We had a delightful ride back to the hotel with a female cab driver. Since Front Street was closed, we enjoyed going through neighborhoods we ordinarily wouldn't get to see in Bermuda.
We were greeted like royalty by the Bell staff as our taxi pulled up to the hotel.
We went directly to Wicketts proudly wearing our bling and chose the foods that were going to help us refuel after our triumphant 2018 Bermuda Half Marathon run. We ate by the pool and enjoyed the sunshine.
I knew I needed to get into the pool to begin my recovery from 9 months of training and 13.1 miles filled with smiles and hills. It was a bit of a challenge to change my clothes and get into my bathing suit but getting into the pool was well worth the effort. Ruth Anne and I headed to the pool while Tom relaxed in the room watching football.
We were too tired for the after party and decided to go to Boundary, the Sports Bar and Grille on the grounds of the Fairmont for dinner. Wings and salads were the order of the day. With football in the background when we got back to our room, we began packing up the room to get ready for our Tuesday departure. I fell asleep in the middle of our meditation which I rarely do and had the deepest sleep I'd had in a very long time.
It was a full on breakfast buffet on Monday morning for Team McManus celebrating our victory. I became fast friends with the omelette bar chef Keavin who cooked my over easy eggs to perfection. Food always tastes so wonderful after accomplishing a major goal. After breakfast we headed to the beach. The weather forecast called for rain and we had plans to head into Hamilton to do shopping in the afternoon. We wanted to get in one more beach day!
Ruth Anne body surfed and relished being in the water on January 15th! I was incredibly sore but knew that a walk on the beach and salt water would be the cure for anything!
"Congratulations on your run!" a woman called out to us.
"Thank you!" I said curious about how she knew we ran on Sunday.
I walked over to her. "I'm the one who said you should receive the Team Family Award."
Shawna Jones was waiting for her friend to finish her marathon challenge and decided to cheer the runners into the finish line. She finished 10th overall in the challenge! I thought she was a volunteer. We had an incredibly emotional conversation that blessed our weekend and affirmed what we had accomplished as Team McManus - on the roads and in our lives.
Shawna's friend Madeline is very active in the fitness world and has a lot of followers on Instagram. She asked if it would be okay to share our story to inspire others! We hugged goodbye and wished them safe travels home. It is truly amazing how fast friendships are forged in the running world.
We took showers, continued to pack and changed into going shopping and out for dinner clothes in Hamilton but first one more lunch at Jasmine. Their crispy fried snapper makes my mouth water just thinking about it (and you don't believe in a mind body connection?!)
"Hey - I'm your new Facebook friend. I run with the Mystics. What's it been like two years since we met in Hyannis?"
Erik Cann was referring to an encounter that I wrote about in Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance:
"Oh my God it's a sign!" One woman stopped dead in her tracks as she picked up my Bermuda Half Marathon medal and said, "We were just talking about the Bermuda Marathon and wanting to run it." I shared my story with her and her group of Mystic Runners from Wakefield, Massachusetts. The energy was absolutely electric and synergy and synchronicity were happening all around!
We became Facebook friends through another Mystic who knew he was going to run in Bermuda. She teased him about going without the Mystics. Erik explained that he found this group of runners who were sharing a house and he decided to just do it.
We posed for this photo together:
For many years, we stayed at The Rosedon Hotel when we went to Bermuda.
"Shavaughn is that you?" Ruth Anne asked the person at the Bell desk one day.
Indeed it was! Shavaughn and Ruth Anne were like brother and sister whenever we visited the Island. He left the hospitality industry and went into retail and just recently came back to hospitality and is working at the Fairmont. What are the chances? We told him that we wanted to go into Hamilton for shopping and dinner. He hooked us up with a great driver who offered to pick us up after dinner. We arranged for a 7pm pick up at La Trattoria. When we went to make our reservation at La Trattoria where the driver dropped us off, we found out that they were closed for the evening due to a private party. Now what would we do....
We did what every Bermuda tourist does - we went shopping for souvenirs. What fun we had going into different shops and finding gifts that were just perfect for family and friends. I hadn't shopped with Ruth Anne in Hamilton Bermuda in 10 years! What an amazing journey.
Bermuda is even Bermudaful in the rain as Ruth Anne captured the beauty in these photos in Hamilton and a view from the balcony from our room:
I was feeling tired and sore. We went to the Hamilton Princess to sit down and decide where we were going to go for dinner. Part of me wanted to go back to our hotel but we had no way of contacting our driver. Ruth Anne suggested we go to the Lobster Pot!
The Lobster Pot held such special memories for us with the service we always received from one of the Island's star hospitality couples, Eva and Ronnie. Even though they left the Island several years ago, their legacy lives on. The hostess remembered them and spent some time chatting with us while we were waiting for our food. The service was impeccable and the food absolutely incredible! Ruth Anne had crab legs, I had a crab meat stuffed salmon and Tom had their signature rockfish. The Lobster Pot has no on line presence and has not changed in 40 years! It was such a comfort to experience the warmth of this Bermuda institution that has had no need to change in four decades.
"After all we've been through," Ruth Anne commented. "I can't believe we're here!" Neither could I! My 11 year healing odyssey from the effects of paralytic polio and trauma after being diagnosed with Post Polio Syndrome, a progressive neuromuscular disease and Ruth Anne's three year journey healing severe depression and PTSD. Ruth Anne bought a maroon Lobster Pot t-shirt. Years ago she had a well worn and loved orange shirt. It was definitely time for a new one.
On our walk back to outside La Trattoria, we took this photo of a wintry scene Bermuda style in 70 degree weather:
As promised, our driver arrived right on time and drove us back to our hotel for one more night and one more morning of our Bermuda Marathon Weekend adventure.
To be continued....
To going the distance with strength and courage
From my heart to yours
Mary
Proud to be a part of Friends of Blue Diamond Athletic Displays, Inc.
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):
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