Sunday August 6th 2006
Asser Levy Place & East 23rd Street
84 degrees around 4:15pm
(there maybe some ads in the youtube videos...sorry, just wait for the song than read on)
http://youtu.be/3YxaaGgTQYM
Typical Sunday working the window at the Stadium. Worked the 10-4 shift with my boy Joe Martinez. The week was a bare, heat wave and your typical NYC August heat wave. I was out on my bike every day that week. With the weather finally breaking and getting out of the 90’s I chose not to wear my protective jacket that day. Blue jeans and a Nike tang top. I was heading off the FDR about to head west to my apartment in Chelsea.
I rode a Buell. Don’t worry not many people have ever heard of it. That’s what I loved about her. She was a vicious bitch. Black and naked, bare metal, and two eyes. One of the most unique bikes I ever seen and I fell in Love at first sight. Had an engine built by Harley and rode like a rocket built by NASA. A lot of low-end power. 1st and 2nd gear were just about holding on, get close to 70mph by the time I got into 3rd. She was I, rare, angry, and unknown but a head turner. I always knew it was going to happen; it was just a matter of when and how bad. I always thought it would have been doing like 120 mph on 684 down near Westchester airport, beautiful patch of smooth road, and I never figured I would wake up from it. But something worse happened…I was conscience the whole time, I survived.
I was heading west bound on East 23rd street just getting off the FDR. I saw a black Civic heading east. To my right there was a public pool off Asser Levy Place (right before 1st Avenue) No other cars on the road, just a calm Sunday afternoon in New York City. I thought for a split second this guy may make a left turn, but no blinker, I was good. It happened so quickly. I was maybe going 30 or 40 and accelerating quickly. Joshua Martinez made a left turn; a left turn that I will never forget. I hit the back passenger side of the car. I went over the roof near the trunk. Landed in the center of the 4 lanes, bounced and came to still right near the north side of the west bound curve. That was a good 10-foot bounce by someone weighing at the time about 180lbs.
Before I went into full shock I was able to do a systems check. First off I am alive, just got hit by a car but alive. I was wearing a book bag that kind of propped my head up. I was able to get my helmet off. Head never hit the ground. All right what hurts? My right arm felt like ice and than fire, ice and than fire. I looked over. There were two literal holes, each about 3-4 in circumference. They were having a little party just pumping and squirting blood between each other. All right my arm is toast. What is next? My right leg was throbbing. Felt like it got compressed so hard it was bursting. I raise my right leg. I don’t see my foot. Shock was kicking in; there was some blood in my eyes. I lifted my leg again, still no foot. After the 3rd or 4th attempt I lifted my leg higher. Found my foot. Take your right hand and put it up as if you were to give a high five, now that’s my foot. Take your wrist and rotate counter clockwise so your thumb goes from 9 o’clock to 3 o’clock. That’s where my foot was.
I remember that day like it was yesterday. I think about it all the time. I think about the 2+ weeks in Bellevue and the 3 months on crutches. I think about Joshua Martinez and the decision that he made that changed my life forever. All I could do was think…
http://www.johnnymarathon.com/
Wow in 7 weeks this time I will be partying with my Dana Farber teammates. In 7 weeks time we will all have accomplished something so large only “we” can relate. Many of them will go home and wear their metals with pride, as will I. But for me in 7 weeks my journey isn’t over. My part in Mission Possible: A World Without Cancer doesn’t end on April 16th. I am making the personal challenge to create awareness for Dana Farber by completing not just in the Boston Marathon but to follow that up with IRONMAN Texas in 12 weeks on May 19th.
2.4 Mile Swim
112 Mile Bike
26.2 Mile Run
Bragging rights for life
Training is not where I want it to bed but I am making the best out of it. Besides exhaustion now I am suffering from insomnia. I haven’t had this issue since San Fran, but hopefully whatever is keeping my head going 100mph every night will find its way out of my head. I am up every night until at least 1am. I had a rare day off from work Friday and got a sweet 20-mile run in Central Park, good time to, probably a 3:25 marathon pace. But it was exhausting. I am hoping for a solid week of training this week. I took tonight off from training to get the famous fundraising kits together. So tomorrow they will be hitting mailboxes; so excited to get them out.
So what does it take to train for an IRONMAN? Well here is a sample of the last few days and the next few.
Friday: 20 mile run
Saturday: 3 hour computrianer class (cycling)
Sunday: 1 hour on bike trainer in my apartment
Monday: Off
Tuesday: AM swim, PM 2 hours on bike trainer
Wednesday: AM 7 mile run, PM 1 to 1 ½ on bike trainer
Thursday: AM swim, PM 8 mile run
That’s pretty much my life. But why? I want to do everything I can to make you all aware of the Dana Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, MA. Huge hug to my darling Val Fava and her parents. 3 donations from the Fava family this week. It is not an issue of how much, if you support and believe than anything will do. I am on a personal goal to raise $8,000, which will bring us well over $30,000 in five years. I can’t even imagine that we have helped raised $30,000 for cancer research. So I ask again…who wants to be a hero?
Next song…here you go Robbie! See you in Vegas?
http://youtu.be/SgohFX9VlJ8
Marathon #2
IMG NYC Marathon November 4th 2007
56 degrees, perfect running conditions
I was back. My first marathon since the accident. I had no clue what to expect. My ankle and leg were not 100% but I had to run. I had to get “me” back. I didn’t start to run again until July, only 5 months prior. My training was what I could make of it. The pain from the ankle at time was unbearable but it was Marathon Sunday in NYC. Staten Island was a lot colder this year. I brought garbage bags and extra clothing to stay warm while I waited the hours to start. It didn’t work, I was freezing. I don’t remember much from the earlier parts of the marathon. I remember be overwhelmed with emotion. I remember running by mom and dad on 1st avenue. From this race on dad become infamous for missing me because he seems to always be playing with his camera when I run by. The cramping held off until far up First Avenue, probably around miles 18/19. I came across my sister and E right when we re entered Manhattan. I was in bad shape. My legs felt like electric rods going through every muscle. I went down. My sister and E were there to help me and I some how got up and kept moving. Little did they know, as soon as I was out of sight I had to stop again, the pain was crippling. I found the next medical tent, way north of Central Park. The last 7 miles were going to be a huge challenge. I went down again. I remember the medics seriously pulling my left ankle away from my ass. That is how bad I was cramping; my ankle was contracted to my ass. I walked most of the rest of the way. Coming back into Central Park I started to move a little quicker just to save face for the finish. I believe my aunt and uncle were in the bleachers as I went by. The first step to my come back was done. I finished in an embarrassing and infuriating 4:36. I would never accept a time like that again. My mind was set, my next marathons would each be a milestone. I was hungry to over come this disappointment. I was humbled, but I knew I had no clue what my limit was. What was to come next of my marathons I was never prepared for.
What I do is not just running, biking, and swimming. These events define me. And through the skills I have I want to make the best of it for something greater than myself. That is where the Dana Farber Cancer Institute comes into play and that is where I need your help.
Please donate:
http://www.johnnymarathon.com/
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