Monday morning the 6:00am alarm went off. There was a hint of daylight through the shades. Our cat Jamie jumped on the bed and snuggled in close. I set the alarm for 6:20 to begin the day with our morning meditation. My body felt sluggish. I continue my recovery from the trauma of our daughter's recent psychiatric crisis and hospitalization from last week and the ongoing exhaustion of watching her self-destructive behaviors. I know that no matter how I may be feeling before a run, after a run I feel refreshed and renewed ready to take on a new day.
Tom and I took deep breaths as we descended the stairs appreciating the spaciousness of our home without our daughter's presence. We did our core work out, had a banana and hydrated and opened the door to breathe in the cool clean crisp air.
It was 28 degrees with frost on the newly fallen leaves and patches of ice on the ground. We started off with a slow and easy pace as Tom continues to recover from his knee injury and once we got to the Reservoir, we ended up doing negative splits.
We passed a runner who we hadn't seen in a long time. We smiled and greeted each other with a tip of the hat kind of motion. During our last lap around the Reservoir we wished each other a good day. We don't know each others' names. All we know is we are runners and:
There are spectacular sights to see with the dawn of a new day and we stopped to take photos:
Running is our sacred time together. We unplug, breathe deeply in nature, raise our heart rates rather than our blood pressure in response to life's stress and leave the stress out on the road with every foot strike. We savor the sights and sensations of the dawn of a new day and fill ourselves with hope and possibility.
One of these days I should take a before and after run selfie to see what a difference a run makes:
It's amazing to celebrate ten years of running! I honestly do not know what I did before I discovered the gift of running in my life....oh yeah .... yes I do....I got sick and was given the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome, a progressive neuromuscular disease. But all that is in the rear view mirror now.
We put on the kettle for coffee and oatmeal, popped in our quinoa bread toast, poured the juice and gave thanks for another great run in which we were able to leave the stress on the road.
To your health and wellness
From my heart to yours
Mary
My healing journey using the power of visualization is featured in David R. Hamilton's book, "How Your Mind Can Heal Your Body-Anniversary Edition." It's available on Amazon.
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:
Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance (With a Foreword by Jacqueline Hansen):
***Coming Soon - The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953***
The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953 takes you on Mary McManus’ healing odyssey from a wheelchair to the finish line of the 2009 Boston Marathon and beyond. After the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome in December 2006, Mary got still and asked for Divine Guidance. She harnessed the power of her mind to heal her body, feverishly writing poetry in which she imagined herself healthy, whole and free from the shackles of her youth. Mary’s quest to heal her life led her to the sport of running that tested her mettle while fueling her journey of transformation from a survivor of childhood paralytic polio and severe trauma at the hands of family members to a woman who embodies faith, grace under fire, courage, determination, endurance and resilience. Running became a way of life for Mary. As you’ll discover in “The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953” nothing, not even a serious knee injury in December of 2014 could stop her on the roads or in her life. Mary’s story is one that will leave you cheering for the underdog and discovering the meaning of different ability as Mary overcame every challenge that life presented to her.
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