And that folks, it is Sunday, March fifteenth, and Robes and I are on our way out the door and about to join thirty thousand other people on the streets of New York City. And with that, welcome to this episode of Amy and TJ. The question this morning, Ben Gay or CBD oil, which one do we put on our injuries before we head out for what is our favorite race of the year.
This is a blast running through the streets of Manhattan in the middle of Times Square over the Brooklyn Bridge. You get to see and feel the just the heartbeat of New York City and go past all of its famous or many of its famous, just iconic spaces in areas that people normally only see full of congestion and maybe in a cab, but you actually get to run in the middle of the street.
It's so fun.
What's so fun just being a part. No, we haven't even said the name of what we're doing today.
That's so funny. You're right, yikes.
Yes, we're doing to you the United halfd here in New York City that starts in Brooklyn and ends in Central Park.
This is this is our favorite race because it's I don't know that, what's the second time they shut down Times Square during the year. What's the other time? There's only two times they closed Times Square New.
Years It was like New Year's Eve, is that you're.
New Year's Eve and this is the other day? That was the one that's obviously everybody sees that worldwide, but this is the only other time. It is a special race, quite frankly, just because of that alone. Coming around is at mile twelve, coming around that corner and you know you got a mile left, and you come around and New York Times Square is closed, and you're running through it and everybody's looking at you.
And everyone's cheering. It's like your a hero for a moment.
It's the only time in life where you're doing something athletic and people are.
Cheering and calling your name.
It almost feels like you're an Olympian and you're in the middle of Times Square. It truly is this like huge feeling of being a part of something grand.
It is. This is the funny that the nickname of it is the one to Run. That's actually what they called and it actually makes sense. This was the first race I ever did, I ever entered done many since then, but Rose This was the first one I did. This was the first one you encouraged me to do, got me trained. I did almost every training run for that first one with you. And here we are again doing Oh, this is our third or fourth one of these together.
With can This is our third together because your first one was yes, four years ago in twenty twenty two, and we skipped last year because of injuries and maybe just fatigue race fatigue. That is a thing I've actually lost count, which is I think is a pretty cool thing of how many half marathons I've done.
So sometimes, yeah, you need to take a beat. So we took a beat last.
Year and we missed it, and we absolutely because this is a blast. Look, the New York City Marathon is the favorite in terms of the city, how it comes out, how it embraces you and the cheers and whatnot. However, you're running twenty six point two miles, it's hard to enjoy that.
You know what's there are parts where you truly can enjoy it, and the training is a part of enjoying it, just making sure that you've done the work so that you can actually have fun that day. But I don't know past mile twenty I love the Bronx and all, but that's where things always turn south for me, and
that's a little bit, I mean, that's more painful. This Actually, if you train and you get your body ready, a half marathon doesn't actually do the number on your body that a marathon does, and you can actually go from start to finish and enjoy the entire thing without feeling pain.
It's physically manageable and it is mentally manageable. Even this morning getting up, you're you think, okay, it's just thirteen point one. Now, that sounds crazy. But to folks that run a lot and are marathon ors, half marathon can feel like a break.
Almost it does and look like for full perspective, I ran my first half marathon. I believe I was forty four forty five, So you can start at any point. But to me, the first time I did it, it was overwhelming. It was I was so nervous. I it was the biggest thing I had ever done athletically. So look to not minimize this race. But it does fall into perspective when you start doing marathons, because all of a sudden then you realize, truly, I believe, if with
the right amount of training. As long as you are uninjured, anybody, anybody can do a half marathon.
And that's the thing that we do this, uh, the Runner's Expo where you go pick up your bibs and all your t shirts and all this thing. But it's a they did it the Javits Center this year, but it's always some big convention center type thing where they have booths set up and you can go on and all go in there and buy stuff by socks, yeah, vendors up for runners, all this stuff. But that's the place you get to see all these other runners and robes.
That's the place where we were talking the other day. You have to keep it in perspective that there were some things in there where you go find your name on a wall, you go have your picture taken and all this. We were kind of skipping it because we had been there, done that, and been through this several times, and we stopped and took a moment and go, wait a damn minute. A lot of these folks this is their first time. This is something they never thought they'd do.
They have family support and with the signs, we never want to lose perspective. This is not easy. This is something for us, even robes, to keep in mind. This is kind of an accomplishment, kind of cool, and kind of bad ass to be able to do oh with doubt.
This is a bucket list item for a lot of folks, and for me, I mean, all through my thirties and even early forties, I have watched my father do half marathons and marathons, and I always thought that was so unattainable. I was a ten k girl, six point one miles and I'm done, so that was aspirational for me for most of my life. And then to do it the
first time, I caught the bug. But you saw all these folks who seemed like this was their first time, this was their first half marathon, and they were so excited. They had their family around them supporting them, cheering them on. This takes This takes training, This takes discipline, and this is a huge accomplishment. And the other cool thing I think about this race here in New York City was we really didn't hear a lot of English at the expo.
We heard people speaking all languages from all around the world who actually traveled to New York City to run this race.
And I also think that is super cool.
We've done Last year, we actually did that in Stockholm and we had the race.
Folks say to us, Wow, you're the first Americans we've met all day.
So it's so cool to see people coming into our country and taking a part of something so cool. And we love doing the same, just traveling around and running.
It's an awesome thing to do.
It's fun. They got thirty thousand this year. Is this the biggest number they have had? It keeps going up every year, but I think it's thousand. Well it's thirty thousand this year, but I'm sure not sure if that's a record or not. But I didn't realize Robes they just added the Brooklyn Bridge to this race, so this is only the second time that runners we're going to get the run across the Brooklyn Bridge.
Oh, I'm so excited about that. When you came in, I was going to say it, and.
I thought I'll save it for the podcast because the last time we did this, we did not run over the Brooklyn Bridge. So the only time I've ever done that is just you know, because we're training and we're running over. So this is the first time you and I will ever run over the Brooklyn Bridge in a race.
That's really cool.
It sounds cool, But we used that bridge a lot for our running and our training, and the Brooklyn Bridge is coming up earlier in our run right. And for folks that don't necessarily realize this as you're looking at it, I'm afar, or you're traveling across it in a vehicle, that thing is a damn mountain.
It is.
It can feel like a mountain robes if you're on mile nine or ten or whatever else. It is an incline and a decline. It's it's a tough thing to do if you're in the middle of a race.
It is people always basically fear and worry about. In the full marathon, you go over the Queensboro Bridge and it's from mile twelve to mile fourteen, so people talk about that's one of those moments where you either are you know, fueled by it and realize your training actually is working, or you realize, man, I didn't work hard enough.
Do you're ready for this race?
Because those bridges are that's a good way to describe it. They are like mountains.
I feel like it.
It's so true.
And then, of course, the other big part of this race. This is the one where it is a crapshoot weatherwise. Look March in New York. We have had an eighty degree day and we have had snow falling all within you know, hours of each other. Basically, so this is always this has had some extremes in the past.
We'll tell you how it's going this morning, but we also want you to stick around and we will let you in to exactly what runners have to do the day before, and sometimes the day before that, and certainly the morning of a race that is going to determine just how rough those thirteen miles will be. All right, folks, we continue here on Amy and TJ. Wish us luck.
We're out the door shortly as we record this. It's in the four o'clock hour, because you have to get out the door very early to get on the train and get to where you're going so you can get in line, go through security. It's a lot to get ready for a race. Our race time, though we take off at seven, is our race time. Do we have our bib numbers in front of me? Where's Nicky's?
Yes, I get them.
We'll give you our bib numbers. You can actually track us as we're running. You can just look up the names. But we have our bib numbers and all that good stuff. But the key the trip. You got it.
Yes, my bib number is one zero five to one and your bib number is one zero five to zero.
Okay, one zero five two zero one zero five two zero. That's me, all right, that's us, track us, follow along to see how we're doing.
Oh, that's intimidating, that's not at all.
No, no, no, Look, I don't think this is going to be our fastest.
We've had a couple.
I think my best time is and I guess since you've run next to me, it's your best time too.
But I think an hour fifty three and.
Our time will be whatever you.
Say, it is probably going to be two hours. I've been running slower these days.
Fine, we're there to enjoy the experience, but I would like to be done before lunch. That'd be great. Yes, yes, but what we're doing this morning, I haven't necessarily fully checked in with you head to tell how are you feeling physically?
I am feeling much better today. I had a debilitating migraine yesterday and I have not had one in a year, and I got really nervous because running with the migraine, I have not ever done that, and that's a little intimidating. But I woke up this morning after we really did. We did not leave the apartment yesterday. We rested, we watched basketball, we cheered on the Hogs, and.
We did everything we needed to do to chill and get ready.
For this one. What about the rest of the legs? The rest that you check your sleep score?
My sleep score, I got an eighty three. I actually am in good shape. I also have zofrance. So my big issue has been nausea, extreme nausea when I get into longer runs, and so I have this dissolvable tab that combats nausea that I take right before the race. Got a little pro tip from a friend, and it's been serving me well. So I'm actually feeling really, really, really good. How about you and your foot?
Foot's not good this morning. It's not as bad. I can tell. It's gotten some rest and I just haven't been running on it, so it's not so bad to walk. But the pain is deep, it's sharpened there. I can feel it when I do a little extreme been so nervous about it. It's a. It's going to be a matter of pain management today and I am not in the mood, but maybe the I'll be hyped up. But buddy, do we're here now. I've decided to do this push through, so I go. I'm debating. Really we said it off
the top. It really is a debate over CBD cream or ben gay to put on it before we.
Get school, or new technology.
Basically this is I'm not sure what to go with? Can you? But you know what? The hell? You know what? You should never try anything that's.
A very good that's a good tip.
Yes, don't do anything new, don't eat anything different, don't wear anything different.
Do what your body.
Is used to so that you are prepared for what may be unexpected.
At least you have that in place.
Don't need any surprises. With a mix of ben gay and CBD cream on my foot you go past.
Also might smell very odd too, But.
That's what's going on with us today. We are going to check in with you later post race and let you know how this thing went. But yes, thirteen point one miles temperature today is going to be what for us? Did you say, Well, it.
Looks like it'll be thirty nine out the gates, which look, we talked about whether I think the first race we did together in twenty twenty two, it was actually gorgeous. I think we finished the race and it was sixty two degrees and sunny. It was almost too warm for me. But that's what actually got you into the running bug because you just thought, this is the most amazing weather, the most amazing day.
I'm doing this again.
Got reality check pretty soon.
But the next year, yes, the next year, I believe when we crossed the finish line, that feels like temperature was nineteen.
But that's what happens when it's.
March in New York. So look, this is somewhere in between, and I think, well, and the race will be about forty degrees. That's you know what, when you're running thirteen point.
One miles, that's a really nice temperature.
All right, folks, wish us luck. We will be out there in just a little bit. You can check back in here. Of course, on our feed. We gave you the first five Best Picture nominees yesterday. We'll giving you the cliff notes for the next five today. We're gonna
slide that into the feed. All of those in the middle of the day while we're out running, so you'll have those before you watch the oscars, possibly tonight, but it'll certainly get you caught up, and then we'll check in again after the race and let you know how things went. But we always appreciate you, we say on our morning run, we say it figuratively, thank you for running with us, but some of you literally. We'll be out there running with us today.
In the race, yes, and we appreciate by the way, we said, the temperature is pretty good for runners, but wow, we really appreciate all the folks who come out and stand and wait there on the sidelines and cheer all those thirty thousand runners on. The race would not be what it is without all of you. So thank you truly for cheering for us while we're running. And with that everyone, thank you for listening to us.
I made robock alongside DJ Holmes. We will talk to you soon.