more spectating fun

Cindy is another friend who has been a huge support for me over the past many years. From cooking up not one but 4 main dishes, in addition to recruiting her friend to back a pie, for Papa’s memorial to hanging out with the kids on the sidelines on many a marathon, or just listening — Cindy has been there.

Today was my day to give a little back.

She was all smiles when I met her around mile 16 or 17. Our rendezvous was right after she came off of a rather tough hill. She said she was feeling it, but she looked really strong.

Using Jeff Galloway‘s run-walk method, Cindy incorporates 10 minutes of running followed by a 1 minute walk break. She’s well practiced and does it well, walking fast enough that I have to do little 3-5 step jogs to catch back up with her. Amy, joined in for a few miles of fun at the aid station at mile 21.3 where she’d been working as a volunteer.

When we hit the 20-somethings, I occasionally ran ahead to the aid station to fill one of the two small water bottles for her. I only messed up once, when I filled with the electrolyte drink instead. I came back with the orange colored liquid in tow. She joked about firing me. I asked for another chance, explaining that I didn’t want to throw out the fluid while still in the aid station. We ran on.

Before long, we were approaching the finish line. Although you couldn’t hear a much from crowd, you could really feel the finish line vibe. It was pretty awesome that I could feel it, even though it wasn’t my day to cross the line. I ran Cindy in and stepped off yelling, “GO CINDY! YOU ROCK!” She crossed with a time of 4:09 and was greeted by the rest of her crew.

Later tonight, Cindy and all of her support crew will be gathering to celebrate her PR and toast to the months ahead. This is only the beginning of her journey. Cindy is training for her 3rd Ironman in Austria. GO CINDY! YOU ROCK!