We know that taper time can wreak havoc with us. The downshifting of energy to have lots in the tank on race day and allow the body to recover is a crucial time but that's when mind games can take over if we let them.
After a track and treadmill run last Saturday and a few treadmill runs since our last long run, my lower back felt tight and the soreness in my right hip worsened. I had a great session with my chiropractor on Wednesday that helped. Yesterday I realized that there was a powerful mental component to the pain and to how I was approaching race day. Tom and Ruth Anne were so understanding as I shared my fears and doubts and my tears about going the 13.1 distance again. I was tired and sore and just wanted to sit on the beach but how could I possibly miss the excitement and adventure of race day? How could I possibly settle for a life any less than the magnificent life I am meant to live. How could I not shine and how could I rob myself and Team McManus of our victory lap. By the time my last forkful of salmon was consumed, I was fired up and ready and so very excited for Bermuda Marathon Weekend 2018.
We had a wonderful Blessings of the Energy Centers meditation together and I had a wonderful night's sleep.
I felt energized this morning and despite some lingering back pain and hip soreness I know I am going to be great on race day. Running is my therapy and my medicine. I feel better when I run and I forget about all the aches and pains in my body because I am focused on the beautiful world outside of myself. My body heals when I run outdoors. So that's the irony of taper time; while it's a time to recover and heal and is vital to the training process, the down side is that I lose out on the benefits of running.
I had the most remarkable experience while in the shower this morning. I was just being in the present moment feeling blessed by the hot water and knowing that healing has already happened. I am poised and ready to go the distance on 1/14/18. And then, I felt the presence of the physiatrist I had when I was recovering from paralytic polio, Dr. Eugene Moskowitz.
He was a physician ahead of his time ... by the way I still have no idea how I was able to find this when I was writing my memoir, "Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing, Hope and Possibility" (well I do ... I know Spirit led me to it) but it was a beautiful mystical finding:
The Westchester Post-Polio Group is grateful to Dr. Eugene Moskowitz (Letters to the Editor, March 3) for providing the public with a concrete demonstration of the negative and patronizing attitude many of us have encountered from physicians. If Dr. Moskowitz finds ''no reason to suspect deterioration in the nerve cells in the spinal cords,'' we suggest that he read ''Proceedings From the First Annual Symposium on the Late Effects of Poliomyelitis,'' in which highly respected members of his own profession advance excellent medical arguments and research reports in support of exactly that theory.
Here is what my beloved Dr. Moskowitz wrote in responsee:
Caution and Hope On Polio 'Signs'
Published: March 3, 1985
I read with interest the article entitled ''A Group for Polio Survivors Who Have New Symptoms'' (Feb. 10).
Having supervised the rehabilitation of poliomyelitis patients at Grasslands Hospital during the epidemics of the 50's and 60's, probably including the ''then'' infants mentioned in the article, I would like to add a word of caution and even hope as an afterthought.
Firstly, there is no reason to suspect deterioration in the nerve cells in the spinal cord. After 30 years, one must accept some loss of endurance, increased fatigue and even some discomfort induced by other unrelated medical problems. This is true in the athlete with repeated injuries, in the obese person with back problems and even in the jogger with foot ailments.
Any individual with paralytic disability in an extremity will experience the normal process of ''wear and tear'' except that it may be more difficult to adjust to it. Just as one learned to compensate for the initial impairment so must one adjust to the later, more subtle changes rather than develop an emotional hangup of being a ''polio victim.''
EUGENE MOSKOWITZ, M.D. Mount Vernon
I remembered how he would have me bend over and touch my toes and run his healing hand along my spinal cord and across my lower back. When I got out of the shower I bent over and touched my toes and felt a surge of healing energy go through me. I am going for the gold of healing the effects of paralytic polio followed by enduring 9 years of violence at the hands of family members and am so deeply grateful for the love and support that surrounds.
Yes indeed the Universe does have my back.
On Thursday Team McManus boards Delta FL 561 for Bermuda. It's the first time in 10 years that we return together to the Island and it's our first endurance race since we ran Boston in 2009. The last time Ruth Anne and I were together in Bermuda I was wearing a toe up leg brace
and Ruth Anne pushed me in a wheelchair around the airport.
Our Bermuda runcation is going to be a daring adventure as we leave the pain of the past behind and celebrate life!
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):
No comments:
Post a Comment