I did something I never thought I'd do...
I reached a big goal today... I ran ten miles!!!!!! I've been running for the past several months, steadily increasing my distance, and for a long time I was stuck at six miles. Then my friend Molly from work told me about this running group she's in called LA Leggers that trains for the LA marathon in March. And they run longer lengths every week, starting at one mile and building up to 26 miles. Last week was my first time running with them, and we did nine miles (it was rough towards the end, but I did it). The runs start at 7am on Saturday mornings in Santa Monica (which is like, 40 minutes away from where I live), so it sucks to get up so early. But the entire run is on the boardwalk by the ocean, and we start running maybe half and hour after the sun comes up... it is SO pretty. If you ever have to run ten miles, this is the place to do it. They have different groups for different paces, and I'm in the ten-minute-per-mile group. The 10-mile run this morning took us one hour and forty-one minutes; we have running mentors who lead the groups and set the pace. After this week we increase milege every other week-- so next week is five miles, then the week after that is twelve, then after that seven, then after that fourteen, and so on. I may run the Long Beach half-marathon in two weeks, since it's only one mile longer than the length of the run scheduled for that week... and that would be kinda cool. I mean a half marathon? That's something I never thought I'd do in my life. I kind of doubt I'll do the full marathon in March, just because right now the thought of doing that really scares me, but the jury is still out on that one-- perhaps it will happen. Anyways, I'm just excited to have run ten miles; I figured after having foot surgeries the past two Christmases, my feet wouldn't be able to do it, but they are holding up well. And I started doing this kayak fitness program about a month ago, so I'm doing that to work out my upper body while the long runs take care of my upper body. There's this awesome lake near my apartment that has a kayak program (run by the Los Angeles Park & Rec) where after you take the class you can use their kayaks any time you want. It's such a cool thing-- very cheap, and it reminds me of being at summer camp on the lake last year. One of the best things about living in LA is taking advantage of good weather year-round, and I'm so excited to keep this up. Our schedule changed at work last week-- we now start taping at 9:30am instead of 8am-- so now every morning before work I either swim, hike, or run (there's a cross-training schedule that LA Leggers suggests to improve your running). I love being outside so much; it makes the rest of the day more bearable!! And speaking of work, my name will (finally) start appearing in the Y&R credits starting the week of Oct. 9th!! I'll be listed as a Production Associate, which is half of my job (I'm the back-up Production Associate, and the rest of the time I'm a production assistant... it's a pain to explain, but some of you reading this will understand... Andy?! I miss you!!). So that's exciting news... hmmmm what else.... I went back east for my cousin's wedding in upstate New York two weeks ago, and it was awesome to see my family. I love them so much. And my cousins are awesome. My sister Beth (who is only 20) was able to drink my cousin Elena (who is 24) under the table... it was fun times, needless to say. And my cousin Dee is pregnant with the first Meyer great-gran kid in our family, which is so exciting!! The only bad moment of that weekend: when the airline lost my bag at JFK. (Don't feel too bad for me, I got two free dresses from my parents out of the deal... and I did get my bag back, eventually). Good times! I hope everyone reading this is well!