Hometown Glory! Part 1

That title is a slight exaggeration...lol...but I'm finally getting around to typing the show recap post I promised you guys a week ago!

My fake "I'm so happy it's my birthday" smile ;)

My lil family!

The waitress had everyone clap for her birthday - she loved it!

There has been a lot going since the show...I turned 31 on Monday (eek!)....also went back to work on Monday....The Princess turned 10 yesterday.....so you know that means lots of celebrating and LOTS of food!! I'm quite squishy right now...my weight is up several pounds...but you know what, I'm happy as can be!

So, let's talk show day! It was very interesting competing at home. There was no having to map out the drive to the venue....no trying to find restaurants for Tom to eat out at....no staying at a hotel...none of the madness that comes with competing out of town!

The Princess spent the night at my parents' house Friday night so Tommy & I hung out at the house & watched movies (I would not recommend "I Am Four"...not that you asked but I'm telling you anyway...lol).
I went to bed about 11:00 pm and slept pretty soundly which surprised me. Usually I have issuing falling asleep and staying asleep the night before a show but not this time! I got up around 5:30 am, got on facebook to send a message to the lovely ladies of Bikini or Bust, and then went to do a slow walk on the treadmill. As I walked, I read some portions of the book As A Man Thinketh by James Allan. I had been reading the book sporadically throughout this prep and it seemed like the perfect way to close this chapter. It is a great book about the power of positive thought - I will definitely blog more about it in the near future.

Representin' Tucson Fire and determined to "do the damn thang"!

It was nice to see a familiar face at the athlete's meeting. It was Ana's first of two back-to-back shows with the same promoter so I gave her some insight on how the show we were at (the NPC Terminator) would be different than her next show (the AZ Open). It was a small show - 72 competitors- there were only two figure classes - so despite usually being in class E at my shows, I was in Class B. I knew that the time would pass rather quickly so as soon as we got backstage I started doing the final touches...makeup, wig, etc. Time passed so fast that I was still putting on my glaze in the pump-up room when I heard, "24!! Competitor 24!!! We need you to line up!!" Yea....#24 was me! So I quickly threw on the rest of my glaze and ran over to where we were lining up. I had about 2 seconds to breathe and then it was time to hit the stage!!!

1st order of business backstage - take pictures!

2nd order of business - run out to the audience & take a picture with trainer aka The Boss #2!

As I started to walk out onto the stage, I realized I was looking at my feet. I have a tendency of doing that because I'm a klutz...lol...but I remembered the one thing that Tom would practically yell at me each time we would practice posing....he would always say, "Pick your damn head up, Tenecia. Walk out there with confidence and look the judges right in the eye". Instantly, I picked my head up, put a smile on my face, walked out there, and looked the judges right in the eye. I always try to make it a point to look into the audience for Tom and since my family was there, I looked right at them after looking at the judges. I can't describe the feeling that came over me when I looked over to see The Princess waving wildly at me with a GIANT grin on her face. I couldn't wave back but I did give her a wink which she told me, after pre-judging, was really cool.

My sister and parents at pre-judging!

The Princess and her baby were there too :)

There were six of us in the class and I was towards the middle when we initially lined up for our first round of quarter turns. They began to call numbers and move girls around...I kept saying to myself "Please let me stay in this spot. Please keep me here." I was saying this because the belief is the closer you are to the middle in the lineup, the more likely you are to be #1 or #2. They never moved me and when they began the next round of quarter turns, Ana and I were standing next to each other! They made us do a couple more rounds of posing and then thanked us. As we walked off the stage, Ana & I hugged each other and excitedly told one another that one of us was going home with 1st place later that night! I'm not going to lie - it felt incredible to stand there and know that I was one of the top physiques in the lineup!! It was a trying prep and if I could end it with a first or second place trophy in my hand, I was going to be a happy girl!!!

Since I still have quite a bit to say and this is starting to get long, I'm going to wrap for now. I will be back with part 2 within the next few days.

Thank you for reading my blog, following me on this journey, and supporting me even at the lowest points of prep. I am deeply grateful and touched.