Lisa's New Figure Mission: The Debrief. 8 Oct 08

	hi everyone, back home now and enjoying some r & r and nibbling on some normal food which I haven't had for a couple of weeks.  Haven't gone too wild, all I wanted to have after the show was a protein shake and a bar! yes I really did go crazy didn't I?!  since then have enjoyed fruit and last night finally got to eat some salmon which I've missed out on for a whole week.	Linni and Lisa at venue

 

But my biggest treat has been a magnum on the night I landed back home mmmmm and it tasted fantastic.   Although my tan has faded I still have fantastic memories of when I finally stepped on stage to complete my new figure mission which began 11 weeks (but more like 9 months in journey) at the South Pacific Bodybuilding Champs in Samoa on 4 Oct.

And what a great show it was. There were over 60 awesome pacific athletes from the pacific who's genetics are to die for!  We all felt very welcomed by the organisers which began with the registration at the Kitano hotel on Fri afternoon where each athlete had to strip down and weigh in in front of the appreciative crowd.  Yes the girls, and shy me! had to do it to.  We got down to our bikinis and did a wee pose for everyone.  As there were only 5 figure girls, we were treated like superstars and a few guys wanted photos with us.  

After registration the organisers treated us to a feast of food to carb up on. All the athletes were there and there was real sense of kinship amongst the athletes and officials as we mingled together.  Once again the figure girls were treated especially well as we were called out to front of audience to be presented with gifts to commemorate the inaugural competition for the figure class.  Tony and Lisa	Stripping down at the Kitano Spoilt with our goodie bags
Farah carbs ups	Sarah and Lisa with a wine
Although I felt confident and relaxed before the comp.  I think my body was thinking differently.  On Friday night I just couldn't sleep and I was awake at 1am and 5am.  I could feel my heart racing while I was lying down and as much as I tried to calm down, my body just had a mind of its own. A couple days earlier I looked quite good but on Sat morning I didn't look as sharp, probably from the nerves and stress making me hold water.  So I was up at 5am started to do makeup just to make sure I got everything done before the bus taking us to comp at 7.45am. After makeup, it was some food, had a little bit of chicken, rice wafers and banana to carb up.  Then it was on with the shimmer.
But I wasn't happy with how my make up came up, I looked like a gollywog!  sorry Jacquie I just don't have your magic touch.  I ended up taking off all my make up and wondered what the heck I was going to do.  I was shaking and was bit anxious. Then there was a knock at the door and it was Lisa B checking up I was going ok.  What a relief when I saw her and told her about my make up drama.  She took over and did my makeup and made sure I looked bootiful.  She also was my angel for the day at the show and retouched makeup during the day so thanks Lisa for being my face saver!	My makeup angel, Lisa B
Back to the show. The prejudging started at 9am (and finished at 11am) so that we avoid the heat of the day.  Mind you it was pretty hot under the lights anyway. The novice boys were first then it was us, the figure girls. The New Caledonian girl (Isabelle) ended up doing bodyfitness so it was only kiwis in figure. Farah and I in figure short and Lisa and Sarah in figure tall.  Backstage was hot and was no circulation, so we didn't have to pump up too much and when we did, the sweat just poured off us - and the tan too.  There was also no mirrors so we had no idea what we looked like so we relied on each other's help to make sure there were no tan streaks or lipstick on our teeth etc.
Lisa Bellingham and Sarah Su.         Farah, Isabelle and Lisa	All the girls
And then it was time to complete a part of my mission, walking on stage competing in the figure class.  We all looked great, I wasn't as great as the other glamazons but I didn't feel too out of place in the line up.  Farah was in amazing condition, her delts and chest were full round and hard.  Same as her back.  Sarah was muscular and lean too. And what can I say about Lisa B, she had the whole package and her presentation was capped off with a flower in her hair to capture the samoan flavour.  I probably wasn't as lean as the other girls but I still had some definition and structure to show off my better parts. I felt good with make up and blinged up with necklace and a bracelet.  Don't want to go too overboard with the girly thing you know!
I was a little nervous on stage and shaking but was excited to be up there too. The lights were super hot and after the first set of structurals I, and probably the rest of the girls, were sweating.  By the time the compulsories were finished I could feel the tan sweating down my arms when I was doing the ab pose.  The judges then decided they'd like to see it all again, so the girls swapped ends and repeated the process.  Its all good practice eh?  I've got video of this so I'll put on site some time in the near future for you to check out.
When I walked off I felt pumped and felt the satisfaction of doing my mission. I was very proud of myself so I was hyped to get out there and do the routine which came off well.  Looking back at the video I thought I didn't do a bad job and I looked pretty good.  I mean pretty good as in much better than how I looked 3 months ago! so that's a trophy for me.                                                                        Stage pics courtesy Philip Hope, IFBB Vice President - South Pacific
What really made the experience great for me was the support of all the girls, Farah Sarah and Lisa were there for me and wanted me to do well.  The samoan girls were very encouraging too so I felt like a winner all day.  In fact we were all supportive of each other and really willed each other on in our activities throughout the days we were together and not just at the contest day.  It was fantastic comraderie and its what bodybuilding should be about and in this samoan case it was! I couldn't have picked a better show to compete.
However there could only be 1 winner.  Lisa won her class over Sarah and ofcourse Farah placed first with her super hard bod and she also took out the overall.  I think the Samoan crowd appreciated seeing us figures up there as some inspiration for them to get up on stage.
Over the 4 days we were together in Samoa, Farah Lisa B Sarah and I got to know each other better - other than just in passing at shows. We spent plenty of time chatting about bodybuilding and travelling to various sightseeing places together. The day before we left to come home we travelled together to a very nice sandy beach about 1.20mins from Apia.  Although the weather wasn't great, it was still fine enough to enjoy some nice warm weather and the sandy beaches Samoa is known for.
Overall I was happy with the experience but I wasn't too happy with the final days leading up to the comp.  Us athletes are never happy are we?!  It was very challenging trying to find decent food at the supermarket in samoa and I ended up eating lots of fatty chicken (they only do chicken quarters and there's no chicken breast in sight!), eggs, and not too much steak.  And there was no salmon! which has been my staple for the last few weeks. The only carbs available was taro - which I'm not keen for, and sweet potato was non existant in the shops. So I ended up eating lots of rice wafers and bananas the last couple of days.  For me it wasn't exactly ideal and I ended up flat and depleted and I didn't get to fill up properly for the comp.  But its all learning and I've definitely learned how my body responds to various foods now.  As yet I haven't decided what I'm going to do with my new figure, I'm having a couple of rest days then will decide in the near future. For report of the show and more contest pics go here  Bye for now Lisa, Go Figure    Lisa with a couple of New Caledonian boys        Good luck to Farah for the NZFBB Nationals!  Here's her thoughts on her Samoan Odyssey. Well back home after a truly amazing experience in Samoa at the 10th annual South Pacific Bodybuilding and Figure Championships. There were a few issues with food ( ate a toxic potato the day before the comp which had me throwing up all morning ) , the heat especially back stage and on stage under the lights and general logistics such as transport. Apart from these minor inconviences the Competition was a success for me winning the Open Figure Short category and then taking out the Overall Figure title. This was extra special as it was the first time that the figure category was included at the South Pacific Champs. We were throughly spoilt by our hosts who were very appreciative that the "Figure Girls", as we were called had made the effort to come to Samoa and take part and contribute towards making their Championship successful. Makes you want to do it all over again next year. !! Farah Deobhakta Good luck to Lisa B who's on Tour this October! Lisa Bellingham will have competed every weekend in October. What a Marathon Woman!  She did Masterton, then Samoa, next is Tauranga then Wellington Nationals. All up she'll have done 10 this year. Phew! we're just exhausted reading it. Go Big L!!