October 14, 2024 • 38 mins
Amy and T.J. discuss how they ended up in an ambulance instead of crossing the finish line at the Chicago Marathon.
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Speaker 1 (00:03):
Hey, folks, we have paramedics, police officers, marathon volunteers, and
marathon spectators we need to thank today. But I'm going
to start this episode by saying a very heartfelt thank
you to one miss Amy Robock and with that, everybody,
welcome to this very special edition of Amy and tj
(00:24):
Are Morning Run edition is kind of a marathon edition.
Here now, but Robock and I, if you can give
the description of what's right outside our window and just
set the scene for a second here.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Yeah, we are in our Chicago hotel room. In fact,
it's right across from Ridley Field.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
It's gorgeous looking at the Cubs flags flying in the wind.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Yes, and there was some rain and some wind. It's cold,
and it's dreary, and it well, we're trying to get
out of that mood right now. We are not having
the morning after that we were expecting to have after
a marathon. Usually it's laboratory. It is filled with relief
and exuberance and gratitude, and we have some of those
(01:07):
things going on, but we have a lot of disappointment
as well, but a lot of gratitude.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
Uh, frustration, I guess is a good word, but I
mean this robes and you don't know this. At some
point I was just looking at you while you were
asleep last night. But you you performed in a way
yesterday that was I can't think of anybody besides my
mom who has taken that kind of care for me
(01:32):
when I was desperate, So this wasn't We just picked
up the microphones and decided we were going to start
a podcast, so we didn't know how we were going
to start and to tell the story of what happened
at the marathon. But you, my God, when I was
hurting and I was struggling, and maybe I could have
made it through on my own and figured it out,
but I needed help, and you I just helped. But
(01:55):
you sacrificed something that was Jesus, that was very important
to you in order to stay with me. So I
thank you. Yesterday I was begging you to keep running,
keep running, when I knew I couldn't keep running, and
you stuck with me. And you were fully trained for
a marathon and you could have finished, and you did
not finish because of my bum ass yesterday. So I
(02:21):
loved you before we started. I didn't know how possible
it was to love and adore and appreciate you more.
But I'll say it to you plenty yesterday, but i'll
say it here again. Just thank you for what you
did for me yesterday.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
Well I appreciate that. But I told you at the
time when you couldn't, you knew you couldn't go on anymore,
and you did. You begged me multiple times please keep running,
even when I didn't realize how serious it was. But
I saw you had fallen behind me, which is very
unusual because you're right next to me or sometimes even
a little ahead of me, only because you're trying to
(02:55):
slow down for me. When you were so far behind
me that I actually couldn't see you, I thought, oh no,
his things have started to take a turn. For his words,
his achilles, we I think we've been talking about it.
Everyone knows you were struggling with an injury. And it
was this was around mile eighteen from my recollection that
I realized you had fallen way back behind and so
I was looking for you and was managed to slow
(03:19):
down enough to catch up with you or for you
to catch up with me, and I saw how much
you were struggling, and you when I looked back, and
finally saw you. You kept making the hand gesture like
go go. You just kept saying go go, like you
didn't want me to slow down even And that for
me was not thinkable because I was running by myself
for a while, and I thought, this isn't why I've
(03:42):
signed up for this. I have run marathons before. I'm
doing this to run with you and to be with you.
And what I told you, and I know this rang
true for you. I said, Imagine it was the opposite.
Imagine I was injured. Imagine I needed help. Imagine I
had to quit. There is no way in hell you
would have kept running. And I think that maybe gave
you some peace, because you know you would have done
(04:04):
the exact same thing for me. You know you would
have stayed back with me, and you know you would
have helped me. I mean, you ended up in an ambulance, babe,
you ended up in a medical tent. You were vomiting.
I mean this was you were in significant pain, you
were deeply dehydrated, and there was no way you were
going to finish. And so we yeah, at mile twenty one,
(04:24):
and that is incredibly frustrating. We had five miles to go.
We can do five miles in our sleep and we
had to stop because you needed help.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
I And again, folks, you were If folks have followed us,
you know we're runners, and you also know that it's
not just marathon day. This is a commitment of five
or six months of your life to get ready for
a day like that. And so the first time a
tear came out of my eye is when that moment
when you realize you're not going to be able to
(04:54):
go on. And that pain is one thing we're used
to it every run. You go do a two mile run,
you might be in pain. This wasn't just pain management,
and it finally broke down. So for folks, we'll explain.
So we put some stuff out on social media without
a lot of context, and even some of my family
and friends who are reaching out and still don't know,
they think I'm still in the hospital this morning, so
I should let everybody know what happened. But we started
(05:18):
robes on kind of a weird day yesterday. It was
every single thing that could have gone wrong went wrong.
And from the jump, we had a routine. We got
up like we were supposed to, but we needed to
get to a particular tint a runner tint where we
were assigned, and that's where we knew we were going
to use bathroom and get all the food and liquids
that we needed that more.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
That's right, and so we ended up it was just chaos,
and we know that's the way it is and most marathons.
And I had been to the Chicago Marathon a couple
of years prior, but I had someone with me who's
local and who knew, who kind of guided me. I
didn't know exactly where to go. We couldn't find. We
asked I would say at least a dozen and I'm
not exaggerating.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
I was going to go up to twenty.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
A dozen marathon workers. Where is this tent that we
had to be at that we were counting on for
all of the above. Otherwise we would have prepped beforehand.
But we knew we had this tent to go to,
where there was food, where there was any like, there
was electrolytes, there was everything you needed to prepare for
your marathon. So we kind of left it all to
that tent. We couldn't find the tent and no one,
(06:22):
no one knew where it was. And to the point
where TikTok after thirty minutes of looking for this tent,
we realized we were in trouble when we finally found someone,
finally found someone who knew it, and it was so
far in the other direction we couldn't get to it
to get what we needed to get back to our corral.
And so we started this marathon and I was upset.
I actually almost started crying, and you talked me down.
(06:45):
You said, Robes, we are going to be fine. We
will figure this out. It's okay. But we ended up
starting a marathon with no bathroom. And that is essential
because the lines for the porta pottis are an hour long.
I mean it's if you've ever been to a race
and a marathon specifically, it is impossible unless you've alloted
an hour to use the restroom. So there was no restroom.
(07:05):
Then I had not had any water. You had not
had any water, and we didn't have our water bottles.
We had no food. We hadn't eaten anything. So I
was just like, this is a disaster.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
Hey. This is why I wasn't worried though, because I
know on the race route there's going to be water,
there's going to be gatorating, and there's going to be food,
and there's going to be good, and there's going to
be all whatever you need, and that's also going to
be Porter botties. Is not the ideal way to start
a race. It's not. But the fact of the matter
is you and I started a marathon without having a
single drop of fluid and now having a single bite
of food. That's stupid.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
It is stupid. And also for someone like me who
always has stomach issues, to be eating while I'm running
is not ideal. And to be then trying to catch
up on my water as I start running versus having
hydrated beforehand is also starting a race not in a
good place. So I was nervous, and interestingly enough with
(07:59):
all of that. We started out the race and I realized, hey,
you know what, I don't need to use the restroom.
I'm okay. And I grabbed water at all the water stations.
I even had a half a banana here or there,
and I was like, you know what, I'm gonna be okay.
And it started out better than we thought, and we're
running better, no better though I was.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
I was the only one went into the race not
nervous about my achilles. Everybody was asking everybody had family friends.
Everybody's wondering about my legs. Some tell me I shouldn't run.
You and I even talked about it that maybe we would.
I was going to have to let people know here
whether or not I was going to run, and we
say we go right up to the start line. But
we started. I was okay. So the little background there.
(08:41):
For two three months, I've been dealing with an achilles issue.
Achilles ten to nine is. There are all kinds of
words for it. But I had been getting treatments. I
went to a doctor. I've got X rays, I did
laser heat therapy. I've been doing NonStop therapy at home
for the past couple of weeks. It has been bothering.
It was not right at the start of the race,
but I have been training on it and had fine
(09:03):
training runs. It hurts me, but I was concerned about it,
but I felt good about the achilles at least going in.
So we take off. Y'all thought I was crazy. I
was encouraging everybody else. We get text from Bob that
was running yep. I was like, Hey, let's go do this.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
Man.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
Everybody's concerned and worried. I'm the I'm on.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
File you were in a fabulous mood and you actually
helped me because I was upset about how we started,
understandably so, but you were like, ro we're good, we
got this, and you know we One of the things,
you know, that's so inspiring about running races is you
see who's running, and it's people from all shapes and sizes,
all ages, and all levels of ability. And so we
(09:42):
were running past folks who were missing limbs, who were
using crutches and speed walking with one leg. I mean,
I was blown away and the guy.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
That's where I turned to you while we were running
and I said, now, what were you complaining about?
Speaker 2 (09:56):
Exactly? And so those are the moments I just got
chills even remembering it. When you're running these races and
you feel like you're in a bad way, or you're
not feeling one hundred percent, or you're nervous or upset,
you look and you see what someone else's overcoming, and
you say to yourself, shut up, you're fine, You're gonna
be okay. You are just really in this point, it's
(10:17):
a mental game. And we were talking about that so
much of running is a mental game. It's physical, of course,
but if you've done the work and you've done the training,
which we have for the past five months, you have
to trust it and then you just have to let
your mind calm and go to another place. And that's
part of what I love about running, is that really
forces you to be disciplined in every way in shape possible. However,
(10:40):
we get to we get to the halfway point, we
get to the half marathon thirteen point one, and we're
both doing really well.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
And we have to say, if anybody was following, if
folks were confused about like, how is he posting on Instagram?
I was posting the entire first thirteen miles, almost every
mom marker I was showing. I was showing the signs
(11:08):
that people had. I was just having a blast and enjoying.
When I saw that thirteen point one that means you
have just run a half marathon, I knew. I just
took an inventory of my body. I was like, Wow,
I am okay, we are about to finish this dayn marathon.
I was even saying to myself, Man, I finished this thing.
Y'all ain't gonna be able to tell me nothing, because
I'm gonna believe I am a superhero.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
We were on good pace. I think we were doing
like about a nine thirty. My dad was was, you know,
all of your friends and family get your bib numbers
and they follow you. It's really fun. So I love
it when I have my AirPods in. It's less about
the music and more about the messages I hear from
people saying you got this both of my daughters. I
know your daughter did to sending me go go go.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
Yeah, let's get Let's be clear here. We actually called Sabine,
my eleven year old, from the starting line. Yeah, we
sent her pictures of us at the starting line. She
knows good and hell, well, dad, he's been training for marathon.
You said you were getting messages from your daughter, wait
to go? You got this? Da da da. You know
what I got during the race?
Speaker 2 (12:05):
A YouTube video, a YouTube clip for.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
My daughter and I said, baby, I'm running a marathon.
And her response was oh, like.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
She's eleven and mine are a little older, so they
might get things a little bit more. But my dad
is he's a runner, he's a marathon or he's run
three marathons and ran Verlin with me, so he gets it.
He knows what it's like. So he those big mile markers,
so half marathon, He's like, way to go. And then
he saw us at thirty k and he said, great, pace,
(12:33):
keep it up. And then they saw us just stop,
and I think it ended up we ended up stopping.
We started slowing down at mile eighteen. That's when I
realized you were in trouble. And then finally it was
at mile twenty one where you realized you couldn't go
any further.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
So here's the thing, bo, this is what happened. Everybody's
asking me about the Achilles. Achilles wasn't the issue ultimately
that caused me to have to stop.
Speaker 2 (12:55):
And I didn't know this, by the way, I absolutely
thought it was your achilles up until I think last night.
I mean, I don't think you told me.
Speaker 1 (13:02):
I had to. So what's the right way to break
this down? That was a previous injury. So if you
run marathons, you got some straight shots mainly, but you
have to every once in a while make a hard
right or a hard laughter's turn. So we had a
perpendicular essentially turned to get onto another street and I
had to go around this pretty sharp curve. This was
at thirteen point one. Go around this sharp curve, now
(13:26):
we're all bunched together and you're coming around the corner.
And I didn't have time to adjust to a guy
for reasons I don't understand, was walking in the middle
of the marathon. People do walk at times, they get tired,
they want to take a rest, but they often move
over to the side. You know you have to do that.
Speaker 2 (13:44):
You move over to the right when you have to walk.
And believe me, when you get past mile fifteen, people
start walking. It always always.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
Get it folks taking a little rest. But this guy
comes just shocks me. As I'm turning, I didn't have
time and I almost fall and I have to grab
onto him to try to go around him and trying
to avoid But as I was going down, I catch
myself on my right leg. Now the achilles that's the problem.
That's the problem is on my left leg. I catch
(14:12):
myself with my right leg going down, and when I
do it, I immediately feel the tweak in my right hip
and kind of my right butt cheek. And at that moment,
as though because this was the previous injury from my
first marathon in twenty twenty two, the IT band, I've
learned more about tendons and bands and crap over the
(14:33):
past couple of years than ever but an IT band,
and you did or didn't see this?
Speaker 2 (14:40):
I saw so. I so I was just behind you,
and I saw you go into the guy and then yet,
like you said, use his shoulders almost to steady yourself,
because you you went forward and kind of did like
one of those almost face plants. But then you stopped
yourself and righted yourself. And I didn't realize at that
moment you had injured yourself. I just know that when
(15:01):
we got to I think it was maybe mile it
was right before you ended up slowing way down and
I didn't realize you had gotten so far behind me.
But maybe it was like fifteen sixteen, you started getting
further and further behind me. But when I was running
next to you, when I slowed down to catch up
with you or for you to catch up with me,
I heard you doing something that I had never heard
(15:22):
you do. While you were running, you were literally grunting
in pain, like going oh oh, And that was something
completely new to me, and I thought, oh my god,
I cannot believe he's in that much pain that I
don't even know if he knows how loud He's being
grunting with every step he was taking and I just said, baby,
do you want to walk? Do you want to walk?
And you said no, no, And so we were slowing down.
(15:44):
I think we were at like an eleven minute mile
at one point, like really slow, and you still run
so much pain, and I remember thinking, oh, no, what's
going to happen. And it wasn't until we finally ended
up having to stop and I saw tears running down
your face. I knew I knew it was probably over.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
That's when I knew it was over. The pain was
let's just deal. But when I knew in my mind
that this was over, and it's you put five months
into something to get to this day. You put that
much work in and you can't finish it. It's not
that I didn't get the time I wanted. It was
none of that. It was you can't. You body won't
let you do it. And you know what I thought
(16:21):
about you? And I just gotten comparing ourselves to Olympic athletes.
But we all just watched the Olympics, and this is
the only thing that now I see. It was the
Batmanton young lady. I can't remember which country, but she
was the returning champ, she was the favorite to win it,
and she was down on her knees just screaming in
(16:42):
tears because she knew she had an injury that wasn't
going to allow her to continue. That is what that stuff.
When you see that in those moments, and those people
put four years into it, And so we think about
marathonis and you folks are crazy the amount of discipline
you see it on marathon day, but the amount of
discipline and work that goes into that to get to
(17:02):
that moment and still can't do it was too much
emotionally in that moment for me to handle. Yeah, And
so the trying to be clear here my right that
it band and look, I'm not gonna go into all
the medical I can't explain at all, but it runs
down the entire right side of your leg and your
left you have it. It goes just down the side of
(17:23):
your leg, It connects from your hip, It goes all
the way down.
Speaker 2 (17:26):
It's what's sore for me today like that those are
the only things that I'm sore on my both of
my hips, like a little bit of sore, Like I
get it.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
So that's a band issue. But it shows up oftentimes
in the knee. It shows up as knee pain. And
so I didn't realize the first time I had the injury,
but I figured it out, I got some stretches. It
hasn't bothered me a single time two years, not once.
So as soon as I tweaked it, I felt it
and thought, oh god, it might not be good. But
I literally, over the next few miles felt my knee swelling,
(17:56):
literally feel it swelling.
Speaker 2 (17:57):
You said that to me. I said, what's what's going on, baby,
And you said, my knee is so swollen, I can't
bend it. And I thought, oh no.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
So oh no. I am now imagine I have a
left achilles injury. But instead of trying to help the
left achilles by putting more weight on my right, my
right leg is now injured. And now I am compensating
by putting more weight and emphasis on the left leg,
(18:26):
which is already injured. And that is where everything fall apart.
That's why I fell apart.
Speaker 2 (18:32):
And so we ended up on the side of the
road just past mile twenty one, and we had some
incredible marathon workers and volunteers. We wish we remember their name.
But this lovely blonde woman and a police officer actually
(18:54):
stayed with us, and they were just trying to get
us transport because at that point we knew we just
had to get back to where we started to get
our things, et cetera. And all of a sudden, you
went so pale, and you just started vomiting, like on
the street, and they said, we're gonna We're gonna call
an ambulance because they just got nervous at that point,
and understandably so it took about thirty minutes. You can
(19:17):
imagine it's Chicago, a marathon. All the streets are closed.
We're close to the finish line, but not close enough
for it to make a lot of sense. We finally,
I mean, it seemed like forever, and I felt so
bad for you, but we finally got to the ambulance.
And then once you got in there, you looked awful.
You were so pale, you were shivering and shaking because
(19:38):
you've got these wet, sweaty clothing on and now the
wind is whipping and it was pretty miserable. And you
got into the ambulance. They put you in the on
the stretcher, which you were not very fond of. But
then you started vomiting again, and they wanted to take
you to the hospital at that point.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
And which is something you knew was not going to happen.
I actually she strapped me in and she said, we're
gonna have to take you to the hospital.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
He took the took the drops off, and I looked
at her and I said, ma'am, he's not going to
the hospital, so what can we do here? And she
was like okay. I was like, I assure you, he
is not going to the hospital.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
So they didn't well, and again they're doing their job.
And Caitlyn was the driver of the ambulance, and the
young lady in the back she was a I'm sorry,
we cannot remember her name. We are going to find
you if anybody within the sound of our voice know
who's Caitlin was working with. She took care of us
at the marathon. We would love to reach out to
both of them. But when and this was obviously embarrassing,
(20:35):
They're transporting us and I say, ma'am, you're gonna have
to stop. You're gonna have to open that door because
I'm about to vomit. And she pulled out a bucket
in the nick of time.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
In the nick of time.
Speaker 1 (20:45):
And at that point they get scared because they think
something else is going on with me, that I do
need to get to a hospital. And so that's when
they put.
Speaker 2 (20:53):
On the sirens, the sirens.
Speaker 1 (20:55):
So here I am me, proud me in a damn
ambulance with the damn lights on, sirens going through the
streets of Chicago while the marathon is still going on.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
I was thinking about I know you, and I know
how proud you are, and I know that that was
not at all what you thought was going to be happening,
or could you You could not even have imagined. This
was like a worst case not worst case scenario, but
among them it was tough.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
But to end up in an ambulance and out of
wood and have I thought they were getting into the
transport I and what did the young lady tell us?
She said, you're pushing and you're upset, and you're this
and that. Let me tell you why we're doing our job.
But just a short time ago, another guy was pushing
himself and he had a heart attack on the on
the course.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
And it didn't sound like it went well. She said,
he was pushing himself, he was low on salt low
on electrolytes. He went down, but then he went into
cardiac arrest, and she said, that is what happens.
Speaker 1 (21:49):
You know this.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
Marathons are are serious. They are dangerous even if you
if you aren't exactly where you need to be health wise,
if you haven't done the training, if you haven't had
the right if you haven't had the right fluids, if
you haven't had the right fuel, all of those things matter,
and this is why they have medical personnel lining the
(22:11):
streets every time you see a marathon. I don't think
any of us ever expect us to be the patients.
And I think it's going through your head. I mean,
how many times have we seen this happen to other people?
And now here you are a part of those numbers,
And it's not where anyone wants to be. And sometimes
you can't anticipate it. Sometimes you can't do anything about it.
And thank god, those amazing people are there to help
(22:33):
folks push themselves in a healthy, amazing way. But it
can be scary in moments, and yes, I think pretty
much every marathon I've been in there have been moments
like that where people have died, people have come close.
Speaker 1 (22:46):
To die half wa in Brooklyn. I ran and God
dropped it right before the or before the finish line.
I remember my daughter was at that thing, right. I
think it drove it home to her a little more.
This is I think it's running has been. Yes, it's
mentally difficult, but physically it's been fairly easy. For me.
It hasn't been I haven't had major issues and I've
been able to do it. And this time around, you
(23:08):
all were in the ambulance. I didn't get it necessarily,
but I don't know how important and serious it was.
That the vitals she was trying to get and couldn't get,
and then I was shaking. And then she said, my
body is reacting to the pain and trying to adjust.
That's healthy. So it was good for me to be vomiting.
She says, your body is reacting the right way. I
didn't get all that, but she was quite concerned.
Speaker 2 (23:29):
She was, oh, your blood pressure was very high when
you first got in, and yeah, they couldn't get They
couldn't get a lot of your vitals because you were
shaking so violently and you were so cold, they couldn't
actually get it to read. And then when they finally
got you settled. Then we went to the medical tent
and they wanted to take you on a stretcher, and
(23:49):
that certainly would have been easier, but I knew there
was no way you were going in that stretcher. So
those two young ladies and me we all got you
to the medical tent and they checked.
Speaker 1 (24:01):
You to carry.
Speaker 2 (24:02):
We didn't carry you assisted.
Speaker 1 (24:04):
My arm was around you from the time we stopped
until we got back to the hotel, probably as a crutch.
Speaker 2 (24:11):
I was your crutch, but.
Speaker 1 (24:14):
I I and this is the crazy thing, and anybody
who runs will is a marathon or certainly will get it.
Before we even got back to the hotel, my thought
was all about, man, I gotta get healthy for the
New York City Marathon in three weeks. That's happening. I'm
running that marathon in three weeks. I can't wait. In fact,
we go back to New York today. I can't wait
to go possibly for a run tomorrow. My knee is
(24:36):
my problem. It's it's swollen, it is not well, and
it hurts. But this is I feel like an injury
I've dealt with, but and I know how to fix this.
Achilles will continue to heal but I cannot wait to
get back out there because I'm so frustrated with what
happened here in Chicago, which was a great trip. We
were here, got here early, planned it all. We put
(24:58):
together this nice program. I had Miss USA on and
a live taping of our podcast that you all were
here at some point. Everything was working, had family friends here,
everything we were resting the way we should have. Everything
was good until that morning.
Speaker 2 (25:13):
Yeah, we had our lovely pasta dinner the night before.
We had done everything correctly, I know, and I had
said that I was going to cheer you on in
New York, which I still will, but I am now debating,
and I'm not saying anything if I'm going to or not.
But because I'm trained, because I put in those five months,
just go ahead and make the call. No, I don't.
I'm not ready to make the call yet because it's
(25:33):
still you know, I ran twenty one miles, and that's
like our training Our last big training run is usually
twenty miles, So we did twenty one miles. So I
am not thinking that I may possibly. I had always
kind of put it out there that I might run
New York, and now I'm thinking.
Speaker 1 (25:48):
Go ahead, commit.
Speaker 2 (25:48):
I'm not going to commit yet because I don't know
that I want to.
Speaker 1 (25:51):
Oh, I'm running.
Speaker 2 (25:52):
I know you're running, and I'll definitely cheer you on.
Speaker 1 (25:53):
Then I don't need a cheerleader. Obviously, I need a nurse.
So you have. Obviously you have.
Speaker 2 (25:58):
I need to be there just in case.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
Yeah, mean, how could you let me run this thing
by myself?
Speaker 2 (26:02):
I will make the call in the next day or
two based on what my health. No, No, based on
my mental health, because it's a lot, you know, I
think part of me I had said that I was
thinking that the Chicago Marathon might be my last marathon
because it just does take such a toll on your body.
I love me a half marathon, and I will continue
to run half marathons. But a marathon is not just
(26:23):
twice as hard as a half marathon. I would say
it's like ten times as hard as a half marathon,
because that last half is not comparable to the first
half in any way, shape or form. So I just
you know, we have a lot of travel, we have
a lot of really fun and exciting things to do
over the next couple of weeks, and I thought I'd
be done with the training, like I love a four miler.
I love a three miler. I didn't think i'd be,
(26:46):
you know, tapering down from a twenty miler getting ready
for another marathon. So I just have to get in
that headspace. And I'm not there yet, but I think
in a couple of days, I'll know what my decision
is and I'll stick with it either way.
Speaker 1 (26:57):
I am. I am so all in and could not wait.
I cannot wait to get shoes on. I cannot wait
to run again. I cannot wait to get back out there.
But to the next three weeks, it's nothing but health
and rest and recovery and some doctor's visits.
Speaker 2 (27:10):
Probably, and a lot of travel, yes, and then fun travel.
Speaker 1 (27:13):
Look, we sign up for that, we do that. This
was one of the things that gave me perspective yesterday.
You know, people will have those funny signs out, but
there was one. I'm sure you've seen it before. If
you saw yesterday, they said, why are you complaining? You
paid money to do this, and we do you pay
to enter a marathon and you're out here putting yourself
through this voluntarily, So who are you going to complain to?
(27:35):
And the other thing was my sister bringing perspective home
is that your God has been trying to tell you
for a while now not to run this marathon. Every
step of the way, even yesterday, there were signs that
something ain't right. This is just not going your way today.
And in myle that thirteen point one guy finally said, Ah, right, DJ,
(27:58):
you ain't listen, So let me throw this all can
dude in your face and let me force you to
stop since you won't make the decision and listen to
the signs that I was giving you in the first place.
That was the advice and the council for my sister.
Speaker 2 (28:11):
And how do you think that works with you now
wanting to run in New York?
Speaker 1 (28:18):
This is what I think. I think I should never
run a race outside of New York again, because I
have two marathons and five half marathons under my belt,
all of them run in New York City, every single
one of them. This is my first attempt at a
race outside of New York. I just need to go
home and everything. I'll be fine. I just need to
go home.
Speaker 2 (28:38):
I hope you're right.
Speaker 1 (28:39):
This is the conclusion I have. But thank you to
Yes the volunteer there. We can't remember her name. The
police officer who was great. It's funny. He was trying
to this is how I don't know if I don't this.
I had this moment. I almost made the joke, but
I didn't. He was trying to help us. He gave
me a bottle of water, and then he kept saying, hey, man,
you just want to sit in my.
Speaker 2 (28:59):
Car here his car was kept asking you if you
wanted to sit in the car. Didn't want to be
in the back of a police car.
Speaker 1 (29:04):
I don't want to swear to god, I had that joke.
He was a white officer, nicest dude.
Speaker 2 (29:09):
But and there, you know what, there was also really
a sweet I don't know that you even knew this
was going on, but there was a family right in
front of us who were cheering on. I'm sure a
friend or a family member who was running in the marathon.
But this this man, he was you know, middle aged guy,
saw what was going on. He goes, can I get
you some water? I said, actually, that'd be great because
I saw the situation you were in and I could
(29:31):
tell you were depleted. I also was pretty thirsty myself,
and he said, let me go find some for you.
He was running into different stores trying to get water.
And that's when the police officer had a cold bottle
of water in the back of his vehicle, so he
gave it to us. But the man like was literally
running around trying to help us. I mean, people are
so kind. I think people get the kind of physical
stress we're all under it, and it's just it's so
(29:54):
heartwarming to see people rise up and rush around trying
to help you, trying to do something, and you know they.
Speaker 1 (29:59):
Do then along the way that, yeah, there are some
official stands and whatnot, but a lot of people just
come out there on their own and just bring a
box of tissue, or they'll cut some bananas in half
or the tangerines that we had, or on their own,
because you have no idea how much that means to
somebody on miles sixteen to just be handed a twizzler
(30:22):
or to be handed a pretzel, or to be handled
a banana.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
Yeah, I was so grateful for that quarter banana, and
I was so grateful for that tangerine because that like,
right then, you're just you're so depleted, and it's that's
exactly what you want and exactly what you need. So
we appreciate those folks so much. Wait, can I also
can we end with something that's a little funny.
Speaker 1 (30:41):
I will in a second after I'll let the after
I say thank you to the young lady that gave
me the damn croissant.
Speaker 2 (30:48):
Oh all right, I remember that again.
Speaker 1 (30:51):
If that young lady here's my voice, I would appreciate
you reaching out. You don't know how bad I was
suffering in the moment, Like my stomach was almost cramping.
I did not eat a single bit of anything, and
I was a woman either had to stand on our own.
Young lady brunette and had a big old bagel croissant
in her hand and I reached for just to tear
it off, and it wouldn't tear. And again I'm stealing
(31:13):
stride and she's kind of moving with me, and she said,
just take it, take it, And I took a whole
croissant and I'm running in the marathon. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (31:21):
At that point again, like I'm kind of embarrassed by this.
This was my sixth marathon. How do I not fuel
before a marathon? Well, I just put all of my
eggs in one basket and assumed I was going to
because we were in a hotel room, Like if we
were at our house we were leaving to your point
from New York City, I would have had my peanut
butter toast. I would have had my electrolytes. I would
have done all of that even before going to the
(31:42):
tent in Staten Island. I would have been prepped. But
because I'm in a hotel room and then nothing was
open at that point, I thought, I'll just get everything
I need. We'll get everything we need from that tent.
Speaker 1 (31:52):
But we've never had this problem before that we couldn't
get to the tent.
Speaker 2 (31:54):
I've never had this happen before a week. So you
were looking at me. I don't know at what point
you said, ropes, I'm actually starving, like my stomach is growling,
and I said, so is mine. And so when you
got that croissant, you're right, that was a moment and
you were so happy that you had that croissant.
Speaker 1 (32:10):
Do you want to mention the surgery you've been doing
on I forgot about that. Oh, yes, was a disaster.
Speaker 2 (32:17):
You want to tell everybody what was going on.
Speaker 1 (32:18):
I don't know what the name of it is.
Speaker 2 (32:20):
Well, you have a planter's wart. Okay, it's I know
this because when I was a gymnast and you're in
like hot, sweaty environments, this is what happens. Bacteria somehow
gets into your foot and you get a planter's wort
and they're extremely painful. My guess was because you were
putting your your foot like multiple times a day into
hot water constantly, you could have introduced bacteria into your
(32:44):
foot from your hands or whatever, and you ended up
with a very painful planters wart. So while we're in Chicago,
I go and get the compound w freezer freezing a
like a planter's wart removal where you actually have like
this cartridge where it's like a frozen like blast of air.
And so we've been trying to treat that as well
while we're in the hotel room.
Speaker 1 (33:03):
And if you've never had one of these, it literally
does in the place it is on my foot. It
feels like you are suppose you put a marble in
your sock on one spot, leave it there, and every
step you take you have something pressing, just a sharp pain,
and it's on my footwork you.
Speaker 2 (33:21):
Were falling apart. It was you were falling apart. So wait,
so here's the here's the you know where here? You
know where I'm going. On top of the day, this
was I mean, you can't make this up. So I
am you are like leaning on me, your arms around me.
I'm like, I'm not dragging you, but I am helping
you walk.
Speaker 1 (33:40):
And this is after the tent medical tent. We're finally
walking and I'm finally going to get back to the hotel,
which is the only place I want to be.
Speaker 2 (33:47):
That's true, but it took quite a bit of effort.
If you've ever seen what it's like in the aftermath
of any race, but especially a marathon, you have to
go blocks and blocks and blocks where everything's been shut
down to get to a place where you could even
get an uber or get on a train. We were
going to take the train, but after everything that happened,
I was like, I don't care how much this uber costs.
We're getting an uber back to the hotel. So as
(34:10):
we're getting to the spot where the uber is going
to pick us up, all of a sudden, TJ looks
at me and he says, Ropes, you got to help me.
I was like, what he said? A bird just shit
on my head And I was like what, And sure, enough.
You were wrapped around in this hospital blanket. I look
and you just have bird crap on your forehead going down.
(34:31):
I was like, oh my god. So in a final
ha ha ha ha, a bird shit on your head
right as we were getting into the uber to go
back to the hotel. It was just yes, the cherry
on top of a tough day.
Speaker 1 (34:48):
I'm running New York. I might so I will be
there at the starting line of New York. It's going
to happen. So next three weeks, just need to get healthy.
But I can't say it enough to everybody who helped
us out yesterday. And I can't say it enough to you.
I was losing. I didn't know what to say, I
didn't know how to feel in here yesterday you were
sleep and I was just staring at you like you
(35:09):
you and I say it about my mom. I can't
remember anyone who who so who so selfishly took care
of me in a moment that I needed. As much
help as I needed. I could have made it, could
have figured it out, could have got who knows, but
you and it it cleared, and it included a great
deal of sacrifice, because I know what it takes to
get prepared for a parathon, and that you didn't finish
(35:31):
it and we're willing to not to for the sake
of my whatever was going on with me, that was
just that was that was like, I can't thinking you
is not right, It's just it. I don't know. This
isn't a tryout for you necessarily, but if it were,
you were already really in there robes. But man, you
(35:52):
you showed out yesterday in terms of being a partner,
and a partner is willing to sacrifice in a way
that that I know meant so much to you. So
really thank you.
Speaker 2 (36:03):
Well, You're welcome, and I love you, and that is
what love is. And if you didn't know, or you
didn't fully trust how much I love you, if anything,
if yesterday proved that to you, then it was worth it.
And for me, it wasn't even a choice. It wasn't
even an option. I didn't even consider the other option.
I can't even imagine running and finishing it and getting
(36:27):
my metal and feeling good about it, knowing that you
were in pain somewhere.
Speaker 1 (36:32):
Needing help with you with a metal at least one,
you know what?
Speaker 2 (36:35):
I get that because I reversed it in my mind
and said I would have wanted you to finish, And
I get that, and I understood that you desperately wanted
me to finish because that would make you feel less guilty.
It feels awful enough not finishing it yourself, but to
think that somehow you you cause someone else not to finish.
I understand how that makes you feel worse in the moment.
But in the end, you needed help, and I love you,
(36:59):
and I didn't want to be anywhere else but by
your side and making sure you were okay. And I
wouldn't have been able to live with myself. I would
have felt like the worst person in the world. So
for me, it wasn't an option because you needed me.
And that's that's what partnership is, That's what love is.
You show up no matter what, and you stick with
(37:20):
that person no matter what. And I know and you
know that you would have done the exact same thing
for me.
Speaker 1 (37:26):
I was trying to find a joke to make there,
but I would have probably maybe, Well, yes, that's when
I needed you and you were there for me, and
I'll need you again November second for the New York
City Marathons.
Speaker 2 (37:37):
Well maybe I'll need you, so I hope I don't
ever have to ask you to return the favor.
Speaker 1 (37:42):
Well, folks, thank you all again to the folks here
in Chicago who took such good care of us from
the moment we got here until it all ended yesterday.
So thank you all to the volunteers. Thank you for
the city of Chicago. We hope to see you all
sooner than later. And thank you all to some of you.
All have been reaching out on social media and with
your well wishes and asking questions. I do appreciate it.
(38:04):
So we'll get into this more. But the training starts anew.
Speaker 2 (38:08):
All right, Well, I guess we could say thank you
for joining us on our afternoon run. We'll be back
with you tomorrow for our normally or regularly scheduled morning run.
So until then, we'll see you tomorrow
Hey, folks, we have paramedics, police officers, marathon volunteers, and
marathon spectators we need to thank today. But I'm going
to start this episode by saying a very heartfelt thank
you to one miss Amy Robock and with that, everybody,
welcome to this very special edition of Amy and tj
(00:24):
Are Morning Run edition is kind of a marathon edition.
Here now, but Robock and I, if you can give
the description of what's right outside our window and just
set the scene for a second here.
Speaker 2 (00:36):
Yeah, we are in our Chicago hotel room. In fact,
it's right across from Ridley Field.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
It's gorgeous looking at the Cubs flags flying in the wind.
Speaker 2 (00:46):
Yes, and there was some rain and some wind. It's cold,
and it's dreary, and it well, we're trying to get
out of that mood right now. We are not having
the morning after that we were expecting to have after
a marathon. Usually it's laboratory. It is filled with relief
and exuberance and gratitude, and we have some of those
(01:07):
things going on, but we have a lot of disappointment
as well, but a lot of gratitude.
Speaker 1 (01:11):
Uh, frustration, I guess is a good word, but I
mean this robes and you don't know this. At some
point I was just looking at you while you were
asleep last night. But you you performed in a way
yesterday that was I can't think of anybody besides my
mom who has taken that kind of care for me
(01:32):
when I was desperate, So this wasn't We just picked
up the microphones and decided we were going to start
a podcast, so we didn't know how we were going
to start and to tell the story of what happened
at the marathon. But you, my God, when I was
hurting and I was struggling, and maybe I could have
made it through on my own and figured it out,
but I needed help, and you I just helped. But
(01:55):
you sacrificed something that was Jesus, that was very important
to you in order to stay with me. So I
thank you. Yesterday I was begging you to keep running,
keep running, when I knew I couldn't keep running, and
you stuck with me. And you were fully trained for
a marathon and you could have finished, and you did
not finish because of my bum ass yesterday. So I
(02:21):
loved you before we started. I didn't know how possible
it was to love and adore and appreciate you more.
But I'll say it to you plenty yesterday, but i'll
say it here again. Just thank you for what you
did for me yesterday.
Speaker 2 (02:34):
Well I appreciate that. But I told you at the
time when you couldn't, you knew you couldn't go on anymore,
and you did. You begged me multiple times please keep running,
even when I didn't realize how serious it was. But
I saw you had fallen behind me, which is very
unusual because you're right next to me or sometimes even
a little ahead of me, only because you're trying to
(02:55):
slow down for me. When you were so far behind
me that I actually couldn't see you, I thought, oh no,
his things have started to take a turn. For his words,
his achilles, we I think we've been talking about it.
Everyone knows you were struggling with an injury. And it
was this was around mile eighteen from my recollection that
I realized you had fallen way back behind and so
I was looking for you and was managed to slow
(03:19):
down enough to catch up with you or for you
to catch up with me, and I saw how much
you were struggling, and you when I looked back, and
finally saw you. You kept making the hand gesture like
go go. You just kept saying go go, like you
didn't want me to slow down even And that for
me was not thinkable because I was running by myself
for a while, and I thought, this isn't why I've
(03:42):
signed up for this. I have run marathons before. I'm
doing this to run with you and to be with you.
And what I told you, and I know this rang
true for you. I said, Imagine it was the opposite.
Imagine I was injured. Imagine I needed help. Imagine I
had to quit. There is no way in hell you
would have kept running. And I think that maybe gave
you some peace, because you know you would have done
(04:04):
the exact same thing for me. You know you would
have stayed back with me, and you know you would
have helped me. I mean, you ended up in an ambulance, babe,
you ended up in a medical tent. You were vomiting.
I mean this was you were in significant pain, you
were deeply dehydrated, and there was no way you were
going to finish. And so we yeah, at mile twenty one,
(04:24):
and that is incredibly frustrating. We had five miles to go.
We can do five miles in our sleep and we
had to stop because you needed help.
Speaker 1 (04:34):
I And again, folks, you were If folks have followed us,
you know we're runners, and you also know that it's
not just marathon day. This is a commitment of five
or six months of your life to get ready for
a day like that. And so the first time a
tear came out of my eye is when that moment
when you realize you're not going to be able to
(04:54):
go on. And that pain is one thing we're used
to it every run. You go do a two mile run,
you might be in pain. This wasn't just pain management,
and it finally broke down. So for folks, we'll explain.
So we put some stuff out on social media without
a lot of context, and even some of my family
and friends who are reaching out and still don't know,
they think I'm still in the hospital this morning, so
I should let everybody know what happened. But we started
(05:18):
robes on kind of a weird day yesterday. It was
every single thing that could have gone wrong went wrong.
And from the jump, we had a routine. We got
up like we were supposed to, but we needed to
get to a particular tint a runner tint where we
were assigned, and that's where we knew we were going
to use bathroom and get all the food and liquids
that we needed that more.
Speaker 2 (05:39):
That's right, and so we ended up it was just chaos,
and we know that's the way it is and most marathons.
And I had been to the Chicago Marathon a couple
of years prior, but I had someone with me who's
local and who knew, who kind of guided me. I
didn't know exactly where to go. We couldn't find. We
asked I would say at least a dozen and I'm
not exaggerating.
Speaker 1 (05:58):
I was going to go up to twenty.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
A dozen marathon workers. Where is this tent that we
had to be at that we were counting on for
all of the above. Otherwise we would have prepped beforehand.
But we knew we had this tent to go to,
where there was food, where there was any like, there
was electrolytes, there was everything you needed to prepare for
your marathon. So we kind of left it all to
that tent. We couldn't find the tent and no one,
(06:22):
no one knew where it was. And to the point
where TikTok after thirty minutes of looking for this tent,
we realized we were in trouble when we finally found someone,
finally found someone who knew it, and it was so
far in the other direction we couldn't get to it
to get what we needed to get back to our corral.
And so we started this marathon and I was upset.
I actually almost started crying, and you talked me down.
(06:45):
You said, Robes, we are going to be fine. We
will figure this out. It's okay. But we ended up
starting a marathon with no bathroom. And that is essential
because the lines for the porta pottis are an hour long.
I mean it's if you've ever been to a race
and a marathon specifically, it is impossible unless you've alloted
an hour to use the restroom. So there was no restroom.
(07:05):
Then I had not had any water. You had not
had any water, and we didn't have our water bottles.
We had no food. We hadn't eaten anything. So I
was just like, this is a disaster.
Speaker 1 (07:18):
Hey. This is why I wasn't worried though, because I
know on the race route there's going to be water,
there's going to be gatorating, and there's going to be food,
and there's going to be good, and there's going to
be all whatever you need, and that's also going to
be Porter botties. Is not the ideal way to start
a race. It's not. But the fact of the matter
is you and I started a marathon without having a
single drop of fluid and now having a single bite
of food. That's stupid.
Speaker 2 (07:39):
It is stupid. And also for someone like me who
always has stomach issues, to be eating while I'm running
is not ideal. And to be then trying to catch
up on my water as I start running versus having
hydrated beforehand is also starting a race not in a
good place. So I was nervous, and interestingly enough with
(07:59):
all of that. We started out the race and I realized, hey,
you know what, I don't need to use the restroom.
I'm okay. And I grabbed water at all the water stations.
I even had a half a banana here or there,
and I was like, you know what, I'm gonna be okay.
And it started out better than we thought, and we're
running better, no better though I was.
Speaker 1 (08:20):
I was the only one went into the race not
nervous about my achilles. Everybody was asking everybody had family friends.
Everybody's wondering about my legs. Some tell me I shouldn't run.
You and I even talked about it that maybe we would.
I was going to have to let people know here
whether or not I was going to run, and we
say we go right up to the start line. But
we started. I was okay. So the little background there.
(08:41):
For two three months, I've been dealing with an achilles issue.
Achilles ten to nine is. There are all kinds of
words for it. But I had been getting treatments. I
went to a doctor. I've got X rays, I did
laser heat therapy. I've been doing NonStop therapy at home
for the past couple of weeks. It has been bothering.
It was not right at the start of the race,
but I have been training on it and had fine
(09:03):
training runs. It hurts me, but I was concerned about it,
but I felt good about the achilles at least going in.
So we take off. Y'all thought I was crazy. I
was encouraging everybody else. We get text from Bob that
was running yep. I was like, Hey, let's go do this.
Speaker 2 (09:18):
Man.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
Everybody's concerned and worried. I'm the I'm on.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
File you were in a fabulous mood and you actually
helped me because I was upset about how we started,
understandably so, but you were like, ro we're good, we
got this, and you know we One of the things,
you know, that's so inspiring about running races is you
see who's running, and it's people from all shapes and sizes,
all ages, and all levels of ability. And so we
(09:42):
were running past folks who were missing limbs, who were
using crutches and speed walking with one leg. I mean,
I was blown away and the guy.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
That's where I turned to you while we were running
and I said, now, what were you complaining about?
Speaker 2 (09:56):
Exactly? And so those are the moments I just got
chills even remembering it. When you're running these races and
you feel like you're in a bad way, or you're
not feeling one hundred percent, or you're nervous or upset,
you look and you see what someone else's overcoming, and
you say to yourself, shut up, you're fine, You're gonna
be okay. You are just really in this point, it's
(10:17):
a mental game. And we were talking about that so
much of running is a mental game. It's physical, of course,
but if you've done the work and you've done the training,
which we have for the past five months, you have
to trust it and then you just have to let
your mind calm and go to another place. And that's
part of what I love about running, is that really
forces you to be disciplined in every way in shape possible. However,
(10:40):
we get to we get to the halfway point, we
get to the half marathon thirteen point one, and we're
both doing really well.
Speaker 1 (10:47):
And we have to say, if anybody was following, if
folks were confused about like, how is he posting on Instagram?
I was posting the entire first thirteen miles, almost every
mom marker I was showing. I was showing the signs
(11:08):
that people had. I was just having a blast and enjoying.
When I saw that thirteen point one that means you
have just run a half marathon, I knew. I just
took an inventory of my body. I was like, Wow,
I am okay, we are about to finish this dayn marathon.
I was even saying to myself, Man, I finished this thing.
Y'all ain't gonna be able to tell me nothing, because
I'm gonna believe I am a superhero.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
We were on good pace. I think we were doing
like about a nine thirty. My dad was was, you know,
all of your friends and family get your bib numbers
and they follow you. It's really fun. So I love
it when I have my AirPods in. It's less about
the music and more about the messages I hear from
people saying you got this both of my daughters. I
know your daughter did to sending me go go go.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
Yeah, let's get Let's be clear here. We actually called Sabine,
my eleven year old, from the starting line. Yeah, we
sent her pictures of us at the starting line. She
knows good and hell, well, dad, he's been training for marathon.
You said you were getting messages from your daughter, wait
to go? You got this? Da da da. You know
what I got during the race?
Speaker 2 (12:05):
A YouTube video, a YouTube clip for.
Speaker 1 (12:07):
My daughter and I said, baby, I'm running a marathon.
And her response was oh, like.
Speaker 2 (12:12):
She's eleven and mine are a little older, so they
might get things a little bit more. But my dad
is he's a runner, he's a marathon or he's run
three marathons and ran Verlin with me, so he gets it.
He knows what it's like. So he those big mile markers,
so half marathon, He's like, way to go. And then
he saw us at thirty k and he said, great, pace,
(12:33):
keep it up. And then they saw us just stop,
and I think it ended up we ended up stopping.
We started slowing down at mile eighteen. That's when I
realized you were in trouble. And then finally it was
at mile twenty one where you realized you couldn't go
any further.
Speaker 1 (12:47):
So here's the thing, bo, this is what happened. Everybody's
asking me about the Achilles. Achilles wasn't the issue ultimately
that caused me to have to stop.
Speaker 2 (12:55):
And I didn't know this, by the way, I absolutely
thought it was your achilles up until I think last night.
I mean, I don't think you told me.
Speaker 1 (13:02):
I had to. So what's the right way to break
this down? That was a previous injury. So if you
run marathons, you got some straight shots mainly, but you
have to every once in a while make a hard
right or a hard laughter's turn. So we had a
perpendicular essentially turned to get onto another street and I
had to go around this pretty sharp curve. This was
at thirteen point one. Go around this sharp curve, now
(13:26):
we're all bunched together and you're coming around the corner.
And I didn't have time to adjust to a guy
for reasons I don't understand, was walking in the middle
of the marathon. People do walk at times, they get tired,
they want to take a rest, but they often move
over to the side. You know you have to do that.
Speaker 2 (13:44):
You move over to the right when you have to walk.
And believe me, when you get past mile fifteen, people
start walking. It always always.
Speaker 1 (13:51):
Get it folks taking a little rest. But this guy
comes just shocks me. As I'm turning, I didn't have
time and I almost fall and I have to grab
onto him to try to go around him and trying
to avoid But as I was going down, I catch
myself on my right leg. Now the achilles that's the problem.
That's the problem is on my left leg. I catch
(14:12):
myself with my right leg going down, and when I
do it, I immediately feel the tweak in my right hip
and kind of my right butt cheek. And at that moment,
as though because this was the previous injury from my
first marathon in twenty twenty two, the IT band, I've
learned more about tendons and bands and crap over the
(14:33):
past couple of years than ever but an IT band,
and you did or didn't see this?
Speaker 2 (14:40):
I saw so. I so I was just behind you,
and I saw you go into the guy and then yet,
like you said, use his shoulders almost to steady yourself,
because you you went forward and kind of did like
one of those almost face plants. But then you stopped
yourself and righted yourself. And I didn't realize at that
moment you had injured yourself. I just know that when
(15:01):
we got to I think it was maybe mile it
was right before you ended up slowing way down and
I didn't realize you had gotten so far behind me.
But maybe it was like fifteen sixteen, you started getting
further and further behind me. But when I was running
next to you, when I slowed down to catch up
with you or for you to catch up with me,
I heard you doing something that I had never heard
(15:22):
you do. While you were running, you were literally grunting
in pain, like going oh oh, And that was something
completely new to me, and I thought, oh my god,
I cannot believe he's in that much pain that I
don't even know if he knows how loud He's being
grunting with every step he was taking and I just said, baby,
do you want to walk? Do you want to walk?
And you said no, no, And so we were slowing down.
(15:44):
I think we were at like an eleven minute mile
at one point, like really slow, and you still run
so much pain, and I remember thinking, oh, no, what's
going to happen. And it wasn't until we finally ended
up having to stop and I saw tears running down
your face. I knew I knew it was probably over.
Speaker 1 (16:00):
That's when I knew it was over. The pain was
let's just deal. But when I knew in my mind
that this was over, and it's you put five months
into something to get to this day. You put that
much work in and you can't finish it. It's not
that I didn't get the time I wanted. It was
none of that. It was you can't. You body won't
let you do it. And you know what I thought
(16:21):
about you? And I just gotten comparing ourselves to Olympic athletes.
But we all just watched the Olympics, and this is
the only thing that now I see. It was the
Batmanton young lady. I can't remember which country, but she
was the returning champ, she was the favorite to win it,
and she was down on her knees just screaming in
(16:42):
tears because she knew she had an injury that wasn't
going to allow her to continue. That is what that stuff.
When you see that in those moments, and those people
put four years into it, And so we think about
marathonis and you folks are crazy the amount of discipline
you see it on marathon day, but the amount of
discipline and work that goes into that to get to
(17:02):
that moment and still can't do it was too much
emotionally in that moment for me to handle. Yeah, And
so the trying to be clear here my right that
it band and look, I'm not gonna go into all
the medical I can't explain at all, but it runs
down the entire right side of your leg and your
left you have it. It goes just down the side of
(17:23):
your leg, It connects from your hip, It goes all
the way down.
Speaker 2 (17:26):
It's what's sore for me today like that those are
the only things that I'm sore on my both of
my hips, like a little bit of sore, Like I
get it.
Speaker 1 (17:32):
So that's a band issue. But it shows up oftentimes
in the knee. It shows up as knee pain. And
so I didn't realize the first time I had the injury,
but I figured it out, I got some stretches. It
hasn't bothered me a single time two years, not once.
So as soon as I tweaked it, I felt it
and thought, oh god, it might not be good. But
I literally, over the next few miles felt my knee swelling,
(17:56):
literally feel it swelling.
Speaker 2 (17:57):
You said that to me. I said, what's what's going on, baby,
And you said, my knee is so swollen, I can't
bend it. And I thought, oh no.
Speaker 1 (18:04):
So oh no. I am now imagine I have a
left achilles injury. But instead of trying to help the
left achilles by putting more weight on my right, my
right leg is now injured. And now I am compensating
by putting more weight and emphasis on the left leg,
(18:26):
which is already injured. And that is where everything fall apart.
That's why I fell apart.
Speaker 2 (18:32):
And so we ended up on the side of the
road just past mile twenty one, and we had some
incredible marathon workers and volunteers. We wish we remember their name.
But this lovely blonde woman and a police officer actually
(18:54):
stayed with us, and they were just trying to get
us transport because at that point we knew we just
had to get back to where we started to get
our things, et cetera. And all of a sudden, you
went so pale, and you just started vomiting, like on
the street, and they said, we're gonna We're gonna call
an ambulance because they just got nervous at that point,
and understandably so it took about thirty minutes. You can
(19:17):
imagine it's Chicago, a marathon. All the streets are closed.
We're close to the finish line, but not close enough
for it to make a lot of sense. We finally,
I mean, it seemed like forever, and I felt so
bad for you, but we finally got to the ambulance.
And then once you got in there, you looked awful.
You were so pale, you were shivering and shaking because
(19:38):
you've got these wet, sweaty clothing on and now the
wind is whipping and it was pretty miserable. And you
got into the ambulance. They put you in the on
the stretcher, which you were not very fond of. But
then you started vomiting again, and they wanted to take
you to the hospital at that point.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
And which is something you knew was not going to happen.
I actually she strapped me in and she said, we're
gonna have to take you to the hospital.
Speaker 2 (20:00):
He took the took the drops off, and I looked
at her and I said, ma'am, he's not going to
the hospital, so what can we do here? And she
was like okay. I was like, I assure you, he
is not going to the hospital.
Speaker 1 (20:11):
So they didn't well, and again they're doing their job.
And Caitlyn was the driver of the ambulance, and the
young lady in the back she was a I'm sorry,
we cannot remember her name. We are going to find
you if anybody within the sound of our voice know
who's Caitlin was working with. She took care of us
at the marathon. We would love to reach out to
both of them. But when and this was obviously embarrassing,
(20:35):
They're transporting us and I say, ma'am, you're gonna have
to stop. You're gonna have to open that door because
I'm about to vomit. And she pulled out a bucket
in the nick of time.
Speaker 2 (20:44):
In the nick of time.
Speaker 1 (20:45):
And at that point they get scared because they think
something else is going on with me, that I do
need to get to a hospital. And so that's when
they put.
Speaker 2 (20:53):
On the sirens, the sirens.
Speaker 1 (20:55):
So here I am me, proud me in a damn
ambulance with the damn lights on, sirens going through the
streets of Chicago while the marathon is still going on.
Speaker 2 (21:05):
I was thinking about I know you, and I know
how proud you are, and I know that that was
not at all what you thought was going to be happening,
or could you You could not even have imagined. This
was like a worst case not worst case scenario, but
among them it was tough.
Speaker 1 (21:22):
But to end up in an ambulance and out of
wood and have I thought they were getting into the
transport I and what did the young lady tell us?
She said, you're pushing and you're upset, and you're this
and that. Let me tell you why we're doing our job.
But just a short time ago, another guy was pushing
himself and he had a heart attack on the on
the course.
Speaker 2 (21:36):
And it didn't sound like it went well. She said,
he was pushing himself, he was low on salt low
on electrolytes. He went down, but then he went into
cardiac arrest, and she said, that is what happens.
Speaker 1 (21:49):
You know this.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
Marathons are are serious. They are dangerous even if you
if you aren't exactly where you need to be health wise,
if you haven't done the training, if you haven't had
the right if you haven't had the right fluids, if
you haven't had the right fuel, all of those things matter,
and this is why they have medical personnel lining the
(22:11):
streets every time you see a marathon. I don't think
any of us ever expect us to be the patients.
And I think it's going through your head. I mean,
how many times have we seen this happen to other people?
And now here you are a part of those numbers,
And it's not where anyone wants to be. And sometimes
you can't anticipate it. Sometimes you can't do anything about it.
And thank god, those amazing people are there to help
(22:33):
folks push themselves in a healthy, amazing way. But it
can be scary in moments, and yes, I think pretty
much every marathon I've been in there have been moments
like that where people have died, people have come close.
Speaker 1 (22:46):
To die half wa in Brooklyn. I ran and God
dropped it right before the or before the finish line.
I remember my daughter was at that thing, right. I
think it drove it home to her a little more.
This is I think it's running has been. Yes, it's
mentally difficult, but physically it's been fairly easy. For me.
It hasn't been I haven't had major issues and I've
been able to do it. And this time around, you
(23:08):
all were in the ambulance. I didn't get it necessarily,
but I don't know how important and serious it was.
That the vitals she was trying to get and couldn't get,
and then I was shaking. And then she said, my
body is reacting to the pain and trying to adjust.
That's healthy. So it was good for me to be vomiting.
She says, your body is reacting the right way. I
didn't get all that, but she was quite concerned.
Speaker 2 (23:29):
She was, oh, your blood pressure was very high when
you first got in, and yeah, they couldn't get They
couldn't get a lot of your vitals because you were
shaking so violently and you were so cold, they couldn't
actually get it to read. And then when they finally
got you settled. Then we went to the medical tent
and they wanted to take you on a stretcher, and
(23:49):
that certainly would have been easier, but I knew there
was no way you were going in that stretcher. So
those two young ladies and me we all got you
to the medical tent and they checked.
Speaker 1 (24:01):
You to carry.
Speaker 2 (24:02):
We didn't carry you assisted.
Speaker 1 (24:04):
My arm was around you from the time we stopped
until we got back to the hotel, probably as a crutch.
Speaker 2 (24:11):
I was your crutch, but.
Speaker 1 (24:14):
I I and this is the crazy thing, and anybody
who runs will is a marathon or certainly will get it.
Before we even got back to the hotel, my thought
was all about, man, I gotta get healthy for the
New York City Marathon in three weeks. That's happening. I'm
running that marathon in three weeks. I can't wait. In fact,
we go back to New York today. I can't wait
to go possibly for a run tomorrow. My knee is
(24:36):
my problem. It's it's swollen, it is not well, and
it hurts. But this is I feel like an injury
I've dealt with, but and I know how to fix this.
Achilles will continue to heal but I cannot wait to
get back out there because I'm so frustrated with what
happened here in Chicago, which was a great trip. We
were here, got here early, planned it all. We put
(24:58):
together this nice program. I had Miss USA on and
a live taping of our podcast that you all were
here at some point. Everything was working, had family friends here,
everything we were resting the way we should have. Everything
was good until that morning.
Speaker 2 (25:13):
Yeah, we had our lovely pasta dinner the night before.
We had done everything correctly, I know, and I had
said that I was going to cheer you on in
New York, which I still will, but I am now debating,
and I'm not saying anything if I'm going to or not.
But because I'm trained, because I put in those five months,
just go ahead and make the call. No, I don't.
I'm not ready to make the call yet because it's
(25:33):
still you know, I ran twenty one miles, and that's
like our training Our last big training run is usually
twenty miles, So we did twenty one miles. So I
am not thinking that I may possibly. I had always
kind of put it out there that I might run
New York, and now I'm thinking.
Speaker 1 (25:48):
Go ahead, commit.
Speaker 2 (25:48):
I'm not going to commit yet because I don't know
that I want to.
Speaker 1 (25:51):
Oh, I'm running.
Speaker 2 (25:52):
I know you're running, and I'll definitely cheer you on.
Speaker 1 (25:53):
Then I don't need a cheerleader. Obviously, I need a nurse.
So you have. Obviously you have.
Speaker 2 (25:58):
I need to be there just in case.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
Yeah, mean, how could you let me run this thing
by myself?
Speaker 2 (26:02):
I will make the call in the next day or
two based on what my health. No, No, based on
my mental health, because it's a lot, you know, I
think part of me I had said that I was
thinking that the Chicago Marathon might be my last marathon
because it just does take such a toll on your body.
I love me a half marathon, and I will continue
to run half marathons. But a marathon is not just
(26:23):
twice as hard as a half marathon. I would say
it's like ten times as hard as a half marathon,
because that last half is not comparable to the first
half in any way, shape or form. So I just
you know, we have a lot of travel, we have
a lot of really fun and exciting things to do
over the next couple of weeks, and I thought I'd
be done with the training, like I love a four miler.
I love a three miler. I didn't think i'd be,
(26:46):
you know, tapering down from a twenty miler getting ready
for another marathon. So I just have to get in
that headspace. And I'm not there yet, but I think
in a couple of days, I'll know what my decision
is and I'll stick with it either way.
Speaker 1 (26:57):
I am. I am so all in and could not wait.
I cannot wait to get shoes on. I cannot wait
to run again. I cannot wait to get back out there.
But to the next three weeks, it's nothing but health
and rest and recovery and some doctor's visits.
Speaker 2 (27:10):
Probably, and a lot of travel, yes, and then fun travel.
Speaker 1 (27:13):
Look, we sign up for that, we do that. This
was one of the things that gave me perspective yesterday.
You know, people will have those funny signs out, but
there was one. I'm sure you've seen it before. If
you saw yesterday, they said, why are you complaining? You
paid money to do this, and we do you pay
to enter a marathon and you're out here putting yourself
through this voluntarily, So who are you going to complain to?
(27:35):
And the other thing was my sister bringing perspective home
is that your God has been trying to tell you
for a while now not to run this marathon. Every
step of the way, even yesterday, there were signs that
something ain't right. This is just not going your way today.
And in myle that thirteen point one guy finally said, Ah, right, DJ,
(27:58):
you ain't listen, So let me throw this all can
dude in your face and let me force you to
stop since you won't make the decision and listen to
the signs that I was giving you in the first place.
That was the advice and the council for my sister.
Speaker 2 (28:11):
And how do you think that works with you now
wanting to run in New York?
Speaker 1 (28:18):
This is what I think. I think I should never
run a race outside of New York again, because I
have two marathons and five half marathons under my belt,
all of them run in New York City, every single
one of them. This is my first attempt at a
race outside of New York. I just need to go
home and everything. I'll be fine. I just need to
go home.
Speaker 2 (28:38):
I hope you're right.
Speaker 1 (28:39):
This is the conclusion I have. But thank you to
Yes the volunteer there. We can't remember her name. The
police officer who was great. It's funny. He was trying
to this is how I don't know if I don't this.
I had this moment. I almost made the joke, but
I didn't. He was trying to help us. He gave
me a bottle of water, and then he kept saying, hey, man,
you just want to sit in my.
Speaker 2 (28:59):
Car here his car was kept asking you if you
wanted to sit in the car. Didn't want to be
in the back of a police car.
Speaker 1 (29:04):
I don't want to swear to god, I had that joke.
He was a white officer, nicest dude.
Speaker 2 (29:09):
But and there, you know what, there was also really
a sweet I don't know that you even knew this
was going on, but there was a family right in
front of us who were cheering on. I'm sure a
friend or a family member who was running in the marathon.
But this this man, he was you know, middle aged guy,
saw what was going on. He goes, can I get
you some water? I said, actually, that'd be great because
I saw the situation you were in and I could
(29:31):
tell you were depleted. I also was pretty thirsty myself,
and he said, let me go find some for you.
He was running into different stores trying to get water.
And that's when the police officer had a cold bottle
of water in the back of his vehicle, so he
gave it to us. But the man like was literally
running around trying to help us. I mean, people are
so kind. I think people get the kind of physical
stress we're all under it, and it's just it's so
(29:54):
heartwarming to see people rise up and rush around trying
to help you, trying to do something, and you know they.
Speaker 1 (29:59):
Do then along the way that, yeah, there are some
official stands and whatnot, but a lot of people just
come out there on their own and just bring a
box of tissue, or they'll cut some bananas in half
or the tangerines that we had, or on their own,
because you have no idea how much that means to
somebody on miles sixteen to just be handed a twizzler
(30:22):
or to be handed a pretzel, or to be handled
a banana.
Speaker 2 (30:25):
Yeah, I was so grateful for that quarter banana, and
I was so grateful for that tangerine because that like,
right then, you're just you're so depleted, and it's that's
exactly what you want and exactly what you need. So
we appreciate those folks so much. Wait, can I also
can we end with something that's a little funny.
Speaker 1 (30:41):
I will in a second after I'll let the after
I say thank you to the young lady that gave
me the damn croissant.
Speaker 2 (30:48):
Oh all right, I remember that again.
Speaker 1 (30:51):
If that young lady here's my voice, I would appreciate
you reaching out. You don't know how bad I was
suffering in the moment, Like my stomach was almost cramping.
I did not eat a single bit of anything, and
I was a woman either had to stand on our own.
Young lady brunette and had a big old bagel croissant
in her hand and I reached for just to tear
it off, and it wouldn't tear. And again I'm stealing
(31:13):
stride and she's kind of moving with me, and she said,
just take it, take it, And I took a whole
croissant and I'm running in the marathon. Yeah.
Speaker 2 (31:21):
At that point again, like I'm kind of embarrassed by this.
This was my sixth marathon. How do I not fuel
before a marathon? Well, I just put all of my
eggs in one basket and assumed I was going to
because we were in a hotel room, Like if we
were at our house we were leaving to your point
from New York City, I would have had my peanut
butter toast. I would have had my electrolytes. I would
have done all of that even before going to the
(31:42):
tent in Staten Island. I would have been prepped. But
because I'm in a hotel room and then nothing was
open at that point, I thought, I'll just get everything
I need. We'll get everything we need from that tent.
Speaker 1 (31:52):
But we've never had this problem before that we couldn't
get to the tent.
Speaker 2 (31:54):
I've never had this happen before a week. So you
were looking at me. I don't know at what point
you said, ropes, I'm actually starving, like my stomach is growling,
and I said, so is mine. And so when you
got that croissant, you're right, that was a moment and
you were so happy that you had that croissant.
Speaker 1 (32:10):
Do you want to mention the surgery you've been doing
on I forgot about that. Oh, yes, was a disaster.
Speaker 2 (32:17):
You want to tell everybody what was going on.
Speaker 1 (32:18):
I don't know what the name of it is.
Speaker 2 (32:20):
Well, you have a planter's wart. Okay, it's I know
this because when I was a gymnast and you're in
like hot, sweaty environments, this is what happens. Bacteria somehow
gets into your foot and you get a planter's wort
and they're extremely painful. My guess was because you were
putting your your foot like multiple times a day into
hot water constantly, you could have introduced bacteria into your
(32:44):
foot from your hands or whatever, and you ended up
with a very painful planters wart. So while we're in Chicago,
I go and get the compound w freezer freezing a
like a planter's wart removal where you actually have like
this cartridge where it's like a frozen like blast of air.
And so we've been trying to treat that as well
while we're in the hotel room.
Speaker 1 (33:03):
And if you've never had one of these, it literally
does in the place it is on my foot. It
feels like you are suppose you put a marble in
your sock on one spot, leave it there, and every
step you take you have something pressing, just a sharp pain,
and it's on my footwork you.
Speaker 2 (33:21):
Were falling apart. It was you were falling apart. So wait,
so here's the here's the you know where here? You
know where I'm going. On top of the day, this
was I mean, you can't make this up. So I
am you are like leaning on me, your arms around me.
I'm like, I'm not dragging you, but I am helping
you walk.
Speaker 1 (33:40):
And this is after the tent medical tent. We're finally
walking and I'm finally going to get back to the hotel,
which is the only place I want to be.
Speaker 2 (33:47):
That's true, but it took quite a bit of effort.
If you've ever seen what it's like in the aftermath
of any race, but especially a marathon, you have to
go blocks and blocks and blocks where everything's been shut
down to get to a place where you could even
get an uber or get on a train. We were
going to take the train, but after everything that happened,
I was like, I don't care how much this uber costs.
We're getting an uber back to the hotel. So as
(34:10):
we're getting to the spot where the uber is going
to pick us up, all of a sudden, TJ looks
at me and he says, Ropes, you got to help me.
I was like, what he said? A bird just shit
on my head And I was like what, And sure, enough.
You were wrapped around in this hospital blanket. I look
and you just have bird crap on your forehead going down.
(34:31):
I was like, oh my god. So in a final
ha ha ha ha, a bird shit on your head
right as we were getting into the uber to go
back to the hotel. It was just yes, the cherry
on top of a tough day.
Speaker 1 (34:48):
I'm running New York. I might so I will be
there at the starting line of New York. It's going
to happen. So next three weeks, just need to get healthy.
But I can't say it enough to everybody who helped
us out yesterday. And I can't say it enough to you.
I was losing. I didn't know what to say, I
didn't know how to feel in here yesterday you were
sleep and I was just staring at you like you
(35:09):
you and I say it about my mom. I can't
remember anyone who who so who so selfishly took care
of me in a moment that I needed. As much
help as I needed. I could have made it, could
have figured it out, could have got who knows, but
you and it it cleared, and it included a great
deal of sacrifice, because I know what it takes to
get prepared for a parathon, and that you didn't finish
(35:31):
it and we're willing to not to for the sake
of my whatever was going on with me, that was
just that was that was like, I can't thinking you
is not right, It's just it. I don't know. This
isn't a tryout for you necessarily, but if it were,
you were already really in there robes. But man, you
(35:52):
you showed out yesterday in terms of being a partner,
and a partner is willing to sacrifice in a way
that that I know meant so much to you. So
really thank you.
Speaker 2 (36:03):
Well, You're welcome, and I love you, and that is
what love is. And if you didn't know, or you
didn't fully trust how much I love you, if anything,
if yesterday proved that to you, then it was worth it.
And for me, it wasn't even a choice. It wasn't
even an option. I didn't even consider the other option.
I can't even imagine running and finishing it and getting
(36:27):
my metal and feeling good about it, knowing that you
were in pain somewhere.
Speaker 1 (36:32):
Needing help with you with a metal at least one,
you know what?
Speaker 2 (36:35):
I get that because I reversed it in my mind
and said I would have wanted you to finish, And
I get that, and I understood that you desperately wanted
me to finish because that would make you feel less guilty.
It feels awful enough not finishing it yourself, but to
think that somehow you you cause someone else not to finish.
I understand how that makes you feel worse in the moment.
But in the end, you needed help, and I love you,
(36:59):
and I didn't want to be anywhere else but by
your side and making sure you were okay. And I
wouldn't have been able to live with myself. I would
have felt like the worst person in the world. So
for me, it wasn't an option because you needed me.
And that's that's what partnership is, That's what love is.
You show up no matter what, and you stick with
(37:20):
that person no matter what. And I know and you
know that you would have done the exact same thing
for me.
Speaker 1 (37:26):
I was trying to find a joke to make there,
but I would have probably maybe, Well, yes, that's when
I needed you and you were there for me, and
I'll need you again November second for the New York
City Marathons.
Speaker 2 (37:37):
Well maybe I'll need you, so I hope I don't
ever have to ask you to return the favor.
Speaker 1 (37:42):
Well, folks, thank you all again to the folks here
in Chicago who took such good care of us from
the moment we got here until it all ended yesterday.
So thank you all to the volunteers. Thank you for
the city of Chicago. We hope to see you all
sooner than later. And thank you all to some of you.
All have been reaching out on social media and with
your well wishes and asking questions. I do appreciate it.
(38:04):
So we'll get into this more. But the training starts anew.
Speaker 2 (38:08):
All right, Well, I guess we could say thank you
for joining us on our afternoon run. We'll be back
with you tomorrow for our normally or regularly scheduled morning run.
So until then, we'll see you tomorrow
Hosts And Creators
Amy Robach
T.J. Holmes
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