Runcation time is getting close. The suitcases are out of the closet. We have started to check things off on our list of things to pack. This time next week it will be time to check in for our flight. I'm using this time to let my body rest and recover from the months of grueling training for our Bermuda Half Marathon happening a week from Sunday! Race weekend kicks off a week from Friday.
My body is already embracing warm temperatures and gentle ocean breezes having nothing to do but read, relax, spend time with friends and prepare my mental game for 13.1 on 1/14/18.
I talked about topping off the tank as we neared the end of our physical training.
From now until race day, I'll be topping off the tank of my mental preparation.
I imagine the course and experiencing all the sights, scents and sounds that are Bermuda Marathon Weekend. I love the crowing of the roosters, the expanse of farm land, the ocean vistas with pink sand and being cheered on by the locals. I get emotional just thinking about it!
I imagine Tom, Ruth Anne and I experiencing this wonderful adventure together - from the countdown to Bermuda and feeling incredibly satisfied with what we have already accomplished to the finish line.
As often happens during a taper, doubts can creep in from those old programs and every ache and pain gets magnified as gun time gets closer.
I take pause and realize all the healing I have co-created with the Divine.
Let's start with what happened after I was diagnosed with Post-Polio Syndrome and told I'd spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair. I got still and asked for Divine Guidance. The answers came in the form of poetry. Even though I had never run a day in my life I wrote the poem, "Running the Race" that foreshadowed my 2009 Boston Marathon run.
Poetry poured out of me imagining myself as running unencumbered and free feeling happy, healthy and whole. Gratitude was a central theme throughout my poetry; grateful for the lessons and the challenges and gratitude for the blessings and grace in my life. I called my pen my divining rod for healing.
Three years ago in December of 2014, I suffered a very serious knee injury. My running days, I was told, were over and I would need a total knee replacement in a few years. I was invited to return to the Post Polio Clinic for a reevaluation and to see what services they could offer me. Thank you for letting me know what I needed to heal. No thank you for the invitation to return to Western Medicine.
Because of the powerful intentions I set forth in my poetry, I was led to a healer chiropractor, Dr. Ryan J. Means who introduced me to the work of Dr. Joe Dispenza. His work reminded me of everything I already knew about the power of the mind to heal the body and I was able to heal bone spurs in my knee, grow a new gastroc muscle and heal cartilage and went on to run 2 Bermuda Half marathons and now I am trained for my 3rd in as many years. But being able to do and accomplish going the distance on the roads is secondary to being able to heal mind, body and soul from the effects of paralytic polio and trauma.
I am taking my healing to a whole new level. On July 4th last year I ended a relationship pattern that had been going on in my relationships with the so-called healers in my life. It was at once exhilarating to experience the freedom and terrifying and uncomfortable to let go. What would happen? What would flow into my life? I'm still sifting and sorting the connections I made right after I ended that relationship and seeing what and who I want to have as part of my life for 2018 now coming from a place of worthiness. I'm very curious to see what happens next.
I've been doing Dr. Joe's meditation The Blessing of the Energy Centers every evening. My mind, body and soul crave that time and if I wake up in the early morning before the alarm goes off, I love spending that time connecting with the Divine. Tom and I always begin our day with a meditation. I journal throughout the day when inspiration and insight come to me. I'm writing poetry again and reading Dr. Joe's book, "Becoming Supernatural: How Common People Are Doing the Uncommon." I'll be writing "The Adventures of Runnergirl1953" after Bermuda.
So here I am....approaching runcation time with mindfulness and excitement letting my body rest and recover as Team McManus heads to Bermuda one week from tomorrow!
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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