Healthy Lifestyle Bullies

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.


xoxo,


Allie

TIFF Next Wave Film Festival

Co-Star Andrew Pigott, Director Joseph Procopio & I

Our premier of Memories at the TIFF Next Wave Festival was a huge success!  I was lucky enough to have a ton of friends and family at the event and an incredible amount of support from those who were there in spirit.  Naturally I was slightly panicked about my outfit but was lucky enough to have the stylistic help of Lyndsay - who helped me plan the perfect daytime screening outfit from head to toe.

Can't wait to wear these puppies again!

With amy daytime event - it's important not to overdo it with your makeup & attire.  We worked with a dress that I already had (Tory Burch for Forever 21), added some sick shoes from Zara & a cropped jean jacket and bangles from H&M.  So including my dress which I've had for a few months, I felt TIFF ready and totally appropriate for my first big screening for under $150. 


This is just the beginning of the Memories Festival tour.  Next up is the Rhode Island International Film Festival in August.  Road trip!  I'm confident that it will be screened at some other excellent film festivals as well, Joseph has done an incredible job with the piece.  


Just a couple of short weeks before MetCon Blu and my summer move to 4th Line Theatre.  Lots of updates on both these fronts but right now, I've gotta get out the door and go for a run!


Have a fantastic long weekend!


xoxo, Allie

Make it Happen May

TWO MORE SLEEPS!


Just two more sleeps until my Goodlife Half Marathon and my mood about the whole thing is shifting fairly spastically from "Hell yes, you are ready, you got this!" to, "Oh God, oh God, what was I thinking?!".  Regardless, I'm still very glad that I made the decision to do the run.  It's been a life goal of mine and hey, if not now, when? Life really is too short to be a bystander.  I couldn't be happier to start off my 27th year with the biggest fitness challenge yet.  I've just got to remind myself that no matter how fast I run and no matter what my time is at the end, it's a huge accomplishment and has allowed me to push myself and run farther than I have ever before.


A little less than a month after my half, it's time for Met Con Blue Adventure Race!  It's a 5K fitness blitz with twists, turns and insane challenges.  My brother in law, the amazing Bill Pain, should be given due credit for my two sisters and our partners participating in this madness.  Not to mention everyone's favorite Darwinian Fail and her hubby will be participating!  How shall I train?!  Here's my tentative plan (starting after I recover from the half!):


Yoga or Pilates  -   1x per week
Crossfit Class    -   1x min per week
Running           -   2x min 5K run per week
Strength          -   Either Body Pump or solo weight training


Tweaks will inevitably be made I'm sure (especially after I discuss with Mr. Pain!).  But for now, I'm just going to try to enjoy my tapering before the run, and fuel this body as well as possible!  


Paleo Pre-Race Fuel!


Breakfast:  2 Eggs and a couple pieces of sweet potato or honeydew melon and the essential cup o coffee.
Snack:  Handful of Almonds
Lunch:  Giant salad with any protein, half an avocado, whatever veggies are in the fridge and maybe a couple of dill pickles (don't judge me)
Snack:  Snack size can of Tuna or last night's protein with leftover veggies.
Dinner:  Last night it was Fish tacos wrapped in bib lettuce with some awesome veggie toppings.  Always a protein and lots of veggies.  So many options.


Throughout the day I am trying to drink at least 2L of water as well as some herbal teas to keep the lattes at bay!  Good restful sleep is essential especially since pre race anxiety/excitement can interfere all on its own, no need to throw extra caffeine/alcohol into the mix to really eff it up!


I've signed up for The Lean Green Bean's Foodie Pen Pals! Check out her blog for more info but I'm really excited to pack up a bangerang kit!


In Other News...


"Memories" will screen at the TIFF Next Wave Festival on May 12th (yahooo!).
 Our new little car "Ricky" has arrived and she is an absolute beaut.  My 27th Birthday has come and gone and thanks to all of my amazing family/friends and the wonderful Andy it was a blast!  Plans for my secret business are developing really nicely and I will share details very soon.  I get to see my sisters this weekend and complete a goal that I've had for years, to run a half-marathon.  So this girl is pretty dang excited about Spring.  I'm officially calling it "Make it Happen May" because hey, if we don't do it for ourselves, it just ain't gonna happen.  

I'm off to the Goodlife Marathon Expo to pickup my race kit!  I leave you with this amazing tune which will DEFINITELY be on my playlist race day!  

Have a fabulous day and hey, do something nice today for yourself k?

xoxo, Allie

OH GOD, I THINK I'M A GROWN UP

Top Ten Signs You're a Grown Up:

1. You start reading home decor magazines and or food magazines
2. Before splurging on a pair of jeans, you consider what kitchen appliance you could get instead
3. You stop eating kraft dinner (except maybe once a year...obviously with hot dogs)
4. You refer to your youth as "back in the day" and are shocked when tweens aren't familiar with N'Sync or Backstreet Boys
5. You start to really appreciate your grandparents and wish you knew more about them
6. You own a slow cooker
7. You either own a dog/cat or are seriously considering it...and possibly have a tester plant (mine's name is Joseph...he may or may not be a cactus)
8. You pretend like the book you're reading on the subway isn't The Hunger Games
9. You stop hanging out with people who don't make you happy
10. Benders are replaced by epic dinner parties.

Yep. It's offical.  I think I might be grown up now.  

There are some fairly major parts of being an adult that I'm still not caught up with yet (ie buying a house), but I've finally made the decision to lease a car.  I'm so excited I can hardly stand it!  It's a little black Honda Fit named (probably) Ricky.  It's going to make this summer of performing at 4th Line Theatre even better.  On top of that, I get to pick her up on my birthday!

Half-Marathon training is going pretty well.  I invested in a "Fuel Belt" from running room and bought myself a foam muscle roller.  Now I've just gotta keep my training on track and not freak myself out too much.  Hit the 10 mile mark last week and tomorrow's 11 miles.  Wish me luck, and please feel free to msg me with your favorite running tunes.  

xoxo Allie

Looking Forward / Looking Back...

The past couple of weeks have been a little slow for auditions.  It's times like these where I have to try extra hard to keep my head on straight and power through.  By some bloody miracle, I had a HUGE cleaning binge this week and I gotta say, it's helped to keep things in perspective!  What is it about having a lot on the brain plus laundry all over the place that can cause a minor meltdown?!

I also decided to personalize our little office space.  I got some cheapo frames from Ikea and a little bulletin board and put together an inspiration board and a tribute to some of the acting work my boyfriend and I have done.  

Looking Forward:

Inspiration boards get a bad rap.  All you need are some pictures that make you happy and motivated and remind you why you're doing what you're doing.  I have a fantastic picture of Diane Keaton and Richard Pinter on mine and just the look on Pinter's face reminds me of a very important lesson he once taught me in class at The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre:  "Who will take over for the other great actors?  Why not you?".  

Put a little board together and make it filled with things that make you excited about the future. Somewhere to stick quotes that you find remarkable and energizing, somewhere to put pictures of friends and family who believe in you.  These little things can make a big difference on an "off" day!

Looking Back:

When you don't book a big part, or things are a little slow in the industry, I find it really helpful to remind myself of where I've come from.  The "whore" (read blog entry if confused) can tell you that nothing is going on in your career at the moment but that's not true.  Everything you have ever worked on is behind you, backing you up on your journey.

I really think this applies to all kinds of work.  Sometimes if you find yourself in a field that you don't want to be working in, or studying the wrong subjects in school you may think it's been a waste of time, but every experience gets you to where you need to be!

This wall is small for now, with just a few of our favorite projects displayed, but it's nice to have a visual reminder of how much can happen in a short period of time.  THe top row of pictures are from films that we have shot since moving back to Toronto, all of which are being submitted to some very major festivals around the world.  So, "whore", you can put a cork in it because even if I don't have any auditions laid out at the moment, I've got some great work behind me which is keeping the ball rolling.  Ha!

If you're feeling like you're in a rut, but want to do a little fun work, make yourself a board, or a wall to keep you positive.  Positive thinking can change everything!

Half Marathon Update...

Not too much to report but today is my longest run yet (4 miles) and it's a blizzard outside..oooookie dokie.  To the treadmill!  Wish me Luck!

xoxo Allie

An Impromptu Commercial Shoot (Sounds Fancier than it is) & Some Great News...

I recently shot an Independent Feature called FOOTSTEPS which I will write an entire blog about very soon.  The director, Noam Kroll is an amazing man who is not only a creative genius but wonderful to work with.  He called me late on Sunday night because he had an actor back out on him for a commercial shoot the next day.  I really needed to get some fairly basic aspects of my life under control (ie laundry, and definitely xmas shopping) but Noam is awesome and I was happy to do him the favor.  We shot on the U of T campus and luckily the weather held up for the most part and my hands only went ET on me once (I have bizarrely poor circulation...).  It was especially worth spending the day shooting just to hear some exciting news about FOOTSTEPS, there is interest from some major Film Festivals (AH!).  Stay tuned.

The day before the commercial shoot I had auditioned with my boyfriend for a short film called MEMORIES and we were both pretty keen on the sides.  The director didn't realize that we were a couple and we decided to leave it that way.  We found out yesterday that we booked the part!  Shooting will be over 3 days in early January.  So excited to work with my man and such a young and bright director.  

Murphy's law struck pretty hard when the shoot dates conflicted exactly with my sister's bridal shower/bachelorette which I am helping to plan and partially hosting.  Luckily, both of my sisters and the other bridesmaids are amazing and my initial meltdown was totally pre-mature as we have moved the entire weekend of celebrations to the following weekend.  

I've been slacking pretty heavily on the running this week.  Last week I ran 20K and this week I've only run 5K total.  No point in dwelling on it though - going to get back on that horse tomorrow morning before work and ride into the sunset.  And I'll be listening to this song to get me going (shout out to my sister Meg for introducing me to this awesome running tune)...

Good luck with the Christmas shopping!  Remember:  If you find yourself standing in the middle of THE GAP or some comparable store with arms full of generic t shirts in a cold sweat...put the clothing down, go to Starbucks and REGROUP!  I'm not speaking from experience here or anything...

Take care, enjoy the Christmas lights and music and treat yourself to something yummy or pretty, or both!

xoxo

Allie 

The "Santa Shuffle" - aka Rump Roast Part One

Something inexplicable has happened since my 25th Birthday.  I knew that at some point my metabolism would slow and my body would change a little, but nobody warned me that my once flat-as-a-pancake bum might transform into a full blown rump.  And so it has.  Interesting.

So I decided to run the 5K Santa Shuffle for the Salvation Army.  I was encouraged by my good friend and fellow blogger Krysten (Misadventures of a Darwinian Fail) to run with her.  

The weather was great, the spirit was incredible and Santa gave me a high five as I crossed the finish line of what was my very first race.  Aside from accidentally throwing my iphone into the middle of the stampeded half-way through the run, it seemed to be a success!  And I made my goal of completing the run in under 30 mins.  I also completed what is the first step of an even larger goal, to run my first half marathon in May.

I Auditioned for a condiminium commercial yesterday with more complex dialogue than I've had to memorize for a Shakespearean piece!  This should be illegal.  After stumbling over the company's name a few times, I finally spewed out "TAMPAX!" and after a small rumble of laughter I was excused from the room.  The funny thing is - I'm probably more likely to book that commercial than all the other ones where I left the room thinking the audition went really well!  Totally unpredictable.

CanStage General audition coming up this Thursday.  I've got my 16 bars of a song and 2 contrasting monologues picked out and ready to go.  Wish me luck!

xoxo,

Allie

*Note to self for goal setting - make small realistic goals for short term but remember to keep the big ones within sight!

Goals - This Week

Acting Career: Mail Holiday Cards to Toronto Industry (half-done), prep for CanStage Audition, Network with people in Toronto.

Fitness:  Run 15K (4.5/15 complete)

For Fun:  Get a Christmas Tree!!

Goals - Longer Term

Acting Career - Audition for The Stratford Festival, book a good commercial, Act for a Living

Fitness:  Run a Half Marathon (May!)

For Fun:  Get a Puppy