Run Bermuda! Run Happy! On Miracles and Momentum - Training for Bermuda Marathon III

“People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child -- our own two eyes. All is a miracle.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh



Tomorrow Team McManus will run another ten miles on the road to Bermuda Marathon Weekend. The weather is looking so much better than last week's run in the rain. We are so blessed that it's going to be sunny with unseasonably warm temperatures for October 7th. The original forecast was for several days of rain starting yesterday and through the weekend.

We'll be heading out to Castle Island to do an around the Castle and then and out and back loop along the beach. Every long run that we get to do in good weather conditions is a blessing and a miracle given that we live in Boston! We've been known to get extremes in weather conditions.

There's a sense of momentum and confidence in our training now that we have conquered double digits - in the rain!

This month marks the 11 year anniversary of when I dug deep and found the courage to make a phone call to Spaulding Rehabilitation's International Rehab Center for Polio after suffering with symptoms for almost 10 years. The symptoms I experienced were a result of the polio virus I contracted at the age of 5 and the severe trauma I experienced at the hands of family members. I was sick and tired of feeling sick and tired. I needed answers and I needed help.

I received compassion, understanding and guidance of how I could feel better yet I also was given the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome. I was told I should prepare to live the rest of my life in a wheelchair, conserve my energy and that if I used it, I would lose it.

I got still and decided to use my faith to ask for Divine Guidance.

Inspirational poetry poured out of me inspiring me to heal mind, body and soul.

My first poem, "Running the Race" foreshadowed my 2009 Boston Marathon run although I had never run a day in my life. I wrote the poem while using a wheelchair to travel long distances and using a leg brace and cane for walking shorter distances.



After a serious knee injury in December 2014, I experienced another miracle in healing finding the courage to start again.

Today and this evening is a time for mental preparation to run another 10 miles on the road to Bermuda. I reflect and experience the absolute awe of the grace and miracle of healing in my life. I feel a fire in my heart and soul to go the distance and to be a beacon of healing, hope and possibility for others who may not know that they too can go the distance whatever the circumstances, whatever the challenge!

To going the distance with strength and courage
From my heart to yours,
Mary

Be sure to listen to my interview with Keith Cartwright, "From Polio Survivor to Boston Marathon Finisher" by following this link.

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):