Going the Distance: What am I saying to myself?

As the miles on the road to Bermuda Marathon Weekend increase, so do soreness and new body sensations that go hand in hand with going the distance.

As I wrote about in yesterday's blog, I began to question my choosing to run a threepeat of the Bermuda Half Marathon. Of course I didn't exactly choose it - the opportunity came to me during Boston Marathon Weekend. Race Director Anthony Raynor has reassured me that my pace doesn't matter. He is genuinely inspired by my journey and to have me go the 13.1 distance again enjoying every moment of training that leads up to race day!

It is rather epic that after having been diagnosed with Post-Polio Syndrome, a progressive neuromuscular disease by Western Medicine Standards ten years ago and then to have been told I needed a total knee replacement after a serious knee injury in December 2014 that I am still running long and strong.

I find myself once again apologizing to Tom and Ruth Anne for the slowness of my pace and how long we have to be out to get in a training run. Those old taunts of "Easy Out Alper" and the image of trying to run to catch up to my peers when I was recovering from paralytic polio in a full leg brace limping and lugging along leave me saying to myself that I'd be better off on the sidelines.

Why go through the pain of training for yet another half marathon?

As soon as I ask the question, a flood of answers come to me and my negative self-talk is transformed.



When Tom and I were training 2 years ago for my first Bermuda Half Marathon, I had the same feelings come up about apologizing for my pace. Tom replied with, "well for somebody who is supposed to be in a wheelchair, you sure do run fast!"

I've reinstituted my running affirmations:

I run unencumbered with ease and feel free in my body.
I live in a new mind body living only in the present moment.
My body is healthy, whole, and strong.
I allow my beautiful energy to flow freely and easily.
I am grateful for this opportunity to run long and run strong again.
I trust in my body's ability to meet the challenge of every experience that I present.
I run with courage, strength, fierceness, and determination.
My body easily recovers from any and every challenge I present to it.
There is going to be soreness and new sensations as I train in a way I've never trained before since I reached a new level of fitness during my off season. I trust in my body's ability to recover with ease.
I am so happy and grateful for the abundance of health and healing that is now mine to claim.
I love myself and consider only those thoughts that are going to propel me toward the finish line.
I am strong and I am determined. I am healthy and I am protected by divine love and angels and I am so grateful for their presence in my life.
I allow thoughts and fears to come and go and I greet them with kindness and compassion.
I am so happy and grateful for the amazing support of my running community and my village. I know with their love, with their cheers, and with their support, Team McManus is going the distance.
I fall in love with the process and the results will come. (Thank you Dr. Dispenza)



The universe has orchestrated everything that I need to be who I am truly meant to be which includes being a long distance runner.
I am filled with life and vibrancy, joy and gratitude and happiness so much happiness to be living this beautiful life that I live.
I grieve the past and I feel the sadness for what happened to me and then I feel a wellspring of joy bubble up from deep within me knowing that spirit, Light, and love always win.

This morning I woke up with a lot of stiffness and soreness and some fatigue. I stretched, hydrated and reminded myself that what I say to myself is going to create what happens in my body. The strength training workout was challenging but we are not changing a thing. Our training is as much about physical training as mental training!

What am I saying to myself?

I'm telling myself to ditch the negative self-talk. This is, to quote Dave McGillvray, my race and my pace; my game and my rules. How truly blessed am I to have so much love and support as I go the distance; to enjoy the sport of running the way it is meant to be enjoyed.

While recovering from our long run in my ice bath, this "just happened" to appear in my Facebook news feed.. Tom and I are at 1:53:


And what is the Divine saying to me? Go the distance for a threepeat!

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):