PUBLISHED 02/02/2006
Was the New York Marathon something you always wanted to do?
"Yeah. My brothers did it when I was a kid back in '78 and '79. I just said to myself 'One of these days I got to do that race.' To me it's the ultimate marathon. I'm from New York and all my family is from New York, so to me, to just run through all five boroughs…all the people coming out, it's just such a great event."
You said that it scares you a bit. What in particular scares you?
"As of right now the longest run I've been on is 17 miles. So I guess anything beyond 17 miles is the unknown. I want to do well. I don't want to come in 4 hours and 55 minutes, I want to make a decent account of myself. Just classic anticipatory anxiety: When am I going hit the wall? What will I do? I've had some bad races. Like Wildflower, I didn't hydrate well and I didn't really eat well and my legs cramped totally. For 11 miles I was the picture of the agony of defeat. I was just hobbling for 11 miles. It was so humiliating it was hysterical. I don't want to look like that at the finish line."
How do you break through the wall?
"Whenever I'm feeling a lot of pain in a race I just try to relax and breathe and just dig deep. You relax and go. Relax and go."
Have you switched your workout routine for the marathon?
"All running. I run 5 to 8 miles a day. And then on Sundays I'll do a long run, which has been about anywhere from 12 to 17 this last Sunday."
That will be your routine until the marathon?
"Yeah until the week before. Then I'll just take it easy, just run a couple of miles a day."
Do you usually run outside?
"I can't run on treadmills, they drive me nuts. I'm sort of lucky and I'm not lucky. I live in the Hollywood Hills; the first mile of my run is agony. It's straight uphill. It's just so hilly around here I can't wait actually to go to New York and run on some flats. It's really brutal. That's the only downside. I just can't bear that first mile straight up."
Do you run in the morning or night?
"I run whenever I can. Sometimes I'll run during lunch if I'm working. I sort of have to grab it while I can."
Do you run on the set?
"Oh yeah. I run during lunch from sets all the time."
Do you listen to music when you run?
"I have a little iPod Shuffle. I think it's the greatest exercise equipment that's ever been made."
What kind of music do you put on it?
"It's been funny since I've been training for the marathon I don't want to go fast, I just want to go long and slow. I've been listening to a lot of classical piano music oddly enough. I listen to Coldplay and Van Morrison. You know what I really love? I listen to a lot of African music. I just pretend I'm one of these great Kenyan runners and I'm just grooving to these great traditional African songs."
