At 59, she's high court's iron woman

State Supreme Court Justice Faith Ireland shouldered a hefty barbell, stepped back and bent into a squat position. She strained to stand up, but something went wrong. The petite 59-year-old gasped and crumpled.


	State Supreme Court Justice Faith Ireland, a powerlifter who will compete in the women's nationals next month in Chicago, concentrates during a workout with trainer Paula Houston. Gilbert W. Arias / Seattle Post-Intelligencer Click for larger photo

"Come on, Faith," trainer Paula Houston barked during the recent morning workout. "You've been here before. This is no weight for you."

Ireland stepped back under the 200-pound barbell and, this time, powered it up three times.

By day, she rules on weighty matters in the state's court of last resort. At night, Ireland trades her black robe for a weightlifting suit and pumps iron.

The judge, known for her efforts to bring diversity to the judiciary, can deadlift nearly twice her weight. And next month she travels to the Women's National Powerlifting Championships in Chicago with an eye on a couple of national records.

It takes more than muscles to succeed in this sport, in which contestants heft as much weight against gravity as their bodies permit. Ireland knows it. In her recent squat workout, a slight mistake in technique made 200 pounds feel more like 2,000.

Still, Ireland hopes to bring her three years of competitive experience -- along with the discipline she's obtained from decades of legal work -- to bear on the barbells in the Windy City Feb. 9.


Justice Faith Ireland: "At first, I really felt foolish in the gym. ...There was a bunch of kids and hardbodies, and now I'm one of the hardbodies." Gilbert W. Arias / Seattle Post-Intelligencer Click for larger photo

The squat record of 207 pounds for women in her age and weight division is within reach. She also has a shot at the deadlift record of 270 pounds, though she insists her goal is only to have a qualifying squat, deadlift and bench press.

On her last trip to nationals in 2000, she "bombed out" when she failed to obey the event judge's commands. This year, the judge from Seattle says she'll pay closer attention to the other judge's orders.

Ireland first tried weightlifting seven years ago, hoping to find relief from the chronic back pain she had suffered since a car accident in 1983. At first, lifting aggravated her back. But she stuck with it, and today she says the pain is gone. Also absent is the awkwardness she felt entering the gym in the early days.

"At first when I was there, I really felt foolish in the gym. I felt like this decrepit old lady," said Ireland. "There was a bunch of kids and hardbodies, and now I'm one of the hardbodies."

Today, she calls herself "addicted" to the three-hour workouts she does three times a week.

Ireland appears very much at home amid the pumped-up bodies and booming dance music at Seattle's Gateway Fitness Club. She says that all her bench presses not only have made her stronger and slimmer, she also feels sharper and more relaxed in her work on the other bench.

"Being ... on an even keel as a judge is critical for the job," she said in her chambers at the Temple of Justice in Olympia. "The focus and concentration and the calmness (from lifting) I think really carries over to the work here."

Regular workouts also help to ease the pressures of passing judgment in Washington state's highest court.

"This is a stressful business," said Olympia attorney Jim Johnson, whose work on Tim Eyman's tax initiatives has brought him before the court. "It's a good idea for people in our business to relieve stress, and I can't think of a better way to do it than exercise."

Ireland's colleague, Justice Charles Johnson, applauds her exercise regimen. Discussions among the nine members of the court frequently diverge from legal matters to talk about physical fitness, he said.

"We inspire each other," said Johnson, who stops at the Tacoma YMCA to work out on his way to the capital each morning.

Ireland said her husband, Chuck Norem, encouraged her to start working out. And today she feels partly responsible for stimulating one of the court's newer members, Justice Bobbe Bridge, to get in shape.

"I've encouraged a lot of people to just get in the gym," she said. "You don't have to be a powerlifter. I started off with the rubber bands and those exercise balls, then I graduated to three-pound weights."

As the dumbbells have gotten heavier over the years, people have taken notice of the change in Ireland's interests.

She recalled one day when her husband saw her reading a magazine in the living room of their South Seattle home. He chuckled and said, "Some women read Better Homes and Gardens."

Ireland prefers Power Magazine.

P-I reporter Graham Black can be reached at 360-943-3990 or grahamblack@seattlepi.com

Add P-I Local headlines to