Man,, what a great workout this morning. I forgot how good it felt to sweat it out in the gym. Cardio was great,,( especially with the best running shoes , I have ever tried on)

I am well on my way to getting back some of the physique I had lost this past year. Not looking to be back in contest shape, but at least be able to put on a bikini again, without wanting to hide in shame:)

Okay,, I left off in 2003, 5 weeks prior to Nationals, I  blew the disc between my L4 and L5. It was devastating, because I had an incredible fitness routine for Nationals.. Strength, dance, attitude, even a front tuck off of the stage they put up for us girls to utilize.

What was I going to do? I was in so much pain. Getting out of bed, and having to crawl to the bathroom, well that was where I was at.

My husband looked  Absolutely Amazing. I had never seen someone as conditioned as he was. Plane tickets had already been bought for our children, and family. Hotel paid for.

So I decided, I would get some cortizone injections, Change my entire routine to just some strength moves, dance, attitude. All flips, gymnastics, anything that I knew my back just could not handle was taken out. Meaning I was going to Nationals with a great physique, and a not so impressive routine. Non the less, I wasn't going to quit.

So in Nov. of 2003 we were off to Miami to Compete in our first Nationals. Needless to say, My husband was pulled out of the lineup first. We knew that meant it was looking good for him. In the physique round I was being scored at the top. I will never forget getting a call from someone after the physique rounds. Suggesting that they felt Marc and I could both win, and it would be the first time a husband and wife won their IFBB Pro card at a show together. All I had to do, was rock my routine. HA... talk about pressure. Especially when I knew my routine was not up to par for National level. I went out and did the best I could.. My back was less than cooperative.

I knew the moment the music stopped, that my IFBB status, just slipped through my fingers. I didn't even need to see the scores.

I was devestated, but not because I failed, because in my mind, I didn't. I did what I could do, what my body would allow me to do. I finished what I had started. And I my three daughter were there to see that even when it seems hard, it is important to give 110%. So with that, I took my 6th place finish, and decided I may be finished competing......or would I?

Marc, on the other hand,, was UnStoppable. He was in a class of 25 of the most impressive lightweights ever. And as usual, he walked away the Victor, earning his IFBB Pro Card , first time out at Nationals. Amazing.

So we still celebrated, and enjoyed the glory. Then went back to our lives. Family, home, careers.

My back, was not going to make it easy. I was shopping a Sam's one day, and I sneezed. It brought me to the floor. I could not walk, or get up. It was scarey.. I finally got assistance to call my husband, we got to the doctor's office where an MRI was performed, and it was looking bad. My doctor instructed me I would need to change my life. No more competing, no more coaching gymnastics. Work on healing ,, it was not what I wanted. So I got depressed, stopped training, I focused my attention on our home. Decided we had outgrown our house, and we should build a new one.. So I went to it. Marc and I searched and searched till we found the perfect plan.

Found a Lot , ( even the street was Jacob' Ridge Ct) we knew it was for us. So we bought it, and built our home. We moved into it in May of 2004.  We spent time creating a home, entertaining, watching our children grow. Even little Shayla had the competitive drive.

She soon become a little fitness diva, performing at bodybuilding shows, as the guest poser. Doing routines, one armed pushups. It was exciting for her. One promoter even flew us in, picked her up in a limo. She had radio interviews, autographs. It was a good experience. Remember she is built just like her father, incredible genetics, so naturally , she is a gymnast.

The older girls were in middle school and High School. Making names for themselves. Extremely involved in the ROTC Program, with dreams of joining the military.. Yes, life again was good. Marc's job at Europa was going great, I was looking to get back into some kind of work. Int he meantime I was doing booth work for ISS Research, ( makers of the Oh Yeah bar). I would coordinate the shows, hire the girls, I also worked partime in their office doing sales, customer service etc.

I had also got back to training but in a different way. Started doing Strongman type training, I had found that this was helpful to building the core strength I was lacking to offset my bad back. I was flipping 500 lb tires, dragigng 400 lb anchor chains, It was new and exciting. And it was working. Soon I was bit by the competitive bug again. I decided I would start training for Nationals again , for 2005.

I took it slow, working on gettign my physique back. I refused to compete in figure. Nothing wrong with it. Just my passion was in fitness. So I put together a routine that would have a lot of strength moves, dance, put my personality in it, and no gymnastics. I started practicing it far enough out that if my back gave me problems, I could take a break, and get back on it.

It was tough, but I had my eye on the prize, and I knew I could do it. I felt it deep inside........I will finish up later.