CRAIG PRODUCTIONS LLC

Hard to believe only 4 short weeks from tomorrow and it'll be time to hit the Emerald Cup figure stage! The weeks are flying by - it's crazy!

Right now I'm 9 days out from Vancouver. It's a love/hate time. I love the changes I see in the mirror each day, but the physical and mental exhaustion is tough. Yesterday I did 60 minutes on the stepmill mid-morning (yes, Rose, level 15). It was pretty decent. I've got a new thermo stack I'm using and it's working pretty well - MAN Scorch with 400mg of caffeine. I take it about 30 minutes before hitting the cardio and it gives me a pretty good boost that lasts a few hours - which is pretty decent this close to contest. Around 3pm I take Body Effects from Max Muscle so I can power through my lift and second cardio. If I take thermos much later than 3pm I can't fall asleep at night and that makes my 3:30am wake up pretty rough.

Last night I had my last heavy delt workout. My strength is still really good and I was able to push pretty hard. I threw in some triceps at the end of my delt workout (got to bring up these skinny little arms) and then hit the Precor EFX for 45 minutes of cardio. I had some steam to blow off yesterday, so I used that to power my workouts. Always great to release some aggression in the gym!! Today I did 50 minutes on the stepmill this morning. I had to back it down to level 14 as my energy is low and my legs are feeling tired and heavy.

I call this the "yucky phase" of competition. If my hair gets washed it's almost a miracle. I told a client this morning..."You can tell I hit the snooze button one too many times if my hair is in a pony tail." Yep, I hit it 4 times today and my sweatty-cardio hair is dirty and in a pony tail today. I'm thinking about washing it tomorrow, but no guarantees. Next week should be even better - I forget what day it is that deodorant and perfume are no longer permitted for spray tanning purposes. That reminds me, I've got to get my H20 exfoliating scrub. I got my tan scheduled with Bill today from Northwest Competition Color. I like to do the one-coat Jan Tana the morning of the show so I don't have to sleep with that stuff on me. Ick! Plus, this way I can shower the morning of the show. Bill does a great job and is very professional! If you want to get in touch with him, his email is: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Time to eat again! Heading back to the gym in a bit to BENCH!!!! Last heavy chest workout and another round of cardio. I am super excited for next week - another love/hate thing, but the anticipation of getting on stage for the big day makes all the pain of carb and water depletion well worth it!

~Julie~

Fearless, with cape in hand

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