THANK YOU FOODIE PEN PAL! Aka Kendall :)

My plan for the day was to go to Kawartha Crossfit in the am, then rehearsal, and write my Foodie Pen Pal post on my hour break.  Unfortunately (as often happens shortly before a show opens) today's rehearsal was a little chaotic, and I ended up spending my time off helping the wardrobe team find replacement shoes for a girl who sprained her ankle (ouch!). SO - my sincere apologies for getting this out so late in the day, particularly because this month's Foodie Pen Pal Package ROCKED!

Not only did Kendall introduce me to some delicious new products, but she also did her best to combine our two eating styles, my Paleo diet with her vegan diet!  Who knew this was even remotely possible?  Since paleo is a "hunter-gatherer" way of eating, you can imagine how hard it is to find things to send in the mail.  Obviously straying slightly was necessary, but I was very impressed with Kendall's efforts.

My favorite part of the package was the "Dark Chocolate Dreams Peanut Butter".  What an awesome treat, and surprisingly few ingredients! Since I am currently living in Peterborough, I gave Kendall my Toronto address and planned to pickup my package on my day off.  My boyfriend politely asked if he could check out the contents before I got home.  Let's just say that half the peanut butter chocolate container had magically disappeared by the time I got there! And he's not really a dessert fan!  It's seriously that good.  I'm about to bite into the "Extreme Dark Chocolate Bar" right now.  I've been holding off on this one :)

Thanks so much Kendall, it was so nice to chat with you via email.  Thanks for all of the amazing food.  Keeping some of the snacks in my bag during rehearsals saved me from passing out in the heat more than once!  I'd be happy to have you do a guest blog anytime my new West Coast buddy!

xoxo Allie

A "Met Con Blue" Review: My First Mountain Race Adventure!

It's been 5 days since Met Con Blue and I'm still finding new little bruises and scrapes (in some very unusual places I might add), but my muscles have fully recovered and I've gotta say, I can't wait til next year's race! I learned a lot about myself and my own fitness level during the race but most of all, I had an absolute blast.  Here's how it all went down:

Our team of 9, "Insane Pain", arrived at the bottom of Blue Mountain pumped and ready for the 10am heat.  It was chilly and drizzling outside and we were surrounded by friendly and familiar faces, like the Crossfit Indestri team.  After a quick warmup we were off to the races and seriously, the beginning of the race was one of the hardest physical challenges I have ever encountered.  Our all-star boys took off ahead of the pack up the LONG STEEP HILL and I could see my sisters just in front of me.  I couldn't speak or catch my breath until we reached the top of the bloody mountain and got water. Krysten and Jamie were right behind me and we joined a little trifecta just as we reached the peak. Then the fun really began.

We climbed ropes and walls, ran through mud pools, and slid through the muddy trails from one obstacle to the next.  I had made the exciting mistake of not looking into the details of the obstacles ahead of time.  So when we came to a clearing and were told to jump over a giant campfire, I didn't have time to stop and think - I just gaver and hoped to high heaven I didn't land in the fire rump first!  By the time we rounded the last hill and the finish line was in sight, we were completely pooped, but so happy.  I have never had so much fun in a race before.

My sisters Sarah Pain and Megan Dunbar: "We DID it!" - Photo by Bill Pain

We got out of our incredibly muddy/wet gear and slid into our cars.  A hot shower has never felt so good!  After we cleaned up we returned to the battleground to re fuel with beer, BBQ, and POSK paleo treats.

I can't wait for Insane Pain to regroup and participate again next year.  And this time, I'm not skipping ANY hill runs during training!  Our team finished in 4th place out of 24, thanks to the rockstar boys on our team: Bill Pain, Dave Pain, Andrew Pigott & Adam Knowles.  But hey, I'm pretty proud of us girls too.  As my mom said to me on the phone the day before the race, "I think my daughters have forgotten that they're girls! You be careful out there, this is Survivor Collingwood!", to which I say "HELL YEAH!".

Thanks Met Con Blue, for a killer race, an awesome party and a great excuse to get together with such amazing people.  See you next year!

xoxo,

Allie

 

It's FOODIE PEN PAL DAY!

So pumped to write about my first experience being a Foodie Pen Pal!  I'd like to start just by saying what an awesome time I've had and how fun it is to connect to two amazing ladies and fellow foodies.  Picking out what to send to Nikki, my penpal was great, and anticipating what I'd receive in my package from Anna was exciting, but I think my favorite part was just chatting with them via email about all things food and fitness.


My package was waiting at my doorstep after a particularly grueling week (see my last post for details), and I felt like a kid again opening it up and checking out my loot.

Thank you Anna Sherwood for such an awesome Foodie Pen Pal Package!

Naturally I took a picture of it right away because I knew I was going to eat at least one of these goodies immediately!  Anna was incredibly kind to accommodate my primarily Paleo diet.  We had emailed back and forth a few times about what exactly my normal diet was, to which I replied not to worry so much about that because I was just excited to try some of her favorite snacks.  She did an awesome job of mixing some Paleo with non-Paleo snacks and I gotta say, they were all delicious!


My top pick was definitely the "Enjoy Life" trail mix, which was gone in a matter of 24 hours - dangerously delicious! 


Another thing that I really appreciated from Anna's package was she made a great effort to send me some local goods.  So cool to try out these companies.  I'll be sure to pickup more "Just Us" products next time I'm in Nova Scotia, the tea is fantastic!


Thank you so much Anna.  Can't wait for next month of Foodie Pen Pals!


Nikki and Anna, feel free to send a guest blurb if you'd like to post about your experiences too!


xoxo,


Allie

Crossfit & Theatre: Keepin me Sane

The weather is gorgeous, the birds are a singin', I'm two weeks away from spending my summer acting at 4th Line Theatre and yet for some reason - earlier this week I felt like I'd been walking on eggshells with my anxiety.  Anxiety used to be a much bigger part of my life (particularly in highschool/beginning of University) but after reading Eckhart Tolle's A New Earth about 50 times, I've taught my brain how to break the cyclical nature of this stress...most of the time.  It's quite possible this is just a particularly bad lady time of the month, but knowing that doesn't change anything.  There are a few very minor things that really set me off this week: a couple of very human errors I made in my day job that really set me off, realizing that I only have 4 days off the first month I'm away and how much I'm going to miss Andy, and lastly having been advised that my business plan that I've been working really hard on needs an overhaul.  

Are these things earth shattering? NO!  Did anything really horrible happen? NO! So I was telling myself to get a grip and enjoy my time in Toronto before my adventure begins but it took a little fitness therapy to really let the steam off.  

My second crossfit class at Auxiliary fitness was a Deadlift WOD.  As I added on more weight, I kept telling the instructor/co-owner Justin that I had found my max.  He shook his head no, and kept pushing me to add on a little more.  I got to the point where I literally could not lift the dang barbell in the slightest and started to get really dizzy and had to put my head between my legs and rest.  I kind of expected Justin to tell me that was enough for the day and to relax. Nope.  He told me to try one more time.  "GET ANGRY!" he said.  So I thought of the 3 things that had been really getting under my skin this week, took a big breath, and somehow, that barbell that seemed impossible to lift a minute ago, was in the air.  My first Personal Record of 140lbs for deadlifts.  To say I'm hooked is a gross understatement.

Andy and I booked it to The Stratford Festival after the class to see The Matchmaker featuring my mentor and friend Chick Reid and her hubby Tom McCamus.  The show was incredibly well executed, and absolutely hilarious.  My face hurt from smiling after the curtain.  

It's slightly embarrassing to admit to losing my cool over such trivial matters, but there's no point in denying it.  Today - I feel like myself again, but I'm not sure if I could have shook off those negative vibes as easily without this killer stress busting combo of crossfit and the arts.  Instead of deflated and worried, I feel strong and inspired.  A New Earth will always have a place on my bookshelf but somehow I don't think I'll need it so much anymore.

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

Training and Tidbits

After weeks of anticipation and the finale to my "26 days of fitness challenge", it's time to start training for the  Goodlife Half-Marathon in May!

As someone who is relatively new to running, I've spent a lot of time online figuring out what the best training schedule will be for me.  I've taken into account the suggestions from a variety of fitness disciplines, including crossfit to come up with this schedule:

The main points that I have learned from crossfit instructors are to keep up with the strength training and to incorporate sprints into each training week to increase endurance.  I've barely begun this plan but I already feel like it's a good balanced regime for me.  After the intensity of the workout challenge, having full two full "rest" days is awesome, and as I've realized, incredibly important!

I'm happy for suggestions from anyone in terms of tweaks, so please feel free to leave your comments.







And as for my careeeeeer...

I'm starting to realize how essential it is for me to take care of myself in all respects in order to be at my absolute best in auditions.  Sounds pretty basic but it's easy to let things slide and convince yourself otherwise sometimes.   My goal for this week is to respect every element of being in a great mindset for             acting.  This includes:

• Fitness

Almost any actor that you talk to will agree with me that your body is your instrument.  It's SO easy to get caught up on weight and appearances.  Instead of focusing on the scale, I am going to go into each run or workout thinking of the confidence that I will take with me into my next audition as a result of my exercise.  It also just helps me clear my head and keep things in perspective!

• Networking

The whole business side of acting is a complicated balancing act of staying in touch and keeping doors open without pissing anyone off.  It's very easy to think that your talent will take you as far as you want to go but I've come to realize that it's not always the case.  Keeping in touch with important people and letting them know how you are doing and what you are working on is not something to feel sheepish about, and this is something I need to keep reminding myself.  So this week, I'm going to get in touch with my mentors and other people I know in the business and send some packages out to TV shows that I want to audition for.  Also - things like updating the ol' website and getting new business cards are some practical steps I can take to get the other side of my career in shape.

• Sleep

There are lots of benefits to not having a typical 9-5 job as an actor but there are also some downfalls.  One of those is when you don't have to be up at a certain time in the morning, it's easy to stay up too late and sleep later than you want to.  Problem is - this schedule or lack thereof does not help in creating a working mindset in the morning.  Artists have to put in the same time as any other working person, and getting up and starting the day at a reasonable time is the first steps in being productive.

• Nutrition

I follow a paleo diet in my day to day life and have for the past 6 months or so.  When I follow it properly that means that I don't have any processed foods in my diet (including dairy and grains!).  It may sound extreme, it may sound like torture but I swear to you if you try it for 30 days, you will never go back.  My energy is better, my digestion is better, and I just plain feel better.  I will do a full blog on this soon, but if you're interested, read Robb Wolf's The Paleo Solution.  I am not a robot.  If I'm out for dinner with friends and everyone's getting pizza, I go for it.  If it's a beautiful day off, I might have some frozen yogurt.  It's not as extreme as it sounds but after cutting these things out of my diet I realize I'm happier and healthier without them.

• Education

This is something that I definitely have to make more of an effort to keep on top of.  Education at this point for me means staying on top of training, reading plays, seeing theatre and making sure to stay on top of what is happening in the entertainment scene in Toronto.  I'm going to try to spend a little time every day educating myself!

Hope this inspires an actor who needs a little push.  Take care of yourself :)  You deserve it.

xoxo Allie