It doesn't get easier - I get stronger!

I'm in the off season of any races while I recover from my 3rd consecutive Bermuda Half Marathon but that doesn't mean that I'm letting up on my training!

I'm noticing that I had to up my game in my home strength training routine because the workout was getting easier. The workout hadn't changed of course -- I'm getting stronger!

Such a miracle considering that 11 years ago I was diagnosed with Post-Polio Syndrome and told to prepare to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair. There was a paradigm being used to treat survivors of paralytic polio and other neuromuscular diseases that if you use it you will lose it. It's a paradigm that the patients are proving wrong. Polio survivors are accomplishing remarkable athletic feats. I refer you to Minda Dentler's recent Ted Talk and Diane Ngo's recent competition at the Working Wounded Games. Jimmy Choi and Bret Parker live with Parkinson's Disease. Jimmy took on American Ninja Warrior and Bret Parker, the World Marathon Challenge.

The paradigm for polio survivors and those living with neuromuscular disease did not take into account the miracle of how our bodies were made. There is an innate capacity for healing when we create the optimal environment to counter the effects of disease and harness the power of the mind to overcome challenges. I'm hoping that there is a shift in the medical community about allowing each person to determine their destiny rather than predict outcomes.

On Sunday, Tom and I went to the gym together to get in our cardio workout. I decided to work with my body to set the pace and intensity for my workout on the bike and see how I'd do.

Here are the results from a week ago:


and then on Sunday:


with a sweaty selfie of Team McManus after the workout:


Since I'm not training for any events right now, some might ask why am I working so hard? Why maintain this regimen?

My favorite response is just for the health of it. My training is also a metaphor for life. As Rocky said, "Ain't nothin gonna hit you harder than life...." Life and training doesn't get easier but I can measure my strength and resilience by looking at what I can do today that I couldn't do yesterday or a week ago or a decade ago; that I'm making different choices for how I live my life both on and off the roads.

I marvel at my progress, my strength, my resilience to keep coming back overcoming challenges after injuries or life stress and continue to make physical progress and evolve and grow spiritually.

The workouts, the bike, the runs, the challenges in life don't get easier -- I am blessed and grateful to say that I get stronger.


To your health and wellness
From my heart to yours,
Mary

Proud to be a part of Friends of Blue Diamond Athletic Displays, Inc. Be sure to visit us at Booth 758 during Boston Marathon Weekend.

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):