Official Blog of Allison Ethier

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Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
Official blog of Allison Ethier NSCA Personal Trainer, ISSN Sport Nutrition, Educator & Mom

05 July 2008

Trip to Toronto

My trip to Toronto last week went great. It was a busy few days. Drove up on Wed. Shot on Thursday, Friday and Sunday. Then I drove back to Quebec on Monday, stopped in at my school to finish up a few things and then kept driving to the Maritimes. It was a very long day.
I managed to stay on my diet for the whole time away, with the exception of Sunday night, and Monday as I ran out of food. Even though, I still managed to eat well while travelling, and my cheat foods are not really full out binging cheats. I did get in 3 days of workouts, mind you they were not as intense as I would have liked. Saw some of the photos and would love to share, but I have to keep them underwraps until September.

No cover shoot for Oxygen yet. I did do some wonderful training shots, which is great. I am looking to progress to the next level. I do my own leg work, and don't have an agent. I also don't live in a hub that puts me in a more likely position to shoot with various magazines. This can be very frustrating. I also worked with Cathy Chatterton, which were have been emailing for 2 years now, so it was wonderful to finally meet her. Also with my sponsor - Slimquick Extreme - so that we could update all my photos. Hopefully those turned out, as I did work with Glen Grant. Great to work with him in a professional setting.

While in Toronto I made a few observations; I am not a 'city chick'. I grew up in a relatively small town, or various small towns, and am quite shocked at the few random events that happened while in Toronto.
I do have to mention the positives - such as taking the subway and walking everywhere. I used to do this all the time when I was in college, and do miss it. What a great way to get in some extra cardio. My friend and fellow fitness gal - Liana Saadi - offered up her place to crash while I was in T.O. It was a wonderful area, near U of T, and everything was in walking distance. Since I live in the country, and have to drive everywhere, walking is not something that I do often and when I do visit the city, it is refreshing to just take in the sights and sounds.
With walking everywhere, you do up your chance of getting injuries - oh, let's just mention almost being hit by a woman in her car, not paying attention to the crosswalk signs. Luckily I was paying attention.
There are many sights to behold when on the subway as well - couples making out without noticing everyone else watching them...or maybe it was just me watching; a guy with so many sticks, and piercings coming out of his face some could think he was a distant cousin of a dart board; and people just sleeping, randomly - everywhere. I guess if you live here, you learn to get used to these sights. I am a huge people watcher so for me this is very entertaining.
I think I could just ride the subway, and watch people.
It was also Gay Pride weekend in Toronto. Although I did not go, Liana did attend and shot some very interesting photos. I did not know you could just walk around naked for the day??

I am currently vacationing in the Maritimes and will post some pics soon. I am finding it a bit tough to get to the gym, so I am trying to keep my diet on track. I am staying 30mins from the closest gym so to train, and return home takes about 2 hours. Still have not started routine practice yet. I will be doing that for sure next week. Just wanted to get my bearings first. I am finding that I am hungry sooner. This can be a good thing, but I still have 32 days left to diet, and I just don't want to get too lean too fast, and then I look too skinny. The other girls are so beefy that I just want to make sure I preserve all my muscle.

I will be moving to a different house next week. This should be a bit more consistent in my schedule. I am coming to realize that is the most difficult part of the summer - trying to keep a consistent schedule. Dieting in the summer is not what I would choose to do. It is all in line with achieving my pro card. I am not happy that the National show is in August, and really don't understand why Canada continues to do things so backward. A late fall show - say in October/November, or an early spring show in April/May would not fit well into my schedule in terms of travel, but in terms of timing & the diet - for me it would be much easier. I would be at work, with a consistent schedule, not a lot of travel involved, be very busy all the time - which I find helps to keep me on track. Not sure if I am just making excuses, or am having a bit of a minor bitch session here. Ok maybe this is a mini-vent. Thanks for reading, talk soon,

A.

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