Reading the blog I re-posted last week was a really emotional experience for me… I wrote it on the eve of starting my prep for the 2014 show (singular, as in one) I had planned. I had zero expectations and not a clue what to expect, lol. So, I thought maybe it was about time I got everyone up to speed on what happened and more importantly, how I feel about it all.
It’s taken me a while to process the experience of getting back on stage after a 7 year hiatus – which as I mentioned, was something I thought I would NEVER be able to do again. I’m grateful for having that experience every single day. I still don’t think I’ve fully absorbed it. I’m going to the Olympia. The OLYMPIA! This is crazy.
When I turned Pro in 2006 in Figure, I had high expectations for the 2007 season. I WAS getting that Olympia qualification. A good friend bought me an “O” pendant, to keep focused on my goals. I carried it everywhere I went. When the year didn’t go as planned for me, I put the pendant (and the dream) away and embarked on a new, even more challenging journey. My body and mind had enough. Now it was time to figure out who Jamie was without the clear heels and continual shows. I was devastated, lost and in a really unhealthy spot both mentally and physically. It was all I identified with and I needed to figure out who I was without it and get my health back.
So, I got healthy – with lots of trial and error, professionals to guide me and a ton of hard work. I got back to a healthy place – mentally and physically. I found myself in love with lifting again, doing lots of different sports (I even tried to train for a 1/2 triathlon, let’s just say I sunk in the pool) and eating the way I’d always known how to eat. I was actually listening to myself for the first time in a very long time, maybe even my life. I felt great, was in good shape but still wasn’t considering competing. Those days were far behind me I still thought.
After a conversation with a very dear friend who became my coach, Helen Bouchard and the encouragement of my husband, I decided why not….why not now, why not me??? The Europa Supershow at the end of October 2014 was picked as the show I’d do. It was my very first Pro show in 2007 and I had fond memories of it.
The prep itself was a lot different than others I’d done. Why is that? It was mainly because of where I was in life. But, I also had a great coach and a supportive husband. A lot of times I didn’t feel like I was “dieting”, until I sat on something hard and it hurt, lol (no butt fat). The show itself was an amazing experience….so surreal. So many women that I’ve followed on social media I finally got to meet in person. I was so star struck and couldn’t believe how nice & welcoming these women were! One thing I have to say about the IFBB Women’s Physique Division is it’s more like a sister hood, a club where everyone supports everyone. I had a great time and almost had a heart attack on stage when I made the first call out!
ARE YOU KIDDING ME???? I remember looking at my husband in shock and him pointing frantically to the front of the stage. WTF was going on????? I jumped up and down (oh so very professional of me) and ran to my spot on stage next to ladies I admired greatly. And there I stood, flexing my heard earned muscle with the biggest, cheesiest grin from ear to ear. That grin stayed in place until the next day for the finals, where I ended up taking 4th place. I was over the moon! To feel healthy in body and mind and exceed what I thought I could do was an unreal feeling.
Eventually my little holiday had to come to an end and back I went to Edmonton. “So now what” I say to my coach. She just laughed and shook her head. We set our sights on the Ferrigno Legacy show 4 weeks later.
Now, I could write a novel on the adventures of this trip but I will spare you. My 2 best friends who are polar opposites and had never met were my chaperones. Gong Show would put it mildly. It was the best trip of my life!
Again, I had no expectations going into this show – only to out do myself. I just wanted to have FUN on stage now that the cob webs were off. I wanted to bring a little better version of myself but let my personality really shine. I did. And I won. After 7 years, ups and downs, I had earned my Olympia qualification. The kicker? I turn 37 the day we compete. And I’ve never even been to Vegas. Is this a dream? Don’t pinch me.
I’d love to summarize how I feel about all of this, but I can’t. It still doesn’t seem real to me. I’m now getting into the final weeks of my off season before getting ready for the “big dance” and I still have to shake my head in disbelief. Of course I care how I do, but just to be up there where thousands and thousands of people would kill to be, where so many spend years of their life working towards – that’s my reality, that’s my dream. To stand amongst the best in the world is going to be AMAZING!!!!
Of course the slight bit of pressure is there. I want to make people proud and really challenge myself from last year. But mainly, I want to be proud of myself. I want to savour every second of this experience, start to finish. I want to have fun, enjoy it and out do myself once again. Isn’t that what this is about? The challenge is in me and as long as I woop my own a#$, I’ll be happy.
Because it doesn’t seem like such a long 7 years ago that I thought I would only have this as a far off pipe dream. But, it’s my reality. Enjoy the ride 🙂
~Jamie
Email: talk2us@212fitness.ca