Summer 08 Contest Prep

yup that’s right 6 weeks

i’m bailing on Lenda Murray.  my body has not been right since I peaked for potomac.  digestion issues, bloating, still suffering the effects of dehydrating.  i just can’t put myself through that again.  so i decided not to do the show.  my goal this summer was to win at the potomac, and i did.

so i’m moving on to focus on triathlon.  it’s been 2 days and i already love it so much.  who knows if i’ll come back to figure.  i’m up in the air about doing the next NGA show in november, i really loved how dave ran his show and triathlon should keep me fairly lean.  we’ll see how i feel after the sandman.

joining a pool today, gotta start getting those swim workouts in!

OK, back on the schedule, back on the routine.  It feels good to have my meals planned, to be honest.  It’s a little overwhelming being able to eat whatever you want.  And dangerous.  I finally tried to sleep last night and felt so sick, ended up puking up my ice cream, club sandwich, and rice krispy treat.  it was NOT pretty.

this morning i’m back on the diet with a tiny bit more carbs and training is going to stay the same - 5 day split, abs on even days, posing on odd, 4 sprints per week and i’m going to try for 4 cardios.  this week will be tough because of VBS commitments every night.  will try to run while the kids are in class, but temps in the 90s may prevent that from happening.

photo shoot this saturday morning and lenda murray in 3 weeks.  then what will i do with myself!!??  i feel completely lost without a program…

this is my "a" show.  i really want to bring it on saturday.  i look better than i ever have.  fuller, stronger.  not just skinny.  i’m completely exhausted this week, it’s physically challenging to go through the motions of the day.  i need to be increasing my water intake.  i’ve been focusing on rest, skipping cardio in the 100-degree heat because i KNOW my body needs quality sleep.  which i’m not getting.

i’m hovering at 146 - 147 pounds.  with water gone i expect to go on stage around 145, same weight as yorton but MUCH bigger.  i can’t believe i got it done.  cravings are out of control, i’m texting "craving updates" to my friends.  it goes from bananas to chips ahoy cookies to sandwiches…i’m getting a litttttle crazy.

come out and see me if you are in the DC/Alexandria area!  this saturday at garfield HS in woodbridge, va.  prejudge at 1230, finals at 700.  you better have home-baked goodies for me if you come!!!

so august 16 i’ll be doing a competition and then what…here’s my tentative agenda for the next year in my training life

aug 17 - aug 24 - REST and RECOVER

aug 25 - sep 26 - homemade crossfit and endurance sports training plan

sep 28 - dec 06 - 10 week powerlifting program, potentially competing in PL on dec 6!

dec 07 - feb 14 - 10 weeks of crossfit/endurance program again

feb 15 - may 16 - 12 weeks to cut and compete in figure (1 or 2 shows)

may 17 - sep 30 - triathlon training!!!  which i’m very excited about

tri goals:

in the course of the next year i want to run several 5Ks, 10Ks, complete a metric century ride (62 miles) and maybe a full century.  i’m aiming to race in a sprint tri next august and an olympic tri by next september.  then….i dunno

I mean, 2 weeks to my first show.  Yeah.  Where the hell is my focus lately!  TMI alert - I think I may be getting my period this week.  Tired, joint pain, bloaty and soft looking even in the AM even though my weight is holding steady.  It sucks because I’ll have no idea what I’m going to look like next week, but I’d rather get it this week than next!

On a side note, the fact that I’m still getting my period is awesome.  I did this cut SO right.  Very healthy, nothing severe, even my body is behaving mostly normal.  Little bit of attitude at work, but maybe it’s cause I work with idiots?  And I’m tired.  But I’m really proud of this contest cycle.  Last year I almost gave up completely because I just couldn’t cope with LIFE while prepping, this year, I proved I could do it!  Maybe I do have what it takes to be a Figure Champion!

the next few weeks will be fairly intense.  i cut creatine out so i can get a better picture of my physique not holding all that water under the skin.  i’m planning a "test run" of contest day the week before - cutting back water, watching my food, and posing at 12:30 to simulate prejudging.  i scheduled a photo shoot for august 2nd to capture me in prime shape.  and i’m slashing carbs again in order to up fat…which i discovered works for me my last contest prep so i’m running with it.

the focus for the next three weeks will be:

PLENTY of rest - at least 7 hours each night - this will be tough

LOTS of sprints - i skipped them a lot this week so i have some catching up to do.  i think increasing rest and fats is going to help with this.

perfect diet - not worried about this one.  i ran a 5K yesterday and didn’t even feel the need to pig out on carbs as the reward i promised myself.  nothing looked good.  that 1/2 banana and 1/2 orange was HEAVEN, though.

ab training - need to do more challenging workouts.  these crunches are getting OLD

book hotels, hair appts, etc - just needs to get done, oh well

continue to lift heavy right up until probably thursday before the show.  i need to retain as much muscle as possible, ESPECIALLY on my upper body.

please check out my updated progress pics and make any comments…

i’ve cut 20g of carbs out, added some glucosamine for the beating i’m putting on my knees.  i’m doing 4 sessions of hill sprints a week and 4 low-intensity cardio session (bike rides and runs outdoors mostly).  i do abs on even days and will work on posing on odd days.  i’m very happy with my progress.  a little nervous about the holiday weekend coming up, gotta stay on track.  might run a 5K on saturday?  don’t even know if i can do it, but figure the pressure of a race environment will push me through.  we’ll find out.

had an awesome weekend, a little sunburnt from yesterday’s tides game, but it’s all good.

met with mar yesterday, forgot to have her take photos of me in my suits so will have to do ghetto gym pics sometime this week.  we adjusted my front pose a tiny bit and my legs are looking massive!  she recommended i add some treadmill incline sprints to tighten up my inner thighs - so i start those tomorrow (today was leg day, treadmill nothing was about to happen).  she thinks my posing is dead on, i already have the 2-piece round on lock, and in 5 weeks i should have no problem nailing the 1-piece as well.  it’s good to hear the news from someone who knows what they are talking about.  this week i’ll add the sprints in addition to my long low intensity cardio, next week i’m cutting my carbs about 20%.  i’m in pain today, i really really killed it on legs this morning.  was going to ride my bike tonight, but that may be a little difficult, maybe just an easy jog with shadow.  he’s really the best running partner ever.  and i really need to work on building my running endurance…yuck.

OK i just got out of the shower (minds out of the gutters please) and noticed my body right now is the condition it was in for Yorton last year (see my current profile photo!) and i weigh about 7 pounds more and still have almost 6 weeks to dial it in.  this has been my most slamming prep ever.  i was trying to add more cardio this week, but i’ve been having trouble finding time/energy to do it, thanks to my plant shutdown this week.  i’m meeting with mary bell for some photos/posing/honest advice on sunday before i mail in all my registrations.  feeling and looking great.  bring it on bitches.  look for progress pic updates after my meeting with mar!!!

OK boys stop reading right now.

I looked so crappy this weekend - and then got my period on Tuesday.  Phew.  SO I still look like crap but at least I know why.  Between that and still using creatine, I look pretty bloaty most of the time.  I am cycling to a very low carb week and next week will bring my carbs back up to 10% less than they were before.  I’ve added cardio - 3 sessions this week, 4 next, building up to 6/week through all of July and August.

 I was very shocked to get my period.  In the past I’ve stopped getting it at this point out, but again since I’m doing this whole slow healthier cut, everything is a little different.  I’m hesitant to do 6-week-out pics next Monday, I may wait until 5 weeks out when I meet with my posing coach and have her do it.  We shall see.

 Training is ROUGH this week on the all broccoli approach (well, it’s not THAT bad) but my strength and intensity are staying high.  I’m actually enjoying all the cardio I’m doing, it’s getting me outside and there’s variety.  Certainly beats logging hours on the treadmill….

OK so confidence is back.  Time to start getting my act together.  No more late nights in smokey bars.  I wasn’t drinking but I think just being there was hurting me.  Sleep is so crucial!  And my diet is super.  Next cheat is planned for June 21 at a wedding, I’m getting broiled salmon and eating the veggies and leaving the carbs on the plate.  Will prob splurge on a piece of cake   I’m feeling good going into the last few weeks and luckily have a lot of short weeks at work and the job has been seriously low stress lately, which certainly helps.  My last two contest preps were with too much stress at work and a stressful relationship.  I’m much better off this summer.  Back to work