Super-fit, from Alaska to ‘Golden Bachelor’

Diane Firmani, 71, plays ice hockey, competes in triathlons, and rides her bike on the snow-covered Iditarod trail at home in Alaska.

The super-fit retired librarian found a surprising group of similarly fit women this year when she participated in “The Golden Bachelor,” a reality TV show that pitted her against other women competing for the heart of a retired NFL player. Diane applied as a lark, a few years after her husband died.

“All the women were physically fit there,” Diane says. “It was a common thread.”

She shared some other commonalities about staying fit later in life. (More on the show here.)

1. It helps to stay active with friends who will encourage you and share the good times. “And that’s how that bunch of women were, as far as being like-minded about fitness,” Diane says.
2. “My motto is ‘Sign up and show up,’” Diane says. In other words, register for that 5K in the spring – and then do it! “It’s a commitment to yourself and to others who are depending on you.”
3. Finally, enjoy the fact that exercise makes you look better. “It’s more fun to buy clothes, to go places, to have more confidence.” Diane recently attended her son’s wedding in Hawaii, happy with how she was presenting.

Staying active in the cold, dark north isn’t always easy, but neither is fitness for anyone anywhere. 

“Everything is a choice,” Diane says. “You can be miserable, or you can get out there and enjoy it.”

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