Family and friends can have such a huge impact on what we see as "normal" in our day to day lives. A sedentary lifestyle lived by someone close to you can inadvertently have a similar impact on your own health and fitness. On the other hand, some people look at other people who are active and make excuses for their own fitness level (or lack-there-of) by labeling them people as "fitness fanatics", or "obsessive". Yes, there must absolutely be a balance and exercise/healthy living can't be all you care about or you aren't really living, are you? That being said, I don't know anyone personally who is at that level of fanaticism but I do know many people who use this negative labeling to make themselves feel better about their unhealthy lifestyles. It's health bullying in a way.
Adam Knowles and I post Half Marathon
The reason I'm writing all of this is because I had a sort of lightbulb moment with my great friend and fellow blogger Krysten (Misadventures of a Darwinian Fail) after a 6am crossfit class at Indestri in Collingwood. It's no surprise, and no great secret that both Krysten and I have had our own challenges with body image (hey, we're human). However as we sipped our lattes at Starbucks post workout, we made a connection that something had changed this year for both of us re:health and fitness. A ball had dropped. It began when we each committed to running a half-marathon. When the training began, there was a serious shift in the way we each thought about our bodies. For me it went from dragging myself to the gym and hoping that I had burned enough calories, to pushing myself to run farther than I ever had before. When you're training for a race, you can't treat your body badly because you need it be a clean machine. We both started to appreciate our bodies more and although neither of us broke any records by any means, we both finished something that a few years ago we had never dreamed of committing to.
So yes, it may seem crazy and obsessive to run for 2 hours and put yourself through blisters and cramps and all sorts of other crap and actually pay to run in a half marathon, but hey - it's the best therapy and confidence boost I've ever had. So if you're reading this and you think you might fall into the "health bully" category - maybe it's just your fear talking. Any chance you might actually want to challenge yourself in this way too? How about saying f%&k it to your excuses and put on a pair of sneaks and just GO? And if you've crossed paths with someone like this - don't be angry with them, just remember, like any bully, they are doing it out of their own insecurity. So run, swim, hike, yog, cross, or whatever else it is that keeps you sane and don't let anyone make you feel bad about it.
I had the chance to meet with Canadian actor Riley Gilchrist (Degrassi the Next Generation, Being Erica) over a sushi lunch yesterday. I haven't been great about networking with people in the city but am making a concerted effort to do so more, and it turned out that this was the highlight of my week! First of all, I've recently become a die hard Being Erica fan so that in itself made me pretty hyper. Also - he was an incredibly down to earth guy who had a lot of great advice on classes in the city and was very complementary of the training I got at The Neighborhood Playhouse in NYC. The meeting left me feeling motivated and on track. And that carried into my audition for CanStage today.
I literally imagined that my acting teacher from the Playhouse was with me (sounds crazy, but it works). I did my two monologues and sang my song and aside from fumbling up one of the lines, I think it went ok! It was one of those auditions where you leave the building and the next 10-15 minutes are an absolute blur because you're on such an adrenaline rush. Fingers crossed but either way it was an excellent opportunity and it's always good practice to do a monologue audition.
I headed to work and en route stopped at the Starbucks at King and Yonge and ordered my festive special a "decaf grande half sweet skinny peppermint mocha" - it's effing delicious try it when you can. The Barista drew me a skinny chocolate man on the top and I almost spewed my rice krispy square all over the bar laughing. Amazing.
If you can tear yourself away from the Christmas tunes - Check out the album "A Different Kind of Fix" by "Bombay Bicycle Club" on itunes. This is my favorite tune of the moment but the entire album is awesome. This tune is great if you need an addition to your workout/running playlist. (Shout out to Christine Wheatley for recommending Bombay Bicycle Club to me!)
Enjoy the Christmas Lights :)
xoxo,
Allie
Weekly Goal Update:
Acting Career: CanStage Audition done! Cards sent out to industry, done. Meeting with Reel editor tomorrow, try to get it finished and sent to casting directors before x-mas!!!
Running: 12.5 out of 15 K complete
For Fun: Christmas Treeeeeeee!
