Hey there, folks. In this episode of Amy and PJ, we three weeks ago ended our Chicago Marathon before crossing the finish line and in the back of an ambulance. Yesterday we finished the New York City Marathon, crossing the finish line, but on our backs. And with that, welcome to this episode of Aby and TJ Robes. It is done, folks.
Despite all the talk and the ambulance rides and the injuries and the frustration, we completed the New York City Marathon yesterday and we sit here with new hardware around our necks. Feels Good's that metal feels good.
It was hard earned, I will say that much. It's funny because it's every marathon is different and you can't predict. I can't predict at least what's going to happen, what's not going to happen, And enough, yesterday was no different than the five that preceded it.
For me, they're all different.
So yeah, if you're listening to us, yes we are. We are recording this the day after the New York City Marathon we ran yesterday. We have the normal aches and pains today, but yesterday was a bit of a struggle, Like I said, how many New York City marathons were you?
This was my fourth New York City mariage, ah, and.
This was my third, so third straight. So we kind of know what's coming and we know what to expect, and it's a very and thank you again New York City. You'll know how to do this, and you do it so well. And this is one day that the city we talked about before gives a just an embrace, You get a collective embrace from the city like no other time you ever see in the city.
It is my favorite day in New York City, whether I'm running or whether you're just spectating and watching, because it's the one day where there is a real sense of unity. And if you ever do get the opportunity, or ever do choose to put yourself through the training and then the ultimate marathon day, if you are lucky enough to run the New York City Marathon, I don't think there are fans greater in the world.
And if you've ever.
Wondered what it feels like to walk into a roaring stadium, to feel like an Olympian, to feel like a world class athlete, then run the New York City Marathon because You'll never see collectively so many people cheering for you when you're physically putting yourself through the ringer, and.
They do help you through the race, and a lot of sections when you are struggling it is, they do give you a boost. So thank you New York City for all you did for us yesterday. This was for us Robes, a redemption run, as we were calling it, after what happened in Chicago. A lot of folks know I was dealing with an achilles issue for months all summer during the training. Almost did not even attempt to
run Chicago, but we did. It had some issues. It's a whole collection a mess, but we ended up not finished, stopped on mile twenty one, twenty one and ended up in the back of an ambulance. I did and was in pretty bad shape. I'm okay, I'm fine. Didn't rupture any thing. But I set out to train and to heal and to recover in time to do the New York City Marathon three weeks later. You did not plan on running the New York City Marathon.
No, I planned on running Chicago. That would have been my sixth marathon. And I actually said, you know what, I had done the Chicago Marathon a couple years before, and I just felt like, I've been training NonStop for marathons for the past five years, and I think it does. It takes a toll. At least it takes a toll on my body. Maybe it's my age, maybe it's my genetics, but it's just I felt like maybe I just really
embraced the half marathon, which I love. So when we didn't finish the Chicago Marathon, I thought, my goodness, I've trained for the last five months. I could just treat the next three weeks as a continuation of my training and run New York City and have that be.
A period.
Maybe it's a common maybe it's a semicolon to my marathon days.
Okay, we and say we didn't finish Chicago, but we didn't finish because of me and my jury. This wasn't a you thing at all. There. You just stayed with me while I was going through what I was going through, and we talked about that and everybody understood. But you were not that you needed another marathon because you didn't finish that one because of me.
Right well, And I.
Think, honestly, if I hadn't finished that one because of me. I might have considered it as well, you know, because you put your body through so much training. So, yes, it was the big day and we were feeling good. We look, we've also traveled every weekend for the past
six weeks. We were in Spain earlier in the week coming back to New York, so we weren't maybe set up for the very best performance, but we did our best that week to you know, stop drinking, stop you know, like, really focus on sleeping, really focus on what we were eating. So we did everything we could in a few days leading up to the New York City Marathon.
So we got up on the morning of and so this is how it goes, folks. You get up on the morning of and you focus the last three days. It's true you focused the last few days before the marathon on your diet and on your sleep. But the diet is very important because look, no kind way to necessarily put this, but you want to make sure your stomach isn't jacked up and you end up needing to
take a number two during the run. You're running that much, that long, if you got the wrong thing in your stomach and that stuff's moving around you gonna have a problem.
Yes, and that is one of the many reasons why you'll see porta potties lining the marathon route because it's hard to predict sometimes how that actually is going to move through you.
And again it's also why you see plenty of people out there with signs the spectators that say don't trust that fart.
That's sorry, and they're yes, yes, we won't get into graphic details, but you see some things sometimes for folks who really didn't want to ruin their time. They might be pring that might be their personal records, so they didn't want to go to the bathroom and so or to the porta potty, so they just yeah, took matters into their own.
Yes, they're not wearing dark colored clothing maybe like they should. This is all true, so I know it is gross, but this is a part of running, and this is why a lot of people go you people are crazy, right, because this is what folks put them themselves through to run a marathon. So our morning, yes, we get up, so we're focused, we're actually feeling pretty good that morning, but it's it's the alarm goes off. I think I got up at what like two something.
You want to know you actually got up out of bed at one in the morning.
Okay, don't you're saying, Okay, I didn't mean to. I didn't set the alarm, but I don't know. Maybe it was like it felt like Christmas to me and for me this was a big deal, a redemption room. I could. I told you a couple of days, I head, I can't freaking wait.
You were so excited to go run this marathons Christmas morning?
It was so I was excited. I actually got out of bed went to the couch because I didn't want the TV on and disturbing you and wanted to make sure you got your rest. So this is what people do in the morning the marathon. Imagine this, folks. I am in the bedroom sitting rubbing cannabis cream on my ankle. Robes is in the bathroom rubbing what underneath your What.
I'm rubbing anti chafe.
It's called like runners glide all around where my sports spra hits my body, where my my pants hit my stomach, because I have learned the hard way about chafing, and it actually ends up looking like secondary burns all over your body.
If you, for me, at least if I don't.
If I sweat a little and it's cold and you're doing this for four hours, it's called just chafing, and it's it's actually a very painful burn.
So yeah, if you put that runner's.
Glide all around those parts of you, but you look like a weirdo doing it. You walked in on me and you're like, what are you doing?
I've seen you do it, but to give people a better visual, I'm sorry to put you through it, but imagine robes I mean kind of. I mean essentially topless with a little thing that looks like a stick of the odorant and she's rubbing it under her breast. Is what's happening. So that's not that's an odd site are you doing?
And guess what I didn't chafe? That was bumping that went in my direct in the right way. I guess yesterday is I had zero chaff egs. You ended up with chafing.
Well, we want to get into that, but it had nothing to do. There's no way I could have predicted this particular chase.
It was weird.
It was a first for me to Okay, I should probably go and tell it because we're setting it up on the chafing thing. One of the rules, the absolute rules for the morning of a marathon. For a runner, it's probably number one. You do not try anything new on the morning of the marathon. Don't try a new food, don't try a new drink, don't try new socks, don't try new shoes. Don't make sure everything does not the
day because you're asking for trouble. I wore pants, new pants, new pants, brand new pants that and I always run in tights, running tights that always have a pocket on the side that I can slide the cell phone in. They make those mainly and mostly for a lot of when we have them now, so I have done that. I've been a serious runner for four years, been keeping the phone in that pocket on every single run. Bought new pants at the expo.
Must have been a little thinner than the other ones.
They say New York City.
They're cool, They're very cool.
Fit great, look good, Oh my goodness, great pants, How great pants. I in the race, get home and I feel like I've been shot on the side of the leg, and sure enough I take a look and there is a perfect, perfectly iPhone shaped burn on my right thigh.
So your phone was moving just a little bit as you were running, and it was chafing your thigh. So he has an iPhone chafe on his thigh. I have never seen that. And I put my cell phone in my pocket and I got my pants at the expo and I did not put the runners Glide there.
So so don's no way I could have predicted that. Actually had quite funny. It has everything except the Apple logo.
On Enjoy that for the next.
The funny thing is you know where you've been shaped as soon as you get in the shower after a marathon, because you have salt all over your body. Imagine running for that long. You are literally crusted in salt. So then when you get in the shower, the salt's washing off of you. But if you have any burns, any chafing, it's like rubbing salt in a wound. You're like screaming and then you realize, oh wow, I have a mass chafe.
So later you actually I don't know you, and you were making noises in the shower.
I was like, what is happening?
And they thought it was the chafing, but it was everything else you were.
You were groaning in the shower. I was like what is happening in there? I looked at Sabi and we were like, what's that thing?
So to get to that point, so let's back up, let's go back to the race. So we're leaving the house and we get on a bus. So we but to pack. Tell tell me what was in your goody bag on the way to the bus to go to.
Okay, the clear plastic bag in my goodie back?
Okay, well I had my Oh yeah, the good the one you ran.
Oh yeah.
So we cut up because we read I was trying to find things that don't make me sick and those runner gummies and Runner goose always do. So we decided it would be a good idea after looking online on the internet. Again, probably shouldn't do anything different on race day, but we cut up liquorice. We cut up Twizzlers to be specific. I threw in a couple of Skittles too, just for some power ups throughout the race. And so we each had a little baggie of Twizzlers in our pocket to eat along the way.
But that works for me because I know twizzlers sit well on my stomach. I've been eating them pretty seriously for.
Yes, I witnessed this.
Yeah, so we have this. I have ibuprofen and five hour energy. I think that's it in my bag.
And I did take a Runner's scummy before I started, so I had two of those that had caffeine and electrolytes in them, and I tablet well, I did have a noon tablet electrolytes. I drank one before and then I had my water bottle because I was going to try not to stop at the water stations to just kind of squirt a little water in my mouth and try not to make me sick by having all that water jostling in my stomach.
Yeah, you all the stomach. We want to get into the stomach a little more here.
That plan failed.
Second, so we leave at five am, going to fifty first between six and seventh where they in New York. Roadrunners that organizes the marathon has they have a kind of a celebrity vip runner situation they set out, which is wonderful for us. Thank you again, Roadrunners. So we get on the bus and we've been doing this so many years. This is really really cool. It's a little family.
You see the same people year in year out. A couple of new runners and one of them was Jennifer Connley, the Oscar winner, who was running her first marathon ever. She hopped on our bus with us and some of our bachelor guys. But I'm just saying we see the same fall and this is the coolest thing in the morning. That ride, it's just like as a family reunion.
It is, and you see them probably just once a year. Another familiar face Chelsea Clinton. We ran with her two years ago, so it was fun to see.
Her again in the tent.
So yes, everyone's like, hey, how's it been going. You catch up in the runners tent as you're getting ready, And yes, we saw pilot Pete, who we just had on the podcast. He was all excited about his second marathon, this time he actually trained for it. So it was just fun.
We had a blast.
But that ride, that bus ride is special. Once you get you're essentially going across the arizontal bridge to the starting line at sunrise.
And you get excited, You get excited about what the day is going to bring and the energy you're bringing with it.
It's all very positive.
Everyone's a little nervous and very excited. So it's so fun.
So let's take you inside this tent now, so it's a nice thing. They have heat in their food, drinks, everything you need, and they have mats and then the rollers for everybody getting stretched and all these things. But we're in there hanging out, and again we haven't seen We haven't seen Chelsea Clinton in two years because she didn't run last year, which we didn't realize. I hope it's out there, because I'm about to tell it. She
broke her foot. She broke her foot running but running after one of her children, and that's why she couldn't run the marathon last year.
I hope she doesn't mind me saying this all. Oh my god, because this is really funny. No, because when you stepped away, we were catching up and she did not know that we no longer.
Worked for Good Morning America. And I had to quickly catch her up because the last time we were together.
Can story.
I mean, it's kind of like, we'll see, here's what happened. But we were already a couple. We just weren't out the last yes. But she I think she's like, oh, I totally thought you were together. I said, well, we were together, we just weren't officially because we were dressed alike. Remember she made fun of us and said, y'all are so cute it's nauseating. But anyway, she said, oh my gosh, I can't believe that all happened and I missed it. I guess I'm only reading. I'm only doing Google searches
on myself. I'm only worried about the bad press I'm receiving.
And I said, you know what, that's fair. That is so fair.
She like, I don't have time to read everyone else's bad press. And I laughed so hard. It was just a really awesome dose of perspective. It was just perfect. And I I was bummed you missed it, So.
Now I'm catching you up. I hope she doesn't either, but she it was fun. It was all said in Jess.
It is great to catch up with her. And on the Jennifer Connley front, she was she's a a kind of like she's we're in the same tribe, right, She's just a cool These are one of the people you meet and you're a fan of, and you and you're just hoping that good folks. She was beyond all expectations of how sweet and sincere and just real she was. And because she was genuinely nervous. She was her first and she was asking everybody little questions should I do
this or should I do that? And she's perfectly trained and she did a good job and had a great race. But we were standing talking to Chelsea Clinton and Jennifer Connelly, right, the four of us, just in our own world, doing our things. And then we're the back of the tent and we turn around. All of a sudden there's this huge crowd of people with cameras and they look like assistance and all this stuff. That is what it is.
And we turn around and who's right on my shouldern Hocle comes into the tent and we end up shooting the ship with her in front of camera.
We're like having a mini press conference the day. That's what it felt like.
I was like, Wow, it's Chelsea, it's Jennifer, me, you and Governor kal All having a conversation about New.
York City's finest day. It was. It was like, this is bizarre but kind of cool at the same time.
She was very good. Now I haven't had a chance to spend any time with her, but she was look she was doing her thing, and she was warm and personable and funny and friendly. But it was just an odd little collection of folks that are having a conversation. We had no idea, but it absolutely we were standing. If you ever see the video a put out or the so funny the pictures, we look like we are officially holding a press.
But I don't know if she wants to be seen with us or all of us. Like it was just funny. I was like, hm, I wonder if this is going to see the light of day.
So just like Chelsea, she she didn't know her ages are gonna say, you were standing next to tj Als, let's explain.
Maybe we shouldn't include that in the press.
It was a fun moment. It was a nice moment. So we finally do get out.
You missed me stepping on your toe.
You know, I didn't want to include that because I know I'm going to give you a hard time about that for a long time. Okay, but privately, many of the issues as I have had it. I was in there trying to stretch out the hamstring and the it band and the achilles and all these things, and I'm barefoot the whole time. I didn't put my shoes on until right the last minute. So I'm standing at barefoot she were you trying to get a selfie?
I was getting a selfie yep.
And what happened?
And I stepped on your toe step it kicked stumped on your toe. Sum ye with my shoes. That's a good one, and that I was. Yeah, I felt really bad about that.
So at some point during the race, I said to you, babe, my toe is killing me. It's the only thing bothering me right now.
And I felt horrible. I was so just all the name of a selfie. And I actually the selfie I got is quite funny because you look, it's in motion and you're like in pain.
That's the selfie shows. I should put that on my story.
Okay, I forgot, I forgot about but that toe, it is hurting.
I'm so sorry.
It's sorry. I was gonna lose that tone anyway.
You're losing a several tones from the looks of your foot.
So we get out to the start, okay, and this is all things again exciting. Now the cannons are going off. They the elite runners go.
And play in New York.
It's just stay mood, great vibe. The only thing that then once you start, there are two things that bring down your mood. It makes you hate the start of the New York City.
There are ahead the smells of the folks who did not shower, that's one, or used deodorant slash anti persprint before they took off. So this is at the beginning of the race. Two folks really don't think you have an excuse to smell. And yet number two people are obsessed with getting their prs, their their personal records, and
so they will push show up. Now, some people are kind to say, excuse me, excuse me, but there are others, and there was one man who did it to me and to you, who literally will take their hands on your shoulder and push you, which is so I think in not in the spirit of things. If you're a runner, especially, you should understand putting. When you are running and you
are your gate, your cadence, everything matters your stride. If someone throws you off like that so that they can get ahead, that is so cruel because you could trip, you could fall, you could tweak something like you did in the last marathon, and it actually could take you out of the race. And I just am always a gas that there is always that person, always that other fellow runner who I yelled at the guy who did it to me, and you said you pushed back.
Well, it's that simple. If you push me, I push you back. What's the problem. Yeah, what you want to do? You just pushed me. I just push you back. You got a problem with me? Is it's so offensive and the only thing more offensive are the damn smells. It is unbelievable. You all. I cannot I'm sorry. No, I'm not sorry. I didn't do anything. I put it on theodrant that morning. I don't know why you cannot, Like you couldn't stand in a room for five minutes with
these odors without having to run out puking. It's awful. It is. I don't know what is going on and why, but it is hideous.
At the beginning, it's always the Verizon, Arizon Arizona.
I don't understand why it smells so bad, but every time it does, so we can talk about what Harlem smelled like.
Oh yeah, okay, it's not.
Going to be it's not offensive, but it was to us, but not in the way you're thinking.
So we get we finally get across the Arizona and here is where the fun start. It takes us almost two miles two miles, yeah, to get across the Arizona, So soon as you get into or out of Staten Island, you're essentially two miles into the race. So we make that first left once we get into Brooklyn, and we see the same guy every single year, and we absolutely adore him. Be read.
Yes, he is one of the floor directors at that program he used to work for and we love him. And I mean it's so he's one of the I love it. He dms me I think at least once a week, and he got cute.
Pictures of us.
But he's always there with his big Viking hat and he's always looking for us. He's in the same place every year, so it's always fun we get to see him. We got to see another one of our former colleagues, Ali, who was there screaming our name, and.
She took some pictures too.
But it's you actually have reunions with people who you haven't seen in a year along the marathon route, along the parade route.
It's it's kind of fun. That's always special.
Yeah, it's always great to see him. And we had Sabine and for and Nikki along the route to as well, so they met us at mile eight and miles sixteen. They're able to text us while we're running and say this is where we are, so they were able to see. It's two different spots. I saw Sabine both times this time, and not like last year I've missed her on one of them.
You slowed way down to make sure I saw something. Oh yes, and you and it was it was well executed. We saw them both times, and you know it's I. When I started out, I usually can tell how the race is going to go.
You know.
You can you feel how strong your legs are, you feel your energy level, and I felt like I was flying, and I said to myself, oh yay, this is gonna be a good race.
I was the weather for you.
It was good.
It was a little windy. It was definitely the cold. I like it was a little windy. But if I have to say, it was pretty damn close to perfect. It was just slightly chillier than I would prefer, which is unusual for me to say. But I normally would be in a tank top and the wind I couldn't take off my coudter layer.
Well, it wasn't fifty when we started.
It was thirty nine, yeah when we first got to the tent, and I think it ended up being like forty four, but with the wind chill, it was, yeah, it was. It was chilly, but sunny and gorgeous nice. And I remember being around miles six seven looking over at you, feeling great and seeing some of the great
Nike signs. They had some awesome signs out there motivating us runners along the way with big billboards they took out, and I remember looking over at you and thinking where we were three weeks ago, and just all the struggles that we've been through, not just in this training and this racing thing that we do together, but just in life and all the struggles of the last two years kind of came over me and I looked at you, and I'm sure you remember, I just said I love you,
because I just I felt so honored that the person who I've been through all of this with was right by my side doing something that's really hard, and that we were doing it together. And I just I could get emotional now thinking about it. Like when you go and run a race like this, I think, no matter how many times you do it. You know how hard it is and how hard you've worked for it, and to have someone who's there with you. We had our friend who we love seeing. We saw are in Chicago too,
Claire Hoyt. She even said to us, you guys are so lucky you get to run together. You have a partner to do it with, because it is hard sometimes to get motivated. It is hard to say I can do this. But when you've got that person next to you through life and on the running route, it makes a difference. It does for me, and I just was so grateful for you and just kind of reflecting on how far we've come. Anyway, I felt this amazing wave of emotion come over me and I started to cry
tears of joy, and I felt so good. I was like, man, I'm doing this again next year. Hell yeah, I forget that period I put on things or the stop. I'm doing this again next year.
I was just.
I really felt overwhelmed. Yeah, six or seven, we were in Brooklyn and it was just it was awesome.
Yeah, you had a big smile and you looked over and said I love you. It was a sweet moment and we were rocking and rolling and crushing this marathon. Yeah, we got through the first half marathon and we were on great pace. We were on pace to finish around four hours. I mean, I don't and we were enjoying it to the point that you know, you're having a good time where you don't have music on, right, you're not trying to be distracted. You're trying to take in
what's around you. And this is one of the things about the marathon. They give us name tags New York Rown Writers, so it says TJ your said Amy. And sometimes being people just a lot of people recognize you in the crowd, but folks that don't know you just see your name and they'll just start yelling out and they'll yell it out to them, not just say go Amy that like a group I will just start doing a chant Amy. It's just it's cool. It's very cool,
absolutely fun. But the signs are great along the way, and I just I want to applaud Nike, the ones they did in Chicago and the ones here. They just every single one of them makes you smile and you have to be a runner almost understand them.
Yep, you know, it's it's great. The couple the one that really caught my eye. That made me laugh out loud. Finally, tourists willing to pick up their pace.
Good's so good got.
Any of New York to get that anyone who walks the city streets of New York. I laughed so hard when I saw that one. It was fantastic. And this one I couldn't find it again. To make sure I get the wording exactly right, I did look for it, but it was something to this effect. It said, today is going to be the best day of your life. Next week.
It's brilliant.
And then and then this is like if you and this is, oh my gosh, I get this one. If you are struggling and you want to quit, And believe me, there are plenty of times where your mind is telling you why the hell you're doing this? Just stop running. This sign you didn't run this far to run this far? And I thought that was really cool. And there was another one something you have to hate running a little to love running, like basically, you have to struggle and then you understand why you love it.
If that makes any sense, anyone, perfect sense.
So here we go all the issues we think we're going to have. I'm worried about the Achilles the IT band. We've both had little respiratory issues lately. We were worried about how our bodies were going to hold up. After running the marathon in Chicago, we still.
Did twenty one mile back from Spain.
We just came back, so a little jet lag. We're adjusting to a whole bunch of stuff. So all these things we think are going to be our problem. And several miles in, you know what our biggest problem was are bladders. We run all the time, we don't have to stop and use the bathroom. Ever. I've been running with you NonStop for four years. I remember the one time on the West Side Highway you had to go to use the bathroom. Four years yep. For whatever reason, I looked over at you said, baby.
My bladder is killing me this problem and I said, oh my gosh, so it's fine.
So we waited, I think it was like mile nine or so, and we found like the most convenient porta potties. We were in and back out on the on the road I think in less than thirty seconds less.
But we used porta potties that weren't for the runners. They were for uh spectators's spectators. So we dipped under kind of a little caution tape and we used it and nobody was there. It worked out. But after that, after we used.
The restaurant concepts all amazing, this.
Is we're about to crush the hell out of this.
And we were in fact, you know, I we saw Sabine and Nikki mile sixteen, mile seventeen, mile eighteen, that's right around mile eighteen. I started to go h because my stomach that is always my issue where I get this nausea. And I started to feel it and I said, you know what, power through. It's going to be okay. It's going to be okay. By the time we got into the Bronx, I started I started to throw up.
And the thing is last last go around.
This happened to me once and it was awful and gutting, and I had to sit out this time.
Oh my, I was crying.
I was in tears of pain and frustration. I ended up having to vomit basically every mile from mile twenty to mile twenty five.
And that is the truth and is the truth.
It was, and I felt, you know what, I felt so bad. I said, oh my gosh, I'm so sorry. Babe, and he was the sweetest. He was rubbing my back, he was keeping people away from me because everyone wants to help. But he knew I just needed to keep throwing up, and then I would throw up, you know how it is.
When you do, you feel better.
So then I could walk a little, then I could start running, and then sure enough it would come up again. And so I by the time at mile twenty five, I was so depleted. When you throw up that many times and then you got to keep running it that that was the toughest five mile stretch of my life. And you were so kind and so patient, and.
So I did what I was supposed to do. But also you you just ended a marathon because of my three weeks ago. What am I gonna do? Babe? Good luck with that going up. I'll see you back at home.
So I do. I do feel proud of this. After the last puke, why it wasn't the last one, but the last one on the race, the last one on the race.
Because we both ended up puking. But more on that later.
Mile twenty five to mile twenty six point two, we did not stop, and we actually picked up the pace and we finished strong. We really did, and I that was important I think with the struggle. So that last mile, I was like, hell if I'm going to like stop, we are getting through this. And we picked up the pace and we crossed that finish line and then I went straight in for the tent and said, can I have a peek bag?
Look, it was a weird I don't know what goes on with your either. I think if you find a way to master that and figure that out. I always say I did not take a drink of before mile twenty four. I think it was I don't. I keep passing the water stations because I don't want that on my stomach.
Are you not thirsty? Do you not get drunk?
That's the thing. I'm so thirsty that once you take that first sip, you just want to go, go, go, go, keep going. I just don't want so.
You feel dehydrated and you just keep going.
Well, I feel thirsty, but I don't feel like my body is shutting down because of it.
Well yeah, and I think my I'm frustrated because and if anyone out there has any kind of remedy, I have tried different things, I've gone online, But if someone has a tried and true because it's called I think it's called runner's stomach, and it isn't that uncommon. But I went from bad to worst from last year to this year, and I was trying new things and trying different things on these long training runs and I cannot
figure out. And I'm fine up until mile twenty and then I you know, that's when you hit the wall. My dad was explaining to me, he's a food scientist. He was just saying, ames, that's when your body is robbed of glycogen. That's where all your reserves are gone. And the truth is everyone handles it differently, and based on what you've been doing and how you've been treating your body, any little difference can make a huge difference come race day. And that's why they call it the wall.
Everyone who's a marathon or nos. Mile twenty is when you hit the wall. But my first marathon never happened, my second marathon never happened. It's just happened in the last two. And I wonder if it's just all the training. I wonder if I do need to take a beat. I know people who do marathons every other year, and I know some people who can do four marathons in a row.
And be fine.
You know, it's just it's an individual thing. But it was so excruciating. I went from saying, I'm going to do this again. I can't wait. This is the most amazing day of my life. Too, I'm never doing this again. Hell no, why am I putting my body through this? And you and I? I don't know what happened, but once we got into that ten both of us kind of fell apart.
Well, you know what my problem was was that when we started walking, you wanted to walk through a water station. Yeah, and so I said, okay, we're slowing down, only got two miles left. I'll take a hit of gatorade. I took a hit, took a second cup. So we get to the next water station. Now I'm thirsty it. Now I'm I take more gatory takes. So now I got something sitting on my stomach I had not had. So we finish our race. So we crossed that finish line and they have a tint set up for us, and
we going. I don't think you threw up in there, but we sat down.
You did, okay, I did once, and then we grabbed another bag to go.
Thank God.
But in that tent, you're sitting there by yourself, and think again, it's a a VIP runner tent that they have for the folks. And we were the only ones in there because most of the folks we started with were gone by now.
They had already crossed the ventor's line well before us.
They didn't have our problems. But we sat down in there, and I mean I put that big blanket thing over that they give us the cover ups. I slumped down in that chair, and you would have thought I was dead.
You said I could go to sleep right now, and I think you kind of did dose.
I think I did.
And then and then you have the longest walk ever park. We went the wrong way ended up. I was like, that was anything but a walk in the park.
I threw up so along the way. So it has a long walk out of the park, and you got this sea of runners trying to move out, all in these orange things. It looks like the walking day.
So people are like walking as if yeah they can barely walk. You look like you your legs don't function, your body doesn't function. It's actually hilarious.
So all was a making a way out, but we keep having to stop to the side on the left or the right so you can do your vomit thing. So we finally get out of the park and we had this brilliant idea that we would take the subway. So seventy second Street at Central Park West. I don't know how many stops that is, but it's the sea training. We have to go all the way downtown where we live. I'm not sure how many stops that is. It was a while, but it p's a lot of stops. So
she has already had the problem she's having. I now have all this stuff sitting on my stomach, and we're gonna get on a train that does stops and start stop, start, stop start. Okay, So we get on this train and we actually sit down and I put my head on her right. I am going to sleep on rope in the train, and she has this vomit bag and she said, I got I gotta I can't hold it. I gotta
get up. So she gets up on the train, goes over to the corner with the vomit bag, and I just see her go down with her back to everybody, with this big orange thing over her. It looks like she's Elvis on stage and they just put the thing over and she I don't know what she's doing, but her bag. I see her body gyrating and it's just a mess. But she comes back over and the bag is empty.
Because because I had nothing left inside of me, I had thrown up I don't know ten times at that point.
So then you said, actually, babe.
No oh if that didn't happen yet, Okay, we just chilled again. So we're just riding maybe a couple stops, and I calmly say, what to you?
Can I have that vomit bag?
I was so chill, I didn't want to call it the panic.
He went over to the corner exactly where the corner and he then.
I did not dry heave. I damn near build up this bag can It was absolutely grow and the bags are clear. These are bags that you get on the airplane. You know, these are clear bag digusting. So we get out of the train and carrying a warm pile of fresh vomit all the train with.
Me, and I wasn't done yet, so.
I immediately say, hevee, I got to get to a trash can and get this nasty ass thing out of my hand. So we go over into a trash can and then we're gonna go up the escalator to leave, and she said, WHOA, not so fast DJ. She goes over and tries to are vomiting in the same trash band that I was. I just dumped my vomiting. But no, no, no, no, that's not good enough for her. She said, you know what,
this isn't gonna work. So she kneels down behind the trash can at the Fulton Subway station in New York City and just lets it rip again.
It's just a small amount. I felt so bad. There's nothing I could do.
And I looked We're like, wow, this has been a hell of a day.
Hey, I've never had a post race situation like that.
I was like, wow, we are poster children for why people should never run a marathon.
If someone had followed us with video, I mean it, you would be It was like a comedy. It was. It was what is happening?
You're like a dog, like marking your vomit territory all over.
Man lapped a part of me all every round, I mean, along the racetrack in trash cans like I mean, I have my DNA all three route Manhattan, so.
But that was the end of it, right, that was our last ups situation. So we we get home and Sabine and Nikki were waiting for us. We walk in and they're like, what is wrong with you? Too? Look like the Walking Dead? You know?
It's so funny, too like and the only thing I wanted. It's funny when you're dying of thirst. And I knew I couldn't drink it too fast. We had to like slowly drink it so our bodies could take in the fluids. All I wanted was a diet coke. That was the best diet coke on ice I've ever had in my life. It's funny what you crave when you're so thirsty, and for whatever reason.
That's all I want. And all I wanted was a cranberry cranberry.
Spritzer.
Yeah wow, so bougie, whatever, do you want a sprig of rosemary with that too?
It would be nice. I just ran twenty six point two. You want to give me a break. I can't have some rosemary. I didn't earn some rosemary. If I didn't, or what the hell I was drinking that the diet coke and Gator eight and I was worried my stomach was going to act up again. But everything stayed down after that. And the folks want we talked that we laugh and we could joke, and but this, it actually is serious and it's dangerous. It is and it is
tough to do, to run a marathon like that. And I I asked you if you got on the scale, But I'm all and when we do long runs, I'm always curious to get on the scale to see how much weight you lose, water weight you lose. I left going to that marathon weighing one hundred sixty seven hundred and sixty eight pounds. I was one hundred and fifty five pounds. We get back.
Yeah, that's UNBLI And you know what, that's not shocking. That's hundred how much it was shot back and you're sweating it out and you have nothing left. And it's so funny. You asked me this morning if I did that. I was like, I meant too, and I because I was like, ooh, I wonder how much it was like having a week of stomach flew in one day, you know, And so I thought, let's see, but I forgot but I can tell you my jeans are a lot looser this morning.
That is the truth.
I was like, oh, I got like an extra engine here. It'll soon fill right back up, don't you worry.
But it was.
That's how serious it was, for sure. And oh, you forgot to mention this was hilarious along the route. This was your favorite part. I think someone offered you a cold beer and you took it.
I didn't. You asked me if I want.
I forgot.
I didn't drink crazy.
I forgot, I said, I didn't drink any At a water station there. I can't remember the first one, the early one. I was in a good mood and having fun and grabbed a beer just for giggles. And it's not a full beer, it's a little cup, but still it's a nice dose. That last couple of miles there was somebody out there and they were offering a beer. I actually responded, is it cold, because it's trim.
When you're running and you're hot, all you want is a cold drink and everything they give you is warm, and your water bottle at that point is all room temperature.
So he asked, is it cold? I did, and they said yes, it is.
And what they had a keg whoever you all are, I appreciate it. It was a keg on the last four or something miles a keg of beer. It was ice cold. It was I wanted to go back.
You were like, that was the best beer I've ever had on the race. Yeah, it was very that was fantastic. And then we had a we had a little It was a small after party we had planned and it was the last thing we wanted to do because we were so exhausted. But we got up and we were able to celebrate with friends and family and it was nice and I'm glad we did it because what we wanted to do was crill up and fetal position, and.
We did for a little while.
I did.
For a little while I did.
I was like, babe, we kind of have to go. Okay, we have to go.
Being was texting, Hey, are you coming to your party?
We were yeah, an hour and a half lay to our party.
So look, I appreciate this experience even more because of what happened in Chicago, and next week we'll appreciate the New York City experiment or experience even more once we are a little distance from it. But it was that's no small thing and we got to do this together. And just the past month we've had together doing just the running and everything that came with it and the injury.
And you've been watching me trying to get this together for months now, and what you did in Chicago was a sacrifice, and what.
You did yesterday was a sacrifice for your time.
Finished. Three?
Can I also say, you know what, Sometimes partners don't say the right thing to one another, but you said the perfect thing to me when I was feeling frustrated and sad and sick and mad at myself and feeling bad about ruining our time because we were once again.
Set to have a pr I. You looked at me and you said.
Babe, it's okay, It's just that time doesn't matter, and you said you have nothing to prove. And when you said that to me, I remember feeling my shoulders drop and the weight of the expectation and the guilt and the pressure I was putting on myself just go away. And that helped me more than you could ever know. So thank you for you said the exact right thing to me at the right moment.
Yeah, that's usually not the case.
Well, I applaud what you said.
It was it gave me comfort and it it motivated me actually to get up and do it and not to say it has to be perfect or it has to be at this time, and that I can stop again and if I have to, And that just took off the pressure away and it let me finish the race.
Before we leave here, we're gonna wrap. We would like to make a plea to non runners, and we want to make this plea if you see people out there running, whether it's they're doing training runs or an official race, we implore you to listen to this because we had a couple of incidents yesterday. One of them really infuriated
me and it didn't even affect me. But you're running the marathon and there are spectators on both sides, and sometimes people try to cross the street where the race is happening, and usually it looks like a game of Frogger, right, because they know they're trying to get out of the way and trying to dodge the runners and stay out of the way and trying to run across. And that's fine, but then you get some other folks. I can't remember what mile it was, but you know, I got pissed.
There was a guy walking across the street as if he was holier than thou and nothing that fifty thousand people were doing running marathon trumped him just walking across.
The street because he strolled with his hands in his pocket as if he had not a care in the world, and people had to navigate around him, and that was frustrating. He ended up not causing any problems. I mean, you can pick moments, and I understand sometimes you have to cross the street.
I get that.
But we had something that happened at mile twenty one, and you know, we were I know, people can't understand where you are physically and mentally at that point. But no one's doing well. I mean, very few people are there. It's a struggle. You've been doing this for six months. You're on the last leg. And there was a woman who crossed the street in the same fashion slowly. We
were all bunched up in Central Park. This was not a wide area where there were a lot of spaces, and she just and she looked me right in the eye and slammed right into me, and she she knocked me off my feet. I had to fall and I fell into TJ. Then he fell and she just slowly kept on going, and you know it, the anger I felt I'm not proud of. But it's just that could
have taken us out of the race. We we tripped, you could have tweaked something, I could have tweaked something, and she didn't care, And I just thought, why are you even out here? Like this was definitely Central Park, But I don't think she had anything to do with the race.
And she had no care about what she was doing and what we anybody else was going through. So again, people have to cross the street. We see family sometimes.
With kids, and they're sculling across just.
Trying to get out of the way. That's fine. It was just bizarre that this woman took that, and given our recent experience in Chicago, I did not finish Chicago because of this exact thing that somebody was inconsiderate, didn't get out of the way, ran into somebody, tweaked by
it band. But this is that It's that serious. So when that happened in that moment, we both immediately just freaked out, like, holy crap, am I okay, let me feel we take a body inventory because we're a mile twenty one twenty two again and you're really telling me this woman is gonna cost us this race again. So we encourage folks and we do it. We do a lot of training runs, and oftentimes people don't think it's a big deal, or people put so much and for
some people they're won and done. This is a lifelong dream to do this and to just break stride can't impact you in a way that can cause you to end your day, to injure yourself. Also, it just messes with you mentally. Yeah, and I know everybody else looks it's just running. What's the big deal. Just if you can't give folks a break who go through and putting themselves through that much, just try to be a little
considerate when you see it. I know we're crazy runners, know we all got the same rights to the same sidewalk.
But please, just it's hard, don't make it harder. That's all we ask.
All we ask. So are you retiring because you have you have suggested you are going to retire from marathon.
Well, I am absolutely going to do half marathons from here on out, and I would like to take a year break from marathons and maybe revisit it in twenty twenty five.
All Right, Okay, I am now declaring for the New York City Marathon twenty twenty five.
I can't wait to cheer you one.
I'm gonna run it. I'm gonna run, I won't and as long as my body holds up, I will run it in New York every year they will allow.
I love that, man.
I'm gonna keep going. So thank you, baby, has been a hell of a journey on this Uh, this year of running has just been incredible. So thank you for what you did in Chicago. Thank you for yesterday. And I wouldn't have had it go any other way.
I feel the same way. I love you.
I love you too, doll. So say something you think that we encourage runners today. Everybody's running out to get their new shoes, aren't they.
Oh yeah, go out and uh just sign up for any race. I love a ten k.
All right, folks. You can catch us on our official Instagram, babies at Amy and TJ Podcast, where we appreciate you listening. As always, we'll see out there on the road too.