April 17, 2025 • 36 mins
In this inspiring episode, I had the absolute pleasure of interviewing Cindi Wachholz, a 62-year-old paramedic and runner who proves that it’s never too late to chase big goals. Cindi didn’t start running until she was 59, and her story is such a powerful reminder that age is just a number.
She shared how she started with simple walk-run sessions, built consistency over time, and gradually worked her way up to finishing a half marathon—and eventually, a full marathon! Along the way, Cindi discovered the importance of proper training, good nutrition, and regular strength work.
One of the things that really stood out to me was how Cindi learned to trust the process, set realistic goals, and believe in herself—even when society’s expectations about age and fitness said otherwise. Her journey has transformed not just her physical health but her overall confidence and outlook on life.
If you’ve ever doubted whether you’re "too old" or "too out of shape" to start something new, Cindi’s story will absolutely encourage you to take that first step. No matter where you’re starting from, amazing things can happen when you stay consistent and believe in the journey!
00:53 Cindi’s Running Journey Begins
01:22 Overcoming Age Stereotypes
01:54 Becoming a Paramedic
03:55 First Steps into Running
05:18 First 5K Experience
06:48 Joining Real Life Runners
11:02 Learning About Proper Training
17:12 Overcoming Self-Doubt in Running
17:49 Inspiring Others on the Trail
18:45 Running Accomplishments and Milestones
30:09 The Importance of Strength Training
32:59 Encouraging Healthy Aging
Join the Team! --> https://www.realliferunners.com/team
Thanks for Listening!!
Be sure to hit FOLLOW on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or your favorite podcast player
Leave a review on Apple Podcasts. Your ratings and reviews really help and we read each one!
Come find us on Instagram and say hi!
Don't forget: The information on this website is not intended to treat or diagnose any medical condition or to provide medical advice. It is intended for general education in the areas of health and wellness. All information contained in this site is intended to be educational in nature. Nothing should be considered medical advice for your specific situation.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Angie (00:00):
Have you ever wondered if you're just too old to start
(00:02):
something new or to get betterat something that you've never
really been good at?
So many women feel that way,especially when it comes to
running in midlife.
But what if that story I.
Just isn't true.
What if there's a new version ofthat story that you can start to
tell?
Today?
I am talking with Cindy, one ofour incredible real life runners
who didn't start running untilshe was 59 years old, and now at
(00:26):
age 62, she's finished her firsthalf marathon marathon and is
now training for an ultramarathon, and most importantly,
feel stronger, more energized,and more confident than ever
before.
But it wasn't always that way,and that's why it's.
So important for you to hearCindy's story today because
Cindy's story is one ofrewriting the rules of breaking
(00:47):
down those false barriers aboutage and showing what's possible
when we stop letting fear ordoubt make our decisions for us.
So if you've ever thought, maybeit's too late for me, I need you
to hear this conversation today.
Let's dive in.
(01:25):
All right.
Welcome to the show today.
I am super excited to have CindyWs on the podcast with me.
Hello, Cindy.
Thanks for being here.
Cindi (01:34):
Hey, Angie.
Thanks so much for inviting me.
Angie (01:36):
I.
So I asked Cindy to come on thepodcast to share her story
because to me, I love her storyand I know that you will too as
soon as you start to hear it.
And Cindy has been such aninspiration for me, for the
other people on our team.
We've been working together fora little over a year now, right?
Or two years?
About two years.
So Cindy, let's just start outby you telling us a little bit
(01:59):
about yourself so we can startwith, how long have you been
running and how did you getstarted?
Cindi (02:04):
Okay I've only been running, I'm just wrapping up my
third year, in fact, on April12th, next week will be three
years since I took my first stepof running.
That's
Angie (02:14):
awesome.
Cindi (02:15):
And I am 62 years old right now.
So you
Angie (02:19):
started when you were 59?
Cindi (02:20):
Yes, I did.
Yep.
Angie (02:22):
I love that
Cindi (02:22):
to the, and I want so many
Angie (02:24):
people to hear that too.
And that's one of the mainreasons that I wanted to have
you on this podcast as well,because so many people have this
idea that age is a limitingfactor, that we have to stop or
we have to slow down or we haveto do less.
And you just started thisjourney at the age of 59, and
there's no slowing down orstopping you that I can see in
sight.
Cindi (02:45):
That's right.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
And yeah, when I started it was,yeah, I had a lot of people
saying, oh, aren't you a littleold?
And oh my goodness.
So I just didn't tell a lot ofpeople in the initial beginning.
Yeah.
But actually it was a decisionbecause I was aging and, and I
have a job.
I am a paramedic and I got intothat role just a few years back.
(03:07):
I graduated in 2017 after myhusband had a, had an accident.
And the EMS people, theparamedics, the EMTs, whoever
were, was there to help him, dideverything that got him on the
road to recovery.
They laid a great foundation andI was at a place in my life
that.
All four of our kids were grownoutta the house.
(03:27):
And I was fortunate enough thatI was blessed to be able to stay
home with my children and raisethem up and homeschool the last
two.
And now it was time to startthinking about what am I gonna
do to work?
And after my husband's accident,I thought, wow, maybe I could.
Help people like those EMSpeople did.
(03:48):
And I knew nothing, and thatwould be probably the last job I
would ever picked for myself.
But I got, I went to school, Iloved it.
I went to paramedic school then,and I love it.
And as a EMS provider, I, we goon a lot of calls.
We see a lot of people that aresick or hurt.
Or do stupid stuff and they needan ambulance.
(04:10):
But what I also saw were peoplethat were older and not much
older than me, that werestruggling with their health
because they just weren'tactive.
And they didn't move.
And I thought, wow that's reallysad that this is their health
situation.
And actually my mom is anexample of that too.
She had.
Health issues and things wouldhurt and she'd say, oh, it's
(04:33):
'cause I'm getting older.
And then she moved less and itgot to a point where she really
couldn't move anymore.
And I thought, oh boy, that isnot what I want to do and that
what I want to be.
And being in EMS, you.
You have to stay healthy and youhave to be strong.
And I'm not a very big gal.
I'm barely five four.
And so being strong is importantto me.
(04:54):
I, my daughter runs and she'sbeen running since high school
and cross country.
She says, oh, mom, you shouldjust try running.
It'll help you to get in shapeand be strong.
And I thought I'll give it atry.
But I'm 59, so I decided, okay.
I looked up some books and abook on walking and running and
so I started walking, running,and it started off, walk for
(05:15):
three minutes, run for 30seconds and do it again for half
an hour and don't die in theprocess.
And that's kinda how I feltthat.
And, but I was able to run 30seconds and it was like, okay.
And.
Sooner.
It gets a little, you go run fora little bit longer, walk a
little shorter.
But I was always on the verge ofquote unquote dying.
(05:37):
'cause I was just going all out.
'cause I thought that's what youdid because I'm running and I
thought, okay, I'm gonna givemyself a year and I think I can
run a mile and a year.
That was my goal, to run a mile.
And about a month and a halflater I ran my first mile Rock
ran, but ran it and it was like.
It was the biggest celebration.
Yeah.
That I've had a long time.
(05:58):
And I thought, okay, I'm gonnajust keep doing this and I'd run
a little farther and walk alittle less.
And I did that and my PT gal whoI saw because I was having
little tweaks and little achymuscles because I was going all
out every time.
I didn't know any better.
And also doing the eat less,move more because.
(06:19):
Who doesn't wanna lose a fewpounds.
And anyway, she said you shouldtry a 5K.
And like we had a local five KIlive in rural Iowa and we had a
little town, 5K called TornadoAlley.
And I thought, oh my goodness, Idon't know if I can do it.
She really encouraged me and Ithought I can, I'll try.
And I did.
I walk around the 5K and Ifinished the 5K and I got a.
(06:43):
And that was like the biggestthing.
I'm not an athlete.
I, okay, wait a minute, rephrasethat.
I was not an athlete my wholelife.
I wasn't in sports.
I couldn't run and I say Icouldn't run because I couldn't.
I didn't ever, and I wasn'tgonna try and being part of a
team like that or a runner ofany kind or competing like that
(07:06):
was nothing I'd ever done.
And it was amazing.
So after that I thought, Ooh,I'm gonna try to do this a
little more and keep running.
So I ran all winter, ran in theIowa snow, which I really love
that.
Believe it or not, I really do.
And so the next year, my firstrace was a walk run again, it
(07:29):
was a trail race for four miles.
And I do that in April.
I do a race in April,'causethat's my year anniversary of
running.
And I actually placed for galsmy age group, which I couldn't
even believe that, but I did.
So cool.
And I loved that.
And the camaraderie and theencouragement and then.
(07:50):
Thankfully in in May of thatyear of 2024 I or 2023, I found
real life runners on a podcastjust listening to real life
runners and this gal talkingabout running and healthy ness
of it and fueling, which iseating properly in a healthy
(08:11):
manner.
And she had such a.
And that was Angie, of course.
And, but I'm saying the person,'cause I didn't know her and I
didn't know, I thought, okay,this is just a, some famous
podcast lady and she gets towork with her husband and they
have a great chemistry.
And I just went back andlistened to lots and then they
offered to open up some trainingfor people and I couldn't wait.
(08:32):
And that's where it all began.
Angie (08:35):
It sounded like you had a pretty good start going into
that though.
You were already running five Ksand how long was that trail race
that you said you placed foryour age group?
Cindi (08:44):
That was four miles.
Angie (08:46):
Okay, so that's four miles.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So you were already on your way.
Cindi (08:52):
I was, and I was very solo though I, nobody didn't run
with anybody.
'cause there's no one to runwith.
There wasn't anyone to run with.
And when I did tell people,'cause I wanted people to know
how, Hey, I can do this.
Our bodies were created to moveeven at 59 or 60 and yeah.
That there, but there was a lotof, pushback with, oh, you're a
little old, you've never donethis before, and, you're gonna
(09:14):
get what if you get hurt and,
Angie (09:15):
yeah.
Oh
Cindi (09:16):
my goodness.
But that, I didn't let itdiscourage me.
'cause I knew I felt better andit was good for me.
Angie (09:23):
Yeah.
Cindi (09:23):
So
Angie (09:23):
what were, when you started running and the, that
first year, what kind ofstruggles did you have?
Was it sounds like and I knowhow positive you are of course,
and it sounds like it camepretty naturally to you.
Would you say that's accurate?
Or would you say that youstruggled a bit in that first
year of running?
Cindi (09:40):
I think it was enjoyable.
Okay.
So I liked, and I enjoyed the,what did you enjoy
Angie (09:44):
about it?
Cindi (09:46):
Being outside for one thing, that was huge.
We have a treadmill and Iavoided it at all costs.
I would, I didn't mind runningthe rain or the wind just to be
outside and enjoy that.
And just running.
It was quiet because I don'tkeep stuff in my ears usually to
listen to, and I enjoyed thatpart.
And I felt like I was doingsomething healthy for my body
(10:08):
and I was doing it for80-year-old Cindy.
And that's what I kept in mymind.
I'm, I am running.
Try and not, try not to get hurtso that I can be a strong
80-year-old Cindy.
Angie (10:22):
Yeah.
So was it a lot of thatinspiration from watching what
was going on with your mom andkind of the other patients that
you had encountered during yourtime as a paramedic?
Cindi (10:32):
Yeah.
That was a huge motivator.
Angie (10:33):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Which is, so what kind ofstruggles did you have?
Like we see you obviouslyenjoyed being outside.
And you kept in, increasing yourpace and your distance there.
Was there anything that didn'treally come easy to you?
Cindi (10:48):
I didn't under, it was always, I knew I would go out
and I would be exhausted when Igot home.
And that's just how I was gonnabe, because that's how you are
when you run.
Okay.
I, so that was a, it was like ajust a wall I always was coming
up against and climbing over,but it did.
(11:09):
I wasn't always in the bestmood, yeah.
And yeah and I wasn't eatinglike I know that I should have
been because it was always thatsea, if you can run more or move
more, eat less.
So I was tired and sore.
I was tired and sore.
Yeah.
And those were big.
Yeah.
And I get a little bit of, maybeyou're running too much, maybe
(11:30):
you're going too far frompeople.
That.
They didn't know either.
I didn't know.
Sure.
That wasn't doing it quiteright.
I was just doing what I thoughtall runners did run as fast as
you can when you run and don'teat too much so you can lose
some weight.
Angie (11:42):
Yeah, because it's the burning calories mentality.
Cindi (11:45):
Exactly.
Yeah.
So I'm
Angie (11:46):
going out and running to burn calories, so why would I
eat more?
Because then that's just undoingwhat I just did.
Exactly.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And so it makes sense that youfelt exhausted and sore because
your body wasn't getting what itneeded.
Cindi (12:02):
So that's exactly right.
What changed
Angie (12:04):
then?
Cindi (12:04):
Then that faithful day in 2023 when I fell into real life
runners and I was able to becomea member and the information.
I am not even gonna say it waslike a fire hose because it, it
was just because I was not arunner.
Yeah.
And never an athlete.
And I would never considermyself an athlete until you told
(12:26):
me I was, and then I go, yes Iam.
And that was a life changerright there too.
I a game changer right there,I'll tell you that.
But that was terminology I'dnever heard of before.
Fueling and, j just, that wasone big thing is like fueling
and so you put in your car.
Yeah.
I don't know.
Eating and the stuff you need toeat to fuel your body and
(12:47):
recovery and these are things Ijust didn't think runners did.
Yeah.
That it didn't know.
And then the different kind ofruns, like the levels, the L two
and all the, those are just thedifferent you know how your body
feels.
Your effort level.
Never heard of anything likethat, ever.
And since I wasn't athletic inanything, maybe they did that in
(13:08):
some other sport, but nothingI'd ever heard of before.
Angie (13:10):
Yeah.
Cindi (13:11):
And it was, it made so much sense.
And I love learning new thingsand I've learned new things on
every podcast, on every zoommeeting, everybody's sharing,
their their strengths and theirweaknesses, their wins, and
always getting some feedbackthat would be useful for me.
I have a notebook.
It's, I have many notebooks now,but there's my real life runner
(13:32):
notebooks that I would takenotes, ridiculous amount of
notes, but I have them all andthey, I go back to them because
there's little nuggets that juststick with me that just were
game changers for this.
Yeah, for running in my running.
Lifestyle.
Angie (13:48):
Yeah.
Which is so amazing.
So did you, when we startedlearning some of these things.
About fueling your body properlyand about effort levels and all
of these things.
Did it just immediately clickfor you, or was there a little
bit of resistance that came up?
Because I noticed that with alot of people, when we start
talking about fueling and eatingmore and some of these things,
(14:08):
there's a lot of resistance thatcan come up in people because
for so long, for decades, we'vebeen taught to restrict.
We've been taught to, like yousaid, eat less and move more.
So did you notice any of thatcoming up in you or was it more
of this relief of oh, okay.
This is what's going on now.
Cindi (14:27):
A little bit of both.
Okay.
Angie, it was initially, it'sno, because my whole life,
seventies and eighties, that'swhat you did and you just
restrict.
Totally.
Yeah.
And runners, every time I see arunner, they're going really
fast.
So why would I need to look atmy pace and put my pace, all of
that.
Yeah.
And when I was, told no, youneed to eat more and run slower.
(14:48):
I'm like, that doesn't makesense.
But I, it didn't make sense.
Yeah, no it doesn't.
And honestly, it's verycounterintuitive.
It is.
Yeah.
But I saw it, I saw the resultsof it.
I'm, I invested in real liferunners.
Wholeheartedly.
And I wanted, I'm here because Iwanna learn.
And if I'm not gonna take mycoach's advice, I'll not be
(15:09):
here.
That was what I'm thinking.
Yeah, I'm gonna give it a whirl.
And I did, and it did not Okay.
It did not take long before Istarted eating, fueling more,
eating healthy at the righttime, and then slowing my pace
down.
It was like, like the scalesfall off my eyes.
It was like, this is amazing.
(15:29):
I feel so much better.
I'm not dragging my wagonbecause I don't have enough
energy and need enough calories.
It didn't take long once Ijumped in and just, I'm going
for it.
Yeah.
I went for it and jumped intothe running.
I'm gonna, I'm gonna jump intobeing a healthy runner and my
biggest goal was, is still notto get injured.
(15:49):
And the fueling the, that thepace not the pace, the just how
do I feel about or this level?
Angie (15:57):
Yeah the effort levels and the, your training strategy.
Cindi (16:00):
Yep.
That was huge.
In fact, I remember talkingabout it, it was one of my
questions on one of ourpodcasts, on your coaching group
that was about the pace and yousaid, don't worry about what
your watch says.
Don't worry about that.
So I actually, because Icouldn't help but look and see
what my pace was.
Yeah.
If I was going slow enough orfast enough, sure.
I put a piece of tape on mywatch so I couldn't see it.
And that also just flipped aswitch.
(16:23):
It's I don't need, I'm justgoing by how I feel and that
was.
Fantastic.
Angie (16:28):
Yeah,
Cindi (16:29):
really good.
That,
Angie (16:30):
so I feel like you've started to get into this a
little bit, but how would yousay that your training is
different now versus when youstarted?
Cindi (16:39):
Oh, it's very boy, I almost, I wanna say intuitive,
if that would be the right word.
Sure.
I'm just, I'm going at this isI'm training for.
Something special maybe, and Ineed to have endurance.
So it's very, it's easy, Angie.
It's easy.
I love that.
I can just go and I won't beexhausted for the rest of the
(17:01):
day.
I even on long, hard runs I knowhow to fuel, I know how to
hydrate and electrolyte andrecover.
And it's easy.
And back when I started, like Isaid, I was metal to the PE
pedal to the metal.
Yeah.
I'm just going, when you run,you must run fast.
Yeah.
That's the rule.
(17:22):
That I thought so.
Yeah.
And it wasn't easy.
I was look forward to goingrunning, but I also knew how the
rest of my day.
Would be.
But it was the price you paid tobe a runner as what I thought
Angie (17:34):
it was, the price you pay, and then of course when you
weren't feeling good.
Maybe you a little bit, anddefinitely everybody in your
life it sounds was like, oh,it's because you're older.
Like it, it was just more proofthat you shouldn't be doing
this.
And I think that's what makes methe most sad is when.
People have that experiencebecause you're not alone in
(17:55):
this.
There's a lot of people thatstart running at lots of
different ages, and they getinto it and they do exactly what
you do because they think that'swhat it's supposed to be.
They think that they need to goout and push hard and not fuel
their body and restrict caloriesand they feel sore and they feel
achy, and then that's evidencethat.
I'm too old for this.
(18:15):
It's evidence that I'm just nota runner.
Maybe my body's not just cut outfor it.
Like whatever story it is thatwe tell ourselves or that we
have been telling ourselves orthat other people have been
telling us just gets confirmedbecause.
That's how you feel.
And I want people to know, andI'm hoping that's what they're
(18:36):
hearing with your story heretoo, is that it's not your body,
it's not your age, it's not anyof that.
It's the strategy that you'reusing and the skills that you
have and those things you canchange no matter how old you
are.
Cindi (18:51):
That's exactly right and I, what I love is when, if I'm
out running on a trail andthere's a couple that might be
my age or a little older, and ifthey're walking a dog
especially, I stop to pet thedog and we'll chat.
Then we get to chat and they'llsay, oh, I could never do,
because they can tell I'm olderbecause I have silver hair, and
(19:12):
they say, oh, I could never dothat.
And then I get to tell them, Ijust started doing this a few
years ago, and they're all earsand even just.
Having that five minutes withthem or less just I love that I
can tell them that this is notan impossible thing, that you
don't have to be a certain ageand then that's it.
After that, you can't runanymore.
If you've never run or get outand move, it's, I love that
(19:35):
opportunity and I do hope thatany gals that you, that are
listening and going, woo, Icould never do that.
They'll go, you know what, maybeI could.
And
Angie (19:45):
yeah, so speaking of, I could never do that.
What have you done since youstarted running?
What kind of runningaccomplishments have you
achieved thus far in yourrunning journey that you're
proud of?
Cindi (20:02):
Like every one of them, but the, in in 23, I.
After I joined Real Life Runnersand I thought, wow, I can run a,
I ran a, I've run a 10 K before,and I thought could I run a half
marathon?
Because that's 13 miles and mygoodness, and yes, I could.
(20:25):
You said yes I could.
I still remember that call.
Do you?
Oh yeah, I do too.
I do too.
I still remember
Angie (20:31):
that call.
Cindi (20:32):
You know what I, at that moment, I needed someone to tell
me I could,'cause that was anumber I.
13, 13.2.
It was a number.
I, how can I do that?
Angie (20:42):
Yeah.
Cindi (20:43):
Because I never, because I didn't think I could.
And you said I could.
And if you thought I could,'cause you saw all the work I
was doing.
I could.
So I had the plan and I did thework and I did that half
marathon and I did it and Ifinished with a smile.
I had a blast and I couldn'twait to say I think I wanna do a
marathon.
And I did it the next year.
(21:05):
It was the same half marathon.
I ran my, the one, I ran my halfmarathon in Okoboji.
I wanted to do the, it was abeautiful place and I'm sorry,
not Okoboji.
It was Mankato.
The, my first half marathon wasin Mankato and it was so
beautiful.
I wanted to run my full marathonthere.
And
Angie (21:24):
at what point did you decide that you wanted to run a
marathon?
Was it like right after youfinished the half or did it take
a little time?
Cindi (21:31):
Right after I finished the half.
Right after.
Right after.
Yeah.
Because, and one of the, one ofthe things that you had us do at
the end of our year, that yearwas to write, what are we gonna
be saying at the end of nextyear?
And I wrote about completing myfirst marathon and I did, I
finished my first marathon lastyear.
(21:54):
I did it and I finished with asmile and I.
I had a great time.
It was a lot of work going intoit.
I had work, the whole summergoing into it, and that, that
has got to be one of the biggestaccomplishments of my life of
being able to run 26.2 miles.
(22:14):
At 61 years old, and I did it.
Angie (22:18):
Yeah.
Yeah.
And I
Cindi (22:18):
wouldn't have been able to do it without knowing how to
do it.
Safely and healthy, except if Iwouldn't have had real life
runners to, to coach me and toanswer all of my questions and
to just encourage me and Angieand Kevin, you're, you guys are
amazing.
And every person that's been onevery call with us is they've,
(22:41):
they're just like.
They're like my family.
They encourage me to what I,that I can do it too.
And they're right.
So those, the first marathonlast year was, that was a huge
accomplishment.
A lot of work, but I was able todo the work in a very healthy
way, injury free.
I've been, I'm injury free.
(23:02):
Yeah.
Yeah.
So great.
And the best is yet to come.
Angie (23:08):
Odds.
It's, I love that.
Tell me what that looks like.
You've already done amazingthings and I love that you are
breaking down your own beliefsin what is possible and other
peoples as well.
'cause I think that, I knowyou're such an inspiration to so
many people on our team as well,and that's why I wanted to have
you on the podcast because Iwant more people to hear.
(23:30):
Just how inspiring you are beand what I really want people to
hear from you.
And the thing that keeps likeyelling and standing out to me
and listening to you talk isyour trust of the process.
And I think that's so criticaland so important.
There's so many people that gointo running or set a big goal
(23:51):
and.
They question it the whole time.
They're, am I doing this right?
Maybe I need to add moremileage.
I need to do this.
And not to say questions are badbecause I love questions.
I love curiosity.
It's one of the most powerfulemotions that I think that we
can tap into.
At the same time, there needs tobe a level of trust in the
process because that is whatwill.
Allow you to actually do thework to get the results that you
(24:14):
want.
And that's what I keep hearingfrom you is I decided I was
gonna do this and I decided Iwas gonna trust my coaches.
I was gonna trust my plan.
I was going to do what they toldme to do because clearly I'm
choosing them as my guide.
And that has led you to a goodplace.
And there's a lot of people thatthink, okay, it's not enough,
because when.
(24:34):
They get into this new way oftraining that we teach people.
Like you said, it's verycounterintuitive of running
slower, doing less, eating more.
Like all of these things are theopposite of what we've been
taught for a long time.
So it can be really hard toaccept that mentally, but I
really want.
To have people see that's whatyou did is like you said, Nope,
(24:56):
this is what I'm doing.
I'm gonna trust it.
And then obviously if it doesn'twork out, like once you actually
trust and go through theprocess, if it doesn't work out,
we make changes of course, butyou can't tell if a process
works until you actually do it.
Hold on.
(25:18):
Go ahead.
Cindi (25:19):
There are.
A million training plans outthere, you can go online.
And I did that before mydaughter said, Hey, you should
just try running, go find acouch to 5K.
Yeah.
And I'm like, okay.
So I did, I went out there andthere's a million of'em.
I'm like, how do I know whichone?
Yeah, okay, I'll pick this one.
And you still, it wasn't quiteright.
There's no way I was gonna runtwo miles, week two.
Are you kidding me?
(25:40):
And that it wasn't right for me.
And how in the world would Iknow what's right for me?
And unless I know.
My way of running and my needsand all the things that make me
a different runner than you andeverybody else.
Yeah.
And that's what I love aboutour, the program and the plans
(26:00):
that you have, is that they areall tweakable and it's, I can
run a plan, it's gonna bedifferent than your 30-year-old.
Runner gal who's been runningsince high school.
We still might wanna run thesame distance.
Yeah.
But the plan's gonna look waydifferent.
But it's gonna work for me.
And that's how you've created itso that I get the plan that's
just right for me and you betI'm gonna trust that plan.
(26:21):
Yeah.
'cause it's I am proof that itworks and I proved to the people
who used to say, but you're tooold.
Proof to that.
Angie (26:30):
Yeah, you are.
So you said the best is yet tocome.
What are some of your currentrunning goals that you're
working towards?
You've already got your halfmarathon under your belt.
You've got your full marathonunder your belt.
Cindi (26:43):
I know.
I know how I like to run and Ilike to run.
E enjoyable effort is easy andand I can pick it up and I can
go up.
Hills pretty okay too, but Ilike the easy and I don't have a
problem running easy for a longtime.
So I'm looking at I.
I dunno how far can I run?
And there's this thing calledultra marathons that's anything
(27:05):
over 26.2 miles, but that's awhole new word I didn't know
before either.
And I, my goal is to do thisyear a 50 k, which is around a
little over 30 miles, I think
Angie (27:17):
31.
Cindi (27:17):
That's okay.
Yeah.
And more or less.
'cause they're always more orless.
Yeah, that's true.
And so that is something I'dlike to do.
For sure.
One of those this year.
And oh gosh I like the idea ofdoing a 50 mile maybe next year.
And there's things calledbackyards that you can go, it's
like until you go a certainamount of hours and or you go a
(27:39):
certain amount of miles and lastman standing, all sorts of
different types of running.
Yeah.
Adventures.
And I don't know, I never wannaget to a place in my life that I
say, oh, I wish I would've.
And I don't wanna do that.
So I'm gonna, I'm just gonnakeep moving on and see how far I
can go, see how far I can go.
That's what I'm, that's what Isay.
Angie (28:01):
Yeah.
And to do so in a verysustainable and healthy and
strong way, because I know thatis always your priority.
Cindi (28:08):
Absolutely.
Yeah.
Because if I get hurt or dosomething that is, is really not
good then I'm, I don't wanna bedone.
Yeah.
'cause then what would I do?
Angie (28:18):
Yeah,
Cindi (28:19):
it wouldn't be good.
Angie (28:20):
Nope.
I just love all of this so muchand I love just watching your
whole field of possibilityexpand.
It's so fun.
And thank you for allowing me tobe a part of your journey
because it's I love watching it.
I know you've started to touchon this a little bit, but what
kind of positive effects hasrunning brought to your life?
(28:40):
Maybe in other ways'causeobviously you're stronger and
you're healthier, and you canspeak on that if you want to
expand on that in any way, butalso the ripple effect, like how
has your life outside of runningimproved because of it?
Cindi (28:54):
I'm, I would say for one thing, I'm more confident that I
can do something that maybe I'venever done before and I'm not
afraid to try it.
And I'm very thankful for that.
It's okay to be, get outta yourcomfort zone and think outside
the box, even if other peopledon't think it's such a good
(29:16):
idea.
Angie (29:16):
Yeah.
Cindi (29:17):
And I am, that used to impact me a lot.
If people said, oh, that's not agood idea, I'd go maybe you're
right.
Maybe it's not such a good idea.
But I, I.
Can have crazy ideas and do'em,and they're not so crazy after
all.
And you can find people tosupport those ideas too.
Like you're right.
And people that are just ascrazy as me.
Angie (29:40):
Find
Cindi (29:41):
your people.
That's right.
Yeah.
Actually I've got a, and a fewfriends are encouraged by it now
that they've seen me do this fora couple years.
Still doing it.
Angie (29:49):
Yeah.
Cindi (29:49):
And even my husband has started to.
Get outside more and do somewalking, running, and he's
coming on board slowly.
Ooh, that's fun.
Yep.
And I'm hoping that somedaythere'll be the group of gals in
our little town that will wannago for a little run with me
sometime.
And they're listening to me andthey're seeing that I'm not
hurt.
And that's a huge thing.
(30:09):
I think that's everybody'sbiggest fear and
Angie (30:11):
Yeah.
Cindi (30:12):
And it's not if you do it right.
I'm
Angie (30:15):
doing it right.
Yeah.
So you're expanding not onlywhat's possible for you, but for
other people as
Cindi (30:22):
well.
I'm hoping so.
I would like to have that impacton people so that they can age
health in a healthy way, andthat their body's doing what God
made'em do, and they're able tomove and, yeah.
Be healthy.
Angie (30:35):
Yeah.
So we here obviously are reallife runners and we believe that
running is a part of your life,not your whole life, but so how
does running fit into your lifenow?
Cindi (30:47):
Oh gosh.
It is just, it's part of it.
I, it doesn't have to fit in,it's just part of it.
I have my regular schedule ofrunning that.
My work schedule changes everyweek, but I always, running is
something I look very forwardto.
It's, even after rough days atwork or something.
It's a nice way to just get out,clear my head.
(31:07):
But along with the running it'sjoint with strength exercise.
And strength training and it'snot, I can't separate the two
because I won't be good atrunning unless I'm strong
physically.
Yeah.
And I didn't really talk aboutthat very much, but the strength
portion of it is something alsoI've never had experience with.
And.
(31:28):
That now they're just one thingI do running and I do strength
and they're one thing for me,and it's part of being a strong,
healthy gal in her sixties.
And I'm very thankful for thatbecause again, what I'm learning
about how our body ages andespecially after menopause with
our strength and our bones, and.
(31:49):
We exercising with weights andis crucial to being healthy and
strong and being able to run asfar as you would like to run.
Angie (31:58):
Yeah, absolutely.
And having those, I lo I love somuch that you say they're the
same because it is they have tobe connected and I think that's
where so many runners feel lostbecause they have their running
over here and then they're notreally sure what to do about
strength and maybe they do somerandom videos or something like
that, but it.
Does it all work together in acohesive way?
And that is so important for youto feel good during this process
(32:22):
and actually get the benefits ofthe hard work that you're
putting in.
Cindi (32:26):
Absolutely.
In fact, the few people I knowthat run like my daughter's, one
of'em, and a couple otherpeople, they, they don't include
strength at all.
It's, yeah, it's not running.
And I guess I would've had thesame mindset until I've learned
Yeah.
Through real life runners that.
They are one and and once, onceyou make that, that clicks in
(32:47):
your brain that yes, these areone thing.
And if I wanna be a strong,healthy runner, I need to be a
strong, healthy gal.
And I'm,
Angie (32:53):
yeah.
Cindi (32:53):
And I am both.
Angie (32:54):
Yeah, you are for sure.
And I think that, especiallyyounger people,'cause obviously
your daughter is younger we canget away with things when we're
younger that.
Our bodies like stop respondingas well too when as we get older
and our hormones start changingand so we can't get away with
neglecting some of these thingsas we get older, where a lot of
(33:16):
younger runners, they don'treally understand the importance
of it yet unless they've beeninjured because.
They can get away with justrunning.
They don't have to strengthtrain necessarily.
They would still benefit from itfor sure, but a lot of the times
they haven't seen the negativeconsequences of it, and that
becomes much more evident as weget older and we start to have
some of these hormone changes.
Cindi (33:37):
Absolutely.
I That is absolutely true.
And back in the day when, forexample, when she was in high
school, I don't think weightswere even a part of their
training, so that wasn'tsomething she ever was
introduced to.
And she was doing fine back thenexactly.
I absolutely understand that.
Angie (33:53):
Yep.
Yep.
Cindi (33:53):
But I'm still telling her she needs to do it
Angie (33:55):
as you should.
She'll keep hearing it.
And she'll, it is very importantand she'll realize it at some
point in time, hopefully.
Okay.
So Cindy, I've absolutely lovedthis conversation with you.
What is one thing, or you cangive us multiple, but what's
something you want listeners totake away from this episode?
Cindi (34:13):
Oh, gosh.
Primarily that you are not evertoo old to take that first step
and you're stepping into a wholenew journey and you won't regret
it.
And don't be afraid.
Don't be afraid because you gotreal life runners here to back
you up.
It's true.
It's true.
Yeah.
Yeah.
(34:33):
But yeah, don't take that firststep and just don't listen to
other people.
And if it's just walking tostart, just take that first
step.
And think of your 80-year-oldself.
And or your 90-year-old self ifthat's 10, 20 years down the
road.
Yeah.
Think about how you're gonnabenefit that person.
That's so good.
Angie (34:50):
I have a friend that says, there's two people I think
about when I'm making my healthchoices, my 8-year-old self and
my 80-year-old self, and I lovethat.
Are you making 8-year-oldversion?
Of Cindy proud and are youmaking an 80-year-old version of
Cindy Proud?
Because what you do todaydetermines who 80-year-old Cindy
(35:12):
is and who, what she will becapable of.
So 80-year-old Cindy isdefinitely gonna be saying thank
you to 62-year-old Cindy for,and definitely for 59-year-old
Cindy that chose to take thatfirst step because that is a
scary place for a lot of peopleof that.
I don't wanna get hurt.
I don't wanna fail.
Is this gonna be really hard?
That is a hard hump to get over.
(35:33):
So 59-year-old Cindy really set62-year-old and 80-year-old
Cindy up for a lot of success.
Yes, she did.
Cindi (35:41):
And I'm very thankful for her.
I love, but yeah, and I'm, andthat's, and my kids I tell them
the same thing.
You're all in your thirtiesYeah.
Almost.
And forties.
And what you do now, what you,how you move and.
What you eat all is gonna affectyour 60-year-old self.
And you're my age.
What you do now is gonna affectthat.
(36:02):
Yeah.
And the end.
And I want them to be strong,healthy, older people.
Angie (36:08):
Absolutely.
Cindy, thank you so much forcoming on and giving us your
time today and sharing yourstory.
I know, without a doubt, that'sgoing to inspire a lot of
people.
So thank you for being here.
Cindi (36:19):
Oh, thank you, Angie, for inviting me.
This was totally a privilege.
Have you ever wondered if you're just too old to start
(00:02):
something new or to get betterat something that you've never
really been good at?
So many women feel that way,especially when it comes to
running in midlife.
But what if that story I.
Just isn't true.
What if there's a new version ofthat story that you can start to
tell?
Today?
I am talking with Cindy, one ofour incredible real life runners
who didn't start running untilshe was 59 years old, and now at
(00:26):
age 62, she's finished her firsthalf marathon marathon and is
now training for an ultramarathon, and most importantly,
feel stronger, more energized,and more confident than ever
before.
But it wasn't always that way,and that's why it's.
So important for you to hearCindy's story today because
Cindy's story is one ofrewriting the rules of breaking
(00:47):
down those false barriers aboutage and showing what's possible
when we stop letting fear ordoubt make our decisions for us.
So if you've ever thought, maybeit's too late for me, I need you
to hear this conversation today.
Let's dive in.
(01:25):
All right.
Welcome to the show today.
I am super excited to have CindyWs on the podcast with me.
Hello, Cindy.
Thanks for being here.
Cindi (01:34):
Hey, Angie.
Thanks so much for inviting me.
Angie (01:36):
I.
So I asked Cindy to come on thepodcast to share her story
because to me, I love her storyand I know that you will too as
soon as you start to hear it.
And Cindy has been such aninspiration for me, for the
other people on our team.
We've been working together fora little over a year now, right?
Or two years?
About two years.
So Cindy, let's just start outby you telling us a little bit
(01:59):
about yourself so we can startwith, how long have you been
running and how did you getstarted?
Cindi (02:04):
Okay I've only been running, I'm just wrapping up my
third year, in fact, on April12th, next week will be three
years since I took my first stepof running.
That's
Angie (02:14):
awesome.
Cindi (02:15):
And I am 62 years old right now.
So you
Angie (02:19):
started when you were 59?
Cindi (02:20):
Yes, I did.
Yep.
Angie (02:22):
I love that
Cindi (02:22):
to the, and I want so many
Angie (02:24):
people to hear that too.
And that's one of the mainreasons that I wanted to have
you on this podcast as well,because so many people have this
idea that age is a limitingfactor, that we have to stop or
we have to slow down or we haveto do less.
And you just started thisjourney at the age of 59, and
there's no slowing down orstopping you that I can see in
sight.
Cindi (02:45):
That's right.
Absolutely.
Yeah.
And yeah, when I started it was,yeah, I had a lot of people
saying, oh, aren't you a littleold?
And oh my goodness.
So I just didn't tell a lot ofpeople in the initial beginning.
Yeah.
But actually it was a decisionbecause I was aging and, and I
have a job.
I am a paramedic and I got intothat role just a few years back.
(03:07):
I graduated in 2017 after myhusband had a, had an accident.
And the EMS people, theparamedics, the EMTs, whoever
were, was there to help him, dideverything that got him on the
road to recovery.
They laid a great foundation andI was at a place in my life
that.
All four of our kids were grownoutta the house.
(03:27):
And I was fortunate enough thatI was blessed to be able to stay
home with my children and raisethem up and homeschool the last
two.
And now it was time to startthinking about what am I gonna
do to work?
And after my husband's accident,I thought, wow, maybe I could.
Help people like those EMSpeople did.
(03:48):
And I knew nothing, and thatwould be probably the last job I
would ever picked for myself.
But I got, I went to school, Iloved it.
I went to paramedic school then,and I love it.
And as a EMS provider, I, we goon a lot of calls.
We see a lot of people that aresick or hurt.
Or do stupid stuff and they needan ambulance.
(04:10):
But what I also saw were peoplethat were older and not much
older than me, that werestruggling with their health
because they just weren'tactive.
And they didn't move.
And I thought, wow that's reallysad that this is their health
situation.
And actually my mom is anexample of that too.
She had.
Health issues and things wouldhurt and she'd say, oh, it's
(04:33):
'cause I'm getting older.
And then she moved less and itgot to a point where she really
couldn't move anymore.
And I thought, oh boy, that isnot what I want to do and that
what I want to be.
And being in EMS, you.
You have to stay healthy and youhave to be strong.
And I'm not a very big gal.
I'm barely five four.
And so being strong is importantto me.
(04:54):
I, my daughter runs and she'sbeen running since high school
and cross country.
She says, oh, mom, you shouldjust try running.
It'll help you to get in shapeand be strong.
And I thought I'll give it atry.
But I'm 59, so I decided, okay.
I looked up some books and abook on walking and running and
so I started walking, running,and it started off, walk for
(05:15):
three minutes, run for 30seconds and do it again for half
an hour and don't die in theprocess.
And that's kinda how I feltthat.
And, but I was able to run 30seconds and it was like, okay.
And.
Sooner.
It gets a little, you go run fora little bit longer, walk a
little shorter.
But I was always on the verge ofquote unquote dying.
(05:37):
'cause I was just going all out.
'cause I thought that's what youdid because I'm running and I
thought, okay, I'm gonna givemyself a year and I think I can
run a mile and a year.
That was my goal, to run a mile.
And about a month and a halflater I ran my first mile Rock
ran, but ran it and it was like.
It was the biggest celebration.
Yeah.
That I've had a long time.
(05:58):
And I thought, okay, I'm gonnajust keep doing this and I'd run
a little farther and walk alittle less.
And I did that and my PT gal whoI saw because I was having
little tweaks and little achymuscles because I was going all
out every time.
I didn't know any better.
And also doing the eat less,move more because.
(06:19):
Who doesn't wanna lose a fewpounds.
And anyway, she said you shouldtry a 5K.
And like we had a local five KIlive in rural Iowa and we had a
little town, 5K called TornadoAlley.
And I thought, oh my goodness, Idon't know if I can do it.
She really encouraged me and Ithought I can, I'll try.
And I did.
I walk around the 5K and Ifinished the 5K and I got a.
(06:43):
And that was like the biggestthing.
I'm not an athlete.
I, okay, wait a minute, rephrasethat.
I was not an athlete my wholelife.
I wasn't in sports.
I couldn't run and I say Icouldn't run because I couldn't.
I didn't ever, and I wasn'tgonna try and being part of a
team like that or a runner ofany kind or competing like that
(07:06):
was nothing I'd ever done.
And it was amazing.
So after that I thought, Ooh,I'm gonna try to do this a
little more and keep running.
So I ran all winter, ran in theIowa snow, which I really love
that.
Believe it or not, I really do.
And so the next year, my firstrace was a walk run again, it
(07:29):
was a trail race for four miles.
And I do that in April.
I do a race in April,'causethat's my year anniversary of
running.
And I actually placed for galsmy age group, which I couldn't
even believe that, but I did.
So cool.
And I loved that.
And the camaraderie and theencouragement and then.
(07:50):
Thankfully in in May of thatyear of 2024 I or 2023, I found
real life runners on a podcastjust listening to real life
runners and this gal talkingabout running and healthy ness
of it and fueling, which iseating properly in a healthy
(08:11):
manner.
And she had such a.
And that was Angie, of course.
And, but I'm saying the person,'cause I didn't know her and I
didn't know, I thought, okay,this is just a, some famous
podcast lady and she gets towork with her husband and they
have a great chemistry.
And I just went back andlistened to lots and then they
offered to open up some trainingfor people and I couldn't wait.
(08:32):
And that's where it all began.
Angie (08:35):
It sounded like you had a pretty good start going into
that though.
You were already running five Ksand how long was that trail race
that you said you placed foryour age group?
Cindi (08:44):
That was four miles.
Angie (08:46):
Okay, so that's four miles.
Yeah.
Yeah.
So you were already on your way.
Cindi (08:52):
I was, and I was very solo though I, nobody didn't run
with anybody.
'cause there's no one to runwith.
There wasn't anyone to run with.
And when I did tell people,'cause I wanted people to know
how, Hey, I can do this.
Our bodies were created to moveeven at 59 or 60 and yeah.
That there, but there was a lotof, pushback with, oh, you're a
little old, you've never donethis before, and, you're gonna
(09:14):
get what if you get hurt and,
Angie (09:15):
yeah.
Oh
Cindi (09:16):
my goodness.
But that, I didn't let itdiscourage me.
'cause I knew I felt better andit was good for me.
Angie (09:23):
Yeah.
Cindi (09:23):
So
Angie (09:23):
what were, when you started running and the, that
first year, what kind ofstruggles did you have?
Was it sounds like and I knowhow positive you are of course,
and it sounds like it camepretty naturally to you.
Would you say that's accurate?
Or would you say that youstruggled a bit in that first
year of running?
Cindi (09:40):
I think it was enjoyable.
Okay.
So I liked, and I enjoyed the,what did you enjoy
Angie (09:44):
about it?
Cindi (09:46):
Being outside for one thing, that was huge.
We have a treadmill and Iavoided it at all costs.
I would, I didn't mind runningthe rain or the wind just to be
outside and enjoy that.
And just running.
It was quiet because I don'tkeep stuff in my ears usually to
listen to, and I enjoyed thatpart.
And I felt like I was doingsomething healthy for my body
(10:08):
and I was doing it for80-year-old Cindy.
And that's what I kept in mymind.
I'm, I am running.
Try and not, try not to get hurtso that I can be a strong
80-year-old Cindy.
Angie (10:22):
Yeah.
So was it a lot of thatinspiration from watching what
was going on with your mom andkind of the other patients that
you had encountered during yourtime as a paramedic?
Cindi (10:32):
Yeah.
That was a huge motivator.
Angie (10:33):
Yeah.
Yeah.
Which is, so what kind ofstruggles did you have?
Like we see you obviouslyenjoyed being outside.
And you kept in, increasing yourpace and your distance there.
Was there anything that didn'treally come easy to you?
Cindi (10:48):
I didn't under, it was always, I knew I would go out
and I would be exhausted when Igot home.
And that's just how I was gonnabe, because that's how you are
when you run.
Okay.
I, so that was a, it was like ajust a wall I always was coming
up against and climbing over,but it did.
(11:09):
I wasn't always in the bestmood, yeah.
And yeah and I wasn't eatinglike I know that I should have
been because it was always thatsea, if you can run more or move
more, eat less.
So I was tired and sore.
I was tired and sore.
Yeah.
And those were big.
Yeah.
And I get a little bit of, maybeyou're running too much, maybe
(11:30):
you're going too far frompeople.
That.
They didn't know either.
I didn't know.
Sure.
That wasn't doing it quiteright.
I was just doing what I thoughtall runners did run as fast as
you can when you run and don'teat too much so you can lose
some weight.
Angie (11:42):
Yeah, because it's the burning calories mentality.
Cindi (11:45):
Exactly.
Yeah.
So I'm
Angie (11:46):
going out and running to burn calories, so why would I
eat more?
Because then that's just undoingwhat I just did.
Exactly.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And so it makes sense that youfelt exhausted and sore because
your body wasn't getting what itneeded.
Cindi (12:02):
So that's exactly right.
What changed
Angie (12:04):
then?
Cindi (12:04):
Then that faithful day in 2023 when I fell into real life
runners and I was able to becomea member and the information.
I am not even gonna say it waslike a fire hose because it, it
was just because I was not arunner.
Yeah.
And never an athlete.
And I would never considermyself an athlete until you told
(12:26):
me I was, and then I go, yes Iam.
And that was a life changerright there too.
I a game changer right there,I'll tell you that.
But that was terminology I'dnever heard of before.
Fueling and, j just, that wasone big thing is like fueling
and so you put in your car.
Yeah.
I don't know.
Eating and the stuff you need toeat to fuel your body and
(12:47):
recovery and these are things Ijust didn't think runners did.
Yeah.
That it didn't know.
And then the different kind ofruns, like the levels, the L two
and all the, those are just thedifferent you know how your body
feels.
Your effort level.
Never heard of anything likethat, ever.
And since I wasn't athletic inanything, maybe they did that in
(13:08):
some other sport, but nothingI'd ever heard of before.
Angie (13:10):
Yeah.
Cindi (13:11):
And it was, it made so much sense.
And I love learning new thingsand I've learned new things on
every podcast, on every zoommeeting, everybody's sharing,
their their strengths and theirweaknesses, their wins, and
always getting some feedbackthat would be useful for me.
I have a notebook.
It's, I have many notebooks now,but there's my real life runner
(13:32):
notebooks that I would takenotes, ridiculous amount of
notes, but I have them all andthey, I go back to them because
there's little nuggets that juststick with me that just were
game changers for this.
Yeah, for running in my running.
Lifestyle.
Angie (13:48):
Yeah.
Which is so amazing.
So did you, when we startedlearning some of these things.
About fueling your body properlyand about effort levels and all
of these things.
Did it just immediately clickfor you, or was there a little
bit of resistance that came up?
Because I noticed that with alot of people, when we start
talking about fueling and eatingmore and some of these things,
(14:08):
there's a lot of resistance thatcan come up in people because
for so long, for decades, we'vebeen taught to restrict.
We've been taught to, like yousaid, eat less and move more.
So did you notice any of thatcoming up in you or was it more
of this relief of oh, okay.
This is what's going on now.
Cindi (14:27):
A little bit of both.
Okay.
Angie, it was initially, it'sno, because my whole life,
seventies and eighties, that'swhat you did and you just
restrict.
Totally.
Yeah.
And runners, every time I see arunner, they're going really
fast.
So why would I need to look atmy pace and put my pace, all of
that.
Yeah.
And when I was, told no, youneed to eat more and run slower.
(14:48):
I'm like, that doesn't makesense.
But I, it didn't make sense.
Yeah, no it doesn't.
And honestly, it's verycounterintuitive.
It is.
Yeah.
But I saw it, I saw the resultsof it.
I'm, I invested in real liferunners.
Wholeheartedly.
And I wanted, I'm here because Iwanna learn.
And if I'm not gonna take mycoach's advice, I'll not be
(15:09):
here.
That was what I'm thinking.
Yeah, I'm gonna give it a whirl.
And I did, and it did not Okay.
It did not take long before Istarted eating, fueling more,
eating healthy at the righttime, and then slowing my pace
down.
It was like, like the scalesfall off my eyes.
It was like, this is amazing.
(15:29):
I feel so much better.
I'm not dragging my wagonbecause I don't have enough
energy and need enough calories.
It didn't take long once Ijumped in and just, I'm going
for it.
Yeah.
I went for it and jumped intothe running.
I'm gonna, I'm gonna jump intobeing a healthy runner and my
biggest goal was, is still notto get injured.
(15:49):
And the fueling the, that thepace not the pace, the just how
do I feel about or this level?
Angie (15:57):
Yeah the effort levels and the, your training strategy.
Cindi (16:00):
Yep.
That was huge.
In fact, I remember talkingabout it, it was one of my
questions on one of ourpodcasts, on your coaching group
that was about the pace and yousaid, don't worry about what
your watch says.
Don't worry about that.
So I actually, because Icouldn't help but look and see
what my pace was.
Yeah.
If I was going slow enough orfast enough, sure.
I put a piece of tape on mywatch so I couldn't see it.
And that also just flipped aswitch.
(16:23):
It's I don't need, I'm justgoing by how I feel and that
was.
Fantastic.
Angie (16:28):
Yeah,
Cindi (16:29):
really good.
That,
Angie (16:30):
so I feel like you've started to get into this a
little bit, but how would yousay that your training is
different now versus when youstarted?
Cindi (16:39):
Oh, it's very boy, I almost, I wanna say intuitive,
if that would be the right word.
Sure.
I'm just, I'm going at this isI'm training for.
Something special maybe, and Ineed to have endurance.
So it's very, it's easy, Angie.
It's easy.
I love that.
I can just go and I won't beexhausted for the rest of the
(17:01):
day.
I even on long, hard runs I knowhow to fuel, I know how to
hydrate and electrolyte andrecover.
And it's easy.
And back when I started, like Isaid, I was metal to the PE
pedal to the metal.
Yeah.
I'm just going, when you run,you must run fast.
Yeah.
That's the rule.
(17:22):
That I thought so.
Yeah.
And it wasn't easy.
I was look forward to goingrunning, but I also knew how the
rest of my day.
Would be.
But it was the price you paid tobe a runner as what I thought
Angie (17:34):
it was, the price you pay, and then of course when you
weren't feeling good.
Maybe you a little bit, anddefinitely everybody in your
life it sounds was like, oh,it's because you're older.
Like it, it was just more proofthat you shouldn't be doing
this.
And I think that's what makes methe most sad is when.
People have that experiencebecause you're not alone in
(17:55):
this.
There's a lot of people thatstart running at lots of
different ages, and they getinto it and they do exactly what
you do because they think that'swhat it's supposed to be.
They think that they need to goout and push hard and not fuel
their body and restrict caloriesand they feel sore and they feel
achy, and then that's evidencethat.
I'm too old for this.
(18:15):
It's evidence that I'm just nota runner.
Maybe my body's not just cut outfor it.
Like whatever story it is thatwe tell ourselves or that we
have been telling ourselves orthat other people have been
telling us just gets confirmedbecause.
That's how you feel.
And I want people to know, andI'm hoping that's what they're
(18:36):
hearing with your story heretoo, is that it's not your body,
it's not your age, it's not anyof that.
It's the strategy that you'reusing and the skills that you
have and those things you canchange no matter how old you
are.
Cindi (18:51):
That's exactly right and I, what I love is when, if I'm
out running on a trail andthere's a couple that might be
my age or a little older, and ifthey're walking a dog
especially, I stop to pet thedog and we'll chat.
Then we get to chat and they'llsay, oh, I could never do,
because they can tell I'm olderbecause I have silver hair, and
(19:12):
they say, oh, I could never dothat.
And then I get to tell them, Ijust started doing this a few
years ago, and they're all earsand even just.
Having that five minutes withthem or less just I love that I
can tell them that this is notan impossible thing, that you
don't have to be a certain ageand then that's it.
After that, you can't runanymore.
If you've never run or get outand move, it's, I love that
(19:35):
opportunity and I do hope thatany gals that you, that are
listening and going, woo, Icould never do that.
They'll go, you know what, maybeI could.
And
Angie (19:45):
yeah, so speaking of, I could never do that.
What have you done since youstarted running?
What kind of runningaccomplishments have you
achieved thus far in yourrunning journey that you're
proud of?
Cindi (20:02):
Like every one of them, but the, in in 23, I.
After I joined Real Life Runnersand I thought, wow, I can run a,
I ran a, I've run a 10 K before,and I thought could I run a half
marathon?
Because that's 13 miles and mygoodness, and yes, I could.
(20:25):
You said yes I could.
I still remember that call.
Do you?
Oh yeah, I do too.
I do too.
I still remember
Angie (20:31):
that call.
Cindi (20:32):
You know what I, at that moment, I needed someone to tell
me I could,'cause that was anumber I.
13, 13.2.
It was a number.
I, how can I do that?
Angie (20:42):
Yeah.
Cindi (20:43):
Because I never, because I didn't think I could.
And you said I could.
And if you thought I could,'cause you saw all the work I
was doing.
I could.
So I had the plan and I did thework and I did that half
marathon and I did it and Ifinished with a smile.
I had a blast and I couldn'twait to say I think I wanna do a
marathon.
And I did it the next year.
(21:05):
It was the same half marathon.
I ran my, the one, I ran my halfmarathon in Okoboji.
I wanted to do the, it was abeautiful place and I'm sorry,
not Okoboji.
It was Mankato.
The, my first half marathon wasin Mankato and it was so
beautiful.
I wanted to run my full marathonthere.
And
Angie (21:24):
at what point did you decide that you wanted to run a
marathon?
Was it like right after youfinished the half or did it take
a little time?
Cindi (21:31):
Right after I finished the half.
Right after.
Right after.
Yeah.
Because, and one of the, one ofthe things that you had us do at
the end of our year, that yearwas to write, what are we gonna
be saying at the end of nextyear?
And I wrote about completing myfirst marathon and I did, I
finished my first marathon lastyear.
(21:54):
I did it and I finished with asmile and I.
I had a great time.
It was a lot of work going intoit.
I had work, the whole summergoing into it, and that, that
has got to be one of the biggestaccomplishments of my life of
being able to run 26.2 miles.
(22:14):
At 61 years old, and I did it.
Angie (22:18):
Yeah.
Yeah.
And I
Cindi (22:18):
wouldn't have been able to do it without knowing how to
do it.
Safely and healthy, except if Iwouldn't have had real life
runners to, to coach me and toanswer all of my questions and
to just encourage me and Angieand Kevin, you're, you guys are
amazing.
And every person that's been onevery call with us is they've,
(22:41):
they're just like.
They're like my family.
They encourage me to what I,that I can do it too.
And they're right.
So those, the first marathonlast year was, that was a huge
accomplishment.
A lot of work, but I was able todo the work in a very healthy
way, injury free.
I've been, I'm injury free.
(23:02):
Yeah.
Yeah.
So great.
And the best is yet to come.
Angie (23:08):
Odds.
It's, I love that.
Tell me what that looks like.
You've already done amazingthings and I love that you are
breaking down your own beliefsin what is possible and other
peoples as well.
'cause I think that, I knowyou're such an inspiration to so
many people on our team as well,and that's why I wanted to have
you on the podcast because Iwant more people to hear.
(23:30):
Just how inspiring you are beand what I really want people to
hear from you.
And the thing that keeps likeyelling and standing out to me
and listening to you talk isyour trust of the process.
And I think that's so criticaland so important.
There's so many people that gointo running or set a big goal
(23:51):
and.
They question it the whole time.
They're, am I doing this right?
Maybe I need to add moremileage.
I need to do this.
And not to say questions are badbecause I love questions.
I love curiosity.
It's one of the most powerfulemotions that I think that we
can tap into.
At the same time, there needs tobe a level of trust in the
process because that is whatwill.
Allow you to actually do thework to get the results that you
(24:14):
want.
And that's what I keep hearingfrom you is I decided I was
gonna do this and I decided Iwas gonna trust my coaches.
I was gonna trust my plan.
I was going to do what they toldme to do because clearly I'm
choosing them as my guide.
And that has led you to a goodplace.
And there's a lot of people thatthink, okay, it's not enough,
because when.
(24:34):
They get into this new way oftraining that we teach people.
Like you said, it's verycounterintuitive of running
slower, doing less, eating more.
Like all of these things are theopposite of what we've been
taught for a long time.
So it can be really hard toaccept that mentally, but I
really want.
To have people see that's whatyou did is like you said, Nope,
(24:56):
this is what I'm doing.
I'm gonna trust it.
And then obviously if it doesn'twork out, like once you actually
trust and go through theprocess, if it doesn't work out,
we make changes of course, butyou can't tell if a process
works until you actually do it.
Hold on.
(25:18):
Go ahead.
Cindi (25:19):
There are.
A million training plans outthere, you can go online.
And I did that before mydaughter said, Hey, you should
just try running, go find acouch to 5K.
Yeah.
And I'm like, okay.
So I did, I went out there andthere's a million of'em.
I'm like, how do I know whichone?
Yeah, okay, I'll pick this one.
And you still, it wasn't quiteright.
There's no way I was gonna runtwo miles, week two.
Are you kidding me?
(25:40):
And that it wasn't right for me.
And how in the world would Iknow what's right for me?
And unless I know.
My way of running and my needsand all the things that make me
a different runner than you andeverybody else.
Yeah.
And that's what I love aboutour, the program and the plans
(26:00):
that you have, is that they areall tweakable and it's, I can
run a plan, it's gonna bedifferent than your 30-year-old.
Runner gal who's been runningsince high school.
We still might wanna run thesame distance.
Yeah.
But the plan's gonna look waydifferent.
But it's gonna work for me.
And that's how you've created itso that I get the plan that's
just right for me and you betI'm gonna trust that plan.
(26:21):
Yeah.
'cause it's I am proof that itworks and I proved to the people
who used to say, but you're tooold.
Proof to that.
Angie (26:30):
Yeah, you are.
So you said the best is yet tocome.
What are some of your currentrunning goals that you're
working towards?
You've already got your halfmarathon under your belt.
You've got your full marathonunder your belt.
Cindi (26:43):
I know.
I know how I like to run and Ilike to run.
E enjoyable effort is easy andand I can pick it up and I can
go up.
Hills pretty okay too, but Ilike the easy and I don't have a
problem running easy for a longtime.
So I'm looking at I.
I dunno how far can I run?
And there's this thing calledultra marathons that's anything
(27:05):
over 26.2 miles, but that's awhole new word I didn't know
before either.
And I, my goal is to do thisyear a 50 k, which is around a
little over 30 miles, I think
Angie (27:17):
31.
Cindi (27:17):
That's okay.
Yeah.
And more or less.
'cause they're always more orless.
Yeah, that's true.
And so that is something I'dlike to do.
For sure.
One of those this year.
And oh gosh I like the idea ofdoing a 50 mile maybe next year.
And there's things calledbackyards that you can go, it's
like until you go a certainamount of hours and or you go a
(27:39):
certain amount of miles and lastman standing, all sorts of
different types of running.
Yeah.
Adventures.
And I don't know, I never wannaget to a place in my life that I
say, oh, I wish I would've.
And I don't wanna do that.
So I'm gonna, I'm just gonnakeep moving on and see how far I
can go, see how far I can go.
That's what I'm, that's what Isay.
Angie (28:01):
Yeah.
And to do so in a verysustainable and healthy and
strong way, because I know thatis always your priority.
Cindi (28:08):
Absolutely.
Yeah.
Because if I get hurt or dosomething that is, is really not
good then I'm, I don't wanna bedone.
Yeah.
'cause then what would I do?
Angie (28:18):
Yeah,
Cindi (28:19):
it wouldn't be good.
Angie (28:20):
Nope.
I just love all of this so muchand I love just watching your
whole field of possibilityexpand.
It's so fun.
And thank you for allowing me tobe a part of your journey
because it's I love watching it.
I know you've started to touchon this a little bit, but what
kind of positive effects hasrunning brought to your life?
(28:40):
Maybe in other ways'causeobviously you're stronger and
you're healthier, and you canspeak on that if you want to
expand on that in any way, butalso the ripple effect, like how
has your life outside of runningimproved because of it?
Cindi (28:54):
I'm, I would say for one thing, I'm more confident that I
can do something that maybe I'venever done before and I'm not
afraid to try it.
And I'm very thankful for that.
It's okay to be, get outta yourcomfort zone and think outside
the box, even if other peopledon't think it's such a good
(29:16):
idea.
Angie (29:16):
Yeah.
Cindi (29:17):
And I am, that used to impact me a lot.
If people said, oh, that's not agood idea, I'd go maybe you're
right.
Maybe it's not such a good idea.
But I, I.
Can have crazy ideas and do'em,and they're not so crazy after
all.
And you can find people tosupport those ideas too.
Like you're right.
And people that are just ascrazy as me.
Angie (29:40):
Find
Cindi (29:41):
your people.
That's right.
Yeah.
Actually I've got a, and a fewfriends are encouraged by it now
that they've seen me do this fora couple years.
Still doing it.
Angie (29:49):
Yeah.
Cindi (29:49):
And even my husband has started to.
Get outside more and do somewalking, running, and he's
coming on board slowly.
Ooh, that's fun.
Yep.
And I'm hoping that somedaythere'll be the group of gals in
our little town that will wannago for a little run with me
sometime.
And they're listening to me andthey're seeing that I'm not
hurt.
And that's a huge thing.
(30:09):
I think that's everybody'sbiggest fear and
Angie (30:11):
Yeah.
Cindi (30:12):
And it's not if you do it right.
I'm
Angie (30:15):
doing it right.
Yeah.
So you're expanding not onlywhat's possible for you, but for
other people as
Cindi (30:22):
well.
I'm hoping so.
I would like to have that impacton people so that they can age
health in a healthy way, andthat their body's doing what God
made'em do, and they're able tomove and, yeah.
Be healthy.
Angie (30:35):
Yeah.
So we here obviously are reallife runners and we believe that
running is a part of your life,not your whole life, but so how
does running fit into your lifenow?
Cindi (30:47):
Oh gosh.
It is just, it's part of it.
I, it doesn't have to fit in,it's just part of it.
I have my regular schedule ofrunning that.
My work schedule changes everyweek, but I always, running is
something I look very forwardto.
It's, even after rough days atwork or something.
It's a nice way to just get out,clear my head.
(31:07):
But along with the running it'sjoint with strength exercise.
And strength training and it'snot, I can't separate the two
because I won't be good atrunning unless I'm strong
physically.
Yeah.
And I didn't really talk aboutthat very much, but the strength
portion of it is something alsoI've never had experience with.
And.
(31:28):
That now they're just one thingI do running and I do strength
and they're one thing for me,and it's part of being a strong,
healthy gal in her sixties.
And I'm very thankful for thatbecause again, what I'm learning
about how our body ages andespecially after menopause with
our strength and our bones, and.
(31:49):
We exercising with weights andis crucial to being healthy and
strong and being able to run asfar as you would like to run.
Angie (31:58):
Yeah, absolutely.
And having those, I lo I love somuch that you say they're the
same because it is they have tobe connected and I think that's
where so many runners feel lostbecause they have their running
over here and then they're notreally sure what to do about
strength and maybe they do somerandom videos or something like
that, but it.
Does it all work together in acohesive way?
And that is so important for youto feel good during this process
(32:22):
and actually get the benefits ofthe hard work that you're
putting in.
Cindi (32:26):
Absolutely.
In fact, the few people I knowthat run like my daughter's, one
of'em, and a couple otherpeople, they, they don't include
strength at all.
It's, yeah, it's not running.
And I guess I would've had thesame mindset until I've learned
Yeah.
Through real life runners that.
They are one and and once, onceyou make that, that clicks in
(32:47):
your brain that yes, these areone thing.
And if I wanna be a strong,healthy runner, I need to be a
strong, healthy gal.
And I'm,
Angie (32:53):
yeah.
Cindi (32:53):
And I am both.
Angie (32:54):
Yeah, you are for sure.
And I think that, especiallyyounger people,'cause obviously
your daughter is younger we canget away with things when we're
younger that.
Our bodies like stop respondingas well too when as we get older
and our hormones start changingand so we can't get away with
neglecting some of these thingsas we get older, where a lot of
(33:16):
younger runners, they don'treally understand the importance
of it yet unless they've beeninjured because.
They can get away with justrunning.
They don't have to strengthtrain necessarily.
They would still benefit from itfor sure, but a lot of the times
they haven't seen the negativeconsequences of it, and that
becomes much more evident as weget older and we start to have
some of these hormone changes.
Cindi (33:37):
Absolutely.
I That is absolutely true.
And back in the day when, forexample, when she was in high
school, I don't think weightswere even a part of their
training, so that wasn'tsomething she ever was
introduced to.
And she was doing fine back thenexactly.
I absolutely understand that.
Angie (33:53):
Yep.
Yep.
Cindi (33:53):
But I'm still telling her she needs to do it
Angie (33:55):
as you should.
She'll keep hearing it.
And she'll, it is very importantand she'll realize it at some
point in time, hopefully.
Okay.
So Cindy, I've absolutely lovedthis conversation with you.
What is one thing, or you cangive us multiple, but what's
something you want listeners totake away from this episode?
Cindi (34:13):
Oh, gosh.
Primarily that you are not evertoo old to take that first step
and you're stepping into a wholenew journey and you won't regret
it.
And don't be afraid.
Don't be afraid because you gotreal life runners here to back
you up.
It's true.
It's true.
Yeah.
Yeah.
(34:33):
But yeah, don't take that firststep and just don't listen to
other people.
And if it's just walking tostart, just take that first
step.
And think of your 80-year-oldself.
And or your 90-year-old self ifthat's 10, 20 years down the
road.
Yeah.
Think about how you're gonnabenefit that person.
That's so good.
Angie (34:50):
I have a friend that says, there's two people I think
about when I'm making my healthchoices, my 8-year-old self and
my 80-year-old self, and I lovethat.
Are you making 8-year-oldversion?
Of Cindy proud and are youmaking an 80-year-old version of
Cindy Proud?
Because what you do todaydetermines who 80-year-old Cindy
(35:12):
is and who, what she will becapable of.
So 80-year-old Cindy isdefinitely gonna be saying thank
you to 62-year-old Cindy for,and definitely for 59-year-old
Cindy that chose to take thatfirst step because that is a
scary place for a lot of peopleof that.
I don't wanna get hurt.
I don't wanna fail.
Is this gonna be really hard?
That is a hard hump to get over.
(35:33):
So 59-year-old Cindy really set62-year-old and 80-year-old
Cindy up for a lot of success.
Yes, she did.
Cindi (35:41):
And I'm very thankful for her.
I love, but yeah, and I'm, andthat's, and my kids I tell them
the same thing.
You're all in your thirtiesYeah.
Almost.
And forties.
And what you do now, what you,how you move and.
What you eat all is gonna affectyour 60-year-old self.
And you're my age.
What you do now is gonna affectthat.
(36:02):
Yeah.
And the end.
And I want them to be strong,healthy, older people.
Angie (36:08):
Absolutely.
Cindy, thank you so much forcoming on and giving us your
time today and sharing yourstory.
I know, without a doubt, that'sgoing to inspire a lot of
people.
So thank you for being here.
Cindi (36:19):
Oh, thank you, Angie, for inviting me.
This was totally a privilege.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
Ridiculous History
History is beautiful, brutal and, often, ridiculous. Join Ben Bowlin and Noel Brown as they dive into some of the weirdest stories from across the span of human civilization in Ridiculous History, a podcast by iHeartRadio.