Going the Distance: "The Adventures of Runnergirl1953"

Tom and Ruth Anne have been encouraging me to write another book.


On a recent training run, the inspiration came to us that my next book needs to be a lighter look at my running career focusing on the redemptive power of running in my life. There are many back stories that need to be compiled and shared sprinkled with inspirational running quotes that have fueled my journey. In "The Adventures of Runnergirl1953," I'll briefly take you back to when I contracted paralytic polio and the champions from my youth, to the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome and becoming inspired to run the race of a lifetime - the 2009 Boston Marathon! I'll share stories from those early races and never before told stories around my Boston Marathon run.

I'll weave together running triumphs and the major setback of a serious knee injury in December of 2014 that was supposed to sideline me for the rest of my days.

And then it will be onto my running comeback of a lifetime - Bermuda Marathon Weekend followed by the Hyannis 10K, training for and completing my 2nd Bermuda Half Marathon 2017 and moving forward to Bermuda Half Marathon and Hyannis 10K 2018.

In my previous memoirs, I focused on the people and modalities that were helping me to achieve my goals. In "The Adventures of Runnergirl1953," the spotlight will be on me with the theme of the power of the Spirit and what happens when we harness ourselves to the Source of all that is!

I love writing my books in real time. Through the power of my pen, I am actually creating my future.

By taking a look back, I inspire myself with all that I've already accomplished during these past 10 years since the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome, a progressive neuromuscular disease by Western Medicine Standards, and, because I will be chronicling our road to a threepeat of the Bermuda Half Marathon, I'm setting myself up for success while sharing the joys and struggles that accompany training for any endurance event. Writing is my therapy, my passion and my joy!

Facebook reminds me that this time last year I was writing "Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance."

It's time to begin once again with a blank page. Every finish line is a starting line.

I'm so very excited to go the distance as I write the next chapters of my life!

Go the distance with strength and courage!
~Mary

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):

Run Bermuda! Run Happy! Sweet and Sweaty..and then Soaked 7 Miles and the Cheers of a Village!

As I was stretching last night, Ruth Anne snapped this photo of me and wrote this caption on Facebook:
Hey All this is Ruth Anne here. My mum is ready to rock and roll for 7 miles! Please send your warm vibes and wishes for tomorrow's run! #highjackacellphone


We were absolutely floored by the likes and comments that followed!

I was taken back to when we ran the 2009 Boston Marathon and everyone would cheer us on in social media. It makes such a difference when you feel the energy of your village fueling your training runs.

Seven miles is another milestone on the road to the Bermuda Marathon Weekend. We are more than halfway the distance for the Half Marathon.

My village knows that while I have experienced miraculous healing from the effects of paralytic polio and trauma, defying the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome, a progressive neuromuscular disease by Western Medicine Standards, it's a challenge for me to go the 13.1 distance.

While I've run two previous Bermuda Half Marathons, going the distance for a threepeat continues to challenge me.

That's what's so awesome about our sport of running. No matter the pace or the distance, everyone honors and respects the challenge that is individual to each person.

What a thrill to fall asleep last night to the well wishes of so many and also being able to wish them well on their training runs.

We got up early this morning knowing that there was a chance of thunderstorms and we wanted to get our run in outside!

It was hot and humid as we went out our front door, with water we froze, banana, luna bars and our Nike+ set to 7 miles! Ruth Anne suggested that we do an out the door and around the Reservoir route just in case we did not beat the rain and we could finish back at our house or if we needed shelter.

Fortunately there was shade and a few moments of breezes as we ran around the Chestnut Hill Reservoir. Three abreast in stride we ran reviewing our week, sharing our dreams and goals and experiencing the anticipation of Bermuda Marathon Weekend. I began to review the course mile by mile.



We found our rhythm and our pace running, as is so important, from the inside out paying attention to what we need given the conditions of the day. That's why these are called training runs! We are figuring out fueling and hydration and training in all sorts of weather.

As we approached the 6.4 mile mark, we felt gentle raindrops that soon turned into a deluge. "At least it's not thundering and lightning," I said. There's a funny line from the West Wing where Toby says to Sam, "Do you want to tempt the wrath from whatever from high atop the thing?"



Tom quickly reminded me of that line and we hoped that we would make it to the end of our run without thunder and lightning.

We quickened our pace as we were soaked to the skin and finished our sweet, sweaty and soaked 7 miles:


Stretching, ice baths, refueling with sandwiches, fruit and sparkling water and power naps are our new post run recovery routine.

We checked into Facebook and shared our sense of accomplishment .... one more training run closer to the starting line of the Bermuda Half Marathon in January of 2018 and Team McManus is feeling fine!

Go the distance with strength and courage!
~Mary

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):

Going the Distance:! December Milestones and a Time to Celebrate Healing!

Ten years ago on December 6th I sat down at a round table at Spaulding Rehab's International Rehab Center for Polio and Post Polio with a physiatrist, a physical therapist, an occupational therapist and a speech and language therapist to talk about my diagnosis, prognosis and treatment plan. I had 7 tubes of blood drawn and been through extensive testing because the diagnosis of post polio syndrome is a diagnosis of exclusion meaning that everything else had to be ruled out before a definitive diagnosis could be made. Things looked rather grim for me. I was told to quit my award winning job as a VA social worker, go on social security disability, adapt our Cape house, be prepared to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair possibly needing a feeding tube at some point because of the sluggishness of the left side of my esophagus and to get a sleep apnea machine because of my compromised respiratory system.

In February of 2007, I got still and asked for Divine Guidance and my pen became my Divining Rod for healing as I imagined myself as healthy and whole even Running the Race. I was blessed with a physical therapist at Spaulding's Downtown Clinic who refused to treat me like a polio survivor. She supported me in my transition from work to retirement and shared in the joy of my new found passion of writing poetry.

Here I am in December of 2007:


I went on to run the 2009 Boston Marathon;


and recovered after going into outpatient physical therapy at Newton Wellesley Hospital under the guidance of Dr. El-Abd who I affectionately called my master magician of a spine specialist and ran race after race in 2010-2011 until my nephew's suicide stopped me cold.

I returned to the roads in 2013 and it was a slow, tortuous process of getting back into running. I willed myself to heal and partnered with less than optimal body workers.

I was an injury waiting to happen and in December 2014, my left knee blew out. The MRI results were not pretty. Once again I was told what was happening in my body and what I needed to do to avoid further damage with the prospect of needing a total knee replacement in a few years. Don't run but we know you will so cap the distance at 3-5 miles.

The powerful intentions I set forth in my poetry set the wheels in motion in the Universe to deliver me to Dr. Ryan Means, a chiropractor healer.

My memoir, "Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing, Hope and Possibility," available on Amazon chronicles the first 7 years on my healing journey working to heal the adverse effects of paralytic polio followed by 9 years of neglect and more abuse than any person should ever have to endure.

The soon to be released, "Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance," chronicles my transformation and the miracle of my healing from 2014 through my running of the Bermuda Half Marathon and the Hyannis 10K earlier this year. I am deeply grateful to Dr. Ryan for being there to get me back on my healing path, turning me onto the work of Dr. Joe Dispenza and for reminding me to set goals not limits.

In 46 days Team McManus toes the starting line of the 2017 Bermuda Half Marathon. In 44 days Tom will begin his Bermuda Triangle Half Challenge with the Front St. Mile, the Bermuda 10K and the Half with me on Sunday. What a weekend it's going to be this year!

I have overcome so many incredible obstacles.


And now I am poised and ready to take on the 2017 Bermuda Half Marathon....4 more long runs and then taper time. Besides the beautiful course, the hospitality and warmth of the Island of Bermuda this beauty waits for me after I cross the finish line:


Ten years ago.... two years ago.... cross roads and crises that led me to this moment in my life.

This December along with my 63rd birthday on December 25th I will celebrate my milestones in healing.

To your health and wellness,
~Mary

Going the Distance: On Coming Home, Courage, Patience and Persistence

It's that time of year when everyone starts counting down to the Boston Marathon. Less than 40 days to go until April 18th when the Red Sox play ball and thousands and thousands of runners make the journey from Hopkinton to Boston. It happens every year and moves me to reminisce about my journey and my 2009 Boston Marathon run.

By all appearances there is no way I should have been able to run the Boston Marathon. I remember the day I set that goal for myself. From "Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing Hope and Possibility:" (available on Amazon)

At my six-month evaluation in February, I had dramatically improved in every area of the assessment. I had come out of my leg brace and I knew that I was on a healing path. Janine asked me what my next health and fitness goals were.
“Well I want to feel free in my body. I want to dance. I want to be able to walk outside and feel unencumbered when I take a walk.”

Janine wrote feverishly and we worked out a plan. She gathered up her belongings and had her hand on the door knob.

“Wait. I have one more goal.”

Janine stopped and turned around.

“I want to run the Boston Marathon for Spaulding Rehab Hospital. I know they have a Race for Rehab team and I want to do it next year.”

Janine was non-plussed. I don’t know what kept her from turning tail and getting as far away from me as she could. She came back into my house and put down her things. She said that the first thing I would need is a pair of running shoes. She told me that Marathon Sports on Beacon Street would be able to help me. She laid out a cursory training plan and said that we would begin indoors to build up my cardio endurance. As soon as the weather got a little warmer, we’d go outdoors and I would learn how to run.

What had I just done?

After running the marathon I took the winter off from running. I worked with a physical therapist at Newton Wellesley Hospital Spine Center and by June of 2010 I was ready to run again. I had an incredible run until March of 2011 when my nephew's suicide threw me into a tailspin. Old habits reared their head. I stopped running and it wasn't until the One Run in the wake of 4/15/13 that I was able to find my way back to the roads.

I could not get traction with my healing and in December of 2014, a serious knee injury gave me a wonderful wake up call. My fiery Spirit and my courage would not take what the medical community and even my previous massage therapist were telling me. "Take it easy." "Well if you need a total knee you'll just have to learn to accept that." "What do you expect? You're a polio survivor."

Because of the intentions I had set through the power of my pen, my divining rod for healing as I wrote poems about reclaiming my life and running unencumbered (and my breath caught when I realized I set that intention back in February of 2008) and free the Universe led me to my partners for healing to go the distance in my healing journey.

When my left knee and leg barked at me on last Saturday's four miler, unlike the last time I have been able to manage the discomfort with ice, advil and cross training. Unlike the uncertainty I felt after my knee flared in December of 2014 and I agonized about whether or not I would ever return to the roads, I have total confidence in my training plan to heal this beautiful leg of mine that is vulnerable to injury.



I realize that I was conditioned to pain and prone to injury given the circumstances of my childhood. But now I have the tools I need to "recondition my body to a new mind," as Dr. Joe Dispenza describes the process.

I am deeply grateful that I had such incredible races in Bermuda and Hyannis and so grateful for all the healing I have experienced right now in this moment. This is another opportunity for me to gain strength and confidence in my body's resilience and my remarkable ability to heal. However just like the professional athletes do, I am using this time to build up core strength and cross train and strength train with renewed vigor and commitment.

I need to be kind and compassionate with myself on this journey experiencing deep appreciation for what my physical body has been through. But all the darkness, the evil, the pain and suffering is no match for the light and power of Divine Love.

So thank you to Petey Silveira and New Pathway For Healing's Facebook post to remind me:
Be easy
take your time
you are coming home
to yourself.

To your health and wellness!
Mary

Hyannis 2016 Ready

Two weeks from today Team McManus will be running the Hyannis 10K. So what's the big deal you may ask? Team McManus ran the Bermuda Half Marathon on January 17th.



It's not about the distance and it won't be about the time although we plan on having the best time yet in Hyannis.

It's about momentum. It's about health and wellness and it's about reclaiming my life.

For the first time since having been diagnosed with post polio syndrome, "a progressive neuromuscular disease" in December of 2006 which in fact was a result of damage from the polio virus and trauma being stuck in the very fiber of my body and being, I am feeling wonderful. I am running AND strength training.

Hyannis holds such special memories for us.

It was my first half marathon race in February of 2009. I was blessed to meet Bill Rodgers and Frank Shorter and experience the love and support from champions for my Boston Marathon journey. It was my first bling:



In 2011, my friend Deborah Doiron and I ran the 10K and Tom ran the half training for Boston. You can read all about it in Camp Hyannis.

We reunited with Dick Hoyt at the Expo and I bought a copy of his book:


I met Jack Fultz for the first time:


and got to see Jimmy Garcia's ultramarathon bling collection:


I had a great run that year despite the slush under my feet and huge snow flakes falling down. The scene of the golf course outside our window when we woke up:


Race director Paul Collyer did away with the 10K for a few years and I cheered on Tom at the half in 2014. It was a difficult year for me to be on the sidelines in Hyannis. I had those old familiar yet very uncomfortable feelings of being left behind.

Last year the race was cancelled due to extreme weather conditions but my head was in a good place to experience the joy of Camp Hyannis even though I had no prospects of getting back on the roads.

If you were to ask me this time last year if I would be running in Hyannis again I would have told you no way. I had yet to meet the people who would be the game changers in my healing journey. I knew I wanted to run again but didn't dare imagine that I could run beyond a 5K or maybe a 5 miler distance given the results of the MRI in December of 2014.

But as my dear friend and sole sister Nicole Berglund wrote on Facebook today, "I also am so amazed to see what Mary has accomplished. In this modern world with doctors and technology there are some things you can't explain. I've learned how much stronger the mind is than the body."

I am able to harness the power of my mind and imagination to go the distance in my healing journey.

While I ran in cold temperatures training for the 2009 Boston Marathon, I opted to train indoors on the treadmill yesterday. I did a 10K. I am amazed at how resilient my body is; how after running a half on 1/17, I am ready to run a 10K in two weeks. I'll taper now but continue to train strong in my cross training and strength training. I've got a lot of distance to cover in building strength and healing and a lot of time to make up for.

I am thoroughly enjoying the journey and the sense of triumph over my past.

Team McManus is Hyannis 2016. Bring on the adventure! Time to make new memories in Hyannis!

Throwback Thursday - Why I Ran the 2009 Boston Marathon for Spaulding Rehab Hospital

Did you ever have a moment when words fell out of your mouth before you had time to process what you just said and you knew once they were out of your mouth you couldn't take them back? Well of course you could but I knew I couldn't. I knew that something was burning deep in my soul to dare to try something I'd never done before - to run - and not to go out for a little jog mind you but to take on the 2009 Boston Marathon.

From my memoir, "Coming Home:A Memoir of Healing, Hope and Possibility"...After being discharged from outpatient care at Spaulding Rehab Hospital, I hired a personal trainer to see if we could build on the work that was begun at Spaulding.

"After our session, I felt muscles I had no idea existed in my body. I remember barely being able to get up after our plane landed. Despite the pain, I knew that I was on the right path. I decided that if I were going to hurt, I may as well hurt on the side of getting healthy. I had to believe in my body’s capacity for healing. I had to have faith. As I went through the rigors of personal training, there were moments of incredible doubt. During those times, Janine held enough faith for the two of us.

At my six-month evaluation in February, I had dramatically improved in every area of the assessment. I had come out of my leg brace and I knew that I was on a healing path. Janine asked me what my next health and fitness goals were.
“Well I want to feel free in my body. I want to dance. I want to be able to walk outside and feel unencumbered when I take a walk.”

Janine wrote feverishly and we worked out a plan. She gathered up her belongings and had her hand on the door knob.

“Wait. I have one more goal.”

Janine stopped and turned around.

“I want to run the Boston Marathon for Spaulding Rehab Hospital. I know they have a Race for Rehab team and I want to do it next year.”

Janine was non-plussed. I don’t know what kept her from turning tail and getting as far away from me as she could. She came back into my house and put down her things. She said that the first thing I would need is a pair of running shoes. She told me that Marathon Sports on Beacon Street would be able to help me. She laid out a cursory training plan and said that we would begin indoors to build up my cardio endurance. As soon as the weather got a little warmer, we’d go outdoors and I would learn how to run.

What had I just done?"



The Development Team at Spaulding suggested that this year's Race for Rehab team and alumni make a video about why they ran and to support the 2015 Race for Rehab team:





They say the person who finishes a marathon is not the same person who started a marathon. During those 14 months of training I dug deep mind, body and Spirit to go the distance on the roads and with fundraising. I left so much of my story out on the roads and when I crossed that finish line it was indeed a moment of redemption. It was a moment that was not just for me though. I took incredible satisfaction knowing that we had raised $10,535 for Spaulding Rehab where I took those first, frightening and overwhelming steps on my journey in December of 2006 when I had no idea what my future held for me - if I had a future.

From my memoir:

The buzzing hum from the fluorescent lights echoed the buzzing in my nervous system. I sat waiting for my first appointment at the post polio clinic at the IRCP. My complexion was as white as the paper that covered the exam table. I felt as fragile and vulnerable as that piece of paper that gets ripped off and tossed away after the exam. Every inch of my body hurt. I was exhausted. I was sick and tired of feeling sick and tired. I hadn’t really cared whether or not I woke up in the morning but I had a husband and twins that needed me. Ironically enough I was at the peak of my career as a VA social worker. I couldn’t sleep. I felt depressed. My award-winning career as a social worker at the Department of Veterans Affairs no longer fueled my soul. Somewhere deep inside of me there was a feeling that there had to be a way out of the hell I was living in.

Experiencing the compassion and care from my team at Spaulding, I felt a glimmer of hope...and in February of 2007 as I sat in a leg brace, using a wheelchair at times for mobility, I got still and this poem flowed out of me which foreshadowed my 2009 Boston Marathon run:
Running the Race
Early summer 1959 my kindergarten year
everyone around me filled with nervous fear
despite the Salk vaccine hope polio would disappear
the polio virus crept right up and knocked me in the rear.

Dancing all around the gym feeling free just like a bird
I dropped to the ground just like a stone and no one said a word.
The pain it was so searing-the diagnosis even worse
"It's polio" the doctor said...he was abrupt and terse.

Called one of the 'lucky ones' I had a 'mild case'
but with the other athletes I could never keep their pace.
Miss Holly physical therapist,curly hair and a warm, broad smile
It tempered the pain of being apart - to walk I'd take awhile.

I always wore those 'special' shoes the kids they poked and teased
With no support and much abuse with childhood I wasn't pleased.
But put nose to the grindstone and learned all that I could
I couldn't kick a ball but my grades were always good.

Years went by and no more thought to polio did I give
I accepted the limp and everything else and decided my life I would live.
But symptoms of weakness and muscle pain did grow
I kept a stoic face hoping no one else would know.

Life no longer was my own I struggled through each day
suffered in silence, isolated from friends-trying to keep depression at bay.
And with the grace of glorious God my world it opened wide
I discovered there was a Post Polio team and they were on my side.

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.



You can support Spaulding's Race for Rehab team on their Crowdrise Fundraising page.

Journey well!

"Journey Well" and all of my inspirational books are available on Amazon.

"Journey Well" is a book about resilience, strength, courage and how we are able to journey well no matter what conditions life hands to us. I profile the people who are Boston Stronger and share how 4/15/13 was a wake up call to me to return to my healing path from contracting paralytic polio at age 5 and 9 years of domestic violence as a child and adolescent.