Retirement As You Want It

Looking for a Low-Cost Active Authentic Leaf-Viewing Trip?

Boomers constitute a large number of people who've taken to the rail trails in eastern US this fall. What better way to see the backyards of some old towns, pedal along well groomed trails, see gorgeous colors, and challenge your body to a part of or the whole of the Great Allegheny  Passage, following the rail track from Washington DC to Duquesne,  PA.

USA Today's Jayne Clark describes "crossing six soaring bridges, burrowing through four mountain tunnels, journeying over the Eastern Continental Divide and taking in miles of jaw-dropping vistas." What better way to spend a few days for people of all ages who have a similar desire to be close to nature, to keep their bodies in motion, and to enjoy the camaraderie of like-minded people, all for very little money.

The Iron-Nun Competes in Triathlons at Age 79

Sister Madonna Buder at age 79 has completed more than 320 triathlons - those grueling tripartite events including 40 Ironman ones, consisting of a 2.4 mile swim, a 112 mile bike ride and a 26 mile run spanning 17 hours. What got her going like this?

The sister hasn't always been a competitive athlete. Entering the convent at age 23, she didn't start competing until age 47, when a priest encouraged her to run for "spiritual enrichment." At 52 she started swimming and cycling.

Although some religious Catholics find her running in spandex a bit perplexing to their sensibilities, most people are attracted to her spunk. She sees no conflict between her athletic activities and her religiosity. "Who says I can't be in the church and doing God's work out wherever I go... There is no limit, no boundaries to when and where you can commune with God. It doesn't have to be in church all the time."

See "The Iron-Nun: Sister Madonna Buder Balances Her Love for Faith and Fitness" for the complete story and a news video of Sister Madonna on the road. See her receive an award from a runner's association 2 years ago.

 Neither age nor religion stops this woman. Yeah for age and continued fitness!

Look What We Have to Look Forward To: Winning Marathons at 80+

Joy Johnson, former physical ed teacher from San Jose, California, won the New York City Marathon in her age group (80-90). See this video. She just keeps smiling as she's running. Although active, she didn't start doing marathons until her late 50s. Then she just couldn't stop, competing in up to 3 marathons per year.

She didn't really build in regular exercise until 1985 when a 3-mile walk energized her so much, made her feel so good, she decided this is the recipe for feeling good all the time. These walks turned into 10-K road races and on to marathons.

Her routine is this: she gets up at 4am to beat the sun. reads her Bible for an hour, then gets outside for her pre-dawn run into the citrus-grove fragrant roads. To challenge her last time, she made sure to strengthen her quads for this one by running up and down stairs in a local high school stadium.

Mary Wittenberg, CEO of the NY Road Runners Club, said, "These are the sunniest people... Maybe you have to be that way to run marathons in your 80s, or maybe it's just that running makes you so damn happy.

Whatever it is, I know that feeling, having started riding horses 15 years ago, at age 50. When I'm on my horse, whether practicing a new dressage move or trail riding out on a gorgeous wooded path strewn with still-colored leaves on the ground beneath me, I'm smiling and not thinking of anything else except being in the moment. I'm expecting to do that at age 80!

How about you? What are you doing now that will keep you smiling, vibrant, and active at age 80 and over?