A Different Kind of Fish Story – Alexandra Stafford, 54, Metairie, Louisiana

NSGA’s Personal Best initiative seeks to inspire an attitude for lifelong health and fitness in everyone by presenting profiles of Senior Games athletes who are successful examples of healthy, active aging. Having a sensible approach to nutrition is one aspect of maintaining a healthy lifestyle, so we decided to have a recipe contest with senior athletes in Louisiana, one of the culinary centers of the world.

We partnered with the Louisiana Senior Olympic Games to ask athletes there to submit great tasting alternatives to the traditional recipes of the region that are not always as health-conscious. The best recipe and athlete story would be selected for a Personal Best athlete profile.

We are grateful to nationally recognized healthy culinary expert Holly Clegg, a Louisiana chef and author of the award-winning and best-selling Trim & Terrific cookbook series, for her assistance and expertise with the recipe selection.

E. Alexandra Stafford of Metairie, a New Orleans suburb, offered up the best recipe and profile. Her background and personal food style is not typical for the area. “Alexandra’s Fabulous Fish in Foil” is deceptively simple but is tasty and healthful with a French inspiration and a little nod to Louisiana’s spicy reputation. Alexandra, a part-time producer of documentaries for the local PBS TV station, has lived in Metairie for 22 years, but was an American child raised in France. She still carries the influence in her accent and with the French provincial approach in her cooking.

Competitive sports has only recently entered her world. Crossing the age line of 50 prompted Alexandra to take her exercise routine to a higher level to stay in shape. Badminton caught her fancy for its aerobic workout and for the social interaction it afforded. When she heard about senior games last year, Alexandra joined two others from her club and entered the Louisiana Senior Olympic Games. She was surprised to do well enough to qualify for the 2015

National Senior Games Presented by Humana. We welcome Alexandra to the Senior Games Movement and invite you to try her recipe in your home.

What follows is the recipe and a conversation about it, her food perspective and commitment to step up her activity level. You can also find the recipe plus three Holly Clegg “trim and terrific” Louisiana style recipes on the Recipes page in the Health and Wellness Nutrition section of NSGA.com.

Alexandra’s Fabulous Fish in Foil

By Alexandra Stafford

My family loves this dish as it seals in all the flavors and is very light in calories. One can successfully use salmon or other flesh fish as well.

Recently, I have read articles and seen documentaries about the devastation we are creating in our fish supply, so I am trying to support local, line-caught fish in favor of farmed fish. I hope you like this easy to do and elegant recipe and join me in my ocean friendly health kick!

Ingredients:

4 – Filets of Gulf drum or your preferred fish (salmon is lovely too)

1 – 12 ounce jar pickled okra (I use Trappey’s)

1 – Large Vidalia onion, chopped or cut in long strips

3 – Lemons, 2 sliced in rounds, 1 cut in wedges

Tony Chachere’s Creole Lite seasoning to taste

Olive oil, optional

Aluminum Foil

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 400°F
2. Pull one sheet of aluminum foil for each filet, enough to cover and wrap individually
3. Lay fish on foil sheets. Sprinkle with seasoned salt, onions, lemon and half of a pickled okra, sliced lengthwise. Drizzle with olive oil just to moisten. Seal fish in foil and place on baking pan.
4. Bake 20-25 minutes on middle rack until flaky with fork. Unwrap and drizzle with more fresh squeezed lemon, place on plate and savor with your favorite sides!

Congratulations Alexandra! Yours was actually the simplest of the recipes submitted, but it was definitely the healthiest.

Thank you! It is simple, yet also elegant. The French actually eat very simply at home and I have continued that tradition. Of course, I don’t stop myself from enjoying our wonderful local Louisiana cuisine, but at home, I love to cook healthy, low calorie and simple-to-do dishes.

My family loves this dish as it seals in all the flavors and is very light in calories. It is a healthy recipe and it’s good either hot or cold. Because my children are picky and actually eat and love this dish, I thought I should give it up to the world!

Fish is also good for me. It has lots of Omega-3 which is great for achy joints! But recently, I have read articles and seen documentaries about the devastation we are creating in our fish supply, so I am trying to support local, line-caught fish. I try to stay away from farmed fish.

The technique that makes this more flavorful than expected is that you wrap the fish in foil. With your background growing up in France, was your inspiration to make it like a version of “en Papillote”?

Yes, you got it! I much prefer to use foil because I’m always afraid of burning the paper. (Laughs) I love aluminum. It’s clean and easy, and sometimes I have extra fish and I leave it cooked and sealed up in the foil to keep in the juices. Then it’s always moist and delicious cold the next day.

You’ve been in Louisiana for over 20 years now. Do you still always cook in French style?

Yes, mostly French. I grill, sauté and sometimes use the broiler. One thing I love that’s not really French is to mix blue cheese in hamburger meat and grill burgers. It’s the only kind of burger I make now! One herb that I use in my burgers and in a lot of my cooking is thyme. It’s uber used in France and I’ve become very accustomed to its taste.

So you don’t cook New Orleans style?

Not much as it’s everywhere here. There’s an old corner restaurant nearby that’s very popular. I go there for red beans and rice with sausage on Mondays. They also make a great seafood gumbo which I get without the rice. I don’t need the carbohydrates.

When I met my husband, he had actually started a company offering frozen Louisiana dishes on QVC and elsewhere. Things like gumbo, alligator sauce piquante, shrimp Creole and crab and crawfish cakes. I like the cuisine but I just personally don’t overdo it. Hurricane Katrina drowned the factory in 2005 and that was the end of it.

Was there a time you weren’t as conscious about cooking and eating healthy?

I have always followed a very French provincial diet. Unfortunately, I just learned that I have high cholesterol. It’s genetic because I exercise as well as eat healthy. I now use olive oil and don’t use a lot of butter anymore. And I use lots of herbs. But I have to admit that I do have a bit of a sweet tooth, especially for pralines. I’m in heaven with anything crunchy and sweet. But I don’t think that has as much to do with the cholesterol—or at least I am telling myself that!

Tell us about your sporting life and fitness.

I’ve only been playing badminton for two years. An older friend of mine introduced me to it. When I was younger and lived in New York I played squash and took aerobic classes. I gave tennis a go before taking up badminton and I liked it, but not only was it dependent on the weather but I found it was difficult to find partners to play with at my beginner’s level. With badminton you always play doubles and our local club always plays at specific times. Members play with you when they need a partner and even the good ones have played with me! It’s a very aerobic sport. I did get a little eager a couple of weeks ago and slightly sprained my ankle so you have to be careful. But there’s a man in our group, Ted Cotton, who’s in his ’70s who has had knee and hip operations and he plays really well. He also always takes time to correct my game and give me tips on getting better. He’s amazing!

Congrats for qualifying for the National Senior Games. Was this your first year to compete?

Yes. I did not know it existed. This young lady-well, I thought she was young-came into the badminton club one night and asked “Can I come play? I want to do the Senior Olympics.” I thought she was kidding but it was true, there is such a thing and they have badminton competition. So I immediately wanted to do it too. My friend Charlotte Estopinal and I then wanted to get the others in our group interested. Most of them are Asian and they are kind of shy at first. Charlotte, Ted and I became the guinea pigs for the Louisiana games and now all the others want to compete next year!

So now I know I can challenge myself at the Louisiana Senior Olympics and maybe nationwide, although I know at this point I’m sure to be beaten at that level! (Laughs)

So you are a “newbie” to your sport. Have you done others in the past?

I love to horseback ride. I did it a lot in France and also here in America. I’ve actually been somewhat un-sportive and have to make myself exercise…you may not want to write that down! (Laughs) But now I have been going to the gym regularly for maybe a year. I’m taking it much more seriously. I find the gym classes are very helpful. I enjoy the companionship. It’s a very positive, proactive environment that keeps me going.

I’m also secretly trying to jog which I’ve honestly never liked. I “wog,” which is a mixture of jogging and walking to help catch your breath. When I can, I will just jog, period. I’m going to get better at this and then surprise my husband who runs three miles every day. I’ll say “Hey honey, can I come with you? I’d like to get some fresh air.” and then shock him when I jog past him!

Sounds like the light bulb went on at a point. Was it crossing the 50 threshold that made you more aware of the need to get more active?

Yes, actually. All of a sudden, my bones ached and cracked in the morning. I was all stiff and felt like everything was breaking down. I just knew that my waist would expand and my arms would get flappy and all that, so I became resolved to do fun sports that would keep me healthy.

Also, my mother is 86 and never exercised much in her life. She does not have much muscle mass left. I have someone come and exercise her at her home and it’s made me more aware of what I need to do. If you want live longer, if you want to be healthy, if you want to do fun activities, then exercise has to be a part of it.

Cycling Away From Cancer – Michael Adsit, 65, Milford, Pennsylvania

Statistics tell us that one of two American men and one of three American women will personally encounter cancer. The good news is that with research and medical advancements, a diagnosis doesn’t always carry the “automatic death sentence” connotation it once had. There are more than 12 million survivors who are learning to live beyond cancer, and many are seniors. For them, the experience presents challenges for how to move forward, pursue better health and maintain a higher quality of life. Mike Adsit is one of them, and he’s here to tell you those challenges are opportunities to remake your life.

Prior to 2001, Mike was too engaged with a high-stress career and family duties to pay much attention to his fitness and health. Intellectually, the father of three and grandfather of four was always committed to improve life for society, but admits he did not make the personal connection. He grew up on a large family farm and advanced his ambition after attending college to become Illinois Gov. Dan Walker’s director of energy at the age of 27, helping that state launch some of the first energy conservation programs in the 1970s. As a result, he moved into the solar energy field as a marketing services executive with an architectural firm in Pittsburgh, then with a larger company in New York City for two years before starting his own successful green construction company in Milford, Pennsylvania. Life was good, and then at 51 the diagnosis came that would change his world: Mike had Stage 3, non- Hodgkin lymphoma.

While recovering from his first rounds of chemotherapy, Mike flipped the TV channel onto the 2001 Tour de France cycling classic and became inspired by Lance Armstrong’s story of overcoming cancer. Once treatments were completed, Mike took up the mountain bike that had been collecting dust in his basement and started exercising. He then signed up for coaching to raise his fitness level, improved his nutrition, and soon found himself feeling the adrenaline rush of competition.

Despite needing ongoing treatment after a relapse in 2003, Mike persisted with his newfound cycling passion and discovered Senior Games two years later, where he was further inspired to be competing with athletes of his own age and outlook. The road did not get easier, with cancer looming as a constant companion. The small cell lymphoma morphed into a more dangerous large cell form in 2012, but a stem cell replacement treatment kicked the disease to the curb. His doctors gave him a positive prognosis and released him from further treatment in 2013. Though still not back to full strength, Mike refused to stay away from the 2013 national games in Cleveland and considered simply finishing his time trial as a great victory.

Now, with cancer hopefully in his rear view mirror, Mike Adsit’s priority is to achieve a balance in his life. He still burns to stay fit and to race his way to the medal stand at 2015 National Senior Games presented by Humana in Minnesota, but he finds equal fulfillment with new ventures, his personal relationships and continuing to help mentor other lymphoma and stem cell survivors. That sounds like the perfect Personal Best attitude to have.

Looking at you today Mike, it’s hard to imagine a time you when were unhealthy and not racing on a bike.

The genesis of my cycling and competition came as a result of my cancer diagnosis in 2001. I had been running a busy construction company with 15 employees and it is a high stress business. At the time I weighed 285 pounds, had high cholesterol and did no exercise. I was an unhealthy husband, father and individual. A classic case for a heart attack or more.

Were you ever active or athletic?

I played some football in high school. And when I was working in Manhattan for two years I rode a bike to get around and commute. I tell you, cycling in New York City is a contact sport, especially in the 1980s when there were no bike lanes at all. It was an exciting way to live, but you took your life into your own hands with the cabbies trying to drive you off the road. (Laughs) After getting hit by a cab in 1983, I quit biking, and exercising, for 18 years.

So you were overstressed, overweight and sedentary. What happened next?

In early 2001, I thought I was passing a kidney stone. Instead, my docs told me my lymph nodes were very enlarged and the diagnosis turned out to be non-Hodgkin lymphoma. It was at Stage 3. It was in my abdomen, up in my neck, and down in my groin. It was an extreme wake up call.

Within a week, I started six rounds of chemotherapy. One day of intravenous chemo treatment, then six days of high doses of steroids to shrink the tumors. Then after two weeks, another treatment cycle. I managed to work a couple of hours a day, but spent a lot of time at home resting because I simply didn’t have the strength. You know, when you get cancer you go through this panic thing, wondering how you got it. And I learned that there are environmental and genetic factors. But a lot of cancers, especially blood cancers, are triggered by lifestyle- you know, high cholesterol, high sugar diets, no exercise and so on. That got me motivated me to do something.

So, during some recovery time I was watching the Tour de France, which I had never seen in my life, and they were talking about this guy Lance Armstrong, who I didn’t know from the Man in the Moon. They told about his cancer diagnosis, that he had a ten percent chance to live, and how he came back from his deathbed to win the Tour de France. I thought, “Wow, what an amazing story. You know, I need to change the paradigm of how I’m living my life.” I did an Internet search and read his first book.

So you changed your lifestyle, and cycling became your fitness regimen?

Yes. The next spring after my first lymphoma treatments, I thought about getting back in condition with running, which I had only really done once in my life, and I didn’t find it satisfying. But I owned a mountain bike, which I had never ridden and sat in the basement of my office. So I started riding. At first, I couldn’t go a half a mile without getting off and walking it. (Laughs) But that’s how it got started.

So Lance Armstrong was an inspiration to change. Was he the catalyst to move you from riding a bike for exercise to becoming a competitive cyclist?

It was a process. During that next year after the first treatments, I followed the 2002 Tour de France on TV and this commentator, Chris Carmichael, talked about how he coached Lance and described his structured program that is based on a program that the East Germans developed for Olympic training. It’s really the fundamental for how cyclists train today, where you basically alternate high intensity or overstressed workouts with sessions of recovery rather than just riding 100 miles on the bike. Anyway, Chris had developed an online coaching and training concept where you become a student of his CTS service and they assign you a coach who maintains an online and phone coaching program. So I signed up. I was assigned to Kelli Emmet, a young professional mountain bike racer. She’s still my coach today.

At that same time, Lance and Bristol Myers had sponsored and organized Tour of Hope, a charity project with a team of cancer-related people cycling on a route from Los Angeles to Washington, DC to raise awareness for cancer survivorship and to raise money for the Livestrong Foundation. So I set my training goal to ride the last 50 miles of this Tour. I did it with the help of the coaching.

When did you start racing and being in Senior Games?

As an A-type personality, I like to have a structured environment and goals to achieve. And, I didn’t want to disappoint my coach. Kelli was quite a driver. She kept amping the level up, and I kept amping up my training to respond. So the next year she asked, “Why don’t you try racing?” I had never really thought about it for myself. There was a time trial going on near me, so I entered it. There were three men in my 55+ age group, and I won the time trial in my first try. I was hooked! (Laughs)

In 2003, the lymphoma relapsed and came back again. My oncology team started me on a somewhat experimental treatment using a monoclonal antibody. Today Rituxian is now a standard treatment for lymphoma. It suppressed the disease again, and the docs had me come back every three months for the next eight years to keep the cancer in remission. But I wasn’t going to let it prevent me from pursuing competitive cycling.

In 2005 the National Senior Games were coming to Pittsburgh, and I heard about it, living in Pennsylvania. By then I was doing races regularly, so I thought, that sounded really cool and a lot of fun. But, I found out you had to qualify the year before. So, I set competing in the 2007 National Senior Games as one of my goals. In 2006 I competed in the Pennsylvania, Virginia, New Hampshire and Connecticut state games. I qualified in every one of them. So I met my goal and competed at the National Senior Games in Louisville in 2007.

How was the National Senior Games experience?

Amazing, I have to tell you. I was awestruck, and not just by the Olympic atmosphere and the cycling competition, which was significant because there were over 70 guys in my age group at the time. I had been doing a lot of races where most of the racers were like 25 to 35, maybe 40 years old with another two or three older guys sprinkled in the mix.

But when I got to Louisville I was just dumbstruck. There were like 12,000 athletes there, and the whole city was filled with really fit people of my age and older. It was amazing that there were all of these people doing all these sports, and they’re all dedicated to fitness and competition. At the same time, the tenor was different. There are certain athletes in Senior Games who have that kill-or-be-killed mindset like you find in most competitions. But for the most part, there’s this appreciation for everyone else there who also worked their way up, are keeping fit and are still competing. I mean, to watch an 85 year old cyclist race just blows me away.

This competition attitude at state games is the same way. I really like racing with other people my age. It’s a nice atmosphere. Everybody’s competitive, but at the same time people shake hands and are happy for each other.

So the National Senior Games became a regular goal for you?

Yes, but I had to pass on the 2009 games in Palo Alto. At that time my construction business was down and I really couldn’t pull the finances to make the trip to California. But I made it to Houston in 2011. I was in my best shape and finished 7th i n the time trials. At that time, my goal was to go to Cleveland and be on the medal podium in 2013. I had developed the skill and I was training hard.

But after I qualified in 2012, the lymphoma came back again. It had actually changed from the small cell into a much more aggressive large cell type. My docs at Hackensack University Medical recommended an autologous stem cell transplant. So, I went into very heavy chemotherapy treatments. I had to have five extensive, in-hospital chemotherapy sessions. After the third treatment they harvested my stem cells and saved them. The next two chemo sessions drove my white blood cell count down to zero, after which they transplanted the saved stem cells back into my body. There is like a 70 to 80 percent remission rate from this procedure. After nine days in isolation to allow for my immune system to rebuild, I was discharged on Thanksgiving. It was rough. They kept me in the hospital for four days during each chemo treatment. I lost all my hair and felt weak, but each time, within three days of finishing treatment, I would get on the bike. I couldn’t train, but at least I could ride and walk. Honestly, the level of my past training got me through the treatments with flying colors because I was so strong and my system was so balanced in terms of nutrition and fitness.

I really knew that I likely would not be in very competitive shape for Cleveland. My docs said I couldn’t start outside training until March of 2013 because after the transplant, there’s another 3 or 4 months that your immune system is compromised. So my goal was to recover well enough just to be there. If nothing else, I would consider that a victory. Kelli and I decided it was best to skip the road races and concentrate on the time trials. My race results, in Cleveland were OK. Not as good as 2011, but it didn’t really matter to me.

How’s your health now? Are you still facing treatments?

I’m actually in complete remission now, hopefully. It’s quite eerie, after 11 years of being intimately connected to cancer on a three month basis with treatments. After the stem cell transplant, the oncologist told me, “You really don’t need to come see us anymore.” It was joyful and unnerving at the same time.

Kind of felt like leaving home again, eh?

It was absolutely like that. You can feel like you’re attached to the healthcare system by an umbilical cord. You talk to most cancer survivors, and they will say there’s not a day that goes by that you don’t think about it, even after 20 years. But I truly believe in my heart now that I’ve been cured and I’m moving down that road.

You know, this whole experience has been cathartic. Pre stem cell, I was pretty much driven by this need to be a top level athlete. Post stem cell, I’m looking for more balance in my life. You know, 30 years ago I started my own real estate and construction company in Milford, Pennsylvania. Currently, I’m actually turning the business over to one of my employees and semi-retiring up to Michigan.

You’re from Illinois and have been in Pennsylvania for over 30 years. Where does Michigan come in?

(Laughs) Well, it comes in because I wanted to be closer to my 89-year old parents, and because of a really cool lady there, and, a lot ties back into my cycling life. I was married for 24 years but was divorced some years ago. I mentioned my coach Kelli Emmett I’ve had since 2002. Well, a few years ago Kelli was coaching a cycling camp in Arizona and I met her mother Mary there. We got to know each other, riding together, and one thing led to another over a period of three years. Mary owns an apple orchard and cider mill outside of Ann Arbor. She’s in the process of converting the farm into an organic operation, so I’m putting on my farming hat and helping her out.

We have a wonderful relationship that I’m committed to, and what we’re doing on the farm is exciting with growing healthy trees and producing nutritious food. In that context, I’m almost entering another career. I continue to have the desire to be a competitive athlete and I’m in that process of working out that balance. I cannot think of a greater thing than to be like those guys in their 90s I saw cycling in Cleveland.

I’ve used this cancer experience to re-quantify things. It’s actually turned out to be one of the better things that’s happened to me. No matter whether it’s a minor or major cancer, there’s no way that it doesn’t become a cathartic process in a person’s life. It changes how you look at life, and, I believe, things become a lot more precious. You can either duck under the covers, or you can stand out and say “I’m a cancer survivor, I’m alive and I need to do things differently.” I tell every survivor I speak with to look at how you’re living; reset your priorities; you can be healthier and happier.

You talk to other cancer survivors? Is that informally or as a volunteer?

Both. I’ve done a lot of racing and do other events raising money for Livestrong. I often wear a Livestrong cycling uniform in competition. A lot of people know I’m a survivor, and they come up to me at events and races and mention a friend or family member dealing with cancer. Frequently they ask if I would give them a call. I’m happy to do it. I know what it’s like to go through it and to be a survivor, so I know how giving a pat on the back can be very helpful.

I’m also involved with another organization, Immerman Angels. that is based in Chicago. They connect me, one on one, with other lymphoma or stem cell survivors who might need some encouragement. I don’t give medical advice, it’s more like mental support and cancer survival coaching. I do these calls all the time and it’s very rewarding.

What do you tell others who haven’t had your experience?

In high school and college most of us are active, and then we get into this grind of family, career and everything else. We think we’re going to be fit forever and then all of the sudden, we’re 45 and there’s heart problems or other issues. The generation before me had this knee jerk reaction to go to the doctor and get a pill for whatever ails you. People are realizing now that the medical system is not going to always deliver the miracles.

So I tell people that good health, good nutrition and active fitness is entirely up to you. I wish I had learned that earlier.

The Power of Love – John C. Taylor, 94, Atlanta, Georgia

It’s not just anyone who can say they have done a triathlon in the National Senior Games at the age of 90 or older. In fact, no one but John C. Taylor can make that claim, which was accomplished in 2011 in Houston. Even more remarkable is that John didn’t begin running until he was 60 years old as part of an ongoing process of reinventing himself in midlife.

Born to parents who were teachers (and a father who was also a basketball coach and preacher), John pursued education and the ministry and is credited with 19 years of teaching and 45 years of pastoring at 11 churches in four states. He also worked as a newspaper editor, public information officer and journalism professor. He can call four colleges his alma mater, including the University of Alabama, where he earned a masters degree, and Southern Illinois University, where he held his final teaching position and, after his retirement, earned his PhD in health education. That was at age 75.

The 2011 triathlon would turn out to be his last so far, owing to spine problems that have prevented him from further competitive running. However, John has not given up riding his bike or taking laps in the pool, and at the 2013 National Senior Games presented by Humana in Cleveland he cycled and swam his way to four medals. Last year, he qualified for The Games in 2015 at both the Georgia Golden Olympics and the Florida State Senior Games. Despite a recent heart valve repair procedure, he expects to be cleared to train again and then make the drive to Minnesota in July with his constant companion Sally, who was recommended to John by his first wife before her passing in 1998. (If that doesn’t get you to read the following interview, nothing will!)

Possessing an inquiring, caring and competitive nature, John has refined a well rounded lifestyle based on what he has learned, and devotes time to preaching what he practices at senior centers and churches in the Atlanta area. He emphasizes having a positive, loving attitude and being physically, socially, spiritually and mentally active to reduce stress, maintain balance and enjoy longevity. It’s a Personal Best attitude that works for John C. Taylor, and he believes it can work for you, too.

You have a life of achievements as a teacher, a preacher and a journalist. And it seems like you have done just as much after 50 as before.

I’m busier now than when I retired 27 years ago. I try to have an active life.

Completing a triathlon at age 90 is mind boggling. Have you been a lifelong athlete?

No. When I was young I didn’t make any of my school teams, but my dad was a basketball coach for some time. I sat on the bench with him often, so competition got in my blood. In college I played some intramural basketball, soccer and track. In my 30s I slowly jogged three days a week. That was about it.

I started doing 5Ks and 10Ks at the age of 60. In 1981, I did my first triathlon, and then every year I would usually do two or three of them. I did nine triathlons in one year in my 80s, but I whittled that down.

We missed seeing you in the triathlon in 2013.

I can’t do them anymore, the running is too hard on me. My back is in bad shape, the cartilage is all gone on the bottom five vertebrae and they haven’t found any remedy for it. Advil does just enough to keep it from being overbearing. I still hold out hope I will do more.

You haven’t given up though. You qualified for swimming and cycling, so will you be doing both at The Games in Minnesota?

I’m hoping to make it. I recently had a non-invasive surgery to repair a blocked heart valve where they run a little wire in the vein from the thigh up into the heart and install an expansion in the valve. I really do feel a lot better. They told me I have the arteries of a 20 year old, all clean and not much cholesterol. The specialist at Emory Hospital told me that I can probably start getting on my bike and swimming again soon. He’s fascinated with my aging and asked how is it that I got to be this old. I told him “I guess it’s because I was born so long ago.” (Laughs)

Even if it turns out I’m not in shape to compete we may just drive up there to see people and have a vacation. We have this motor home Sprinter van that Sally and I love to travel in. It’s got everything but a washer and dryer.

Do you have a history of heart or other major health problems?

No, I did have a melanoma removed from the side of my nose but no other physical problems. I’ve been over the handlebar of my bicycle three times though. One time a dog got his tail caught in the front wheel. I skidded 12 feet with my face on a gravel road and tore my face up.

Did you ever expect you would be doing these things in your 90s?

No, but I always expected to live to be 105. My dad lived to be 102 and two of his uncles crossed 100 and his mother lived to be 95. But you know, genes are only about 17 or 18 percent of the influence on your longevity. Your lifestyle after 50 accounts for over 80 percent. There’s been a lot of research on that.

A positive attitude goes a long way, and you seem to have that going for you too.

You know, I was on Dr. Oz before the 2011 games in Houston. They wanted somebody who would talk a lot so I guess I’m known for that. They flew Sally and me up to New York for the show. While we were up there we got to see Ringo Starr who was performing across the road.

Well, Dr. Oz asked what my secret was. I pointed out at Sally and told him, “The secret is love. I love God, I love this country, I love people, and I love myself. And I love that woman sitting in the front row there.” The cameras zoomed in on Sally and Dr. Oz laughed and said “Hey guys, the show’s up here!” They actually cut that part out of the show.

I’ve learned loving is a positive attitude towards life. In my 50s, I found myself becoming more critical and negative when I was practicing journalism. You’re supposed to stand in surveillance of society, to watch and report society. Doing that tends to generally make you a little critical. Then, I came across Norman Vincent Peale’s book The Power of Positive Thinking and signed up to get his mailings. After that, I turned my negativism into positivism.

Weren’t you also pastoring during that period of your life too?

You know, I went through three periods in the ministry. The first was preaching the Gospel, “We have the truth and we want to get it out to you.” Then it was denominationalism. Then I began to realize there’s a lot of independent truth in the Baptist doctrines, that you yourself have your own choice, decision and will. That’s when I turned away from denominationalism to just focusing on people and helping them with their problems. That’s when I became a people pastor.

One of my favorite sayings is “Relationships are more important than conduct.” You think about that. Conduct is keeping the rules of the church and the Bible as you see them, but I came to realize relationships are more important than anything else.

So you found a truly positive outlook in your 50s, and then got a fitness plan in your 60s?

That was the next big crossroads, when I started running and then doing triathlons.

Speaking of relationships, people say your first wife actually helped you find your current mate. That’s rather unusual!

My first wife Nancy died in 1998. In the months before that happened, she recommended several women we knew, but I didn’t think any of them would work out for various reasons. Then she said, “What about Sally who jogs by here all the time? She’s probably the only one in Atlanta who can keep up with you.” Well, about eleven months after Nancy passed I met Sally and we’ve been together, doing everything together, ever since. (Laughs)

Sally’s 78 and keeps fit. She’s a former trapeze artist for the Florida State Circus. She doesn’t compete but she cycles on the spinner five days a week.

It turned out to be the right match. You’re a fortunate man.

Oh yeah, we’re madly in love. At meets people admire us. In fact, I lined up at one cycling race in Florida and the starter said “Taylor! You’re disqualified. You use performance enhancing drugs.” I screamed out “I do not!” and he said “Oh yes you do. Everyone saw Sally hug and kiss you just now!”

Then there was this quarter Iron Man race in St. Petersburg. Sally came out and hugged and kissed me before I crossed the archway. Somebody said I better get over that finish line and record my time. I picked up Sally and carried her over the line and the crowd went bonkers. Well, this 20 year old from Brazil that won the race and a $20,000 prize came up to me laughing and said, “You got a bigger hand than I did!”

We get so many comments everywhere, things like “It’s so good to see two older people so much in love.” She is terrific encouragement and helps me fight aging depression.

So having a balanced lifestyle is the secret to longevity?

It’s lifestyle. Nutrition, exercise, stress management, spiritual and social relationships and being mentally active. I got a PhD at 75 so I wouldn’t go downhill as rapidly as my peers. Since I retired I’ve been reading three to four hours per day. It’s helped me greatly. Physical activity is so important too. You know, raising your heartbeat pushes oxygen into every part of your body. That’s why exercise with aerobics in it is so valuable.

After I got my doctorate in health education I started lecturing at senior centers and churches around Atlanta about lifestyle. I always tell people I didn’t start this until I was 60 years old. I didn’t even jog until then. Everyone can do something.

How do you approach the fitness part of your lifestyle balance?

I used to get this quarterly magazine from the Penn State College of Sports Medicine. They were far ahead of the medical profession in my view on studying the health of athletes 30 and up. I learned things about how not to dehydrate, and also how to get my heartbeat up. They insist not to do the same aerobics exercise every day. When you’re younger let your heart rest one day per week; when you are in your 60s and 70s, rest two days; and then rest three days when you’re in your 80s and 90s.

But this college said the basic cue is getting your heartbeat up to three-fourths of maximum at least three days a week for 45 minutes to an hour. And don’t just get going fast, and keep going for the whole time and then stop suddenly. Build up gradually for five minutes, and then intermittently rest for one to two minutes to let the heartbeat go back to normal, then go back up again. They have learned this helps build your heart for old age.

I’ve found very few doctors who know that. Of all the doctors and nurses I’ve been to they never mention aerobics. That is so healthy for the heart, and so healthy for the brain too. When you get your heartbeat up you are pumping oxygen into your head, your heart, every organ, into the bones, into the muscles, into the skin and your cells. Oxygen is life giving.

Your example is an inspiration to others. Do people tell you that?

Yes. I do think I can be an inspiration to Baby Boomers because I didn’t start running and on to doing triathlons until I was 60.

I like to tell the story about a woman who was 50 years old when I met her. She was out watching a triathlon in Claremont, Florida, and was amazed to see me doing it at my age. She was really concerned about her weight and health. She talked with me and Sally and got inspired. She told me, “I’m going to be able to do this when you come back next year.” And she did a triathlon with me the next year. She now even does at least two of those Ironman events per year, which is a nearly 3 mile-mile swim, a 112-mile bike ride and a marathon run. That’s really something.

Incidentally, in 1932 my family moved to Claremont and we lived on the shore of Lake Minneola for a few years. The USA Triathlon organization has their headquarters in Claremont now, and they use that lake for competitions and training. It was interesting to go back and complete a triathlon there many years later.

Of Mentors, Mountains and Marathons – Della Works, 80, Casper, Wyoming

At each phase of her life, Della Works hasn’t begun to imagine what the next turn would bring. As a farm girl in Wisconsin, she never saw a mountain while growing up, yet she would find herself avidly hiking and climbing them after she married a man who loved the outdoors. You wouldn’t have convinced her at age 48 that she would start running 10Ks the next year despite a heart condition. Nor that she would start competing in Senior Games a few years later, and then start running marathons at 59. That decision would take her around the country and (so far) to marathons on four continents, including ones at the Great Wall of China, the 100th Anniversary Olympic Marathon in Athens, Greece and frigid Antarctica. (Really?)

Yet, here she is, feeling much younger than the age on her driver’s license and enjoying life in her simple mountain view home just outside Casper, Wyoming. She’s competed in the Wyoming Senior Olympics for the past 25 years, and the 2015 National Senior Games Presented by Humana will be her 12th national games. Twice she’s had the honor of carrying her state flag in the Celebration of Athletes. Della has become an icon and inspiration in her home state, whether serving on her state senior games board, joining in as many as a dozen local charity runs per year, ski racing, being named Parade Marshal for Casper’s 2013 rodeo and fair, or just tooling around town in sub- freezing winter weather with her convertible top down. (Really?)

The mother of five considers it a gift to be healthy and still in competitive shape, and is flattered that people consider her a mentor and an inspiration. But from Della’s perspective, all of her achievements came as a result of being guided by others. Her son prodded her to start running- and became a spiritual guide after his tragic death in a plane crash at age 26. A senior athlete acquaintance pushed her to try a half marathon and showed her how much more she was capable of doing. Her late husband instilled a love of the mountains and used quiet persuasion to goad her on to greater accomplishments.

For Della, it’s not the medals, nor reaching the peaks, nor crossing the finish line after 26 miles. Her reward and inspiration comes from the people she meets and does these incredible things with. She says they are her mentors and challenge her to be better and to keep moving. We think it goes both ways, and that Della Works definitely has found her lifelong Personal Best attitude. Really.

Glad to finally catch up with you Della. All we had was this one number to reach you.

I don’t have an email account or a computer. I can go to the library to look at the Internet. I don’t even have a cell phone. When I travel and go places I just like not having any interruptions. My kids worry and think I should have one. But if I get a flat tire I’ll start to fix it and a good looking man will stop to help me. So why do I need a cell phone? (Laughs)

Well, people in the West are usually very independent and self-reliant.

Actually, I never saw a mountain growing up. I was raised on a farm between Pippen and Stockholm in Wisconsin. It’s about 60 miles from Minneapolis where the National Senior Games will be this year.

My father went into a mental hospital when I was six and Mother raised the five of us. We didn’t have a car. But the farm lif e was good and the neighbors were kind and helped take care of us. We went to visit Dad on the bus. Later, as an adult, I was told I could take him out. My mother had never traveled, so I was blessed to be able to take both of them to visit grandkids in Vermont and New Hampshire. We drove through 16 states and Washington DC. He was 89 at the time and died the next year.

Did you play any sports as a kid?

I did tumbling and played basketball and volleyball when I was in high school and some volleyball in college. It was all intramural, no real girls’ teams that went places to play. Then I had five children to raise. We didn’t have much money but we went camping and hiking a lot. Both my husband Larry and I were savers. He always said in order to make money you have to save it. I’ve always been a penny pincher.

So how did you become a “mountain lady?”

Larry was a geologist and a big outdoor person. So he loved to go hunting and fishing and backpacking in the mountains. He got work up in Alaska and Montana which is where I climbed my first mountain in Bozeman. He loved the mountains and he taught me to love the mountains. I have climbed 22 of the 58 “14ers” as they call them in Colorado. The highest one in Wyoming is just over 13,000 feet. I do it for cross training and I enjoy it by doing it with friends. I also cross country ski and race in the winter games up here. I think the love of the mountains and the outdoors and being raised a farm girl is what has kept me healthy.

I’m blessed that I can still ski and run and do these things. I just did the local “Headlight 5K” ski event, that’s where you ski down the mountain on a groomed trail three miles at night with a light fixed on your helmet. My light kept getting dimmer and dimmer but I did finish ahead of three others! (Chuckles)

You can’t vegetate, you have to participate. I really learned that when I started competing in Wyoming Senior Olympics in 1987.

How were you inspired to begin running and competing in the middle of your life?

My son Robert liked to run and got me started at age 49. He came home from college and signed me up for an eight mile race held by the Central Wyoming Fair and Rodeo in Casper. I was slow and had a heart problem. I said “Are you kidding? I can’t go eight miles!” He replied that I used to take them out for long hiking trips. I answered, “I did that so you kids would sleep in the afternoon!” Anyway, they said I could walk or run and that I’d be the oldest person in it. Well, I wore my cowboy hat and went out and finished it. I enjoyed seeing all the healthy people out there and just got addicted to it.

I’ve never gotten a medal in the National Senior Games, and I’m not there expecting to get glory and medals. They do give out ribbons up to 8th place and I’ve gotten some of those, but never a medal.

You’ve dominated your age groups and won many medals in Wyoming though. Is it frustrating to miss the medal stand at the National Senior Games?

Oh no. In my heart I want to run and compete, but I keep going because of the people in these games. It’s a wonderful community of people, and we all love the camaraderie. There’s this one woman my age from Kentucky-Maureen Tarpey-who does the 5K and 10K. She always comes in last but she just loves meeting the people. And I do too. There’s another one, Eleanor Pendergraft from Tennessee, who got MS [multiple sclerosis] when she was 40 and was told she would never walk again. Well, she started swimming and exercising and coming to senior games. She’s still out there running. To be up out of her wheelchair is unreal. Those are the people I like to meet. People that keep trying and doing really help guide and motivate me.

Like me, none of them have won a national medal. What I hope to do this year is to get those two and another athlete to join us to do the 400 relay. Last time they had an 85-89 age women’s team but not in the 80-84, so that’s something I want to do. Hey, we might win a medal!

OK, let’s talk about your endurance running. How did you become a marathoner?

A mentor talked me into doing it. I was in Arizona for at a meeting with Native Americans as a national board member of Church Women United. I had a free Saturday and the Arizona Senior Olympics was going on nearby so I entered their games. This woman about my age-I think I was 56-befriended me and said she had done more than 50 marathons and that I ought to do it. I said “No Way!” I was happy doing the senior track and the road races. But she kept after me, and it took three years, but she convinced me to come do a half marathon with her. Well, I actually came in ahead of her. (Laughs) It takes someone to mentor you, to say that “You can do this.”

I started running marathons in 1994. The first one was in Lincoln, Nebraska. 12 of us went together from Casper in a motor home. I got a plaque because I was the oldest one running at 59 and won my age group. I was so excited and was hugging everybody. I even met a man from Alaska there who remembered the plane crash that took my son.

I ran with Robert before he got killed at age 26 in a plane crash in Alaska. But he left us this gift of running that got me going with competing in track and field and road race as well as the marathons. And it became contagious. My daughters have done marathons and now I’ve got grandchildren running in them too. All of my grandchildren are active in some kind of sports. Whenever we run together we do it in Robert’s honor for his great gift that keeps us healthy. In fact, last summer three of my children and my granddaughter went up for the Alaska Marathon to see that beautiful country and to share happy thoughts about him. He mentored all of us.

My life is so blessed by people that I just…get tears. (Pauses) You just keep on going. They say I’m inspiring but it’s the people I meet that inspire my soul. They help keep me motivated.

You’ve run marathons everywhere it seems, even along the Great Wall in China. Which has been your favorite?

Maybe the Antarctica Marathon. I can’t really say it was my favorite marathon because they are all different and enjoyable.

Antarctica? Really?

(Laughs) Well, my husband was reading about it in the Wall Street Journal and started laughing. He said “One day you’re going to do this.” Well, here’s that mentor again. I said I wasn’t going all the way to Antarctica without him and that was it. A couple years after he died I got some information about it. Every two years they allow a limited number of people to go down there on a Russian research ship for a marathon. I was 69 when I went there.

It’s so pristine and beautiful. It’s the only continent that hasn’t had a war. There’s only one church, this Russian Orthodox church that was where we started and finished. I was the oldest one there at 69. Everybody else spent $500 on their outfits. I got a hooded windbreaker at church thrift shop for $2. I had purple Ralph Lauren tights that I wore for skiing. (Chuckles)

But they’ve all been special. I even ran in one commemorating the 100th anniversary of the first Olympic marathon in Greece. They invited a runner from each U.S. state and asked me to represent Wyoming. I first said no because my husband didn’t want to go with me. He didn’t like waiting around for me to come to the finish line. (Laughs) Well, they paid for my flight, lodging and my entry so I went to Athens. To run into that Olympic stadium with the people cheering…it was unbelievable.

Clearly, you are not afraid of taking on challenges and just keep moving on.

I have a favorite expression that I heard astronaut Neal Armstrong say as a guest speaker at the 1991 National Senior Games. He said “It doesn’t matter how your finish, or if you even finish. The main thing is getting to the starting line!”  People always ask when I’m going to quit and I never could say when. I’m turning 80 but at the Senior Games you just move up to the 80 to 84 group. Most people don’t like to tell their age but it doesn’t bother me at all. I just feel so good and so thankful. You never know what tomorrow will bring.

You know, you just don’t give up. I’ve had a heart condition and some breathing problems since the ’70s so I don’t talk with others while I’m running. And I broke my ankle in 1999, the same year that my husband died. I got 15 screws in my ankle and people said ‘Oh Della you’ll never be able to run again.’ It was rough and I did take a lot of time off from running the next three years.

Then in Houston at the 2011 national games my knee buckled and I fell down with a hamstring pull in my first track event. Another of my favorite sayings is “Pain can last a moment or a day, but memories last forever.” I got up and hobbled in terrific pain and the people cheered me to finish. With icing and Ibuprofen I hobbled all the way through the week to start and finish my track events and 5k and 10k road races. Everybody called me “Hopalong Cassidy.” (Laugh)

I just finished my 32nd marathon at 79. (Pause) 32 in 16 years, that’s not bad. I did four last year in fact. I don’t actual ly run that much in the marathons anymore, I jog and power walk up the hills. But I do it.

I have been very blessed. And it’s wonderful to see my kids and grandkids are all active. So it passes from one generation to the next. You know, somebody has to be your mentor.