Born to Run

Hey guys!

Tonight I went for a run.  Shouldn't be that big of a deal at this point, right?

Wrong.

This week marked the second week of my return to the great land known as Broadway.  Right now I'm Monday through Friday 10-6 PM.  By the time I get home I'm cold, tired (because I still haven't gotten my sleep schedule readjusted) and hungry.  The old me wouldn't have even contemplated going for a run in nice weather, let alone the frozen tundra.  While I'm not running as frequently as I would like (4-5 times per week) I am staying consistent with a minimum of 3 solid runs.  My eating isn't too bad, and I managed to lose a pound during my weigh-in this week.  I'm readjusting my unemployed work-out schedule with the employed work-out schedule and I'm pretty happy with the results.  The old me would have used this as a perfect reason to quit.  Not the new Maia.  Tonight when I walked through the door my voice kept telling me to just blow off the run tonight.  It was too cold.  You have things to do.  But instead, I put on an extra layer, my heavier earmuff head band and a pair of gloves and I got out there and ran.  A very wise man has said that the only run you'll ever regret, is the one you didn't take.  After tonight's run, I totally agree with that statement.  I have never been so happy I ignored myself.

I do have to admit that tonight's run was a bit of a challenge.  After I signed up for the half marathon I realized that I needed to try and quicken my pace and so during the flat straights of my run I decided to sprint.  This was a good idea until I got to the first hill...  Towards the top I was grunting, growling, swearing and it was not a pretty site.  I never make these sounds while I'm running but I decided that I was going to push myself and so fought the desire to slow to a walk and just kept running.  The second huge hill wasn't as bad, but again I fought the desire to slow down.  The result?  I cut my record for this path by 5 MINUTES!!  I'm pretty happy with that!  During the last half mile as I was sprinting my iPod started playing Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run.  I thought it was very fitting.  It kept me pumping.

This Saturday marks my second official race.  I'm running a 5K about two blocks from my house.  I'm excited.  The weather is supposed to be decent (40 degrees instead of the 25 it is currently...) and it's in Riverside Park which I haven't run in yet.  Some new scenery should do me good.

On a couple of personal notes (because this blog isn't personal enough already) I'm encouraging everyone to please head over to skinnyemmie.com and donate towards her half marathon fund raising goal.  She is completing the half marathon in honor of her late mother (an amazing woman!) who passed away WAY too young due to Young Onset Parkinson's Disease.  If you know anything about Parkinson's, you know that it is a wretched disease that needs to find a cure.  And now.

Also, a little shout out for the new show I'm working on.  It's called Baby It's You and its coming soon to Broadway.  We start previews the end of March and officially open on April 27th.  We started rehearsals this week and I'm having so much fun!  I'm working in a new office with a great bunch of people that make coming to work everyday a blast instead of a chore.  I mean, I work in theater.  It should be fun, right?  Anyway, check out the video below.  It's an interview with our star, Tony Award winner Beth Leavel (who is AMAZING and so funny) and was filmed during a recent photo shoot.  If you are in NYC and want to see the show, let me know!  I'm the lady who knows how to get things...;)