Celebrating Ten Years of Running: A Return to Wollaston Beach!

Given the stiff headwinds, the locked bathrooms, and the fact I forgot our post run bananas, we were about to abort the mission for yesterday's run on Wollaston Beach. But Spirit whispered through the wind.

Tom and I agreed to just do it!

It was a magical and mystical run.

We had not been to Wollaston Beach for a training run in quite a long time. We trained along Wollaston Beach and into Marina Bay for long runs on the road to the 2009 Boston Marathon.

I took my first very tentative steps along Wollaston Beach shortly after I began working with a personal trainer after being discharged from Spaulding Rehab's Outpatient Clinic following the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome. I was winded after only a short distance. I was wobbly on my legs like a foal.

The Thoroughbred from: "Feel the Heal: An Anthology of Poems to Heal Your Life"

A dark horse
dark past
finishing last
ready to quit
battered and bruised
a foal fouled
yet Spirit unbroken
a thoroughbred deep inside
despite appearances
all she needed was a chance
someone to believe in her
a horse whisperer
in the mist
amidst fog and foliage
she runs
breaking free
transformed
into the champion she was always meant to be.

The sidewalk and sea wall ahead of us were wet. We were curious as to how that happened since it wasn't raining!

It was high tide and the seas were churning from the tropical storms and hurricanes out in the Atlantic. The mighty waves hit the sea wall and splashed over it. The sun peeked out through the clouds and warmed us up as the salty sea spray kept us cool.

Seeing and smelling the briny air while we confronted the headwinds unleashed a sense of unbridled joy in facing the challenge of the elements.

We had been running in hot and humid temperatures or rain. The cooler temperatures were invigorating.

I had a sense of expansiveness and connection to all that is. My problems washed out with the waves out at sea and as the waves crashed up against the sea wall.

I kept an even pace consistently hitting that sub-18 minute/mile. A part of me felt frustrated that I am not back to my 15/16 minute/mile pace that I ran before training for 3 consecutive Bermuda Half Marathons but then I remembered where I was many years ago when I could barely walk along Wollaston Beach never mind run for 3.11 miles!

We experienced a runner's high after experiencing the beautiful views of Boston, running up a very steep hill and experiencing the vastness of Mother Nature.

After 3.11 miles, we were debating about where Tom should finish his 8 miles as he is training for the Bermuda Half Marathon.



I suggested we go to Carson Beach where the bathrooms would still be available and where the wind might be less intense. It's a very short ride from Wollaston to Carson Beach. The sun came out. The winds died down and Tom ran the remainder of his 5 miles to deposit in the Bank of Bermuda while I sat on the beach reading Billy Mills book, "Lessons of a Lakota."

When Tom returned from his 10 minute/mile run, I snapped these photos:


The second photo is Tom chasing a seagull.

I am thrilled that I ran 3 consecutive Bermuda Half Marathons and am focusing on the 5K distance and speed, especially when I take a look back and remember where I once was in my health and wellness journey.

I now have total faith in how far I can go ... with patience, persistence and finding exquisite joy in the journey!

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

My healing journey is going to be featured in David R. Hamilton's soon to be released book, "How Your Mind Can Heal Your Body." It's available for pre-order 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):

The cure for anything is....

I slogged through the first mile of yesterday's 5K run. The weather was perfect for a run. There was a headwind but it was sunny and cool. The vista of Boston Harbor is stunning. Running from Carson Beach to U.Mass Boston and back is a route we've run for the past 3 years training for the Bermuda Half Marathon and one we love to run. It seemed as though I had the weight of the world on my shoulders. I wondered if I would ever get back to a faster pace knowing full well that:



We passed by JFK's sailboat and people had paused to look at the boat and the accompanying plaque.

Tom and I decided to pause for a moment and take a photo and read the plaque that we had run by countless times.
“I really don't know why it is that all of us are so committed to the sea, except I think it's because in addition to the fact that the sea changes, and the light changes, and ships change, it's because we all came from the sea. And it is an interesting biological fact that all of us have in our veins the exact same percentage of salt in our blood that exists in the ocean, and, therefore, we have salt in our blood, in our sweat, in our tears. We are tied to the ocean. And when we go back to the sea - whether it is to sail or to watch it - we are going back from whence we came."

It helped me connect to something far greater than myself that is within me and all around me.

After the first mile, I knew I needed to get myself together on the run.

I cleared away the cobwebs of thoughts that were weighing me down.

I allowed myself to experience the expansiveness of the ocean and the infinite possibilities that exist reflecting on gratitude for my miraculous healing journey in the wake of childhood paralytic polio and trauma.

As I turned over my worries to the Universe, I felt lighter. The tightness in my chest released and I got very focused.

My pace went from 18:26 for mile 1 to 17:24 for mile 2 according to Tom's Garmin.

I felt a determination fire up in my soul as I get ready to run the 5th Annual Middlemiss Big Heart 5K Run, Walk, Roll on September 22.

It's an all pace race and I don't have to "worry" about my time. My goal after running Bermuda this year was to focus on shorter distances and my pace. My body has a lot of recovering to do after I challenged it to 3 consecutive half marathons in as many years and I honor that but I also feel passionate about not allowing external circumstances to impede my recovery efforts or stand between me and my goals. I felt compassion and self-love flow through me honoring the stress in our lives. I felt a shift within me and my pace picked up almost without effort.

When we finished our run


I felt transformed! I loved feeling the trickles of sweat that pooled in the small of my back and the sweat that mingled with tears of release and relief!

Tom looked at the pace of our final 1.1 miles - 17:11!!!

Talk about negative splits on a run but more than the time and the pace was a shift to feeling freedom and a renewed belief that I CAN set and achieve goals when I connect to Source.

I can trust in the process of recovery and I can allow myself to once again run free and unencumbered.

Feeling this fast pace ignited a sense of hope and joy within me as I cast out my troubles. I once again discovered that the cure for anything is saltwater, sweat, tears and the sea!

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

My healing journey is going to be featured in David R. Hamilton's soon to be released book, "How Your Mind Can Heal Your Body." It's available for pre-order 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 ****