Body, mind, spirit

Sister Madonna Buder of Spokane had 20 minutes of swimming left in the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon when she lost feeling in the whole right side of her body.

It was her first Hawaii Ironman, before they used wetsuits, and the air and water were both 71 degrees. For that length of time, 71 degrees was too cold for swimming.

"I said, `Lord, I know that our movements are controlled by our minds. So please let me swim with my brain,'" recalled Sister Madonna. "And I cannot explain it, but I forgot my arm and swam the rest of the race with my brain."

Sister Madonna was so cold when she finally finished, she needed 13 minutes to transition from swimming to biking. "I shivered so hard the coffee jumped out of my cup," she says.

Since that experience, and after more than 200 triathlons in the last 20 years, this 69-year-old nun has proven that physical excellence is only a portion of living a healthy life.

"I've always felt that the body is a vehicle, driven by the mind, and fueled by the spirit," she says.

With ironman triathlons, every advantage is needed. Participants swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles and run a marathon (26.2 miles).

Sister Madonna believes that the mind/body/spirit connection is absent from the lives of many Americans trying to get or stay in shape, and this absence is due to the American need to compartmentalize their lives. For her, exercise isn't a separate function during the day, but a practical part of everyday life.

"I literally run errands," she says. "I'll run to Mass, since my parish church is only 4.5 miles from home. I'll ride my bike to Medical Lake and swim, which is a 40-mile round trip. I make my training functional."

To Sister Madonna, that's the secret. Long ago she realized the spiritual aspect of exercise when a priest told her "running harmonizes your soul."

After countless marathons (and much publicity, including some minor problems with her Sisterhood who felt that running was not a "nun-like thing to do"), she began competing in triathlons to harmonize every part of her body, not just her legs.

And after setting two age-group world records in both the Hawaii and Canada Ironman, Sister Madonna has a working knowledge of harmonizing her mind, body, and spirit.

"It comes down to moderation," she says. "There has to be a fine balance, because I certainly don't overtrain. If anything, I undertrain. But I'm consistent. And I'm not training for the sake of training. I simply look at each race as training for the next."

Moderation is brought into every part of Sister Madonna's life. When she eats, her portions are reasonable. "I don't have a large appetite, but I always eat everything on my plate."

She believes that the lack of moderation in eating is why there are more obese people living in America than in any other part of the world.

"Europeans eat five times a day, and they're not obese," she observes. "But look at all of the all-you-can-eat restaurants in America, and how often people come back for seconds and thirds. No one needs to eat that much."

But for Sister Madonna, it's the spirit that fuels her body, not the amount of food she eats, nor the exercise she gets.

"There is a rhythm of life that we need to be sensitive to," she says. "Even our Lord had to take time off alone to restore His spirit. He knew to do that, but sometimes we don't think about it. We need to have our spirit restored."

She restores her spirit by talking to the Lord while she runs. To her, running is a form of prayer.

"I have lots of time to talk to Him, because when you're running alone for so many hours, it becomes just you and God. When I'm training on my own, nature becomes my cathedral."

The absence of spiritual harmony is the main reason Sister Madonna believes so many Americans are frustrated with diet and exercise. The diet and exercise programs popular in America have no long- lasting effect because they lack inspiration.

"You cannot control inspiration," she says. "It has to flow through you, and that comes from your higher source. If you become mechanical about what you're doing, you lose the spirit. And that is why I cannot sit on a piece of training equipment and watch those little digital numbers turn around. That's putting the machine in control of me and making me into a robot."

Sister Madonna, who turns 70 in July, has a chance to claim her third age-group world record in this year's Ironman Triathlon World Championships in Hawaii. If she does, she'll be the first person in history to hold three age-group world records.

"So besides being a nun, and a woman, and the age that I am . . . I'm also not half bad at it!" she says.

Sister Madonna plans to compete in triathlons for as long as she can. Whereas many 70-year-olds are content to spend their days playing pinochle, Sister Madonna hopes her final days are spent training in her outdoor cathedral.

"Maybe God will take me while I'm running," she laughs.

This sidebar appeared with the story:

RECORD BREAKER

Three's a charm

Sister Madonna Buder will attempt to become the first person to own three age-group records in the Ironman Triathlon World Championships, which will be held Oct. 14 in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. She also holds the same age-group records in the Ironman Canada.

Hawaii Ironman

Year Age Record time

1992 62 13:19:01

1996 66 14:27:14

Record for 70-74 is 15:53:35.

Ironman Canada (Penticton)

Year Age Record time

1992 62 13:16:37

1995 65 13:28:54

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