So its been two days since I competed and I have been eating (well trying to) and resting.

So lets rewind to the day itself. I started off having my hair done at Sexy Sophie’s house at 7am. Had two dizzy spells whilst having my hair done but I think I just over heated due to the hair dryer and being dehydrated. Went back home and went straight to bed, propping myself up with pillows as I had rollers in. Woke up at 10:30am and thought I best shift my arse as registration closed at 11:30. Got to the venue and the nerves well and truly started to set in. All the other female competitors looked totally bronzed and mega lean and muscular. I was still transparent and had my rollers in, I started to think I had made a terrible mistake in entering.

My friends and brothers arrived and I started to calm down a bit. The show started and around 45 minutes into the show I was off for my spray tan. Four spray tents were lined up with a little plastic box outside for you to put your clothes in. Once in your tent you take everything off and wait to be sprayed. On goes the first coat and I am brown, as it dries I get darker. Quick roller over the armpits with something (I am not sure what) and the second coat goes on. I have never been so brown in my entire life

The above is a selfie with the fabulous tanning lady Nicola Gilbert. Off back down to what I thought was a communal changing room but turned out to be the men’s changing room, and it was hair and makeup time. We seemed to have loads of time and then all of a sudden the class before me is on stage and I need to put my bikini on, shoes on, go to the toilet and pump up to go on stage. I had no idea on how to pump up but thankfully Claire Lister and Jason Wilkinson helped me out backstage. I was being fed jelly sweets and wine while pumping my arms using a resistance band that Jason had his foot on in the middle but kept on lifting his foot by mistake so that the band hit me. Next thing I know my name is being announced and I am walking on stage.

It felt like I was on stage for a minute at the most. The poses were called out fast and then we were sent to the back of the stage. I make the first call out, I make the second call out and then we are sent off to do our individual routines. They play my music before I am on stage which was not what I requested so I had to listen carefully and pick up my routine about 10 seconds in. I got the wobbles at one point and then for some reason freestyles at the end. Back on stage and we all get medal and the next thing I am called out at third place. I couldn’t believe it, I could hear all my friends cheering and shouting my name and some cheeky buggers from the gym (Avril) shouting my new nickname Staffie. 

I smiled from the first step I took on that stage till the last. I loved every minute, I felt alive, happy, I felt like me.I came off stage absolutely buzzing and ran into the crowd in just my bikini to greet my friends. Went back stage and got changed and went to join my friends and eat my Brie salad sandwich which I had been dreaming of. 

We watched the rest of the show being impressed by the competitors on stage and supporting them by shouting like deranged people. Then went out for a meal joined by other friends who couldn’t get tickets to the show. I couldn’t finish all my tea and had to go home to sleep it off. But during our meal it was decided as a team and with final say from Sandi that I will do the final at the end of June. So guess what that means……….a whole new load of blogs for my countdown to the final. I go back into training on Thursday 27th April – that’s when the blogs will start.

Below is a picture of my transformation from June 2016 to 22nd April 2017