I DID IT!! I competed in my first NPC bikini competition!! I can’t believe it finally happened- it’s pretty surreal. I had an amazing time, met some wonderful girls, learned a lot of tips for next time, got to hang out with my mom and sister and best of all, I accomplished something I really didn’t know if I could or not. Ready for a play by play?
I woke up around 5:50, poured myself a little cup of coffee and anxiously devoured 1/2 cup oats and 1 scoop of whey. This meal seemed a little heavy to me, but I was just going along with the plan my coach had made for me.
Inside of my cooler I packed quite an assortment…sirloin, rice cakes, chicken, brown rice, oats, peanut butter, a crunch bar (sugar makes muscles pop out more on stage ) and a ginger kombucha (for AFTER walking out).
After heading out of my apartment, I went over to my friends place to get my next two coats of spray tan. HOLY COW I was so ridiculously dark. My friend Shar is a trainer at my gym and she did my tan, as well as make-up (of course, those are the things the judges gave me the highest score for– a huge thank you to Shar!!) Afterwards, we headed to the school where the competition was being held so that I could sign up for my critique card and start getting ready.
Shar doing my eyes all purty like.
I met some pretty awesome girls from Austin that were also first timers for the stage. It was really great to have other like-minded ladies around me for once. For most of this process I’ve been on my own and then all of a sudden, I’m thrown into a room filled with 100Â people, all going through the same thing as me, munching on rice cakes, drinking a gallon of water every day and missing out on all the “normal” social events. It felt really great to be able to connect with so many other competitors.
This is Lisa from She’s Losing It.net. She’s one amazing woman and definitely an inspiration to me. She’s a fit mom who can balance work, family AND competing all at once. Dedication!!
After taking pictures, running around getting three different tan touch ups, replacing the band aids on my pinky toes a million times, and several applications of lip gloss, it was finally time to line-up for prejudging. I’m not going to lie, at this point I was nervous but SOO excited, I could barely think about how nervous I was. I knew I was going to do good because I had been working so hard and there was no way I was going to think negatively and risk it all. It also helped that the girl in front of me was giving me lots of tips and distracting me from my own nervous thinking.
So there we all are, behind the stage lined up and before I know it, they call out ” 160 Miss Madelyn Moon” and I’m strutting out on that stage, hips swinging and head high. The 10 seconds we get on the stage fly by so fast, let me tell you! All I could think about was “Walk slowly Madelyn, keep your head up Madelyn, SMILE SMILE SMILE!” And somewhere in my poses I decided to add in a little wink and some personality! It was amazing. I felt confident and I enjoyed all 10 seconds I got in the spotlight:)
Out of 20 girls, I was the 8th one called (in the 2nd call outs) and I’m proud of that! Of course I had hoped to place, but for my first show, I’m happy for the package I presented. I did everything I could and that’s all the matters.
After prejudging I reunited with my family and friends. A big thank you to all of you and of course the camera woman, who just happens to be one of my number one supporters and my lovely mother!
One of my critiques that the judge gave me was to add padding in my top.
WOMP WOMP.
I had a feeling that would be one of the things I got marked off for. At least now I know for next time!
OH and you know the first thing I had after prejudging was a kombucha. Nothing has every tasted so refreshing in my life.
After pictures, we had about a two hour break so my sister, mom and me went to a Chili’s, where I brought in my chicken tubber ware and munched away while they ordered some nomtastic salads. I wasn’t ready to splurge yet- too nervous!
Then we went to a mall. Oh goodness. Did I mention I was almost 100% black?! Imagine me walking into a Bath & Body works looking like this. I mean, I don’t blame people for all the crazy looks they gave me.
Nonetheless, I had a blast walking around and getting some girl time.
Around 5:30 everybody was back at the school, reapplying their makeup, doing more touch ups and going to town on the rice cakes. Let’s just say we were all pretty exhausted and all everybody was talking about was what their first meal would be. Pizza and burgers seemed to be the popular vote.
Finals came and went and everybody got to do their poses once more. This usually never happens! I was pretty excited they let us have one more moment on the stage. I didn’t place top five which was a bummer but I gained so much more from this. The real prize was the fact that I set a goal for myself and accomplished it. I thought there was no way I could do what I did and the second I decided I would do it, I dedicated all my time and effort to make it happen. I’ve learned many intangible lessons along the way and I believe I’m a different person than who I was four months ago. I’ve also made many great acquaintances and started new friendships. I’m truly blessed.
My mom, sister, Shar and me then went to Hopdoddy’s to do some indulging. After 4 months of no cheats I thought it would be okay to have a BIG FAT cheeseburger and a NUTELLA/PRETZEL milkshake:) Nutella milkshake….yes, that’s right.
Back home, mom presented me with a goodie basket filled with some pretty awesome stuff. Three books, two candles, two workouts tanks, a beautiful bracelet, some pumpkin coffee, multivitamins, seasonings and some perfume. Best mom award!!
Okay, so after this ridiculously long recap, I would like to write just a little bit about what’s next for me.
I love competing, it’s amazing and I definitely want to do it again. BUT I do plan on enjoying the rest of the year without thinking about competitions or whatnot, but simply enjoying my workouts and building muscle. I won’t be adding many more calories to my diet but I will probably add a couple hundred more so that my body can work on building more lean muscle. I want to focus on having a balanced life. When I compete again, I will want to find a way to incorporate it into a balanced lifestyle without having to be quite as extreme as I was this go round. I do not want it to control every aspect of my life but to instead enhance it. I’ve made many sacrifices, and I wouldn’t take any of them back, but I also want to focus on a few other things. For example, I’m about to graduate from UT Austin and I’m also in the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. I really want to work on my health coaching practice, find a job, and enjoy life to the fullest. Competing is also expensive so that’s another factor. Now that I’m about to be on my own, I need to make sure I can support myself! Nonetheless, I will be making another appearance on the stage but right now I’m just going to smile and be grateful for the accomplishments I have just made.
Life is good.
moonfitness 