Ah, endurance. This week was the end of a very long journey for my favorite person in the world. But first, a recap of week 4:

Over this 4th week of IMLP training I revised a couple of work outs to show respect for my sore right hamstring, and to abide by my soul’s desire. The big change came on Wednesday when instead of doing my standard 10 mile tempo run, I chose a mellow-paced 13 mile road/trail run. There is really only about one mile of trail on the route, but it is awesome! After climbing a seemingly never-ending uphill road, it dead-ends into a canyon, which means running downhill on dirt is the only way home. I was careful to shorten my stride to account for my hamstring, and pay close attention to my form, which both meant slowing down, but that was fine because I am not super-boundy over trails like Kilian Jornet, I tend to catch rocks and fall if not paying close attention, and that is what this run was about, paying close attention to every nuance from my mind down to my toes. It was the glorious antidote to the nagging stress that had brewed all over my body the past few weeks, and the end to my hamstring niggle. Once again running saved the day.

Last week was also exciting in our household because Marion wrapped on Independence Day Resurgence. YAY! I knew he would be spending most of the week in the office, day and night, but on Sunday afternoon I finally got the call in between my 80 mile bike ride and 2 mile transition run that he was home and it was over.

I believe the general consensus from society about movies is that they cost millions of dollars to make, and then turn around to make millions of dollars when they are released in the theaters, but that is only true some of the time. Both Marion and I have worked on movies that should have blown the roof off records, or at least broken even, that did not come close. Does anyone remember The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen? Or, Whitehouse Down? However, this one has enormous expectations because of the footsteps it needs to follow from the original. I think we all remember what a phenomenon the first ID4 caused during the summer of ’96, so it will interesting to watch how the world reacts 20 years later. *Spoiler Alert* - THE ALIENS ARE BACK!!

Marion started working on Independence Day Resurgence on December 1st, 2014, and worked on every phase of production. Pre-Production: He helped supervise the pre-visualization animation, which is similar to story-boarding, but using computers rather than paper. Principle Photography: He was on set to help supervise all of the visual effects shots alongside the director. Finally, Post Production: He and his team supervised the many, many stages of visual effects shots throughout editorial in order to make them appear seamless and amazing to the audience. He was hired before the movie was cast, and worked months and months after Liam went home to Miley. It was a mighty long adventure for all of us.

Yours truly in front of the Moon Tug at a press event last June.

In fact, one year ago this week I was packing up my life to move to Albuquerque, NM to be with him for the 5 month shoot, (Principle Photography), because the separation made me nuts. It’s true; I was a basket case the initial 10 weeks we were apart, so I took matters into my own hands and left town to go be with my man. Still, he worked 14-20 hour days when I was there, so I did not see him much, but the little that I did made it all worth it. Plus, I developed a bit of a crush on Albuquerque. I ran along the Rio Grande every day, golfed on the weekends, and enjoyed the wide array of micro-brews available at the grocery store. Overall, it was a sumptuous summer of simplicity that I will remember fondly.

This was by far the biggest job in Marion's career thus far, and I am incredibly proud of all he accomplished. I can’t believe it’s over. Really, I can’t believe it. So, please remember that even though this is one of those HUGE Hollywood movies, it took hundreds of normal people like Marion and his crew, over nearly 2 years to make it the spectacle you will all see projected next month in the theaters. Go see it June, 24th!!!

In the meantime, happy training!

Taryn