This past weekend I competed in my first bodybuilding competition. It was the NGA Utah Natural and it took place at Davis High School. I have wanted to do one for a long time but have not had the confidence, the nerve, or the commitment to actually follow through with it until now at the ripe age of 30! It was a good experience, especially since I won! There was only one other woman bodybuilder, but she was a lot more experienced than me (she has her pro card and sponsors, etc.). I was really not expecting to win but was just hoping to give her some good competition. Well, I guess I did because after the show the male winner from last year came up to me and said that I shocked a lot of people because up until now I guess this lady had never lost. The judging can be a little subjective, but everyone I talked to said that I definitely deserved to beat her. Here a few photos to document the night (courtesy of Jo from Groll Family Fitness). Shane tried to take pictures from the audience, but it was so dark that we waited until after the show to take some in the hallway.








Here we are at the evening finals. Wendy (my competitor) is a lot more experienced poser (as you can probably tell), so I could work on that some more. She took her time to sweep into each pose and was very natural and graceful as she did it, but I guess that did not matter because you know who won!



Me with my trophy and roses. As my parents and Shane were taking pictures in the hallway, a few strangers came up and also asked for some pictures. In fact, a professional photographer gave me his card in case I wanted to contact him in order to start my "portfolio". I was not aware that I needed a portfolio, so I guess I could look into that! Anyway, afterward Shane said that I acted totally in my element posing there in the hallway while people stared and took pictures. I have to admit that it was kindof fun to get that kindof attention, but the tanning cream and oil do create an optical illusion that is not always there.



Me and my biggest fan. Shane has been so supportive and understanding through all of my training, tanning, and dieting and the fatigue and mood swings that accompany it. I tried my best to not let any of this get in the way of our family, but there was no way that it couldn't at least a little bit. I failed to mention Shane as they introduced me at the show because they asked for my hobbies. With this being my first show I did not know that they were using this to introduce me otherwise I would have been much more specific. So... "I want to publicly thank my husband, Shane, for his ongoing support and encouragement in my behalf. He is the best husband and my best friend. I love you, babe."

Here are a couple of the mandatory poses that we had to do:



Crab most muscular pose.



Front double biceps.



Side triceps.

As I look at these pictures I still cannot believe that this is me, as I have wanted to do this for so long. I finally followed through with my dream, and now that I have won I am trying to decide what to do with it and how far to take it. There is a fine line between passion and obsession -- one that I do not want to cross. I really want to keep things in proper balance and fulfill my most important job as a mother. I know that Satan works on our strengths to make them become weaknesses, so I am trying to be careful. This was a fun thing to accomplish, but now I have to proceed carefully and prayerfully. Thanks to all of you who have supported through this process. I feel so blessed.