Keeping Up With The Athletic Joneses

Over the past year many people in the McGinley family have become athletes. It all started with Lindsay in 2000 when she ran her first marathon for the Leukemia/Lymphoma Society. Since then, Lindsay has diligently kept up her training and has run many marathons, half marathons, triathlons of all sizes and even a Half Ironman and an IronMan triathlon. She is truly an outstanding athlete.
 Then, my son, Elijah, started taking TaeKwonDo. He is just now finishing up his third year of the sport. If he continues on schedule, he'll test for his first degree Black Belt next year.
Then, Penny began running. She, along with Lindsay, completed the White Rock Marathon last October while Penny's sweetheart, BossyBoots, completed the Half Marathon. Now,Penny is in training for the Chicago Half Marathon with BossyBoots, who will run his first full Marathon.
My daughter, Ivy, and I began taking TaeKwonDo. We are finishing up our second year this summer. On July 31, God willing, we'll test for our Red Stripe.
Then.......about two years ago, Tim started biking. This endeavor has led to participating in triathlons. He's competing in another triathlon on Saturday, and is scheduling one every month. He's become a Triathlon Junkie.
The last person to get the athletic bug is our musical Alison who lives in Austin. She recently competed in a Muddy Buddy with Lindsay and is now talking about running a Half Marathon.

What is the point of all the reiteration of our athletic endeavors?????????? Well......I just want to show how one little seed can spread to an entire family. While I was a ballet dancer when I was young......dancing from the time I was eight until a freshman in college.....I hadn't really done anything physically taxing beyond a Richard Simmons exercise video after I began having children. Then....overweight, out of shape me started TKD at the age of 55. Honestly, I haven't lost weight like I wanted to do, but I'm in so much better shape. I can now make it through a hour long tough TKD class and even have energy to spare for sparring at the end. Now that I'm in the advanced class and will soon have to start "flying" with my TKD kicks, I am determined to get the weight off so I can "fly" with ease. ( I always thought the people in those martial arts movies that jumped from rooftop to rooftop were helped via computer animation. No.....they are actually "flying"!!) At 57, I'm the oldest person in my class, although there is one other 50 something person and two or three people in their forties. Yeah......let's hear it for us older folks.....We Rock!!

All this started because Lindsay decided to become healthy. Her dedication to health has had such a positive effect on our whole family, and I hope has extended my lifespan considerably. I'd like to encourage anyone out there who is thinking about becoming fit to Just Start and Keep Going.  As time goes by, your endeavors will pay off. I am so much happier than I was two years ago. I plan on staying physically active for the rest of my life. While my body is not perfect, and I am still setting new athletic goals for myself, the peace of mind I have knowing that I'm moving in a positive direction when it comes to my personal health makes life so much more satisfying.

Okay.........so, Elijah just read my post and Corrected me.  People in the movies that go from building to building do so with the aid of strings attached to their backs........Okay..........Visions of Peter Pan singing "I'm Flying" are now filling my brain. What can I say......I want to fly......I do!!!!!!