"I'm just very lucky and blessed and do what I love. I'm also a positive person, which helps. Nothing gets me down. I have to live up to my name."Oh, did I mention that Joy is 84? She'll be the oldest female runner in the NYC Marathon this year. Her secret to longevity is eating right, logging about 50 miles a week, and doing up to 150 push-ups daily.
I did a little more research on Joy and found that she started running when she was 58 and finished her first NYC Marathon three years later! A Wall Street Journal feature about Joy in 2008 had this to say about her: She rises with a burst in the darkness of 4 a.m. at her 1950s, four-bedroom ranch house on a quiet street in south San Jose, reads her Bible for an hour then sets out into the eucalyptus and citrus tree-scented air on her pre-dawn run. "When you wake up it can either be a good day or a bad day," Ms. Johnson says. "I always say, 'It's going to be a good day.' "
The article went on to say: Strangely, other than the occasional game of tag with her five brothers and sisters on the family farm in Waconia, Minn., Ms. Johnson never ran growing up. The only hint of the sport was the verse from the Book of Isaiah on the kitchen wall. "But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint."
What an incredible inspiration, not only to a runner like me, but to all of us to find joy in living!
I had to ask myself the question ~ if I call myself a Christian, am I living up to my name?
5 comments:
Loved this.
I have been reading a lot about "senior" runners/walkers in the last few days-and ran across her story also. Fantastic!
I also saw a picture of a T-shirt yesterday that I thought was great. It said:
"No Matter how slow I go, I'm still lapping everybody on the couch".
Love that quote, Caroline!
Hi Sissy McElhaney! As you know, I read your blog every day. I will sneak in and read in the middle of my work! ;) This post truly inspired me as most of your posts do! When I read that she does 150 pushups daily -- I just had to share that I sneak in 100 pushups at work and at home! One of Oprah Winfrey's newsletters had an article about getting exercise while at work. To make this long post not so long, it suggested to do pushups on the wall of the bathroom stall, so I do!!! LOOL! I love it!!! And I sneak in 100's of stairs at subway stations and all over downtown in addition to walking all the way to LA Union Station from the office!! I wanna live a long life! BUT, I gotta work on reading the bible for an hour -- that's the BESTEST to a positive outlook on life!!
There's hope for me - I'm only 53! Woo Hoo! ; )
I'll be doing a 5K this Saturday for the American Heart Association. It's a start - right?
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