During these past 11 years of healing my life from the effects of childhood paralytic polio and trauma and well life in general, running has been a constant source of therapy for me. Whether I'm pushing my pace to get a PR or going the distance as an endurance runner or running "just for the health of it" as I am now, running nourishes my mind, body and soul.
When life gets stressful as inevitably it will, running provides a focus to give me that push to get out of bed in the morning and get moving.
Saturday was a perfect day to head to the beach and run. As Tom and I ran along William Day Boulevard in South Boston, we reflected on our training for the past 3 years for the Bermuda Half Marathon. I must admit, it was a treat to only do the distance of a 5K and enjoy breathing in the salty air, feeling the sea breeze and the sun on my face and experiencing the expansiveness of the ocean.
Without pushing my pace, I had the "best time" and the best time on a run in a very long while. My hip and groin issue are healing. By continuing to do the 5K distance and running from the inside out, I send my body a message of healing instead of focusing on what was injured. It's always a blessing to have unplugged time with Tom where we say we "solve the problems of the world" on a run.
This morning when the alarm went off at 6:30am, Tom and I were both feeling tired and recovering from a recent major stressful situation in our lives. Did we feel like going on a run? Not so much - at least not at that early hour. We did our 20 minute meditation and with our sights on our morning run, we did our core work, had a banana and water and headed out our front door.
Tom commented that I was going pretty fast. I reassured him that I wasn't pushing my pace but listening to what my body could do and wanted to do. We were going to run twice around the small reservoir but I was feeling once around the big Reservoir as we like to call it aka the Cleveland Circle Reservoir. It was a gorgeous Spring morning and, as one runner said when she passed us, "This is why we live in New England, right?"
Our friends the turtles were out once again sunning themselves on the rocks and the trees were bursting with leaves. Purple and yellow wildflowers dotted the landscape.
I felt at One with all that is; troubles faded away in the dawn of a new day, the ripples of the water in the Reservoir and with the hope that comes with Springtime in New England.
My pace was incredible with running from the inside out and having no goals or expectations for the run. I took two minutes off of Saturday's run. It's great to feel the freedom of moving in my body especially after the diagnosis I received 11 years ago of a progressive neuromuscular disease.
Celebrating ten years of running, I am deeply grateful and blessed for the gift of running in my life.
Running is my therapy!
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):
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