My Journey to the Stage – Part 6
Well here we are 4 days out from the comp!
It is so surreal now being so close to a goal you have focused on for what feels like an eternity!
The last few weeks have been quite difficult, to say the least. At a time when I thought I would be the most focused and determined, I fell off the wagon a few times.
Firstly, I got a bad bout of gastro and although everyone’s first reaction was “Oh well it just means you lost weight”, in reality it meant loss of water and hard-earned muscle and an incredible lethargy and lack of enthusiasm for training. At a time when I needed to really up my cardio, I could barely summon the energy to get out of bed for about 5 days!
Then just as I recovered from that I was hit with a cold ~ This was fairly inevitable having kiddies in day-care and probably being slightly run-down in general but it is still lingering and combined with the onset of the cold weather, it meant that all I really wanted was to stay indoors with a nice cup of tea and some warm buttery toast!
However – despite these things, and the fact that I can’t shake the last of this cold, I fought back and kept as focused as possible, never allowing myself to give up or think that I was not going to get to that stage. I kept reminding myself why I set this goal, and the fact that I didn’t have to win the competition, I just had to get myself to the point where I could compete without standing out like a sore thumb (in a bad way!) and without people gasping in horror when I did that 3rd quarter-turn to the back! Lol (Problem areas are a topic for another blog!)…
So I gave myself a break and had the odd bit of food that would see other competitors faint in horror so close to the competition, if it meant that I could mentally get through the last couple of weeks, and if it meant mustering that last bit of energy needed to get to the gym, and most importantly for my family, get healthy and well.
In amongst all of these things, I also managed to get myself along to a couple of posing classes with some of the other competitors. I went along with a little bit of trepidation, knowing that I would be confronted with hundreds of leggy, gorgeous girls but also with a determined mind-set that I would make it a point not to compare myself to anyone else. This journey was not about other people, but about my own goals. And surprisingly, I came away feeling really pleased, focused, giggling a little at the hilarity of the posing and with aching shoulder blades for days from holding those positions for so long!!!
No matter what happens on Sunday, I can safely say that I am really really proud of myself and my achievements over the 12 weeks – I looked back on my start photos the other day and put my current photos next to them and there is a MASSIVE difference and this made me want to jump and shout! All of the sacrifices, the meal prep, the sweat was totally worth it when I see the positive changes in my body.
If you are thinking of starting some sort of lifestyle change and you have been reading my blog, I bet you look ahead at 12 weeks and think that it just seems so long and will take forever but I can guarantee you that in hindsight, you don’t remember all of those times you said ‘no’ to an outing, or the hundreds of head shakes when offered some tasty morsel…..the time will fly and at the end of it, the feeling you get when you reach a really difficult goal is better than any other feeling!
And so the next few days will be a great reward for my journey as I get to totally beautiful myself with trips to the hair salon, nail salon, tanning salon etc etc etc…..YAY!
I will write another blog after my show and hopefully put some piccies up but until then, thank you to everyone who has followed my blog and for all of the support I have received from so many different sources – It has helped more than you know! I hope that perhaps I have also inspired just a few of you to start up your own challenge! Nerida xx
