Going the Distance: Dragonflies and Butterflies

During Saturday's training run along the beaches of South Boston heading to UMass Boston, we had a swarm of dragonflies accompany us for part of our run.



Dragonflies start to grow in water and then move into the air and fly. When this spirit animal shows up in your life you may be called to transform and evolve. Symbol of metamorphosis and transformation, it inspires those who have it as a totem to bring about the changes needed in their lives in order to go to reach their full potential.

When this spirit animal shows up in your life, it’s an indication that it’s time for change. Just like the dragonfly changes colors as it matures, you may be called to live and experience yourself differently. Stay open to the enfoldment of your personal journey.

Along with the dragonflies we saw white butterflies:


The butterfly is one of the most emblematic totem animals symbolizing personal transformation. If you see the butterfly as your totem or spirit animal, pay attention to the areas in your life or personality that are in need of profound change or transformation. Perhaps, this animal totem guides you to be sensitive to your personal cycles of expansion and growth, as well as the beauty of life’s continuous unfolding. An important message carried by the spirit of the butterfly is about the ability to go through important changes with grace and lightness.

Clearly the Universe is inviting me to embrace my journey and transformation with lightness, ease and grace.

This is the first time that I am running long in 6 years. It's a little overwhelming and a whole lot exhilarating as I take it mile by mile learning and enjoying all of my soul lessons along the way.

There are other exciting events happening in my life that I will soon share with you dear readers and these symbols coming into my life were a sign from the Universe to allow all these magnificent events to unfold dancing free letting Spirit guide me.

This time I am going the distance on and off of the roads with dragonflies and butterflies to lead the way.




I chronicle the first 7 years of my healing odyssey in "Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing, Hope and Possibility" and continue the journey in "Journey Well." These two inspirational books that will motivate you and move you to tears along with my books of inspirational poetry are available on Amazon.

My Running Chronicles: The Hills Are Alive!

6:00 am on Tuesday the alarm goes off. We meditated for twenty minutes and did our plank, crunches and clams with weights. We fueled with a banana and one piece of toast. We hydrated. After Saturday's training runs with hills, we planned to do a relatively flat course but somehow all of that changed once we got out on the roads. It was humid but the sun wasn't out. As we ran down Eliot Street, I suggested to Tom that we run up the hill that we used to run for hill repeats when we trained for the 2009 Boston Marathon. I hadn't run it in 6 years. Something inside of me broke free and I charged the hill remembering our personal trainer standing at the bottom of the hill with her stopwatch seeing if we could improve our time with each hill repeat. I was breathing hard and we stopped for a moment to catch our breath. As we took a right onto Reservoir Road we had another hill only this one not nearly as steep as the one on Cleveland Road. We could have gone around the Reservoir which would have been flat but instead we went out Beacon Street. It has subtle elevation.

We turned around at our halfway point. There were a few more hills; a downhill and then an uphill to our finishing line back at our house. As we came down Eliot Street my quads were on fire and my breathing was heavy. I haven't felt the burn like that in 6 years. I wanted to run the last 1.1 miles without stopping. I am training not only my body but also my mind to go the distance. I connected to something greater than myself and reminded myself that I am a woman transformed! I was running without any of the physical or emotional pain from my past. I only felt the pain that every runner feels when they are pushing themselves and pushing hard.

When Nike+ said Congratulations! I was pouring sweat and feeling this incredible sense of accomplishment. I noticed that I wasn't wheezing! My breaths were deep and full. I felt wonderfully nauseous and hungry at the same time. I iced my legs, had a glass of orange juice with ice, oatmeal, another piece of toast and a half of a banana. I allowed myself to bask in the glory of what I had just done. I pushed myself beyond what I thought I was capable of. I went beyond what my mind was telling me and transcended what I was feeling in my body. This is the mental toughness that is crucial for marathon training.

I'm ready to incorporate hill repeats into my training again. On Saturday, however, we are going to run a flat course for our 7 miles. Easy runs are just as important as the hard runs; rest and recovery days are just as important as training days. It's all about balance!

But yesterday it was all about hills and being a hill seeker because life happens on the hills. The hills are alive!

How Do You Banza?

What? What is she talking about? She blogs about running and inspiration and her health and wellness journey...what is up with that for a blog title?

It has everything to do with running and inspiration and my health and wellness journey.

It all started in a humble kitchen in Detroit Michigan. Pasta was one of Brian's favorite foods. He always thought of it as a guilty pleasure as many of us do or as a necessity for fueling before a long run or race day.

Here is what inspired Brian to look for an alternative to pasta:
Pasta has a problem. It is one of the worst offenders when it comes to overeating. In fact, the average pasta portion size is nearly five times what it should be.

Pasta is the second worst offender on the list, only to be ousted by chocolate chip cookies.

At a time when two in three Americans are overweight, and large portion sizes are attributed as the leading cause, it's not unreasonable to look at pasta with skepticism.

...I know I did.

But pasta is one of my favorite foods. I kept thinking to myself, "How can I eat this stuff every day without feeling guilty about it?" Frustrated by a lack of options, I started making chickpea pasta in my kitchen in Detroit. At first it wasn't very good, but I knew I was onto something when I tricked my roommate into thinking it was regular pasta.

A selfie of Brian with his pasta:


A year ago, Brian shared this in an interview:

“I moved to Detroit through a program called Venture for America. VFA places recent college graduates in cities with negative job growth, with hopes that we will create jobs in those cities through entrepreneurship. I previously worked in a growth marketing role at a startup called Quikly in downtown Detroit. My goal has always been to start a company, mostly because I truly believe that there is no better way to create value.”

Even though I do not have an issue with gluten, I noticed that when I ate regular pasta, my joints would feel achy the next day. In fact, I stopped eating pasta and would fuel with chicken, salad, whole grain rolls and a smoothie made from a banana, organic coconut, milk, ice, organic cocoa, a tad of organic sugar and unsweetened baker's chocolate.

When my friend Lee Woodruff introduced me via email to her daughter Cathryn Woodruff (also a Boston College Eagle I might add) and asked me if I would be interested in trying Banza, I jumped at the opportunity!

Here is Cathryn at the Eastern Farmer's Market in Detroit selling Banza:


Within a week after exchanging emails this arrived on my doorstep:



We love to take advantage of every moment we can barbeque here in New England but on Sunday it was raining. A perfect time to sample our new pasta product.



I sauteed fresh mushrooms in olive oil and added in Trader Joe's Organic Marinara Pasta Sauce. We had a fresh salad made with organic veggies and sparkling water with organic lemon slices.

It tasted absolutely delicious!!

My husband Tom agreed that there was no way to tell the difference between Banza and regular pasta in terms of texture and taste and Banza tasted better than pasta. It was lighter in texture and taste and when I woke up Monday morning, rather than feeling that achy feeling I would feel after eating pasta, I felt energized.

Here's the 411 about Banza's nutritional facts:

One serving of Banza has double the protein as regular pasta. You're getting more protein than a protein bar in your pasta. Protein helps speed recovery after exercise, and will help keep you fuller for longer.

It's all about balance. Regular pasta is mostly carbohydrates. Because Banza has more protein and more fiber, it has nearly half the net carbs as regular pasta.

Banza has more than four times as much fiber as regular pasta per serving. Eight grams is more fiber than a bowl of bran cereal.

Banza is free from gluten, grain, and soy ingredients. No wheat or rice in this baby!

And speaking of rice pasta ... well actually I'd prefer not to ...

Banza is an all natural product. Not a single genetically modified ingredient in sight!

No animals were harmed in the making of Banza. In fact, they weren't even involved!

Chickpeas work hard to keep your blood sugar levels stable, which helps control your appetite. Thanks, Chickpeas!

I often joke that training for a marathon is like being pregnant. Your body goes through these incredible changes and you get cravings. I've been craving macaroni salad but as my husband so poignantly pointed out to me...it has no nutritional value especially if you get it in the store. Imagine how delighted I was to find a recipe for macaroni salad right on their website along with incredible recipes that tell us how to Banza! Fortunately a box of elbow macaroni was included in my shipment.



Join the movement from pasta to chickpea pasta -- high protein pasta with all the flavor, none of the guilt and none of the "side effects" of eating regular pasta!

Less than a year after Banza's humble beginnings in Brian's Detroit kitchen, Banza is in over 1300 stores and has helped create twenty five manufacturing jobs in their home state of Michigan. If they can maintain their momentum, it won't be long before everyone is eating Banza instead of pasta. How's that for inspiration?

Visit their website and order your Banza shipment today or buy it at your local store. Then be sure to share on social media #howdoyoubanza @eatbanza on Twitter and show their Facebook page some love!



I chronicle the first 7 years of my healing odyssey in "Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing, Hope and Possibility" and continue the journey in "Journey Well." These two inspirational books that will motivate you and move you to tears along with my books of inspirational poetry are available on Amazon.

Do you know who that was? Yeah they're a runner!

When the words, "And I want to run the Boston Marathon" bypassed my brain and went from my soul to my mouth, I had no idea about the amazing community that awaited me. I was 53 years old, just coming out of a leg brace and had never run a day in my life. I started by running 30 seconds and then an hour; 1 mile became 3 became 6 became a half marathon and then a full marathon! What a journey!

Many times I've been on a run and people will call out to me. I know I have a strong presence on social media and in the running community as someone who inspires people and I am blessed, humbled and grateful to be able to bring that energy to the community. Often times I will know the person. Other times I won't have my glasses on or I just can't place who the person is and I smile and we run by. Sometimes Tom and I will look at each other and say, "Who was that?" And often the answer was, "I don't know."

But yesterday during our magnificent 7 mile run Tom and I had a different response to that question.

There were many runners out yesterday morning and we were all smiles and waves as we passed each other. There was one group of runners who seemed to know us as they shouted out, "Hey good morning," and I asked Tom, "Do you know who they are?" He said, "No." I was moved to say, "Yeah we do. They're a runner."

Being a runner is a great club to be a part of. There is a feeling of collective energy among the running community as we all train in our own way, at our own pace for whatever distance is right for us. There is an acceptance among the running community that says, "You are awesome because you are out here running."

So if you are a runner, and you happen to pass me on the roads, I'll know who you are just as you'll know who I am.

Yeah! We're runners!


I chronicle the first 7 years of my healing odyssey in "Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing, Hope and Possibility" and continue the journey in "Journey Well." These two inspirational books that will motivate you and move you to tears along with my books of inspirational poetry are available on Amazon.

My Running Chronicles: Seven Sweet and Sweaty Miles - Team McManus on the Road to the Bermuda Half Marathon

What makes the hard runs so great is that it makes the easier runs so much sweeter! Not that today's 7 miles was an easy run by any stretch of the imagination. Tom planned out our course which is one of his all time favorite 7 mile runs. Until today I hadn't been able to run this course with him! We'd been packing up the car and heading out to South Boston for our long runs and today decided to change it up. What an amazing feeling to walk out of our front door and go on a run. Yes we've done it a lot of times before but today's run felt like my first real long run ever.

Ever since I began to run in March of 2008, I fell in love with the sport. It was a huge struggle for me to run but as I built up my miles on the road to the Boston Marathon, I knew that running was and is my therapy, my medicine, my life saver.

While I have had some wonderful runs, I must say today was my best run ever-hands down...perhaps it was because the weather was cooler than we have run in the past few weeks. Perhaps I felt so much better in my body after having recovered from last week's fall. I also suspect it had a lot to do with the running affirmations I wrote and am reading and re-reading to reprogram myself away from believing that I deserve pain and punishment and having untoward things happen to me to knowing in every fiber of my being that I deserve to feel good in my body and to run unencumbered.

The course that Tom planned out for us took us from our home in Brookline to Jamaica Pond and through this beautiful path by the Muddy River. Being among trees, water, birds, geese and having my beloved tour guide share his joy that he felt while he ran it which was now multiplied because I was running unencumbered by his side.

There were moments when I was overcome by emotion feeling so deeply grateful for my life and our life together. As we came into the finish of our run, we once again imagined how it is going to feel on Front Street coming into the finish chute. I get goosebumps as I write this.

The miles seemed to literally fly by even though our overall time and pace was slower than last week because of the hills and more hills and oh did I mention there were hills on this run?

Part of the course was a loop around Jamaica Pond; my happy place where we spent many many many miles training for Boston in the fall and winter of 2008. I always think of Bill Rodgers when we run there because that is where he trained for Boston.

When we got home we refueled with an orange, I had my ice bath and then we thoroughly enjoyed burritos from Boloco. I opted for the chicken teriyaki with steamed carrots, brown rice and broccoli. I took a shower and was going to write my blog but I hit the wall and realized I needed a power nap. I stated my mantra, "My body recovers from long runs and workouts with ease." With a little help from a nap of course...

Our first sweet and sweaty miles (because of the humidity) since 2009....it all feels the same yet entirely different. That delicious feeling of being One with all that is on a run and feeling the sense of satisfaction after completing a long run remains. I know it's only going to get better and better as Team McManus travels on the road to the Bermuda Half Marathon.

Come Out And Play: Singing In The Rain

One night shortly after being diagnosed with post polio syndrome, I had a dream that I came out of my leg brace and was splashing around in the rain much like Gene Kelly did in Singing in the Rain.



When I woke up, I penned this poem:

Come Out and Play

Arms flung open wide dancing in the rain
pure abiding joy to feel alive again
healing tears fall and blend in God’s puddle
no time to sit in a corner and huddle
all the old rules driven by fears
washed away now by God’s loving tears
the imprint dad left no longer remains
rain washes away all of the stains
baptized with love, Truth lights my way
the sun shines through on this rainy day
splashing and laughing my heart opens wide
embracing and flowing I’m one with the tide
God takes my hand release the old way
bathe in my glory come out and play!

Yesterday I had a lunch date with my friend. I thought she was coming to my house; she thought we were meeting downtown. No matter...we decided that I'd go in town to meet her. As we prepared to say goodbye we saw the sky get dark. I didn't even know there was a chance of showers so did not bring my umbrella which I usually carry with me especially during summertime in Boston. She asked me if I had an umbrella as the rain started to come down.

"Nope. I'm gonna go run in the rain." We hugged goodbye and off I went.

Because I contracted paralytic polio at the age of 5, I never experienced the normal childhood pleasure of splashing in puddles. Throw in an abusive and alcoholic father that I reference in my poem, and my life was constricted and restricted.

But...as the saying goes:


Within the first 5 minutes, I was soaked to the skin. There was thunder and lightning. I ran under the awning of the buildings as best as I could and made a few stops but nothing was going to cramp my style yesterday!

I stopped in one doorway and a woman said that if she didn't have to be at work, she'd be out there with me. We were laughing together at the elements and enjoying this splendid display of the Divine. There was a mailman who was concerned about me. He wanted to give me a ride to my car which was still a block or so away but I knew from my work at the VA that he could get fired for doing so. We had a wonderful conversation and he offered me an empty plastic bucket from the post office to put over my head:



He told me to make sure that I tucked my phone away someplace safe and wished me well on my journey to my car.

I splashed through the deep puddles and felt my clothes stick to my skin as thunder and lightning crashed above me. I felt totally safe and protected feeling a profound connection to God.

I laughed out loud when I got to my car and turned on the defroster because the combination of the hot car with the downpours of rain caused the windows to completely fog up. My hair was soaked as was my pocket book and the backpack I was carrying. One of my journal notebooks that I brought with me in case I had to wait for my friend got ruined. I knew it was a sign that it was time to start a new one and leave everything that I had written in that one behind!

Within minutes the skies cleared.

I could have waited for the storm to pass but life isn't about waiting for the storms to pass but about singing and dancing in the rain.

That was the first time that I'd ever done anything like that in my life...somehow I have a feeling that it won't be the last!


"Come Out and Play" is included in my latest book of inspirational poetry, "Feel the Heal: An Anthology of Poems to Heal Your Life," available along with all of my books on Amazon.

My Running Chonicles:Freedom

I have experienced phantom leg pains in my left leg for as long as I could remember as a result of paralytic polio followed by repeated child sexual assault and then 5 major orthopedic surgeries.. I had learned to not focus on them and to certainly not turn up the volume when they happened.

During Saturday's training run, my mind was working through a lot of what came to the surface. Interestingly enough, when I hit the ground, something broke free within me and in my left leg. My first thought was, "Okay Universe do we really need to make it this dramatic and intense?" But then I knew in an instant the energetic connection to my past was severed!

I have had to work so hard to overcome all the challenges of the experiences of my past and my therapy, my medicine and my path to feeling free has been and continues to be through running. Yet I had repeatedly hit a wall in my running that I finally have been able to move beyond since being blessed by Dr. Ryan J. Means, a healer chiropractor who gave me so many tools to use to experience freedom, ease, strength and confidence in my body.

After a few days of wrestling with unfinished business from the past, taking a tumble on the pavement, getting up and running another 1.5 miles to complete our 6.5 mile training run for the Bermuda Half Marathon, I feel unbridled freedom and now know in every fiber of my being that I am ready to go the distance this time!

The Thoroughbred

A dark horse
dark past
finishing last
ready to quit
battered and bruised
a foal fouled
yet Spirit unbroken
a thoroughbred deep inside
despite appearances
all she needed was a chance
someone to believe in her
a horse whisperer
in the mist
amidst fog and foliage
she runs
breaking free
transformed
into the champion she was always meant to be.

From "Feel the Heal: An Anthology of Poems to Heal Your Life" available along with all of my books on Amazon.