Celebrating Ten Years of Running: The Rainbow Connection

We had a very difficult and challenging weekend. Our daughter was suffering and struggling with her symptoms of severe depression and PTSD and all that goes along with it. She had been discharged the previous Wednesday without a discharge plan! Fortunately she put together her own plan with the help and support of a wonderful social worker through the Brookline Police Department. The Women's Partial Hospitalization program has an incredibly caring and talented staff of professionals including a psychiatrist who added a new medication to her regimen and is closely monitoring her at the program but as I said, the weekend was incredibly difficult and challenging.

Tom and I managed to get in our run and pool time adhering to our health and fitness regimen and making sure we practiced impeccable self care. We were so grateful when Monday came and she could return to the structure of a day program.

We got up early as is our usual Monday morning routine. We took time to meditate, do our core workout, have a banana and water and go on our 5K run.

It was a glorious sunrise:


We passed an older gentleman who we have seen walking around the Reservoir. He was running on Monday morning. We smiled and gave a little salute as we passed each other.

We saw another runner who we have seen during our early morning runs and shouted out a good morning to you which he echoed back to us.

As we rounded our first lap around the Reservoir, a dark cloud appeared and it started raining.

Fortunately the air was relatively warm for a December day in Boston.

The shower didn't last long and as we were about to start our 2nd lap I just happened to look up in the sky. There was a rainbow!



It appeared at first as a quarter of a rainbow with pale hues. It grew brighter and we all stopped in our tracks in awe to watch its appearance grow and glow across the sky.



I sobbed and could no longer see through my raindrop and tear stained glasses. I took off my glasses and we continued our run under the rainbow.

I didn't pay attention to our pace but we did serious negative splits. As we passed the two other runners who were now running in the opposite direction from us. We were still smiling and murmuring about how in awe we were of the rainbow connection we made.

The older gentleman commented, "You realize of course that if we would not have gotten up early on this Monday morning, we never would have seen this magnificent sight."

I paused and reflected on how much I would have missed had I not taken a leap of faith to heal my life after the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome and followed the lead of the Divine to the sport of running.



To your health and wellness
From my heart to yours
Mary

My healing journey using the power of visualization is featured in David R. Hamilton's book, "How Your Mind Can Heal Your Body-Anniversary Edition." It's available on Amazon.


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:


Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance (With a Foreword by Jacqueline Hansen):


***Coming Soon - The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953***
The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953 takes you on Mary McManus’ healing odyssey from a wheelchair to the finish line of the 2009 Boston Marathon and beyond. After the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome in December 2006, Mary got still and asked for Divine Guidance. She harnessed the power of her mind to heal her body, feverishly writing poetry in which she imagined herself healthy, whole and free from the shackles of her youth. Mary’s quest to heal her life led her to the sport of running that tested her mettle while fueling her journey of transformation from a survivor of childhood paralytic polio and severe trauma at the hands of family members to a woman who embodies faith, grace under fire, courage, determination, endurance and resilience. Running became a way of life for Mary. As you’ll discover in “The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953” nothing, not even a serious knee injury in December of 2014 could stop her on the roads or in her life. Mary’s story is one that will leave you cheering for the underdog and discovering the meaning of different ability as Mary overcame every challenge that life presented to her.

Celebrating Ten Years of Running: On Zest, Joy and Gratitude

I'm winding down the celebration of 10 years of when I first discovered the sport of running, and we are getting ready to say auld lang syne to 2018.

At the beginning of the year, I chose 3 words for the year: Zest, Joy and Gratitude.

I started a gratitude practice after I was diagnosed with Post-Polio Syndrome in December of 2006. I came to the stunning realization that if I had any hope of healing my life from the effects of childhood paralytic polio and trauma that I had to give thanks for my life and all that happened to me finding the treasure, gift and blessing inside of the challenges.

It was an easy habit to continue throughout the year.

It's been a very challenging year as our daughter had 5 hospitalizations for severe PTSD and depression and all that goes with it. As I looked at my runs and paces, it was fascinating to see them wax and wane with the crises that unfortunately accompany someone struggling with their mental health. To be honest, it was hard for me to experience zest and joy much of the time.

On Saturday's run, Tom ran a little bit ahead of me getting ready to take a photo of me. I felt this river of joy bubble up within me. He captured it in this photo:


One of my dear friends, Jennifer, posted on Facebook, "Your zest for life is contagious. Never lose that Mary."

During our daughter's recent lengthy hospitalization Tom and I had time for a time out from the stress of witnessing someone we love decompensate leading up to her making a call to 911 on November 7. We were able to take deep breaths and reclaim our lives. I felt zest and joy return especially on Saturday's run.

Having had a time out from the day to day stress AND making shifts in how we will be once she is discharged are vital to be able to tap into our birthright of joy and allow my zest for life to ALWAYS shine through.

It was a chilly day but we relished running twice around the Reservoir with the sun shining through the now bare trees:


I've learned about surrender and letting go taking my lead from Mother Nature. I am taking the weight of the world off of my shoulders to now focus on celebrating my life and all that I've done during these past twelve years to heal my life.

One month from yesterday I will turn 65 years old.

I'm aware that I have fewer years yet to live than I have already lived and I plan to infuse my days, months and years with zest, joy and gratitude regardless of the circumstances that may be swirling around me.

To your health and wellness
From my heart to yours
Mary

My healing journey using the power of visualization is featured in David R. Hamilton's book, "How Your Mind Can Heal Your Body-Anniversary Edition." It's available on Amazon.


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:


Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance (With a Foreword by Jacqueline Hansen):


***Coming Soon - The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953***
The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953 takes you on Mary McManus’ healing odyssey from a wheelchair to the finish line of the 2009 Boston Marathon and beyond. After the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome in December 2006, Mary got still and asked for Divine Guidance. She harnessed the power of her mind to heal her body, feverishly writing poetry in which she imagined herself healthy, whole and free from the shackles of her youth. Mary’s quest to heal her life led her to the sport of running that tested her mettle while fueling her journey of transformation from a survivor of childhood paralytic polio and severe trauma at the hands of family members to a woman who embodies faith, grace under fire, courage, determination, endurance and resilience. Running became a way of life for Mary. As you’ll discover in “The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953” nothing, not even a serious knee injury in December of 2014 could stop her on the roads or in her life. Mary’s story is one that will leave you cheering for the underdog and discovering the meaning of different ability as Mary overcame every challenge that life presented to her.

Celebrating Ten Years of Running: Running IS My Therapy

While I always put my best foot forward and remain as positive and grateful as I possibly can, I'd recently been struggling with my runs. I even wrote about Taking a Pause. Tom's knee injury last week was both a stressor and a wake up call for me. The stress of watching our daughter struggle and suffer with psychiatric challenges, and a system that lacks resources and talent and that is profoundly broken to help someone find their way out of the darkness was taking a big toll on me, mind, body and soul. Tom's knee injury was a tipping point of stress and I decided it was time for a shift.

After I dropped Tom off at work, I parked the car across the street from the Reservoir, fastened on my water belt and was deeply grateful for a beautiful Autumn day in Boston.

I felt sluggish during my first mile. "What can I do to shift this feeling?" I thought to myself.

I reminded myself of all of the adventures of runner girl 1953 and embodied myself as a runner. I told myself to ditch the stress into the Reservoir and into the Universe. I kicked my own behind. For some reason, my iPhone deleted my running playlist that I titled, "The 12 minute mile" and I shuffled my library to accompany my run. A talk from Dr. Joe Dispenza came on. While I could not hear the specifics of what he was saying I felt his energy and reminded myself that it was time to think greater than my current circumstances and to embody my future self running a 12 minute mile.

I ended up with a 38 second negative split between mile 1 and mile 2 and an 18 second negative split between miles 2 and 3. But more important than the actual pace was how I felt once again pushing myself and visualizing crossing another finish line at some point in the not too distant future.

When I looked to the heavens, I saw an angel in the cloud formation against the backdrop of a beautiful blue sky:


I captured the beauty of Source in these photos:


and drew strength from the beauty and power that surrounded me.

I was sweating from the inside out cleansing the toxins of stress.

I realized that there is nothing more I can do to help my daughter in her recovery but what I can do is to nourish myself and to find ways to feel happy, healthy and enjoy a state of well being.

That run opened my heart and opened my mind to possibility. Rather than contracting into a state of anger, frustration and vigilance I now surround myself with a cascading waterfall of Divine Love.

This morning I put on my new playlist while I cleaned. I danced and I sang feeling gratitude overwhelm me for our beautiful decluttered home and our new office space. This was the first cleaning since we had our clutter removed. It was the culmination of a month of sorting, sifting and letting go.

I had my chiropractic treatment with Dr. Lizzie this afternoon. I felt ripples of energy flow through me melting away all of the stress in my life continuing to facilitate healing from the effects of paralytic polio and trauma. During my afternoon meditation, I integrated the treatment into mind, body and soul listening to the soundtrack from the Heal Documentary.

Running is my therapy, opening the path to problem solving and supporting my resilience in being able to manage stress in my life.

After Tuesday's run, I was renewed mind, body and soul ready to move forward in my life and my adventures as runner girl 1953.

To your health and wellness
From my heart to yours
Mary

My healing journey using the power of visualization is featured in David R. Hamilton's book, "How Your Mind Can Heal Your Body-Anniversary Edition." It's available on Amazon.


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:


Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance (With a Foreword by Jacqueline Hansen):


***Coming Soon - The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953***
The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953 takes you on Mary McManus’ healing odyssey from a wheelchair to the finish line of the 2009 Boston Marathon and beyond. After the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome in December 2006, Mary got still and asked for Divine Guidance. She harnessed the power of her mind to heal her body, feverishly writing poetry in which she imagined herself healthy, whole and free from the shackles of her youth. Mary’s quest to heal her life led her to the sport of running that tested her mettle while fueling her journey of transformation from a survivor of childhood paralytic polio and severe trauma at the hands of family members to a woman who embodies faith, grace under fire, courage, determination, endurance and resilience. Running became a way of life for Mary. As you’ll discover in “The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953” nothing, not even a serious knee injury in December of 2014 could stop her on the roads or in her life. Mary’s story is one that will leave you cheering for the underdog and discovering the meaning of different ability as Mary overcame every challenge that life presented to her.

Celebrating Ten Years of Running: Life is a Marathon!

I could never play sports as a child after contracting paralytic polio at the age of 5 but I ran the 2009 Boston Marathon at the age of 55! I remember the day my personal trainer took me outside to learn how to run in April of 2008. We did a lot of work indoors from February (when I declared that I wanted to run the Boston Marathon for Spaulding Rehab) to get me ready to run for the first time in my life. My heart rate went up to over 170 and I thought my heart would jump out of my chest on that very short first run/walk. But it didn't! While my mettle had been tested in life from a very early age; contracting paralytic polio at the age of 5 and enduring years of abuse at the hands of family members until my father died by suicide when I was 17, I lived in a survival mode fighting my way through and dissociated from my body in order to survive. When I took on training for the 2009 Boston Marathon, I learned how to live in my body. I learned how to live through discomfort and come out on the other side by transcending the pain rather than abandoning my body to get there.

I went from running for 1 minute and walking for 4 minutes to running 30 minutes at a time to running my first 5K in June. In July I ran the Marathon Sports 5 Miler and wanted to quit as the pack of runners took off in front of us leaving us far behind. Tom would not let me quit knowing that if I did not finish that race, I would not have discovered that I did have what it would take to run the Boston Marathon! I discovered that I was capable of so much more than I realized. I was celebrated for my courage and determination as everyone cheered me onto the finish line on a hot steamy July evening. I could not tell where tears ended and sweat began as, for the first time in my life, I was cheered rather than jeered in an athletic endeavor. I ran the Tufts 10K in October while building miles on the weekends with long runs. We ran the 2009 Hyannis Half Marathon which introduced me to running greats Frank Shorter and Bill Rodgers and runner friends to last a lifetime.

I transformed from "Easy Out Alper" (the name I was given in gym class using my maiden name) to Runnergirl1953 as I crossed the finish line of the 2009 Boston Marathon:


After a serious knee injury in December of 2014, I had to regroup on my healing journey after running 9 races in 9 months with several PR's and no cross training. After being told I shouldn't run but if I did to cap my distance by the Western Medicine practitioners, I doubled down my healing efforts growing a new gastroc muscle, cartilage in my knee, dissolving bone spurs and reversing degenerative changes. I incorporated cross training. I went on to run 3 consecutive Bermuda Half Marathons.

We've faced a very tough challenge during these past 4 years. Our daughter suffers from severe psychiatric impairment. Despite our best intentions and working hard to try to help her recover, she continues to go down a path of self-destructive behaviors, refusing treatment and insisting on living life on her own terms consequences be damned. There are days when I feel as though I can't possibly endure another minute but ah that's where my experience as a marathoner kicks in. I know that I can go one mile at a time. I harness the power of my mind, my power of Faith and the power of the Love in my village to carry me through. I've learned that I can only run my own race with all of my strength and determination to be MY best self. It's hard to let go and yet I've come too far to allow any circumstances in my life to bring me down.

This quote came up in my Facebook memory this morning:
"Every time you meet a situation, though you think at the time it is an impossibility and you go through the tortures of the damned,once you have met it and lived through it you find that forever after you are freer than you were before."
~Eleanor Roosevelt

While I'm not signed up for any races in the near future, I am working on my speed at the 5K distance. I am also running an ultramarathon off of the roads in my life with the challenge of our daughter's condition.

I'm running my life like I own it - because I do! Running taught me to know that no matter how tough a challenge I may face, I am tougher than any challenge. I was capable of so much more than I imagined after first receiving the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome 12 years ago and was told to prepare to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair. I have brought forth the treasure of who I was always meant to be out of the rubble of my past and I use that strength and soul power to manage whatever challenge life presents to me.

To your health and wellness
From my heart to yours
Mary

My healing journey using the power of visualization is featured in David R. Hamilton's book, "How Your Mind Can Heal Your Body-Anniversary Edition." It's available on Amazon.


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:


Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance (With a Foreword by Jacqueline Hansen):


***Coming Soon - The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953***

Celebrating Ten Years of Running: Hard Days Are the Best

We planned to go to South Boston to run but by the time we got ourselves together this morning it was mid-morning. We regrouped and chose to go out the front door and run around the Cleveland Circle Reservoir.

The temperatures were cooler than in recent weeks but I could still feel the humidity.

During the past several weeks, I have been extremely successful at pushing my pace, celebrating 10 years of running; focusing on speed rather than endurance. They were hot and tough runs yet I wouldn't classify them as hard runs.

I define a hard run as one in which I don't feel a mind/body coherence. It's a run that challenges me to be present and to go beyond the sensations I may be feeling in my body.

These last few days challenged me in ways that took me by surprise. I did not think there was anything left to surprise me as I journeyed through these past 4 years with our daughter's mental health challenges but these past few days really topped anything we'd experienced in these past 4 years. The details aren't important but the stress certainly took a toll on me. As soon as we began our run I felt a tightness in my right IT band and knee. I dialed back the pace. Tom and I debriefed about the events of the past few days while we ran. I felt the heaviness in my body from a poor night's sleep. I could have easily turned around and gone home. There's no accountability for my runs and workouts except to myself and perhaps my followers in social media. It is so important for me to honor my goals and commitment to my health and wellness journey.

The Reservoir was beautiful and we could sense the transformation from summer to autumn in the shades of green on the trees.

The water glistened with the reflection of the sun.

My pace was much slower than what I'd been running the past few weeks but still an improvement from post Bermuda Half marathon 5K pace. I sent lots of love to my right leg and had the epiphany that the events of the past few days stirred up the trauma I experienced as a child. With that realization, I drew from the sun and the water to send healing energy to my right IT band. I've been meditating to the soundtrack of the Heal Documentary and heard Michael Bernard Beckwith's voice saying, "You can heal anything. Life has trusted you. Breathe into that!"

I felt deeply grateful for the gift of running in my life and the gift of running with Tom every Saturday and Monday morning. After the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome, having been told to prepare to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair, every step on the pavement is a gift. We honored how hurt and tired we felt yet there we were out on the roads doing everything we could to shake off the events of the past few days.

We had negative splits.

Even though my pace was slower than what I'd been running in recent weeks, my mental game was strong. When we came off of the Reservoir and ran up the hill, I pushed myself to not stop before our water stop at the 2nd yellow pole on the bridge heading toward a downhill. It was a big victory for me to be in charge of my run rather than allowing the circumstances to impose on my run.



Tom went on to deposit a total of 8 miles in the Bank of Bermuda on the road to his fourth consecutive Bermuda Half Marathon!

I saw this post on Facebook from Kelly Noonan Gores, the Director of Heal Documentary:

“Life will give you whatever experience is most helpful for the evolution of your consciousness. Accept, and then act. Whatever the present moment contains, accept it as if you had chosen it. Always work with it, not against it. This will miraculously change your life.” -Eckhart Tolle
Of the many “aha moments” I had earlier this week, the biggest was about resistance to what is. Therein lies our suffering. To truly believe that Life/Universe/God is always for you, never against you, and to TRUST and BREATHE while you are going through an unwanted circumstance, that is the key to freedom and healing.

When I woke up this morning and at the beginning of my run, it would have been easy to take another rest day. I refused to let external circumstances overtake me.

Hard days and hard runs: They are the best....When you push through them you know you can get through anything!

Celebrating 10 years of running deeply grateful for the gifts that running has brought into my life...especially when a 5K run helps me make it to the other side of hard.

From my heart to yours,
To your health and wellness,
Mary

My healing journey is going to be featured in David R. Hamilton's soon to be released book, "How Your Mind Can Heal Your Body." It's available for pre-order on Amazon.

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:


Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance (With a Foreword by Jacqueline Hansen):