The alarm went off on Tuesday morning. Tom and I set the meditation timer for 20 minutes. I could feel the heat and humidity in mind and body. I had a wonderful meditation setting my intentions for the day, feeling the love and peace in our home and reminding myself that everything is rewired; everything is healed. A part of me wanted to go back to sleep for another hour or two at least but it was time to get up and greet the day.
The heat made our plank challenging this morning and I'd also done a kick ass workout in the pool at WaveHealth yesterday. I wanted to cave literally and figuratively but instead I used my breath knowing that I am going the distance and nothing can stop me now. 2:20 plank done.
We decided to go downstairs where it was cooler to do our 50 crunches and 10 weighted clams.
Hydration, a piece of toast and a banana; don the running clothes and lace up the running shoes and out the door we go.
I suggested to Tom that we take a different route that would give us more shade. It would also give us more hills but that was the trade off.
It would have been easy to have taken an easy 3 miles and not done speed work given the heat and humidity but something was fired up inside of me and I wanted to do what we planned to do for our training run. During my meditation I practiced my mantra: I run unencumbered. I run swift. I run a 12:00 minute mile. I told Tom after we ended our meditation that I wanted to do a 14:00 minute mile today.
Tom looked at me and said, "You run unencumbered. You run swift. You run a 14:00 minute mile."
I felt the magic in my running shoes to sweep away any doubts in my ability to run and run swift.
First mile had a downhill and then a fairly long uphill. We took a water break at mile 1 with a split of 15:38.
We totally improvised our route as we went along going into the back roads near the Brookline Country Club; a beautiful scenic shaded route with rolling hills and beautiful flowers. I pushed my pace and ran a 15:11 second mile although I sprinted at the end and Tom caught a glimpse on my Nike+ of a 12:14 pace.
We stopped at mile 2 for another water stop. Sweat was pouring off of me and I noticed something quite remarkable.
When I run in the heat, my body used to overheat fairly quickly and I'd feel this heat behind my face through my forehead. The thermostat had been tampered with by the polio virus. But today, even though it was easily one of the hotter and more humid days we ran in, instead of feeling that overheating sensation, I poured sweat. My thermostat is fixed!!!
I felt strong, confident and unstoppable feeling the heal in every fiber of my being.
Our 3rd mile began with a downhill and I took every advantage of it knowing that we had a huge uphill to finish our run.
I couldn't talk while we ran; a sure sign that I was leaving nothing on the roads yesterday morning.
I dug deep. I knew that every step I took was bringing me one step closer to resounding success in the Bermuda Half Marathon in January. We took one quick water stop before surging up the hill to our finish.
My pace - 14:18 - a negative 53' split!
My plank was shaky. I was tired and it was hot and humid. Yet once I laced up my running shoes, I felt the magic. And I felt the power of the mantra, "I AM the Placebo," from the works of Dr. Joe Dispenza.
And I felt the total love and intention from my partner in life and on the roads as he ran and sweated with me side by side and stride by stride to achieve an overall pace of 15:07 today with hills, heat and humidity.
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.
I chronicle the first 7 years of my healing journey after being diagnosed with post polio syndrome, a progressive neuromuscular disease as a survivor of childhood paralytic polio and 9 years of childhood domestic violence in Coming Home:A Memoir of Healing, Hope and Possibility.
"Feel the Heal: An Anthology of Poems," my latest collection of inspirational poetry is now available soon on Amazon
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