Another week of training is in the books on the road to Bermuda Half Marathon III. Instead of a long run on Saturday, we took a pause and ran for a cause. It was a spectacular race in so many ways.
On Sunday I cross trained in the pool and was able to lift myself out of the pool using my arms! Yes you can teach an old dog new tricks. Tom and Ruth Anne ran the treadmill and did cross training at the gym. Monday is Team McManus' strength training day and we kicked serious butt together. On Tuesday, Tom and Ruth Anne went on their tempo run and I headed to the gym where I covered 6.4 miles on the Arc Trainer and Bike for a 50 minute sweaty and rigorous cardio workout.
As the alarm went off at 5:45 am yesterday, it was dark and cold outside. No excuses for Team McManus on Day 5/5 of training. It was our first run in cooler temps. Fortunately we had gone to Marathon Sports Brookline to get a head lamp and running gear for cooler weather. Don't you just love our headbands? Tom's new pullover is comfy and handsome as well as warm.
We were blessed to see a spectacular sunrise...with colors and textures that only the Divine Artist could create. Ruth Anne said it was a moment of being awestruck. I knew there was no way that we could capture the rapture so we savored the moment with our senses.
Since we had pushed the pace at Sunday's race, we decided to make it an easy run....especially since we have 11 miles on tap for Saturday. The weather forecast is looking spectacular especially for November. I am so delighted that we are ahead of past years' training runs so we have a lot of flexibility should the weather become difficult to get in good training runs as time goes on. I have a feeling through that we are going to have a mild winter - at least until January. We saw the reflection of Fall splendor in the Reservoir as the fog and mist gently rose from the water while our run seemed to pass by so quickly despite a slower pace. We were lost in nature, in our conversation and felt intensely present in each moment.
70 days from today Team McManus will be on a plane to Bermuda
and as we begin our descent, this is what we will see:
Even though it still is 70 days away, there is excitement in my Facebook news feed. I am connecting with newly made friends of friends who will be in Bermuda, sharing the excitement of seeing friends we made in Bermuda 2016 and 2017 and reuniting with our Bermudian friends.
Another week of training in the books. Two days of rest and recovery.
11 Miles to run on Saturday and we begin our 5 day training cycle all over again. After Saturday's run, there are only 5 more long runs doing a mini taper on 11/18.
It is most definitely countdown to Bermuda time where we will run happy and run Bermuda.
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):
No comments:
Post a Comment