Cindy is a 7-year Empire Tri Club member with over 70 races under her belt. This year, Cindy set her sights on becoming an Ironman. However COVID-19 had other plans for her. Read more for the full interview with Cindy!Cindy, where are you from? The boogie down BRONXWhere do you live now? Still in the boogie down but in a more diverse neighborhood
How long have you been a member of Empire Tri Club? I just made 7 years with Empire in April. It says a lot about Empire Tri Club when your members keep coming back for more.
What are a few races you have done in the past? 1 sprint tri, which was my first and worst race ever. 6 Olympics tris, 3 long distance 70.3 triathlons. Over 25 marathons and definitely over 40 half marathons
What are you training for this season (assuming we actually race!)? My goal this year was to compete in a full long distance 140.6 triathlon but with lack of being able to train properly due to being diagnosed with COVID-19 by 3 doctors put a halt on training and being able to compete with a strong mind, confidence and endurance.
When did you start experiencing symptoms? March 16th. I couldn’t sleep at all. Not a wink for 3 days straight. On March 19th I woke up with a crick in my neck, my shoulders and back ached and I had a fever. As the day went, my well being declined. My fever spiked, I couldn’t shake the chills and the body aches were severe that Thursday night. Some days I felt well enough that I could force myself to try to have a normal quarantine day of watching TV and catching up on some work emails. Some days I felt awful that all I could do is sleep for 2 days straight. Headaches, a slight fever and extreme fatigue was an everyday occurrence. I even had extreme dizziness for day. The list of symptoms can go on and on.
What lead you to believe you might have the coronavirus? When I lost my sense of smell and taste.
Did you get tested for it? No, because I am younger to those who are as risk and I do not have any preexisting health conditions. I was told that I could not be tested because they only have a small amount of tests available and because I am younger to those who are at risk and I do not have any preexisting health conditions.
How long did your symptoms last? 4 weeks
What did you do to recover? Sleep, sleep and more sleep. Drank lots of fluids, which consisted of water, gatorade, tea and chicken broth
Were you scared? Not at all, I keep a pretty healthy lifestyle of running, biking, swimming, hiking and walking, which made me feel healthy enough to beat anything that was trying to take over my body.
Was there any advice you received that you found to be particularly helpful? Yes, I was told that it was ok to take tylenol. That was the only thing that allowed me to kind of function when I could.
Do you live alone or was anyone in your household caring for you? I live alone. I would get regular food and medicine deliveries dropped at my door by my mother and boyfriend.
Were you in touch with your Empire teammates during this time? Absolutely, they were the reason why I would wake up and get out of bed. They feel like family and I needed to see what everyone was up to.
How, if at all, did they help you get through it? The constant banter, well wishes in a group/separate chat/text messages, words of encouragement made me feel like a had a team of COVID get well sherpas. They kept me positive when I had doubts of ever getting better. They even offered to get on a Citi Bike to bring me medicine and food at my way uptown residence.
How are you feeling now? GREAT!! Like myself again.I am itching to start swimming, biking and running. I have walked several miles and stared to sprint uphills during my hikes
Are you fully recovered? Fully recovered with zero symptoms
Any advice you have for fellow triathletes about your experience? Fight, never ever let anything/anyone take you down
Anything else you’d like to share? A quote that i take with me at every training day and race, “Run when you can, walk if you have to, crawl if you must; just never give up” by Dean Karnazes – but i always add ever to the last statement of the quote so that it loos like Run when you can, walk if you have to, crawl if you must; just never ever give up. It is truly a motto that i follow. You have to physically remove me from a course. I will never stop trying to reach that finish line. 4 flat tires and a broken hand couldn’t stop me from completing the 2018 NYC Tri.
Let’s Meet Cindy Carde!
