Celebrating Ten Years of Running: I'm Now Off the Sidelines

Excerpt from "Running the Race", the first poem I penned after being diagnosed with Post-Polio Syndrome:
Using wheelchair to travel, set limits on what I could do,
resulted in joy to realize I could live life anew.
Celebrated my body- creaks, groans and need for a brace
While in my mind I focused on winning a 10K race.

Sought out paths for healing and my spirit flew free
for the first time in life, I could truly be me.
The chains are gone and possibilities abound
I'm a tree with my roots planted firmly in ground.

I'm now off the sidelines, no need to sit and whine
So much gratitude fills my heart and love and beauty shine.
After all these years I can join the loving human race
I exceed all expectations and now I set the pace.

I wrote that poem while I was using a wheelchair at times for mobility having been told to prepare to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair, using a leg brace and a cane to support mobility in the wake of childhood paralytic polio and violence at the hands of family members. Why then would I be writing a poem about running a race?

As Carl Jung said, "The unconscious prepares the way for the future," and my unconscious mind was expressing itself through my pen, my divining rod for healing. This poem foreshadowed my 2009 Boston Marathon and so many wonderful running adventures during these past 10 years.

After crossing the finish line of the 2018 Bermuda Half Marathon, I experienced a sense of completion and fullness in my running adventures for distance running. My body felt as though I needed to take a break after my 2nd consecutive Bermuda Half but I pushed the envelope after receiving an invitational entry from Race Director Anthony Raynor.

I am recovering well but know I need to take time off from racing given that I experienced hip, groin, and back issues as a result of the grueling training and pushing myself beyond my limits. It was worth it!

I get to be a spectator for awhile but unlike other times when I've been recovering on this amazing healing odyssey, I don't felt an itch and a drive to get back in the game. I no longer feel left out or feel that I am sidelined. I'm really excited to cheer on Tom and my friends as they run their races at their own paces which, at the moment, are much faster than mine.

I'm back to two runs a week and once the hip/groin pain completely resolve (the back issues are completely resolved) I'll begin to work on speed again.

Even though I will be a spectator at several upcoming races, I am off the sidelines - so filled with gratitude for all I have achieved and experienced and all I am yet to achieve and experience while relishing this time of recovery and healing.

I'm celebrating ten years of running and excited for what the next ten years will bring!

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 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):