Erin Stern finished in the runner-up position on Saturday night at the IFBB Houston Pro and here is an inside look from her. Erin continues to improve her placings with each show. She has a great deal of momentum going into next month’s Olympia and has positioned herself as a legitimate threat to the top 5.
AUGUST 29, 2009 – EVENING
The few hours between prejudging and finals are always interesting. There’s lunch, where I wonder if I should have a diet coke and something that will “stick to my ribs,” like a sandwich… or if I should go easy on the salt and carbonation, knowing that if it sticks to my ribs it’ll make my tummy stick out! We end up at H-E-B (surprise?), and have some sushi and an energy drink. We then proceed to roam around the store and take some random “action shots” in the aisles. After about 15 minutes, the energy drink seems to have worn off and we head out to drive around town, then go back to the hotel.The night shows starts at 7pm and we were told that they would start the show with NPC figure. My sister and I arrived at around 6:20, and once backstage, I was told that we were the first to go on stage!! There were about 12 of us backstage, and we were frantically putting on suits, lipstick, oil.. etc. Girls started to file inmand were told the schedule. One of the girls found out on the way to the venue and put her suit on in the car! At about 5 minutes ’til 7pm, it became apparent that not all of us were present, so they changed the schedule… phew!!!
The atmosphere for the night show is more relaxed, we all stand in line and wait for our turn to walk out on stage. I am still a little nervous! I go through the poses in my head, and before I know it, I’ve gone through them and am standing on the side in the line up. We go through the call outs, which were similar to the morning’s. Schedules during shows are always hard to figure out.. I rush back to the dressing room to change into my two piece. I’m hungry again and reach for my cooler which is filled with rice cakes, boiled chicken and asparagus…yuck. The asparagus juice had escaped from the back and it stinks. My chicken smells like asparagus and my water bottle does too. So much for “yellow and blue makes green” seals!!! I had an energy shot in my bag and drink about half. I am feeling pretty good. Some of the girls have cameras and we take some pictures and goof off.
It’s time for the two piece and awards!! I feel nauseous. I think it was a combo of energy drink and asparagus stink. I’m about 30 seconds from stepping on stage and feel like I might pass out. I’m next to go, and the feeling passes…phew (again). We go through call outs, and then they announce top five. I’m toward the end numerically and am so excited to get that last call to join the other four girls!!! 5th… 4th… 3rd.. and then it’s Heather and me. We hold hands and wait. It seems like forever!!! They announce my name for second place! Congrats, Heather!! We all line up and and take pictures. Wow, what a show!! As we head backstage and start to pack up and change…I have one thought on my mind: pancakes. Ok, more than one thought: in just a few hours, I spent time with girls who I know I’ll be friends with for a long time, and got to hang out with girls that I don’t get to see, except for at the shows. It’s neat that we all pull for each other while shooting for the top, and when saying our goodbyes we all promise to keep in touch… and we will :) Good night.
Thanks Erin for the inside look of what it’s like to be a competitor in the IFBB and some of the things that take place. Most people never see or hear this side of the competition.
