{"id":1534,"date":"2014-06-12T09:15:27","date_gmt":"2014-06-12T09:15:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.whataboutwatermelon.com\/?p=1534"},"modified":"2017-06-12T09:15:59","modified_gmt":"2017-06-12T09:15:59","slug":"new-years-resolution-update-the-final-countdown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.whataboutwatermelon.com\/index.php\/2014\/06\/new-years-resolution-update-the-final-countdown\/","title":{"rendered":"NEW YEAR\u2019S RESOLUTION UPDATE: THE FINAL COUNTDOWN"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"pic\"<\/p>\n

Only nine more days until my watermelon-eating contest debut at the Bel Air 4th<\/sup> of July Festival<\/a> in Bel Air, Maryland. My journey to this point started with the declaration of a New Year\u2019s resolution<\/a> (to compete in a watermelon eating contest), which led to a search for a contest<\/a> in my general vicinity.<\/p>\n

After that, it was time to learn as much as possible<\/a> about eating lots of watermelon, including an interview with a professional competitive eater<\/a> and former watermelon-eating champion. Armed with all of that research and knowledge, I tested my watermelon-eating prowess with a trial run last month.<\/p>\n

Which leads us to today. In a week-and-a-half, I\u2019ll arrive in Bel Air, Maryland, and take my place among the legions of other hungry competitors. I\u2019m not really nervous. Like I\u2019ve mentioned before, I\u2019ve competed on the competitive eating stage dozens of times in the past. And, even though I was never very good at it, I always had a lot of fun and never regretted a single bite (except for that pizza contest in Washington D.C. in 2005\u2026that one was brutal).<\/p>\n

So, what\u2019s left to do before the big day? Not much, really. I\u2019ll make sure my eating clothes are clean and laid out for me the night before. Yes, I really do have \u201ceating clothes.\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019ll also make sure I don\u2019t eat too much on the day of the contest. In fact, I probably won\u2019t eat anything at all that day until the contest begins. Although there are varying opinions on the topics in competitive eating circles, I\u2019ve always found that it\u2019s better to begin a contest with a gnawing hunger in your belly. Physically, it makes sense \u2013 an empty stomach means I can eat more \u2013 but it also gives me a powerful, competitive drive and mental edge.<\/p>\n

I won\u2019t disagree if you think I\u2019m taking this simple, local watermelon-eating contest a little too seriously. I probably am, but I\u2019ve tackled every eating contest the same way. Like I said, my not-too-impressive career record might indicate that I should probably relax a little, but I just can\u2019t. At least not until the contest is over and I can resume eating watermelon at a normal pace.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Only nine more days until my watermelon-eating contest debut at the Bel Air 4th of July Festival in Bel Air, Maryland. My journey to this point started with the declaration of a New Year\u2019s resolution (to compete in a watermelon eating contest), which led to a search for a contest in my general vicinity. After […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1535,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[221,222,292],"class_list":{"0":"post-1534","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-general","8":"tag-new-years-resolution","9":"tag-watermelon-eating-contest","10":"tag-watermelon-new-years-resolution","11":"entry"},"yoast_head":"\nNEW YEAR\u2019S RESOLUTION UPDATE: THE FINAL COUNTDOWN - What About Watermelon?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.whataboutwatermelon.com\/index.php\/2014\/06\/new-years-resolution-update-the-final-countdown\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"NEW YEAR\u2019S RESOLUTION UPDATE: THE FINAL COUNTDOWN - What About Watermelon?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Only nine more days until my watermelon-eating contest debut at the Bel Air 4th of July Festival in Bel Air, Maryland. 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