My 91 year young German inspiration

SmileURLuved

This is my first post and was moved by my encounter with this 91 year old amazing person and thought I would share the story for anyone who feel like giving up and ever doubt why MFP and what we are doing is so important.

Long story short- I went to the YMCA today to run the outdoor tracking in preparation of the 3K that I signed up for on March 10. For those in NC we have been experiencing high winds this week-end so running out side was very interesting just to say. But I completed my 3 mile run in 40 minutes- not bad for someone who is just learning to jog/run but still I wanted to do better.

So in the dressing room as I was putting on my shoes, and in came my motivation, my inspiration, just like clockwork, just when I needed something to remind me why I work out, why I run, and why I am taking better care of myself.

I looked up and show she was pushing a walker so I told her that she could have my stool and pushed it close to her and noticed her German accent. So Charlotte said thank you, and then we began to talk. She first informed me that she was 91 years young- and that she had to make time for her to get her swimming completed because she has a very busy life. She bakes, she volunteers, and she loves to walk and swim.

Picture this, 91 years old, avid swimmer, and has a social life. Amazing.... Then she proudly showed me her pedometer- 2.9 miles... but quickly informed me that she normally does about 5 miles a day.

I smiled. Little did Charlotte know that at that very moment in time, she became my greatest inspiration. I didnt feel bad about the time it took for me to run 3 miles- just glad I choose to run those 3 miles and not give up. Thank you Charlotte for showing me why what I am doig is so important. I hope that I have the same rewards of good health, body, and mind when I am 91 years young. Danke....:flowerforyou:

LRH64

Beautiful story. Thanks for sharing. and a YOU GO GIRL!!! to Charlotte.

mohanj

Very Inspiring story. Thanks for sharing. My dad is 85 and he never misses a day walking 4 miles every day. I can't keep up with his speed. All of us, children and grandchildren love him and he is a role model for us.

mikey1976

awesome job. theirs a young old lady who is a sister for a church in spokane shes in her 80's and she come to ironman canada every year to do. i'll go and try to track her story down she a big insperation to me. that if she can do a triathet like ironman canada. i should be able to with training right. she are elders still teach us youngins.

mikey1976

i found it here is her story and pic



Madonna BuderFrom Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaJump to: navigation, search

Sister Madonna Buder wins the Women 75+ age division at Ironman CanadaSister Madonna Buder, S.F.C.C., or the Iron Nun[1] (born July 24, 1930) is a Roman Catholic Religious Sister from Spokane, Washington.

She was born in St. Louis, Missouri in July 1930, and entered the convent at age 23.[2] In 1970 she left the congregation to which she had belonged to join 38 other Sisters from different and varying backgrounds to establish a new and non-traditional community of Sisters. As a member of the non-canonical Sisters for Christian Community, independent of the authority of the Roman Catholic Church, Sister Madonna has had the freedom to choose her own ministry and lifestyle.

[edit] OverviewShe began training at age 48 at the behest of Father John who told her it was a way of tweaking, "mind, body, and spirit" and for the relaxation and calmness it can bring an individual. She completed her first Iron Man event at age 55 and has continued ever since.[1]

Buder is well known in the Triathlon community for her achievements in age group races. She has completed over 325 triathlons including 45 Ironman Distances. At the 2005 Hawaii Ironman, at age 75, The Iron Nun became the oldest woman ever to complete the race, finishing 1 hour before the 17-hour midnight cut-off time. At the 2006 Hawaii Ironman, at age 76, she again became the oldest woman ever to complete the race, finishing with a time of 16:59:03.

During her sporting career, she has worked hard at also raising money for various charities. She is quoted as saying, "I train religiously".

On August 24, 2008, Sister Madonna participated in the Ironman race held in Penticton, British Columbia, Canada. She was unable to finish the race by a factor of seconds as she was unable to reach the finish line within the 17 hours cut-off limit. Spectators cheered and encouraged her as time ran out. When she was unable to finish many broke down in tears and applauded her efforts nonetheless.

However, 371 days later, on August 30, 2009, Sister Madonna completed Ironman Canada (Penticton, British Columbia) in a time of 16:54:30. This accomplishment broke her own record of being the oldest female to complete the Ironman distance at 79 years old. In fact the Iron Man organization has had to add new age brackets as the Sister gets older![1] Unfortunately, although Sister Madonna started the 2010 Ironman Canada competition at the age of 80 she was unable to complete the course, due to a wetsuit issue.[3] She competed in the 2011 Ironman Canada competition but missed the bike cut-off by 2 minutes. She is willing to compete in an Ironman triathlon again in 2012 as she wants to open up an 80+ age category and be the oldest person, male or female, to finish an Ironman triathlon. She plans to compete in the 2012 Ironman Canada competition and use that as her qualifying race for the Kona Ironman competition.[4]

She is an avid athlete participating in numerous marathons and triathlons in addition to being a senior Olympian.[1] She holds several records in various distances.[3]

On October 5, 2010 Sister Madonna released her autobiography, The Grace to Race: The Wisdom and Inspiration of the 80-Year-Old World Champion Triathlete Known as the Iron Nun. A year later, in October 2011, at age 81, she completed an Iron Man triathathon in under 17 hours

shamikahs

The story was awesome!! I am soooooo happy about your 3 mile run. Congratulations!!!! Victory is yours, you are on your way to a strong finishing 5k. You are my inspiration.