My Life on Water

It occurred to me the other day that I have never really gone into what I do, or why I "run on water". I can't go into ALL the details (non-disclosure agreements being what they are), but hopefully what I can discuss will be interesting.

I work for a well known comedy theatre, doing contracts on a well known cruise line's various ships. As someone who has loved comedy and travel their whole life, this is an amazing job and it has been a life-changing opportunity.

It got me out of a desk job that I hated (and didn't belong in, frankly), it helped Greg and me realize that we wanted to get married, and over the last year (although I've made excuses to the contrary up until last year), it has also given me the time and the means to focus on losing weight, training for the races we've done, and getting fitter in general.

Now, I say I made excuses. Those excuses packed about 40 pounds onto my body in about 4 years. It went up and down, but the end result was me running the Princess Half literally 40 pounds heavier than I was when I started doing ships. That was frustrating. I had started running partially to lose weight, but the weight just wasn't moving.

I blamed the food. I mean, people who go on a a cruise gain an average of 5 to 7 pounds in a week, and I'm here for 4 months at a time. How did I stand a chance?

The first thing that I had to change was my relationship to the job. Everyone around me was on vacation. I was not. They could afford to cut loose, eat the "naughty" food and drink the yummy cocktails. I could not. They could take the week off from the gym. I'd never been a big gym-goer. So everything had to change, or I could not change at all.

We have access to the gym on each ship, and now we've made it a point to work the gym into our schedule every day, even if it means forgoing time ashore. When we first started going to the gym a couple of contracts back, it was very basic, then we started using Jillian Michaels' programs. But all the while, we would see people following an impossible looking video on their computers.

They were doing P90X.

It may be old news to a lot of people, but it keeps mading the rounds on the cruise ships like a secret handshake. Once you know what it is, you see it everywhere. A group of dancers here, a customer service guy there, an officer over there... They all look impossibly fit. The workout seems impossible and moderately terrifying.

And so we started.

Greg completed the 90 days the first time we attempted the program on our last contract. I got 60 days in before other health issues threw me off all my training (both P90X and training for the Disneyland Half Marathon). But I could see and feel a difference even through the health garbage I was going through, and I ended up running a 10K when I got home at a pace that I thought was a pipe-dream goal at the time.

And so here we are again. No race to train for (which is still freaking me out a little), but I'm 4 weeks into P90X and feeling stronger than I have in a long time.

And thanks to the head start I got from Weight Watchers, and the ongoing accountability I achieve using MyFitnessPal, I've lost over 20 pounds since the Princess Half in February 2012, at least ten of which have come off while we have been on the ship these last 4 weeks.

I'm proud of that.

I'm also proud that I did a running experiment this week. I'm an interval run/walk/run Galloway gal - you know that. But this week, since I haven't run in almost a month, I thought I'd try something new. I warmed up and then put the treadmill at 5.5 and just ran straight. I wanted to see if I could get to a mile.

And I did. In 9 minutes 30 seconds.

Awesome.

My nemesis. Legs and Back.

Mascara Review

Let me start by saying: I am NOT a makeup person. It's not a part of my daily routine, I find it fussy and a little smothery, but its a necessary evil for work.

You hit the stage without makeup, and you look like a cross between a zombie and ghost.

Now I am told that my combination skin is a blessing which will keep me looking young beyond my years (add 'vampire' to my list of ghouls), but it also has a way of having a negative effect on any mascara I have ever tried.

Between foundation and my natural glistening self after running around under hot stage lights, and I end up wearing my mascara a lot lower than it was initially applied.  As in, UNDER my eyes.

Not cute.

I've been on the hunt for a mascara that will not slip and slide it's way down to accentuate the dark veins under my eyes.

Enter the Shoppers Drug Mart Eye Studio Sampler.

I found this shortly after Christmas (it was a holiday gift box which, according to reviews, seems to be an annual offering) and thought it was right up my alley.  I plunked down the $39 for the box of 7 sample sizes of their top selling mascaras.  Also in the box is a coupon to exchange for a full sized version of your favourite.

I haven't tried all the samples - I read the descriptions of some of the offerings and dismissed them immediately.  I was looking for something long lasting, water-proof and generally tough-as-nails since I attribute much of my smudging to oiliness.

I narrowed it down to the Lise Watier 24 Hrs Glam Mascara sample:

Source: LiseWatier.com

From their website:

Our mission: to boldly lengthen and volumize lashes while providing extreme, long-lasting wear. Once you try our 24 Hrs Glam Mascara, you'll agree: mission accomplished. Its elastic polymer formula and FlexiQueen TM brush surround each lash with a 3D waterproof film to create an infinitely glamorous look that lasts all day, and all night for an astonishing 24 smudge-free, waterproof, sweatproof, humidity proof and, sob, tear proof hours. Need yet more proof? Okay. It's opthalmologically tested.

I wore it to a couple of long shifts running single serve coffee machines at a bridal show (read: Lots of steam) and was pleased to see that there was no smudging, but it wasn't really the toughest trial I could think of.  It gave good coverage, good definition, good lash separation.  Nice product.

Meanwhile, I gave the Smashbox Full Exposure a run for it's money - facilitating a corporate event in a hot room for 90 minutes, then running home. It did well in the facilitating portion of the day - less good in the running part of the day. That said, the quality of the product was amazing. It looked great. I would happily wear it for regular, non-sweating events.

Source: smashbox.com

But back to my pal Lise Watier.

Yesterday I really put her to the test. I hadn't had a good run in since the Half Marathon, and despite the rain, it was time to get back out there. Since we're heading back out on the ship in a couple short weeks, I figured it was a good idea to get my whole mascara situation settled.  So I did what any normal person would do.

I put on a layer of mascara, suited up, put on a layer of Elizabeth Arden 8 Hour Cream, and went for a 5 mile run in the pouring rain.

Since I didn't run past any reflective surfaces, I wasn't sure if the "what a nut" looks I was getting from other soggy pedestrians was due to the fact that I was out running in that weather, or because I looked like Tammy Faye Baker had a love child with a raccoon.

Guess what?

They just thought I was nuts because I was running in rain, freezing rain, thunder and lightning!

My mascara did NOT BUDGE!

I know a lot of ladies like to wear a touch of make-up for races, and runDisney's Princess Half Marathon is only a few short weeks away, so if you haven't found your mascara of choice, perhaps the Lise Watier 24 Hours Glam Mascara is for you!

Note: I paid for these mascara samples myself and this review is the opinion of a happy consumer. I have no relationship with any of these companies.

Totes MIA

It's been a week.  I am a prodigal blogger, but I've been hunkering down on the job hunt and the "getting real world things done" front.

Lots going on here.

Vet appointment (Scooter's doing GREAT), a job interview (nailed it, more on that in another post) my own doctor's appointment (I'm doing GREAT) volunteering for the Scotiabank Waterfront Marathon weekend (Expo yesterday, Course Marshalling tomorrow for the race) and then a snippet of work this morning (along with some shopping at the expo).

Jam some conditioning runs and an 8 mile long run in there along with my regularly scheduled flyer scouring and coupon snipping (I'm not an extreme couponer, I'm just on a budget) and you've got my week.  Ok, ok.  There was a significant amount of dog-cuddling peppered in there, too.

So no blogsingtons.

BUT, I'll have a lot to share after I stand out on the race course tomorrow (in the rain, oh boy).  I'm super excited to have a chance to see the 5K runners start in my area, and that also means I'm stationed around MIle 17 of the Marathon course, so I'm also excited to get a chance to see the Marathon runners as they come through.  There is something so thrilling about seeing that first runner kicking away.  It's one of my favourite memories of the runDisney Princess Half Marathon this year - arriving at Mile 3, and seeing the eventual winner of the race just killing it as she ran back towards the finish line.  Absolutely thrilling.

Fingers crossed for an exciting day (but not too exciting - let's all stay upright, runners).

Good luck everyone!