I should have written this post sooner after the show. It was just a week and a half ago, but it already feels like much longer. Needless to say, I’ve been a little pre-occupied with a birthday and a trip to New Orleans. Lesson learned—don’t EVER go on vacation right after a show.
I’ll write more on the “post-show” aftermath in my next post, but I know all of you are probably anxiously waiting to hear about what the show was actually like! So that’s what we’ll talk about in this post!
We headed to Houston Friday morning—I spent most of Thursday night packing and meal prepping (literally I was elbow deep in chicken and sweet potatoes!) since my diet was pretty different the day before and day of the show. It was more work to pack all the food than it was to pack for the weekend! Nerves and excitement were building. I had finished out Peak Week and made it! Holy freaking crap—this was really happening.
I remember going to get a mani/pedi Thursday night, after I had met with my coach for a final posing class and pep-talk before we left for Houston. That’s when the nerves really set in, but really that’s the only time I got nervous! Well that, and right before I went onstage! J
We made it all the way to Houston, stopped at Buc-ee’s on the way of course! After several stops to heat up my chicken and/or steak, we checked-in and got settled into the hotel. Friday was a busy afternoon of tanning, athlete check-in, eating, and more tanning. The excitement kept building and I was over the moon!
There were almost 1,000 athletes competing at the 2015 Phil Heath—it was nuts! This was the biggest show in NPC history. Go big or go home, right? By Friday night I had my competitor badge, dark sheets on the hotel bed, 2 coats of oompa-lompa tan and a lot of carbs with very little water. Saturday morning came early—I had makeup at 5:55am, followed by a 3rd coat of tan, and I had to be at the venue at 7:30 to pick up my competitor number (eeek!), then I went back to the hotel for hair, then back to the venue to wait until it was time to go on stage. It was a very busy morning that turned into a day of mostly waiting around in sweats, resting, and eating. I was very glad though that I (a) had purchased a duffel bag with wheels at Sam Moon to haul all my stage crap around in, (b) had a 6 Pack bag to carry all my food and keep it cool (every other female competitor apparently had the same idea with bringing the pink one too!) and (c) brought EVERYTHING I needed for the day. Shane of course was with me the whole time, mostly waiting, and keeping me company. It was great to have girls from my Team there who were also competing, but we barely saw each other because of the scheduling and chaos with SO. MANY. PEOPLE. Did I mention there were nearly 1,000 athletes, plus their entourages, plus vendors? Needless to say the Bayou Music Center was CRAZY.
Before I knew it, it was time to go on stage!!!! That was definitely my WTF moment! Because of the number of athletes, and the chaos of trying to coordinate getting 1,000 people on and off the stage, the backstage process was a little confusing, but I made it through just fine. Here’s the scoop— I had to stuff my face with rice cakes, peanut butter, and honey (delicious but messy!), touchup my makeup, and get my jewelry and heels on all in a matter of minutes. That part was an absolute blur! It felt really real when I put on my sparkly jewelry, and got my glaze, bikini bite, and tan touchups. Again, also a blur considering I was one of the last ones to get in line! Thankfully my coach could go backstage with me to keep me calm, walk me through the pumping up part and practice posing before I went on. One of my favorite parts of the day was him just telling me to give him lateral raises and curls with my resistance band. “Just give me lateral raises, nice and easy”—just like I had heard him say time and time before when we had trained in the gym. My heart was beating out of my chest, but somehow that calmed me down. There were so many girls—I looked better than some, and some were absolutely just shredded. But, we were all there in support of each other and all proud of what we had accomplished just to get to that point. I have to say, I got teary when I could see my biggest fan and supporter, Shane, peaking at me from a curtain and blowing me kisses just before I went on stage since he was in the front row. Definitely got a little teary. I got to the stairs to the stage, the NPC officials were running us through what to do, and there we were.
As soon as I stepped across that stage, I could feel how big my smile was on my face. I was so excited, so proud, so confident, that I just did my best and posed like I had 1,000 times in the last six months. It was over in about 15 seconds, but man was it freaking AWESOME! I stood in the diagonal line to the side when I had finished my model turns, and gave the judges my best “pick me, pick me!” face!
I got to First Call outs! The head judge starts rattling off numbers. I knew if I didn’t make First Call outs Novice (which was the only “alone” time I would get with the judges) that there was no way I would make them in Open. Yes, it was just a goal, but damn I really wanted to get First Call Outs at my first show. Then I heard, “Competitor 174!” I was the last number called for First Call outs. There are only a few other times in my life I can remember being that freaking proud of something I had worked my ass off for. Getting into TCU, getting hired at both companies I’ve worked for, and this. This takes the cake for sure. I strutted out to the front line and did my quarter turns like nobody’s business. There were easily 25+ girls in Novice class B, and I had just made the top 7. At the biggest show in NPC history. Holy freaking crap. Yeah, I may have been the last one called in Novice but who freaking cares—I got FIRST CALL OUTS!!!!! I then went back on stage for Figure Open, where there were ALOT more girls (not sure, but I think closer to 35 or 40) and was the first girl they called out for 2nd Call Outs, which means I had made the top 10. Not too shabby for a girl’s first rodeo!
We finished up onstage (all of maybe 5 or 10 minutes but it felt like 15 or 20!) and I headed to the audience to hug my coach and hug Shane. They were both so ridiculously proud! I was too. Now it was time to wait until Finals that night. We knew that the top 5 Competitors in Figure Novice Class B would get medals, and it would be tough for me to get a medal since I had likely come in 6th or 7th based on when I had been called out in prejudging, but I had to remind myself (all damn day) that I wasn’t doing this for a medal. I had already won just by getting on that stage and had gotten what I came for, First Call Outs! Most of the day was spent eating, resting, and watching other competitors. We didn’t leave the venue because it would have just been too much of a hassle, so in total were there from 9am until about 10pm. Long freaking day!
Some of our closest friends made the drive to cheer me on at finals that night and I was super excited to see them! They were all thrilled to see me and cheer me on as well, and it meant the world to me to have them there!!! All of the Facebook posts and texts and messages and well wishes from other friends and family encouraged me more than you can imagine. It was such a great weekend!
After hours of waiting, finals finally came, and although I didn’t bring home hardware, I was still really excited and proud of my journey. It was time to celebrate!!! We went back to the hotel, and my fan club had surprised me with cake, champagne, and the cutest little tote back of goodies. We took some great pictures, and I changed clothes to head downtown for a burger and a craft cocktail! It was 11pm so our options were limited, but my post-show party was a low-key night with great friends at a cute little gastropub in Downtown Houston. I went to bed that night (after nearly falling asleep in the shower from sheer exhaustion since I had been up almost 22 hours at that point) an incredibly happy girl who couldn’t wait to get back on that stage.
Till next time,
-Mere