PS I Love You
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When did you start running?
I used to play in high school a ton of sports. So I would get my running in that way. But purely running, I would probably say when I got into this whole Hollywood world and I realized I had to stand next to all these actresses who are in tremendous shape. It kind of dawned on me then that "Okay, you kind of need to stay fit." You always have to wear these revealing dresses. For me running has always been the easy way if I wanted to lose five pounds in a couple of weeks. Running has been the only thing and the quickest thing that works for me. So, I really started running when I came to LA&mdahs;that would have been back in 1996 when I started with Access—and I was having to stand next to all these Hollywood celebrities. And then I was running consistently. Back then it was easier to be able to eat whatever I wanted to and not have to worry about it as much as I do now.

How often do you run?
Back then I would probably run three times a week and would do it either for 30 minutes before I would go to work or 45 minutes if I could do it after work. And then I had a bulging disc. I was throwing the baseball with my stepson and I threw my disc out, so I had to stop running for about a year almost because it would come and go. And it eventually healed itself. I haven't had it in a long time. But I had to stop all exercise then. And then I got pregnant. Then I couldn't run like I normally would. Then I had the baby and I was too busy for a while. And then my mom was really sick and I was focused on that and trying tend to her. So I recently had gotten back into it. The past seven months I'm, like, five days a week running. And I love it. When my mom got sick I was spending so much time researching for her and I really wasn't watching what I ate. Because it didn't matter. All I wanted to do was focus on her. I wasn't focusing on me. Momma passed away about three and a half months ago. My mom and I were so very, very, very close. I just decided okay I need to feel good about myself. You just feel kind of down and out. You don't feel like doing much. I said I've got to get out of this funk. I got to start getting back, even if I don't feel healthy emotionally yet, 'cause I'm still dealing with the loss, I wanted to feel healthy physically again. I started running and it made me feel so much better 'cause I felt like I was doing something proactive to stay heart healthy and to feel better about myself. I had the Emmys coming up. Running has always been an easy way for me to lose the pounds really quickly. I've been running five days a week now straight for about 3 months and I've already lost 12 pounds. That was nice. I do it now five days a week, probably 45 minutes per run. It's tough to try to fit it all in. But it makes you feel so much better and I enjoy it. That's one thing I really enjoy. A lot of people go, 'I don't know how you do it—run, run, run.' But I love it. I do it out in my neighborhood. I will do a treadmill if it's raining, which rarely happens in California. Or if it's late at night. Or a lot of times I'll have to watch a movie or TV show for work for an interview that I'm getting ready to do. So I'll pop that on the DVD player and watch it as I'm on the treadmill.

Running Supports This Marathoners Sobriety?
I do it more by time. I have a little heart rate monitor that I keep on. I try to keep my heart rate up at about 145, 150. I go for about 45 minutes straight like that. I usually do it with a trainer. He runs me like crazy. Sometimes we will change it up, where we go, 'okay we're going to do long strides,' 'now we will slow it down a little bit and do slow strides' or sometimes we will do sprints in between. But usually it's a steady-pace jog. I know how many calories I typically burn. A minimum of 450 is our goal. About 45 minutes is around the 450 range if I do it at a heart beat that I'm at. I prefer to do it more like 600, so sometimes we will throw in sprints to try to get it up to 600.

Do you not listen to music since you're running with a trainer?
No. I sit there and have a long conversation with the trainer, which keeps me entertained usually. Plus, I always get nervous about listening to music and having traffic around you. When I'm on a treadmill I will. But I like to watch DVDs more so or a movie that I haven't seen and that will keep me occupied because I tend to start thinking too much.

Is there one movie you love to run to or put on if you don't have anything to watch?
Usually, what happens in my business is that I have to cover so many movies because of the interviews that I'm doing and I have to watch so many because of the award ceremonies. So I'll get DVDs of those TV shows and start watching them or if I have the Golden Globes coming up then all the movies that are nominated. There is a ton. So leading up to the Oscars or the Golden Globes or whatever event is coming up it's a good way to get your exercise in and working at the same time. In between [award ceremonies] what I do is I go out and grab a movie that I didn't cover and so I didn't necessarily see it but yet I wanted to, like I just watched PS I Love You. So I'll get movies that I didn't have to watch for work and just wanted to catch up on.

Do you run longer if you're watching a movie?
Absolutely. You don't notice the time. You don't constantly look at the clock. That's way I usually try to get a romantic one because I love romantic movies and I completely forget that I'm exercising because I'm so into the movie.

Running Was His Life. Then Came Putins War?
Chariots of Fire. I've always said I'm going to go back and rent that one.

Do you have a favorite run in LA?
There are two places. Runyon Canyon. I've run in there before if I feel like doing the hills. I prefer the little inclines. The tall ones get kind of tough to run the steady pace I want to run. Then the Rose Bowl. I host the Rose Parade every year, so I'm very familiar with the Rose Bowl area. I like to run in the Rose Bowl. One of the reasons that I like it is because you can be running next to somebody and if they're going faster than you do, it's kind of competitive thing. You're like 'I've got to keep up with them.' It makes you run a little bit faster.

Jasmine. Because the areas that I run in have a lot of jasmine. The Rose Bowl has a lot of Jasmine?
Definitely the Canyon. You'll run into somebody there. Everybody is walking their dogs there. It's up above Hollywood. A ton of celebrities go there. You'll wind up bumping into somebody because there are a ton of people on the trails and a ton of celebrities go there to walk their dogs or exercise.

A Part of Hearst Digital Media?
The majority of it right now is running because I wanted the quickest way to lose the pounds. It always makes me feel the healthiest. I feel like I'm working my heart that way. I do a little bit of weight lifting. And I love sports, so I play basketball and I throw the football with my stepsons. That was the way I won them over a little bit. I dated a football player in college and he taught me to throw a spiral. So I was cool, I was okay; I was in once they realized I could throw a spiral. I'm a big tennis player. Those are my other forms of working out.

Health & Injuries?
My husband doesn't run much because he has a bad knee that he messed up playing basketball. But he will walk. So, I'll run ahead of them and then I circle back around. My stepsons love to ride their bikes in the neighborhood, so they ride their bikes along side. I have a jogging stroller so I'll run with the baby a lot.

Are there any secrets to running with a jogging stroller?
Make sure you don't hit any bumps. The strollers are kind of equipped for that but still because you're going at a faster speed than pushing you have to be a little careful. I feel like it works your arms out a little bit. But it's a little different. You know how you get a cadence when you're running

Some runners like running because they can escape work. Others like to think about work when they're running. What do you think about?
I like to think when I'm doing it. It's a good time because you're getting away from everything. I have to talk so much as part of my business and a lot of times when I go running with the trainer I chit chat back and forth with him, which makes the time go by quickly. We have a lot of political debates with everything going on while we're running right now. But if I'm running by myself it's a good way to think through the day, how things went. It's a nice moment to relax. It sounds odd but it really is.

Is there one celebrity you would like to go on a run with?
Julia Roberts, I imagine, would completely distract you if you went for a run because she's just hilarious. I don't know if she's a runner or not. Julia is fun. But it would be fun. You could compare mom notes and she would make you laugh and you would probably forget about any hard work you were doing.

Are there any secrets to running with a jogging stroller?
You see the tabloids all the time catching them. I think Jennifer Anniston is a big runner from what I've read. We've never specifically talked about it. The way that celebrities are expected to stay in shape, unfortunately that's the culture of Hollywood right now. I think it's one of the only true ways to be able to maintain that fitness and keep your body shape the way it is unless you just don't eat and that's not fun. I'm southern and I like to eat.

Is there a way that you motivate yourself on days you don't want to run?
I'll be like, "I'm so tired. I don't feel like starting." But I know how I'm going to feel after. So if I just think about that thought of what it's going to feel like after. Then once I go running and I'm into it about 15 or 20 minutes all of a sudden then you get that good feeling. That's all I tell myself, if I could just get past that 15, 20 minutes then I'm good to go. Fifteen minutes and then I know I'll be fine. And I always am. if I don't feel like running I'll purposefully schedule it at night. If I have the trainer with me I'm not worried about running at night. We just wear all these lights. We look like aliens. I have all kinds of gadgets. I'm a gadget runner.

What's your favorite gadget?
For nighttime running probably blinking lights. I strap them all over my body. My husband laughs but my neighborhood gets really dark at night. I have four flashing lights on me. And then I make the trainer wear one on the front and back. I've corned the market on flashing lights.

How do you celebrate after a long run? Do you reward yourself?
Sometimes I will. I'll go and take a long bath because I rarely get the luxury of sitting in the bathtub for 20 minutes. And I love a bath. If I've done a particularly long run, like I go an hour, then I feel like OK I can go sit in the bathtub for twenty minutes. And just relax. Plus it's good for you. The bath is my reward and I know it's good for soreness.

What's the craziest place you've run in LA?
I know a hard place. I ran in Malibu Canyon. That's really hard. It's almost like a hike run.

A Pro Athlete Takes on The Great World Race?
LA is so anti-carb. I don't eat a lot of carbs either. I used to growing up but I don't eat a lot now.

Was Katie Holmes running the 2008 New York City Marathon a big story on Access Hollywood?
She's become so popular obviously because of her marriage to Tom. It was such an unusual thing for her to do. I don't think anybody really heard about her running or that she was going to do the New York City Marathon. So that when we heard that she had done it, it became a really big story that day. Because she kind of kept her training for it a secret. When viewers see that they think well if a celebrity can do it than I can do it. And she made it to the very end. I remember that. Not a bad time either. It was like five and a half hours. I was encouraged and I loved seeing hubby Tom and Suri out there encouraging her and cheering her on. If I run a marathon my husband better be there.

What are some of your favorite places to eat in LA? Are there places for runners to carbo load?
Jasmine. Because the areas that I run in have a lot of jasmine. The Rose Bowl has a lot of Jasmine.