The metaphors between running and life are truly magnificent! When I saw Bill Rodgers at the Bill Rodgers 5K Run/Walk for Prostate Cancer back in September of 2014, he said to me, "Life is hard. That's why we run. If we can tough it out on the roads, we know we can tough out whatever life sends our way!"
There are rolling hills along the Bermuda Half Marathon course and the start and the finish have a significant hill. It is vital to train on hills to be well prepared for my third consecutive Bermuda Half Marathon.
Jamaica Pond has some rolling hills and when we trained for the 2009 Boston Marathon our personal trainer had us do hill repeats and fartleks.
We were planning to train at Jamaica Pond last Saturday but with heavy rain and the threat of thunderstorms, we decided to train along the Boston Marathon course on Beacon Street. Now you may think that Heartbreak Hill is the only place on the Boston course that challenges you with hills but in fact an out and back run on Beacon Street after Cleveland Circle will give you quite the hill run for your money.
As in running and as in life, it's all about perspective, attitude and mind set.
If you approach an uphill with a sense of dread and drudgery, you'll never experience the joy of having conquered something that challenges you. For me, I experience a sense of satisfaction deep in my soul after exerting effort and giving something my all. My challenges of paralytic polio and being a trauma survivor helped to forge my fiery Spirit and sense of determination and a feeling that nothing can stop me now!
Life happens on the hills and I am sure we will be heading out to Heartbreak Hill for a few training runs on the road to Bermuda, repeating our Beacon Street out and back run and making sure we are well trained to take on the hills in Bermuda.
As in running as in life - you can't avoid the hard uphills so we may as well embrace them and become a hill seeker enjoying the thrill of swooshing down the other side!
From Feel the Heal: An Anthology of Poems to Heal Your Life:
"Dwell on the beauty of life. Watch the stars, and see yourself running with them." -Marcus Aurelius
Born to Run
Born free
born to run
run free
unencumbered untethered unshackled
pouring energy into my running form
liquid gold once fired in the crucible
now my treasure born of my Spirit molded with alchemy
refining
my precious treasure once buried
the map safely tucked away
X marks the spot
a new starting line.
Poised and ready
to go the distance
all out without hesitation
all is healed at last
my pace swift
Mercury and Hermes pace me on winged feet
I AM
born to run
running free
joyfully crossing the finish line with ease.
Go the distance with strength and courage!
~Mary
Be sure to visit my website by following this link.
My books are available on Amazon.
Feel the Heal: An Anthology of Poems to Heal Your Life
Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing Hope and Possibility that chronicles the first 7 years of my healing journey:
And my latest and greatest book - Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance (With a Foreword by Jacqueline Hansen):
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