be let down when they find out that contest prep REALLY SUCKS.

I also really hate writing and I'm bad at it, so sorry if it's kind of lame sometimes.