Handling Dissapointment with Grace by Christie Sharun

Christie Sharun

My journey to Figure Nationals 2006 was an amazing experience. I experienced the extreme highs and lows of competing all in one year. I came off of an extreme high in winning my height class at Alberta provincials to the extreme low of a 25 pound weight gain in my off season. The off season dieting and training was necessary for me to compete at the National level and my body responded quickly to the increase in calories and strength training. The training part of it was amazing. My strength in the gym almost double from July 2005 – March 2006 although along with that came a 25 pound weight gain. The strength gains were very rewarding but the weight gain was very hard to handle mentally. 

Christie Sharun

I started dieting in March for Nationals and found it very difficult to lose the weight that I had worked so hard to put on. Preparing for Nationals was much different than my preparation for Provincials the year prior.  The diet was much harder, my carbs seemed much lower and I had to do almost double the amount of cardio that I was doing the year before.
Competing on the National stage was an exciting experience, but also very disappointing. The feedback I received after not placing in the top 14 in my height class was “You are just too small; you need to put on more muscle”. Although, this was the reality, it was a statement that made me re-evaluate my goals with the sport. I worked extremely hard to put on over 10 pounds of lean muscle mass naturally in 8 months and to hear that it just wasn’t enough was disheartening. I am sure there were other reasons for my low placing, I personally didn’t’ feel I was as conditioned as I should have been and I think I looked watery on stage.  

Christie Sharun

The positive feedback that I received from a few pro competitors and a few photographers steered me in a different direction. A few comments I heard after Nationals encouraged me to consider competing in the United States as I was told that the look that I have would be recognized on the Figure stage there. I was told that my physique is softer, more feminine and athletic and that seems to be what the American judges are rewarding lately. The World Qualifier is a show I would like to consider doing in 2007 and initially North Americans in Sept 2006 was my plan. The few weeks after Nationals have been tough and although physically I feel great, I am excited about my training and enjoy being in the gym, the mental part of the sport is not there for me right now, I am not as focused, my head and heart are just not into it like I was when preparing for Nationals. So I have decided to not compete in September and take a mental break from the sport and re-evaluate things next year. Competing is just as much mental as it is physical; therefore you have to be focused in both areas to be successful. Those two things for me were not inline and because of that I did not want to put myself in another situation of disappointment. Overall, dealing with the disappointment of a very low placing at Nationals has made me a stronger person and it forced me to reevaluate the direction I will take with the sport. The physique that I have is one that I am proud of and it is one that I worked very hard to create, I don’t think I want to add more muscle to my frame just to compete on the Canadian National stage.

Christie Sharun

I am an athlete first and a competitor second. Putting on more size will make it difficult for me to play the other sports that I enjoy and in order to put on more size naturally, I would have to commit many, many more hours to just lifting weights and I would like to try to balance my life out a little more this year and spend less time in the gym and more time exercising and participating in the other sports that I enjoy. I will admit there are very few things that can replace the journey you take when competing in the sport. It is because of this that I know that this is not the end for me.

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