The other day, my earth angel from Mile 12, Jamie Lee Wright at the 2017 Bermuda Half Marathon posted a video of her descent into Bermuda after her trip to England. As I saw the blue waters of Bermuda and that familiar scene of coming into the Bermuda airport, I felt such excitement about training for Bermuda 2018.
But I am in no rush for Bermuda Race Weekend to arrive. Every mile conquered, every cross training and strength training workout completed provides a sense of accomplishment in and of itself. Having the goal of 13.1 miles again fires up the memories of training and completing two previous Bermuda Half Marathons and how I have defied the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome, a progressive neuromuscular disease by Western Medicine standards. Every mile and every workout on the road to Bermuda Marathon weekend takes me closer to complete healing from the effects of paralytic polio and trauma.
The first photo above is the sunrise over Hamilton Harbor on race day. We've been so blessed to experience race day for 2 consecutive years and are so excited to experience it in January 2018 with our daughter! The fourth photo is of our triumphant finish despite having cramped up after mile 10 and needing shoulders to lean on after mile 12.
Yesterday, on the 5th and final day of our training cycle this week we pushed the pace on our 5K tempo run and I charged up a hill that we used to use for training for the 2009 Boston Marathon. Tom and Ruth Anne at first said, "whoa where you goin' girl?" but then raced with me up the hill. Such an exhilarating feeling as I begin the next 10 years of my healing odyssey!
Here we are with our post run selfie:
At the end of every long run, we create the picture for Ruth Anne as we come down Front Street, up Bermudiana Road and into the finisher's chute. We join hands and raise them high in triumph saying what the race announcer will say as we cross the finish line. It becomes so real for us that we know success is ours.
It's 162 days away and with anticipation, firing up the power of our imagination to lead us to success and savoring the excitement all the way, we are thoroughly enjoying our road to Bermuda 2018.
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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