Joe Apfelbaum Running the NYC HALF 2018

I totally failed, totally failed at mile 10. Why did I fail? They say if you fail to prepare, then prepare to fail. You see, I was 245 pounds at the time. I remember clearly because I was so proud that I lost 20 pounds because my height was 265. And somebody came to me and said, Joe, I see you running. I really was limping at the time, wasn't really running. Joe, I see you running. Why don't you run our marathon? I was like, yay, I'll do it. I was really scared to do it. I didn't practice. I didn't practice. I didn't prepare. And I still went on that day with an extra large jersey. And I'll post a picture on my Facebook. Or you can go back a couple of years and see me. 5 in the morning, I put a bib on my chest and I decided to start running and then walking and walking and walking. And before you knew it, I was one of the last people. Like, I saw everybody pass me and then the old people passed me and then the special needs people passed me. And then the person with one leg passed me, and then the truck passed me picking up all the signs because they were like wrapping this stuff up. And I make it mile 6. I'm finally leaving Central Park. I'm running down from 59th Street towards— and what's motivating me to keep going is I got to catch the truck that's picking up the signs. I got to get in front of that truck. So I run a little bit and I'm like, oh my God, I'm so tired. Everything's itching. And I'm like, oh, I can't do this. And my head, everything's in my head. I'm like, oh no, I'm going to die. I'm going to die. Anyway, there's a massive band when I hit Times Square and they're playing and I'm like in the middle of the street going down 7th Avenue, making a right. People are taking pictures of me. It feels so good to keep going. I'm like, I got to do this. And as I turn on 42nd Street, The cold wind from the ocean, from the river hit me. I was like, oh my gosh, I'm still going to do it. I'm still going to do it. I'm still going to do it. And I made it all the way to the West Side Highway. I cut a left at the West Side Highway. And as I'm cutting a left at the West Side Highway, I look back and I see a police car behind me and they're like, get off the road. Get off the road. And I'm like, no, I'm not doing it. I'm running on the road. I have to. And people are getting off the road and I'm still on the road. I'm like, I can do this. I can catch up with everyone. I can do it. Yes. But it was too late because a big yellow bus pulled up right behind me and the guy gets on the speakerphone. I was like, all right, either get on the bus or get off the road. The The marathon is over. Come on, come on. And I'm like, at that point, failure just hit me. And I was like, I'm done. I'm done. I can't do this anymore. I felt my leg hurting, my knee. I felt like I was sprained something. I don't know. I was like, all right, I'll just get on the bus. And I just got on the bus. And that moment, that moment of failure, I just felt like a total failure, like a total mess. So I sat down in the back of the bus. They gave me a bag and they took me all the way down, literally like 3 miles, like 3 more miles. I could have done the 3 miles. I could have walked those 3 miles, but I was cold. I was tired. I was like, I failed. I'm done. This is like ridiculous. And I didn't get the cape and I didn't get the medal. And I didn't feel good about myself. And I went to the friendship circle, little tent where everybody was meeting at the end there to go meet my partner because he actually ran ahead of me and he finished and he got the medal and everything. And I was like feeling such a failure. But I was just all smiley and like, whatever, I couldn't make it. I, whatever, I was hurt or something, whatever. And he hands me— they hand me this like thing, this little plaque that says Joe Apfelbaum, blah, blah, blah, marathon. And as he's handing it to me, it slips out of my hand and it cracks. And I was like, that, my friends, that is Bashar. It cracked like this, this frame. They made me a frame with my name on it saying how amazing I am that I did this marathon, and I totally, totally cracked. And then he whips out another one. And he's like, here's another one. I made a second one. I don't know why. Here's the second one. And I was like, that's pretty cool. It's pretty cool that you had a second one. I'm the only one he had a second one for. Anyway, I just went home that day and I didn't tell anybody this, but I was, I was feeling terrible about that. And then I decided, you know what, I'm going to share it with everybody that I failed. I'm going to let the world know that I failed. And one day when I lose more weight, When I lose the weight, I'm gonna try again. And today's the day, ladies and gentlemen. Today is the day! Today's the day that I signed up for the New York City Half. I'm running for Friendship Circle again. And March 18th, 2018, I am going to finish this race! And I wanna do it in 2 hours. I don't know if I'm gonna do it in 2 hours, but I'm going to do it like a champ! And I'm going to start practicing tomorrow morning. I'm going to get up, I'm gonna go for a run, and I'm going to practice, practice, practice, practice, and I'm going to win this race. I'm going to finish this race. And if you're with me, give me a like. And if you want to support me, click on the link. Click on the link and put in $1, $2, $5. Put in some money into there to show me that you're supporting this amazing organization that's doing really great stuff for the kids. I just need like 100 people to donate a couple dollars and I'm good to go. So go ahead, put it in there, rock and roll, support me, and I'm going to do this. Am I going to do this? Yes, I'm going to do this. There's something inside me that says, but what if you fail? What if you hurt your knee? What if you whatever? And then you told the whole world that you're going to do it. Whatever. If I fail, I fail again, but I am not going to give up. I am not Going to give up. I am going to do this, and you are going to support me. Are you with me? Are you with me? Let me know if you're with me. Thank you very much. Have a wonderful evening. I'll see you tomorrow.