You wake up in the morning on the day of your long run and the room is spinning. You're sweating. Your stomach feels queasy and you have a headache. It'd been an incredibly stressful week but let me add that I am learning it is not the stress but how I respond to it. Sometimes stress builds and it's hard to get footing!
My entire schedule was thrown off. There were things that were triggers for me from the summer of 1971 going forward after my father's suicide, and as I lay in bed I remembered similar sensations from when we were training for the Boston Marathon.
We were scheduled for a 16 miler. It was shortly after my brother spent Christmas at our house. It was not a warm and fuzzy family visit and when I woke up on the day of our long run I remember feeling nauseous and dizzy and wondering how I was going to be able to get the training run in. I even wrote a poem about it as I did during so many junctures on our road to the Boston Marathon to help inspire me and get me fired up.
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Sixteen Miles
Polio, post polio, cancer scare and more
Mind, body, spirit memories that inside cells did store.
Personal trainer, energy healer, a faith deep in my soul
Teachers You have sent to me to help me now be whole.
Brother here for Christmas and a change in our routine
The past alive in conversation - need to keep my soul pristine.
Focusing on goodness and see only love and light
Dispelling past and future keep the moment now in sight.
Sixteen miles – a training run – not feeling at my best
Wanted to just stay in bed and get a little rest.
Temperatures were mild but strong headwind in our face
I felt Your Loving Presence and surrounded by Your grace.
Dizziness came over me the first time 'round the track
Hydration and dig deep within to bring the present back.
Release the doubts, the fears inside-time for wounds to heal
Fulfill my highest purpose – my power now I feel.
Listen to my iPod the shuffle songs my friend
Hear You speaking to me – to Your Voice I now attend.
The power of the wind is strong, but I am stronger yet
My mind and Spirit drive me, my determination set.
As Team McManus journeyed on,we felt You as our guide
Guarding every foot step,running by our side.
And when this run was over, we saw the Truth so clear
We can run the Boston Marathon, the finish line is near!
Well that day I completed the training run and felt an incredible sense of accomplishment.
Drawing on my strength from that day and taking time to meditate before anybody else in the house got up using the tools that Dr. Joe Dispenza shares, I knew that I needed to think greater than my circumstances. I remembered Dr. Candace Pert's book, The Molecules of Emotion. I knew that everything stirring within me emotionally was contributing to my feeling queasy and unwell.
I called a Team meeting and explained to Ruth Anne and Tom what was going on with me. Ruth Anne lovingly and compassionately asked me if we should switch up the long run with our cross training day tomorrow. I knew that was not an option. Together we asked for God's strength to get us all through the training run but especially me. I shared some tears and some fears and then we got to work.
Core work and a good breakfast helped to revive me along with hydration and reminding myself that:
I thought about my friend Thor who is running the Fenway park Marathon with Chronic Lyme disease and I thought about all of my overcoming physical sensations in my body and healing the effects of paralytic polio and trauma. We set intentions for the run and planned out our route. We decided that we are going to train by going out the front door and creating routes around our neighborhood and beyond that do not require getting in the car before our run.
You know you can go the distance when you log onto Facebook and see a photo of Geoffrey Smith, Boston Marathon champion who is the record holder for the Bermuda Marathon Weekend 10K with Race director Anthony Raynor and Clarence Smith who joined us for lunch a few weeks ago at the Falmouth Road Race Expo:
I wrote this post: #runbermuda #runhappy A wonderful motivation for today's 7.5 miler! Thanks Geoffrey Smith and Race Director Anthony Raynor! Have a great weekend in Falmouth! See you in January at Bermuda Marathon Weekend!
A member of our runner family, Jacqui Kennedy replied, "Sending loads of positive thoughts, good vibes and prayers out for you today! Happy 7.5! 🏃♀️🏃♂️"
For a little extra motivation, I went to my Youtube channel and chose to post this video on Facebook:
I knew that would generate energy and well wishes.
Once on our run, I began to feel better. There was nobody around the small reservoir on Route 9 and it was so peaceful to just run. We decided we would do 6 loops around and then finish up on the street in front of our home.
"Wait - it's a sign," Ruth Anne called out.
She's been finding money reminding Team McManus that God is guiding our journey as She had in 2008-2009 on the road to the Boston Marathon.
There in the dirt Ruth Anne noticed a figure that matched the route of the Bermuda Half Marathon:
During our first 3 miles, clouds prevailed but then the sun broke through and there was 86% humidity.
I kept thinking about my post run ice bath while also paying exquisite attention to hydration and fueling.
After the run we were feeling oh so accomplished having deposited 7.5 miles in the Bank of Bermuda:
This morning, this photo was in my memory news feed about why hard days are the best shared by my dear friend and an elite runner, Reno Stirrat:
You know you can go the distance when you believe, when you know you have a village cheering you on and a great Team to train with every week. You know you can go the distance when you think greater than your circumstances and keep your eye on the prize - a threepeat of the Bermuda Half Marathon.
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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