As you may already be aware, I recently competed in 2 shows – the NPC Washington State IronMan Natural in Issaquah, Washington and the CBBF Nationals in Laval, Quebec.
I’ll start with the IronMan since it was the first one :0). My friend and client Whitney Edwards and I both competed – we drove down the Thursday evening before the show and stayed at the host hotel (the Hilton Garden Inn). Our stay was nice and the breakfast buffet was even better (after the show of course) – I have to say it was one of the best buffets I’d ever been to – I’d rate the quality and selection of food as an 8.5/10 (that’s 8.5 out of 10).
Me, during my posing routine, at the 2011 NPC Washington State Ironman
The show was very well put together and the tanning setup was well done. There was full tanning and touchups backstage along with various assortments of delectable treats! The promoters, Craig Productions, did a very nice job and brought in guest posers Evan Centopani and Flex Lewis. Flex was in incredible condition (he had just competed in the Olympia the week prior) and it was super awesome seeing him guest pose. A super nice funny guy too! Evan, while not quite in the same condition, was an awesome guy to meet! He even stopped by our table at the buffet the morning following the show and chatted with Whitney and I for bit! Super super down to earth guy! And huge massive calves to say the least! I also got the chance to meet Todd Jewell (who just won the NPC Nationals Overall title), IFBB Pro and World’s strongest pro bodybuilder Stan Efferding, and the great Aaron Baker, one of the greatest bodybuilders of all time!
I am extremely proud of my client Whitney placing 3rd in figure short at the Ironman. The caliber of figure athletes there was quite surprising – a lot of very very good girls! I ended up winning my class but I didn’t earn the overall title. A very well conditioned lightweight competitor by the name of Gerry Bernabe ended up winning and deservedly so! Congratulations again Gerry!
All in all, it was a great experience and it definitely gave me some insight as to what I figured I needed to do 2 weeks later at the Nationals. Speaking of Nationals…stay tuned for part 2…
