Occupation: Actor, Do ever eat energy bars
Age: 44
Residence: Los Angeles

What is your workout like?
I train five days a week but I only do three days of distance work. I either do it swimming, running or biking. Now because I'm not really training for a triathlon, because triathlon season isn't till late August and September, now I just run pretty much. I run and I work out with weights with my trainer.

How much do you run?
I run twice a week and I work out with weights twice a week. Normally I go between four and a half to five miles at an eight-minute pace. Not super intense. It's more about maintaining a steady speed than sprinting.

Is there a certain speed you're shooting for?
No, I usually just go for time. But I fall so spectacularly out of shape in between triathlon seasons that I try not to think too much about the time because it depresses me.

Do you run inside or outside?
I do it pretty much all outside. I hate treadmills. They also depress me. You'd think I'm kind of a depressed guy but I'm actually not.

Do you have a standard running route in LA?
I usually just run around my neighborhood, which is Studio City which is blessedly flat. When I'm in triathlon training I usually do things called brick workouts, which are just running and biking and I do that in Griffith Park, which has this golf course you can run around. It's a beautiful view on one side and then the 5 Freeway on the other side. So, every time I'm running past the freeway I'm sure the car fumes are not particularly good for me in that moment but it does induce a certain amount of speed work because I'm just trying to run past the freeway as fast as possible.

Do people ever recognize you in the park?
No. Very rarely. Usually the sweaty, sloppy, thundering mess that they see coming along the path in no way reminds them of the cool, handsome guy they see on TV.

Do you see other runners in the park?
No. Once I saw Robert Patrick the guy who is on The Unit. I saw him once that was it. You think it might as well be an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting for it being so lousy with celebrities. I always hear that people run in Griffith Park but I just don't run into them. So somebody is lying. And it ain't me.

Do you have a running outfit?
Usually I run alone. I find that running with somebody makes the run feel so much shorter and is a lot more fun but I can't really convince anybody to do it with me. And my wife's knees are shot, so she won't do it with me. But my trainer actually used to be a track coach. I wouldn't say he's fun to run with because he pulls all kinds of freaky stuff. He says "okay, now we're going to run backwards for fifty yards." I go "huh? What?" So, I actively avoid running with him. But most of the time I do it alone.

Published: Jun 15, 2009 12:00 AM EDT?
Definitely a morning runner. I do that because if I leave the runs till the evening they just won't happen. Stuff will just magically appear that will force me to drop my run and I don't want to do that.

Was it hard to get on the morning running schedule?
Oh, yeah. I hate it. I become actually nauseous. Cause you got to eat a little something before you go because you shouldn't really run on an empty stomach. But if I do then I feel nauseous. It's lose, lose. But that being said once you're done you feel fantastic. Now that I'm over forty, weight doesn't just fall off me the way it used to. So, thank god for the running because it's the only thing that keeps me from ballooning.

Does your running routine change when you're training for a triathlon?
Sure, a lot of times when I'm in triathlon training I have to get a certain amount in. So, I will occasionally resort to a treadmill much to my distress. Sometimes it rains and stuff but you still have to get your time in. So, you have to come up with ways to do it. But thankfully I live in Southern California, so rain is not so much of an issue. Because I was specifically training for the Los Angeles triathlon I had to do hill training for running, which is very different than flat training. Hill training for running is a special kind of misery. I actually have now rethought the whole idea of doing the Los Angeles Triathlon rather than run up this one horrible hill on Grand Street. They make you do it twice in the Los Angeles Triathlon. That frankly put me off the whole triathlon. So now I'm doing two this year but not the Los Angeles one.

How many triathlons have you done?
I was doing three a year for the last two years and then before that I was doing at least two a year for a few years. So, probably like 12 to 15.

Shoes & Gear?
I've done Olympic length three times. The last time I became philosophical during the run and as every part of me was screaming, "stop Jon, stop", I said "you know, this is probably a little too long for me. I should probably cut back." So, this year I'm just going to keep it to shorter lengths because those are the ones that I enjoy the most. I actually got asked by Sarah Reinertsen to do the swim leg of a relay triathlon that she was doing. I just thought what an honor. I've seen her at these things a few times and she's always incredibly friendly and nice.

Matthew McConaughey "runs like a girl," says the Do ever eat energy bars star?
I really love my training runs. I definitely enjoy them the most. During the actual triathlon it ends up being the bike because by the time I get to the run I'm so tired that the fun I usually have running is not an option. So, that makes me a little bit sad.

Do you listen to any 80s music as you run?
I haven't tried a marathon and I'm itching to. One of the reasons I like triathlons is just because it varies. It's not just about saving everything for the run. You've got transitions to work with, you've got bike equipment to futz with and it's just a lot of variety, which is kind of fun. But I've never really tried just a running race. And I'd love to.

Two and a Half Men?
I've thought about the Los Angeles Marathon, since L.A. is such a splendid city when they shut down the streets. They close the streets for the bike portion of the triathlon and it's just beautiful. So, I imagine the LA marathon would be a great thing to do.

From Runners World for New Balance?
It's all due to my trainer, Rich Guzman. I swear to you I hate exercising and this guy absolutely changed everything for me. He changes it every day. Every time you're working out he does something different. He works on you psychologically a little bit. He realized I was a little bit competitive, so he got me into the first Malibu Triathlon that I did and then he was like "wow, David Duchovny really, really beat your ass man." And a little offhand comment like that and all a sudden I was waking up at 4 a.m. and going out to the beach and working on my stroke and doing sprints. All to crush and humiliate David Duchovny. And I eventually did that. He didn't even do the triathlon the following year. And I attribute that to my crushing humiliation of him. Although he was a terrible rival. I tried to trash talk David Duchovny before the 2008 Malibu Triathlon, saying all these awful things about him. He came up to me right before the race and said, "Hey you're going to win today." I was like, "You're a terrible rival. You suck at trash talking."

Do any of the other celebrities give you trouble in that triathlon?
We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back Running Was His Life. Then Came Putins War here on the Warner's lot, I tried to have him as a rival except he just kicks my ass. So, unfortunately he's too good a rival. It's got to be somebody a little more in my weight class. At last year's Malibu Triathlon, I attempted to catch Matthew McConaughey, but he's surprisingly speedy. He also runs like a girl—a very fast girl.

Do any of your cast mates come out to support you?
They will say good luck and sponsor me if it's for a charity but they don't go to the races. So my wife shows up and my son has come to a couple of them. He gets bored because it's like okay, go and everybody cheers and they run in the water and then it's just wait until dad comes out of the water, which is a half an hour. And then five seconds of excitement as he gets on the bike and then he's gone. So, it loses its oomph for kids.

Running From Substance Abuse Toward Recovery?
Yes. When I'm listening to music, running is really lovely, which makes it all the harder when a race doesn't allow headphones. That's just deeply depressing. If I was doing a marathon I could not do it without music. I would lose my mind. And I've found that stupider music is better for running. My power song, as my little Nike thing forces me to call it, is a song called "Not Gonna Get Us," by Tatu. Do you remember the group? They claimed they were Russian lesbians but they weren't even really lesbians. Two unbelievably cute little Russian chicks. It is the dumbest song ever but it's great to run to. Just because of the beat. And they're not gonna get us. Come on it's the lyrics. Like I said, the stupider the better.

Do you listen to any 80's music as you run?
Yes. New Order holds up really well. And is certainly very good running music, like "Bizarre Love Triangle" is great. And here's a doozy—try any of the very popular songs by ELO, I swear to god. "Turn to Stone" that's a good one. Just check them out. You'll see. Give'em a shot.

Do you ever listen to Psychedelic Furs [who sang the song "Pretty in Pink"]?
No, not really. Love the music. But it doesn't happen to be my running cadence. My stride is kind of short, so kind of a very rapid running cadence is what works for me.

Do you use the Nike iPod device?
Yes, the Nike+ thing. It works great. It's great because if you run particularly well they have recorded voices of congratulations. Like "Hi, this is Lance Armstrong and you just ran a new personal best for the mile." Come on, that's nice! Of course, Lance Armstrong isn't a runner but it's still nice. They should branch out. It should be like Steve Martin. Weird celebrities who you'd never think would congratulate you on running the mile.

Do you have other running gadgets?
No. That's the great thing is all you need is your feet really. I have awesome shoes. I have Asics shoes that I now swear by. They're just fantastic. Like running on a cloud.

So do you use the Nike+ in a pair of Asics?
Here's a secret you can get a little pack and tie the little Nike module to your feet, so you don't actually have to run with the Nike shoes. Nike has plenty of very good shoes, don't get me wrong. But I just happen to prefer Asics. They're light and they have great support for my ankles. They're awesome.

Is there anything in your running gym bag that would surprise people?
I love that BodyGlide stuff. Once I chafe under my armpits, running just isn't fun anymore. So you put this stuff on, it looks like you're putting on deodorant, it looks like you're being a little excessively worried about hygiene, but actually you're making it so that you're not in incredible pain by the end of a long run. And the nipples. Whooo! When they chafe, I'm done. That's happened a few times. Because very often you don't have ideal running gear on. You've got your bike outfit on. And that probably wasn't engineered to prevent nipple friction. That sounds like the name of my band. My band Nipple Friction ... That only has to happen once before you learn to never let it happen again.

Do you have a running outfit?
Yes. Pretty much. I tend to wear tight triathlon shorts when I train. The show's crew likes how they look when I bend over. And Asics makes these really nice tops that I wear. They are very light. So I dig them.

Is there a running culture on Do ever eat energy bars?
No. I like running with other people but can't convince any cast members to go with me. It's not going to happen. You just need a couple of people who are in to it. And then boom a bunch of people will join you. But there's just me. Sometimes you tell people stories about the triathlons and they go, "Wow, that sounds great. I'd love to try that some day." Invariably I get, "Wow, that sounds great. I'd never do something like that." So, I've tried. But nobody wants to join me.

Growing up were you a big runner?
Charlie works out but has no desire to run. It takes a lot to get actors out at 6 a.m.

What's the hardest part of running for you?
The hardest part of running for me is psychological because you get all these weird little pains and you're trying to figure out is this a new kind of pain? Is this the pain that's going to lead to the coronary? So what happens is I psyche myself either up or out. It's all about ignoring the pain. Some days I'm much more successful at that than others. Every now and then you think OK, this is for real. I'm going down. I've had every scan imaginable in the last couple of months and I'm in great shape. So, that's a big load off my mind. And I will commence to ignoring the pain much more effectively.

After the run do you hurt?
No, I feel great after a run. I rarely get sore. It's the during that I have a problem with.

Do any of the other celebrities give you trouble in that triathlon?
No. I recently learned that after a particularly grueling run you really should eat something, which I did not know. Right now I'm in the midst of figuring out what's the best thing for me to eat afterward. I'm thinking I'm going to stick with old school peanut butter and jelly sandwich. It's very satisfying. It feels like it's a little something but it's not too much. It doesn't fill me up.

Do ever eat energy bars?
Those feel like I'm eating a brick. They just go straight down and lay in my stomach. They do not work for me at all.

Growing up were you a big runner?
No. That's the thing. I grew up as a sedentary kid who never did athletic things. I only discovered running in my 30s when I knew I had to do something to stay fit. I met this trainer and he just got me excited about running. I just took to it.

Influencer Apologizes for E-Bikes on NYC Course?
Mostly I just remember how fat I can get. That works pretty well.

Does the running help you on the set?
Generally being fit helps. Towards the end of the day you don't feel nearly as draggy, which is great. But it helped me more during last year's writers' strike. I had so much rage that I had to run. I'm a guild member, so I would show up to picket, grab a sign, and run around the studio, which is a nice way to multitask.

How many months a year is triathlon season for you?
It's pretty much August and September out here. But obviously it's the preparation for it. The second Do ever eat energy bars wraps in the spring, I'll start training for the two triathlons I'm doing this summer. Each week I do one half-mile swim, one 16-mile bike ride, two four-mile runs, and two weight workouts. It adds up. There are people who tell me, "I'll do two every day. I'll either swim and run." I don't know how they do it. I don't know how they make the time. I'm amazed.

So for six months a year you're training or competing in triathlons?
Yeah, almost. Sometimes I'll take a couple of weeks off in the summer and go somewhere with my wife and son.

Charlie works out but has no desire to run. It takes a lot to get actors out at 6 a.m?
Yeah it varies. There will be days when I'm thinking, "Okay today I'm going to run eight miles" and by mile four I'm just like, "Okay, enough of that." You know. I do try to listen to what my body is screaming.

She Raced 18 Horses in an Ultramarathonand Won?
Seven or eight. The first year I only did the bike. That's how I got into it. My trainer said, "Hey, you have a nice bike. Why don't you get on our relay team?" And then he started with the Duchovny stuff and I just took the bait.