Countdown to Bermuda: My Goals for Bermuda Half Marathon III

After Bermuda Half Marathon I, my friend Lashell Head who I met through another friend I made in Bermuda, posted a beautiful article, "If you run slow, who cares...and what is slow anyway?" It inspired a blog I wrote about the "Sweet view from the back of the pack." Because I was at the back of the pack in Bermuda, and the marathon is two loops on the same course as the Half Marathon, I got to see the lead marathoners pass us. It was a thrill to see that the two lead runners were a male and a female battling it out. The female runner won the marathon. During these past two years I became friends with the American Runner aka Tim Price who now lives in Bermuda who was the lead male runner.

When it came to training for Bermuda Half Marathon II, my heart and soul weren't in it as I wrote about in a recent blog. I didn't even realize it at the time because I was focused on pushing myself to get a PR and beat my time from 2016. I wasn't mindful on race day, race day conditions were not ideal with a lot of cars on the road and it was warmer than I had anticipated and I could not enjoy the day as I had in 2016. Muscle spasms and cramps took over at mile 10 yet I was fierce in my determination and will to finish.

Training this year is a wonderful joyful experience having Team McManus reunited on the roads and in life.

We watched the NYC Marathon on Sunday. One of my Facebook friends said he had two goals. 1) Have fun and 2) Finish.

I watched a New York Times video of the back of the packers. The finish line stays open until the last runner crosses the finish line regardless of the time. The elite runners went back to cheer on the back of the packers and gave them their medals. It was called, "Last but not least."

Here's a story that Stephanie Pennington, organizer of Project Finish posted on her Facebook feed about the last finisher of the 2016 NYC Marathon.

I have to remember the miracle of healing that has happened for me to train for and finish Bermuda Half Marathon III in just a little over two months and embrace my pace at the back of the pack.

First was the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome in December of 2006. "Be prepared to spend the rest of your life in a wheelchair," I was told. "It's a progressive neuromuscular disease....If you use it you will lose it."

I decided to get still and ask for Divine Guidance. Despite being in a leg brace, using a wheelchair at times for mobility and facing a grim future by Western Medicine standards, I wrote the poem, "Running the Race." You can hear a wonderful reading of this poem along with an interview I did with Keith Cartwright on TwoTim47 podcast by following this link.

I went on to run the 2009 Boston Marathon as a mobility impaired runner finishing in 7 hours and 48 minutes!


I kept feverishly writing poetry to inspire mind, body and soul to heal.

It was a challenge for me to get traction on my healing journey until a very serious knee injury in December of 2014.

I was blessed to meet a chiropractor, Dr. Ryan J. Means, after I was told yet another cautionary tale from Western Medicine and was blessed to have had the physical therapist from hell. In addition to reigniting my mission, passion and purpose to heal from the effects of paralytic polio and trauma as well as the new knee injury, Dr. Ryan turned me onto the work of Dr. Joe Dispenza.

These past 3 years have been a wondrous time in my healing journey. I have not had a total knee replacement as was predicted. I have grown a new gastroc muscle that "they" said could not be regenerated. I did not cap my distance at a 5K but have run two Bermuda Half Marathons and am well on my way to wrapping up training for Bermuda Half Marathon III.

Another five days of training are in the Bank of Bermuda with this morning's 5K.


When I focus on the miracle of healing, the joy of Being and the gift of running in my life, I am able to set two wonderful goals for myself in Bermuda 2018 quoting my Facebook friend from Sunday's NYC Marathon and adding a third goal:
1. Have fun.
2. Finish.
3. Celebrate my miracle of healing after I cross the finish line, our daughter's miraculous recovery from severe depression and PTSD and the wonderful friends we will see in 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):

Fundraising Friday!

Meaghan O’Sullivan runs a marathon and the marathon of her life with passion, dedication, determination and an infectious smile that you just want to be around. She ran her first marathon in Boston in 2015. She braved the high winds and pelting rains running for the Dana Farber Marathon Team raising money for cancer research.

And now Meaghan is lacing up her running shoes to once again go the 26.2 mile distance for the New York Road Runners Team for Kids at the NYC Marathon on November 6th.

As Meaghan said, “Running has done so much for me and my journey through all the challenging and trying things life has thrown at me and I want other kids to have the same opportunity as me to discover the healing power of running.”

From Meaghan’s fund raising page:
Running the 2015 Boston Marathon was an experience like no other in my running career. It was filled with many great moments that made lasting impressions on me, but also came with some of the toughest that challenged me beyond what I thought I could handle. Thankfully, these are now goals to beat and challenges to face head on. I look forward to having success with this in the 2016 NYC Marathon!!

I’ve decided to run with Team for Kids and I am asking for your support of their inspiring mission. Team for Kids is a team of adult runners who raise funds for critical services provided by New York Road Runners Youth Programs. These programs combat childhood obesity and empower youth development via running and character-building programs across the country.
Whether you are a runner, have worked with children, or have kids yourself, I hope you will join me to further this great cause.
See you at the finish line!
Love, Meg

Team for Kids was established in 2002 as NYRR recognized the need to help city kids become more physically active. The goal of all NYRR youth programs is to equip children with the tools they need to become physically fit for life, in programs that focus on goal-setting skills, character-enrichment, and nutrition education.

Where does the money go?
All funds raised through Team for Kids benefit New York Road Runners youth programs, which represent a national and international effort to transform the lives of tens of thousands of children, many of whom have no access to the regular physical activity they need to live healthy, productive lives.
Funds raised by Team for Kids members help provide:
• Training for teachers, coaches, field managers, and coordinators, most of whom volunteer their time to NYRR youth programs.
• Incentives for children to encourage them to attend events and practices, demonstrate sportsmanship, and strive for fitness and personal milestones.
• Incentives for teachers to encourage them to run with students, and enable them to share their own achievements in physical fitness through NYRR youth programs.
• Entry fees and transportation to races and related sporting events for the kids.
• Necessary resources to establish programs in areas of greatest need.

We know that Meaghan will go the distance through the Boroughs of New York City. Let’s help her go the distance to exceed her fund raising goal.

Follow this link to make your donation.

Good luck Meaghan!

Never lose sight of your goals!

When 2014 started out, I had no running goals. I was happy I was back on the roads but was not feeling well enough to think about goals. Coincidentally, the Nike+ on my Android was wonky and would add miles and reduce speed. It was an ironic reflection of where I was at the time in my healing journey. I was still working with a KMI structural integration practitioner believing that change came from the outside in. I did not have an accurate way to gauge where I was or to honestly monitor my progress.

As I edit my next book, "Journey Well," I see the transformation that took shape this year of reclaiming myself as a runner. When I ditched my Android for an iPhone and changed practitioners for mind/body therapy, I was finally able to move forward in my healing journey and in setting running goals.



Sometimes we are able to nail our goals. What an exhilarating week this has been for my friends who conquered the trails, caught the Unicorn and ran PR's. One of my friend's was going for a 5K under 50. There were gusting winds and rain. While she didn't reach her goal of an under 50 minute 5K, she did attain a PR under very challenging conditions. The running community cheered her on and congratulated her for an amazing performance. Her goal will be attained on another day. I tracked my friend John Young in the NYC Marathon. There were several times when the anticipated finish time went beyond his hoped for BQ time of a sub-6-hour marathon. He did get his BQ as we gathered as a community on Facebook to cheer him along. He had to drop out of the 2014 Boston Marathon because the flu gripped him at mile 10. He had trained all winter to finish the race from April 15, 2013. While he could not finish the race on Marathon Monday as he had hoped, he did go out and finished the race 19 days later .

"Oh there you are," Alain Ferry said as he rode out on his bike during the Bill Rodgers 5K to Benefit Prostate Cancer to provide support to me on my run. He was anticipating that, given the heat, I was not going to attain my goal of a PR that day. When I was close to reaching my goal, his love and support combined with having Tom by my side and the cheering of the crowds was a vortex of energy that pulled me toward the finish line. I was able to PR the race.

As I ran toward the finish line of the Tufts 10K, I heard Jess Lanzoni call out my name and then had two members of L Street screaming and cheering me on to the finish. I had nothing left in the tank and wanted to just finish. Their energy stirred the fumes or should I say the flames within me to go after my PR at full throttle.

One of the beautiful things about the running community is that we are always there for each other whether or not the goal is attained on any particular day. There are so many variables that go into whether or not we can attain our goal on any given day. We are loved, beloved and supported no matter the time on the clock. What is most important though is that as runners and in our lives, we never give up and we never lose sight of our goals.


I have my sights set on another 5K PR when I run the Boston Volvo Village 5K Road Race on Thanksgiving to benefit the Greater New England Chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society. Please help me reach my fund raising goal by making a donation to my personal page.

In February of 2008, I set the goal to run the 2009 Boston Marathon. My journey is chronicled in Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing, Hope and Possibility available on Amazon. I donate 50% of proceeds to The One Fund to help survivors and their families affected by the events of April 15, 2013.

Eighteen Months Later - We ARE Boston Stronger

Tom Grilk's voice filled the air at the start of the Tufts Health Plan for Women 10K saying we are Boston Strong and we do what we always do, we run together. Have a great race everybody.

Eighteen months today since lives were forever changed and we as individuals, as a city and as a global community of runners have had to dig deep and find our strength.

After 25 years, after being diagnosed with severe coronary artery disease, at the age of 60 years old, Dave McGillivrey became an Ironman at the Ironman World Championship triathlon last weekend at Kona. He wore a Boston Strong Team MR8 singlet. He ran for the Martin Richard Foundation After the shootings in Newtown Connecticut in December of 2013, Martin made a sign that said, "No more hurting people. Peace." The photo of him holding that sign became a symbol for how to manage in the wake of the events of April 15, 2013. His family created the Martin Richard Foundation to carry on the spirit of their son to honor Martin’s message of peace by investing in education, athletics and community.



Leo Fonesca is now the CEO of Stephanie's Restaurant Group. Photos of him carrying his close friend to safety wrapped in a blanket are but memories in the background of our lives. He is now a 2014 Boston Marathon finisher. He had never run before taking on the challenge of the 2014 Boston Marathon but he was determined to make it to the finish line for those who couldn't this year. He will be running the New York City Marathon in just a few weeks as part of Team MR8 and has already exceeded his fund raising goal of $5,000.

The call is going out for charity runners to send in their applications for the 2015 Boston Marathon. What a different journey runners will have on the road to next year's marathon no longer counting down the days to or from Boston Marathon 2013. That knot in the stomach we had when we woke up on the 15th day of every month for that first year is gone.

I chose to wear my L Street Running Club t-shirt for the Tufts 10K. On the back it says "We run as one" and has the signature yellow and blue Boston Strong ribbon.



The ladies running Tufts sported Boston Strong attire:



As I passed police officers and State Troopers along the course, I thanked them for their presence and was moved to say Boston Strong as I ran. On some level I sensed the upcoming 18 month anniversary of when our lives changed forever.

Yes - our lives changed forever and we are Boston Stronger. We have learned how to journey well!


The first 7 years of my healing odyssey are chronicled in Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing, Hope and Possibility available on Amazon. I donate 50% of royalty payments to The One Fund Boston to help survivors and their families who were affected by the tragic events of 4/15/13.



I'm working on my 2nd book, "Journey Well," due out later this year:

Countdown to Tufts - The Icing on the Cake

My friend Reno Stirrat posted this quote on Facebook yesterday.



It's hard to believe that Monday will be my 6th race in four months. I used to shy away from races but hey somebody has to fill out the back of the pack; otherwise there can't be a front of the pack. While I run for health and running is my medicine, there is nothing that feeds my soul more than when I find the courage to start a race and the exhilaration of crossing a finish line. This will be my 3rd Tufts and my first 10K race in 3 years. I'm racing against myself seeing if I can best my time from 3 years ago of 1:36:09.



The sweetness isn't just when I toe the line at a starting line or cross a finish line. I love being a spectator in person or in cyberspace, or a volunteer at races. This weekend is filled with excitement. Ironman Kona begins on Saturday. Friend and Boston Marathon race director Dave McGillvray is taking it on at 60 years old to raise money for the Martin Richard Foundation.



One of my friends is chasing after the unicorn by going for a BQ at Chicago; many of my friends are running the Chicago Marathon. What an honor to have hosted an L Street Running Club water stop during Fall marathon training. My husband is going for a PR at the BAA Half on Sunday as he completes the third leg of his second BAA Distance Medley.



Next weekend several of my friends are going for BQ's at Baystate. We pack up for a long weekend after that to enjoy the Cape Cod Marathon Weekend. Tom is running the Half. It will be a great gathering of friends and our running family in beautiful Falmouth.

Then it's time for the NYC Marathon. There's sure to be a thrilling race when Meb toes the starting line! I remember watching him breaking the tape in 2009 as we watched the live stream on line. I have many friends running NYC this year who have compelling and inspirational stories.

Grab a plate and join the party. Share in a slice of life and relish the sweet taste of freedom that comes with being a runner and being a part of a race. On Monday, I am going to savor the icing on the cake.




The first 7 years of my healing odyssey are chronicled in Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing, Hope and Possibility available on Amazon. I donate 50% of royalty payments to The One Fund Boston to help survivors and their families who were affected by the tragic events of 4/15/13.



I'm working on my 2nd book, "Journey Well," due out later this year: