Before I saw it, however, I was reflecting on gratitude during my morning meditation. I was savoring and appreciating how I am training for a threepeat of the Bermuda Half Marathon 2018.
After last year's race I had decided that I should take more time off from training for and running another Half Marathon. There were lots of changes happening at The Rosedon Hotel where we stayed for so many years and we thought it was a sign that we find another destination Half Marathon for 2018.
But Race Director Anthony Raynor and the Universe had other plans! He made Team McManus an offer we couldn't refuse during the 2017 Boston Marathon Weekend.
When Ruth Anne decided to rejoin Team McManus, Anthony also extended an invitational entry to her as well.
Because we were graciously given invitational entries, we feel a fierce dedication to our training.
Training for Bermuda is also an affirmation of life for us.
A little over ten years ago, I was diagnosed with Post-Polio Syndrome, a progressive neuromuscular disease by Western Medicine Standards; a result of contracting paralytic polio at age 5 and then enduring 9 years of atrocities from family members.
Three years ago, Ruth Anne began experiencing symptoms of severe depression and PTSD. She contemplated suicide on and off for the past 3 years; last April she was about to end her life but called 911 instead. She's experienced 6 hospitalizations in the past year and many many medication trials. The Team at St. Elizabeth's Hospital found the right med combination and since her discharge in May has been steadily making progress in healing her life with the help of an incredible Intensive Outpatient Therapy program through the Department of Mental Health.
Running is our medicine! We transcend and transform the past when we run.
What a beautiful reminder from Bermuda Marathon Weekend this morning that life is a gift! And what a blessing and a gift we have in our lives with training for the Bermuda Half Marathon in January.
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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