HOLLYWOOD - LIFE - BETTY WHITE?

Life is made up of a series of experiences.

Some are good. Some are bad. Some you forget. Some stay with you forever.

I started this blog to share my experience as a marathon runner in the making.  

Running found its way into all aspects of my life – travel, family, work, and friends.

I haven’t always loved running but I have always loved everything and anything pop culture & entertainment.

During the late 90s I truly believed that I was the next Britney Spears. I even asked for a karaoke machine for Christmas in 1999 to “master my craft”. After playing my personal recording of Whitney Houston’s “Star Spangled Banner” and watching the uproarious reactions of my two best friends, I quickly learned that I needed to find a new career path.

No problem. I always had a flair for drama so the stage and screen would be the perfect place for me. I obsessed over becoming the next Julia Roberts and might have even performed my future Oscar acceptance speech in front of my bedroom mirror.

Then I grew up, went to college, and found my true life path… one based in reality.

Fast forward to 2013. I still love everything and anything pop culture & entertainment. I can rattle off the latest TMZ headlines and IMDB bios quicker than most around me. Many of my friends work in finance, public relations, or other areas of the corporate world. As many of you know, I work where my heart belongs- in the world of entertainment.

I’m not going to bore you with any more personal details but simply cut to the point, because it’s a pretty good one.

Last October my name was chosen at random during an annual channel meeting to win a walk on role in a TV Land original program. This past weekend I claimed my prize and traveled to Los Angeles to appear in the background of a scene of “Hot in Cleveland” starring Wendy Malick, Valerie Bertinelli, Jane Leeves, and BETTY WHITE. No, I did not stutter. Betty. Mother. F’ing. White.



Stage 19. Here goes nothing...

I didn’t know much about my trip or “prize” before actually landing in LA last weekend. I knew the sitcom and my tape date but that was about it. While out on a run in the Hollywood Hills on Thursday afternoon I got a call from one of the producers on the show to explain the events of my big debut. I should have known that I would get the info I was dying for while out on a run.  

I stopped dead in my tracks, took in all of the information, and stood still in shock. It was one of those moments when you feel like the world is spinning and you are right at the center. It was incredibly exciting yet strangely frightening at the same time.

There was a time (mentioned above) when a chance to appear on TV would have been my absolute dream come true. At the “mature” age of 26 the experience that I take from this is far bigger and deeper than what the 13 year old in me would have expected.

I arrived on set Friday to catch Betty and one of the guest stars for the week Carol Burnett (I KNOW, IT JUST GETS BETTER) mid-rehearsal. Both ladies were in their casual everyday clothes and tweaking the scene to their liking. Watching them in action was surreal and perhaps even career fulfilling. I was in the presence of two actors that changed television and forever influenced women in all areas of entertainment. It was humbling to sit in their presence and watch them perform. Their craft has been respected for decades with awards, accolades, and admiration- I got to see it firsthand.  

Betty, Carol, and the rest of the women were just as amazing as you would imagine. Carol has impeccable comedic timing and Betty is as sharp as a whip at the golden age of 91. I was in the presence of legends.

The pictures below will speak for themselves and share the rest of my story.

That's a wrap!

Life is made up of a series of experiences. Remember how I said some you forget? Yeah, I’m pretty sure I can rule that out for this one.

A Saturday morning hike to the Hollywood sign made my trip complete.

What's new with my running? Who cares! Let's chat about that next time.

Lot of love and laughs.

xoxo

L

NYC HALF 2013 RACE RECAP

Hi there! Remember me?

I missed you. Well, not really. Work has been VERY busy in 2013 and not training for a marathon has given me all the time in the world for a pretty full social agenda. A marathon-less life means you can travel to see family on the west coast, eat drink and be merry over the holidays, and celebrate turning “quarter life plus one” surrounded by an amazing group of family and friends.

During (most) of this time, I was still running. I made workouts and usually completed them. This weekend the NYC Half marked my return to running in 2013.

The NYC half is without a doubt my FAVORITE race. The energy running through the city is like nothing else. Wait, I’m sure it’s like the marathon but we all know that I can’t comment on that…YET!

All week I went back and forth debating a race plan for Sunday. Part of me wanted to set out for a PR but another part of me wanted to just have fun and enjoy the race. I had a ton of girlfriends running it, one of which being my most dedicated training partner M. It was her 3^rd half marathon and we trained together for weeks in preparation.

By Thursday I made my decision. My training for this race was decent but not stellar. I really didn’t know if I was in the shape physically or mentally to break my time from Philly last year (1:48:19). At that point I had been full-fledged marathon training and we all know that I overdid it on the course. I didn’t know if I really cared enough to push myself to that point on Sunday.  

In the end, I decided that I wanted to share this fabulous race with an even more fabulous friend. I’ve had a lot of great race karma in my years of running so I wanted to pay it forward. I was going to stay with M the whole race to offer any support she needed. I think I was also a little bit relieved to be taking the pressure off myself.

After deciding this race was for fun and not for time, my days leading up the race were very different than my usual pre-race preparation. I skipped Friday’s last training run for a girls’ dinner at Penelope and ordered an entrée at dinner on Saturday night that was actually served inside a block of cheese. So much for no dairy on race eve!

Sunday morning my alarm went off at 5am and I threw together an outfit that incorporated some form of green. I love my all black everything race outfits but in the spirit of my heritage’s holiday I had to change things up. After a Cliff bar and coffee, it was time to be dragged uptown to find friends and jump in corrals.

Fun fact… The weather was maybe 30 degrees and felt like the low 20s. The corrals were crowded with bundled up runners ready to start running in an attempt to warm up. We did start running but unfortunately the “warm up” part came much later than any of us wanted.

Miles 1 - 2: Holy mother it was freezing. I couldn’t really feel my feet and hoped that my body would warm up… eventually? I didn’t feel fresh but didn’t know if it was from Saturday’s dinner or the bitter cold. I told M that I was running with her even though she asked me at every other step to run ahead.

Miles 3 - 4: Hello Harlem Hill. M and I got separated after she had a mildly traumatic iPhone mishap right at mile 3 so I darted up the hill to get it over with. I called her phone until she finally picked up. I told her that I was at the top waiting for her. She told me to go on but no such luck sister, she was stuck with me. I found her at the top and we kept going.

Miles 5 - 6 : The Sister Hills. Harlem and Cat Hill are a pain but the three “sister” hills on the west side of Central Park aren’t really a piece of cake. I could run the loop of Central Park with my eyes closed but it doesn’t make it any easier.



Once the end of the park was in sight we were ready for the fun to begin. “Empire State of Mind” came on my iPhone right as I was entering Times Square and I didn’t even plan it this year! Last year I might have turned it on, don’t judge. M really enjoyed the change to a flat course and my paparazzi skills mid-run.

Mile 7: Bright lights and lots of people! This might be the only day that I absolutely LOVE Times Square!

Oh hi Times Square!




Hi M!



Just being 16 and taking selfies























Miles 8 - 11: We left Times Square on 42^nd Street and headed to the West Side Highway for the remainder of the race. The wind hit us briefly and I regretted ditching my gloves 2 miles back. Once we were on the highway it was SUPER flat and the weather was starting to warm up.

NYC Half. There's no race like it.

This year I also noticed a huge increase in crowd support and excitement along the West Side Highway. This was the point in the race where I started having a lot of fun. The endorphins kicked in and I was entirely too peppy for M to handle. Luckily, she didn’t trip me as I kept running with her.

Mile 12: I took out my headphones to take in the energy and excitement as we neared the end of the race and entered Battery Tunnel. I absolutely LOVED this part of the race although I know some others didn’t feel the same. I knew how long the tunnel would last but unfortunately others, like M, didn’t love it as much. Once we exited the tunnel we were in the home stretch with roughly .5 to go. The sun was shining and streets were lined with tons of people cheering all of us all on.

Mile 13: SPRINT! I don’t even remember seeing the mile 13 marker because once I saw FINISH it was game time.            

M crossed the finish line right after me and it took her some time to recover. We caught up with her parents, took a few post-race pictures, and then made our way to the nearest bar. I love running a race but celebrating post-finish sometimes is the best part.

We headed to Stone Street to catch up with fellow runners and super supportive friends. I definitely still felt the endorphins and finally M began to feel like herself again. I actually overheard her saying she wanted to do the race again next year which was just slightly different than the comments she had moments after the finish.

Post-Race celebrations & hydration

I 100% recommend the NYC Half to any runners and non-runners that have an affinity for or live in NYC. It's the best!

This race was the perfect way to kick off 2013. I feel like I remembered what I love about running and it got me excited to see what this year holds. I am strangely looking forward to start marathon training again and can’t wait to take a trip to DC for my first Nike race next month.

“I love waking up rested and ready to meet the new year in the finest way possible - running into it.”- Kristin Armstrong, Mile Markers blog, Runner's World.com

I have a good amount of work to do in the next few weeks on my running and overall fitness. The Nike Women’s DC Half appears to be a flat course and my mind is set on a PR. I loved everything about my NYC Half experience this year but I am itching to push myself and see what I can take on next. I think I needed this break from running and PR reaching to get fired up. Game on.

I’ve had a hard time creating a good running playlist this year but think Sunday’s was a good start. I’m going to start with the NYC Half and add on some new tunes for DC. If I am going to set out for a killer time, I'll need the perfect soundtrack for the course and self-torture.

*NYC HALF 2013 PLAYLIST*

1-      Crazy Train – Ozzy Osbourne

2-      I Love It (feat. Charli XCX) – Icona Pop

3-      Feel This Moment (feat. Christina Aguilera)- Pitbull

4-      We Found Love (Glee Cast Version) – Glee Cast

5-      Starships- Nicki Minaj

6-      Don’t You Worry Child- Swedish House Mafia

7-      Collide- Leona Lewis & Avicii

8-      Mirrors – Justin Timberlake

9-      Empire State of Mind (feat Alicia Keys)- Jay- Z

10-   Thrift Shop (feat. Wanz)- Mackelmore & Ryan Lewis

11-   Brokenhearted- Karmin

12-   Raise Your Glass- Pink

13-   Die Young – Ke$ha

14-   Cinema (Skrillex Remix)- Benny Benassi

15-   We Found Love (feat Calvin Harris)- Rihanna

16-   Rosalita (Come Out Tonight)- Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band

17-   Firework- Katy Perry

18-   You Can Call Me Al- Paul Simon

19-   Dog Days Are Over- Florence + The Machine

20-   Use Your Love- Katy Perry

Lastly, I will leave you with this video. Thank me later...

http://www.latenightwithjimmyfallon.com/video/justin-timberlake-mirrors/n33727/

When will we meet or talk again? Soon my friends, very soon.  LA’s sneakers are back in action.

Lots of love and laughs!

xoxo
LA