I just completed the NABBA Great Lakes Open where I won the Masters Overall and Open Overall titles.  I was a bit surprised when I won my classes leading into the overalls.  This wasn't a huge show; my classes had the usual 6-8 guys, but what was cool is that everyone there looked like they belonged in a bodybuilding show.  There's some shows where 150 people show up but only 50 of them look show ready.  The competitors at this show all looked ready to be on stage; and I will say this...the competitors at this show were down to earth nice people.  I really like the NABBA organization - good experiences so far with this organization.

I finished my show in Rockford, Illinois.  I weighed in at about 195lbs...I felt like I looked great; but, the judges awarded me a 2nd place.  I don't have any regrets over how I looked and I'm not sure I would have changed anything.  This is a sport where, if you believe you looked the best  you could then that's all you can ask of yourself.  I finally met another milestone that I had for myself and that was to 'peak' on the day of the competition - in other words...I didn't look better on Friday or Sunday - I looked my best on Saturday...this is a big deal in this sport and shows that I've come a long way in learning how to prep.  Now, I have one more competition this Saturday...I'm going to change one thing, and add another thing...and experiment a bit to see how I look for this one.

I completed 4 cyclocross races in and around the Chicago area from September to October.  After my bodybuilding competition this past April I got on the bikes and started training to get my cycling legs.  Cyclocross is a tough race; not only is it very cardio intensive but you also need to have some closed course racing skills - 50 guys going into a hairpin turn that's only about 10 feet wide makes for some technical riding!  I did the beginner (category 4a) classes and finished in either the middle or bottom third of each race; but, to my credit I really don't have the body for this - I came in to each race lean at 205lbs whereas most of these guys are 140lbs to about 160lbs.  I don't expect to be a top rider in Cyclocross, but it was fun for sure, and I'll probably do it again next year!!

I finished my spring bodybuilding competition yesterday.  I am feeling very good about my results.  I got a respectable 4th place in the Submasters class (age 35-44) and I got 6th place in the lightheavyweight class.  The lightheavyweight class was a huge class of 19 guys and pretty much every guy in the class either looked outstanding or had something good to show...it was by far the toughest class of guys I've ever stood up against.  So - getting 6th place in a class like that is very good.  This was a non-drug tested competition so while I'm at a disadvantage I felt like I brought my best look yet to the stage and I thought I looked good - which is all you can really as for in this sport. That being said, I've decided to take some time off from competitive bodybuilding.  I need to heal from some injuries and I need to focus on some other areas of my life.  In the meantime, I am looking forward to summer and I will be trying out a new sport: cyclocross.  

• April 2nd, NPC Ottawa, IL
• April 16th, NPC Davenport, IA