Camp Hyannis 2016 - Race Day - Redemption Weekend

I set my alarm for 7:00am but pre race jitters woke me up at 6:00am. I meditated as Tom slept soundly. I focused on creating a wonderful race day for Team McManus. Paul Collyer, Event Director called this weekend Redemption Weekend after needing to cancel the race last year due to over 100" of snow and a major storm right before the weekend. I let the words redemption weekend sink into my soul. I reminded myself that everything I needed would be provided for me and told myself to trust that the course will be well marked. I dismissed an image of Tom and me being at the back of the pack with everyone taking off and leaving us alone to find our way. I wanted to drive the course on Saturday and we ended up driving only half of it because we had trouble reading the map and following the roads in the car. Tom reassured me that he would bring the map with him and we would take a left instead of a right and complete the entire course!

The day began in quiet and then I heard footsteps in the hall and on the floor above us. It was like a beautiful symphony and the crescendo was building throughout the Resort and Conference Center until it was time to run!

I opened up the curtains and saw this beautiful scene:


Tom and I did our plank, crunches and clams and meditated.

I channeled my nervous energy into getting everything ready for race day - a day I waited for for the last 5 years and one I didn't know would ever happen again.

We went to the lobby and there was no line at the coffee shop in the lobby. We ate slowly and I learned my lesson from Bermuda that I needed to relax and take my time with breakfast allowing plenty of time for digestion before gun time. I was excited to meet up with one of my dear friends, Jane Lewis Brown who is training for her first full marathon in Sugarloaf. She inspires me with her faith, grit and determination. She asked me to get a Hyannis coffee cup souvenir for her at the Expo on Saturday. Bea D'Angelo and Caitlin Doherty, two of our dear L Street Running Club friends asked if we would register them for the half marathon on Saturday and we would meet up Sunday before the race. They arrived with two more members of our running club. We went to our room and everyone used the bathroom (a very short wait compared to the portapotties or the restrooms in the lobby).

As we were getting ready to head downstairs I took a moment to thank Bea, Caitlin, Carla and Kathleen and of course Tom, my partner on and off the roads for all of their love and support. I got emotional as I shared with them how incredible I felt to be running Hyannis again surrounded by my running family. Carla was so loving and tender as she made sure I had everything I needed for race day, hugged me and said God bless you. A little over a year ago at this time I was told that I would not and should not run over 5 miles and that I was looking at a total knee replacement in a couple of years. The physiatrist at Spaulding Rehab wanted me to go through the post polio clinic again to see where I might need additional support and services. But instead I had run the 2016 Bermuda Half Marathon and was now poised to toe the starting line of the 2016 Hyannis 10K.

They went off to drop things off in their car and we said we'd meet up at the start. We found out via Facebook that there was more of an L Street contingency at the Expo.

We took a selfie with our L Streeters:


One of my dear friends, Jennifer Falcone Kelly found me and we took this selfie:



While we were hanging out with the L Streeters, Tom yells out, "Hey Bermuda," and we saw one of the women who we met in Bermuda. We met her first at the Bermuda Race Expo and then again at the Bermuda Airport. She told us at the airport that she had seen us cross the finish line at the Bermuda Half Marathon hands held high and how inspired she was by our run. We are now friends on Facebook.

Team McManus also received a wonderful loving hug and send off by Dawn of Wag Your Tail where all the magic began for the 2016 Hyannis Weekend.

It was time to warm up at the start where Bill Rodgers was also warming up.

I asked him if I could get a picture with him at the start. He has this amazing way of speaking softly with such love and care about the sport of running and being supportive of me as a runner. While Tom was taking the picture he said, "Stay steady. And stay steady with those treatments of yours. They're working."



"Well I'm going to continue to move because it's cold out here."

Tom and I took our traditional Team McManus selfie at the start:


Caitlin and crew found us at the 12:00 minute/mile mark where Tom and I decided we would start our race. Caitlin snapped this starting line runfie:


How could you not take a moment to chat with these three about their bGood costumes:


They shared with us that they are running for the bGood Family Foundation.

We all started together at the 12:00 minute/mile pace - my dream pace. Everyone was cheering us as the music blared and one face stood out in the crowd. Jacqueline Hansen jumped up and down and screamed, "Go Mary and Tom!" The energy of Bill Rodgers and Jacqueline Hansen, Boston Marathon champions was with me.

The first mile marker came up really fast and I said to Tom, "Wow this feels really easy." He reminded me about what Boston Marathon Champion Jack Fultz said that you divide your race and the first third of the race, whatever the distance should always feel slow and easy. "If you feel as though you are going too slowly, you are running at the correct pace." I usually struggle at the beginning of a race but not this one!

I told Tom that I was not going to look back because I am not running that way. Instead I looked in front of me and there was a woman race walking. We caught up to her and started a conversation. I shared my journey with her and she told us about her health and fitness journey. We stayed together for the first two miles or so. No worries about their not being course monitors and signs pointing us along the course...or the water stop not being there. Everything was in place to support us on our way.

We were out on a beautiful stretch of the course and I could feel my pace picking up. Tom had his TomTom on and told me I was doing about a 15:30 pace. I was ecstatic and felt so good in my body. At one point, as had happened in Bermuda, my right knee tweaked and I wondered if I had to dial back my pace but I harnessed the power of my mind and the energy cleared. We were following Geoffrey Smith's advice of running from the inside out. It was rather daring of me to run as my body wanted to run rather than from some external dictates about our racing plan. Actually my racing plan was to take Geoffrey Smith's advice and have fun out there and take Bill Rodgers advice and celebrate.

And in the distance Jacqueline Hansen comes along the course. The expanse of ocean was to our left and this beautiful woman comes up on our right. She stopped me to give me a hug. She whispered in my ear," Run with all your heart."

I felt she was my fairy godmother and I was Cinderella being told, "You will go to the ball."

You see growing up as a survivor of paralytic polio I was always the outcast. When it came to gym I was "easy out Alper" (my maiden name). I was bullied and teased and even struggled with my identity as a runner when I first started running....

After Jacqueline's hug I felt something ignite within me. My pace picked up and a woman behind us said, "Excuse me...is this the right course for the 10K." We told her it was and laughed and shared with her my fear about losing our way on the course. She asked if she could run with us. She was supposed to run the half but had an injury and was running the 10K course but wouldn't cross the finish line. I had the opportunity to share my journey with her and she asked me when the book was coming out. Coincidentally she had run Bermuda several years earlier. We took in the beautiful views of the course and shared our memories of running Bermuda.

Suddenly mile 5 was upon us. I had not stopped for 5 miles. I slowed down to take water and have a half of a Luna bar at mile 2 (when our bodies told us we needed to refuel) but I was running non stop for 5 miles! I knew that I needed to take a brief pause remembering that our bodies can reset in as little as 30 seconds. I hydrated and knew I wanted to run the last 1.2 miles strong.

I had in my head that I wanted to break 1:40 for my 10K. Since my return to the roads I was running about a 16:33 pace on anything above a 5K. When we joined the marathoners and half marathoners on the course, something broke free within me. I was running with the pack! I had a lot left in the tank and I was leaving nothing out on the roads. Usually at this point in a race I can push hard but it's a struggle to push hard. I remembered how I felt going for a PR at the 2014 Tufts 10K. There was nothing in the tank and it was sheer will power to push for that PR. On Sunday there was pure joy in my running. I felt so different in my body. It was more than just finishing a race; I was racing this race competing against myself seeing just what I could do.

I cried as we came toward the finish and there was this huge crowd with cowbells -- oh I need to add here that the course monitors were amazing with cowbell and high fives to cheer us on - cheering everyone into the finish. Paul was there calling out my name saying just say to the left. He was there when I finished my first half marathon in 2009 in Hyannis and for my running comeback at the Charles River Run in June of 2010 and when I PR'ed his Jingle Bell Run in December of 2010. He has always been a cheerleader and champion of my journey.

Tom and I held hands high as we crossed the finish line. I knew it had taken us a good 4 minutes or so to cross the starting line and the finisher's clock said 1:43 but whatever our time would be the 2016 Hyannis 10K was my redemption race and it without a doubt my best time ever!



To be continued....
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!

#tbt Hyannis Marathon, Half Marathon, 10K and Relay: It's So Much More Than a Race

For the past four out of six years, Team McManus made the pilgrimage over the Sagamore Bridge in the middle of February to travel to what we affectionately call Camp Hyannis for the Hyannis Marathon, Half Marathon, 10K and Relay.

In 2009 I emailed Paul Collyer, the race director, letting him know this was my first half marathon and that I was running with the late effects of paralytic polio. He reassured me that because there was also the full marathon happening at the same time, that I only needed to finish in under 6 hours.

The Expo and the pre-race pasta dinner was our introduction into the wonderful world of running or as Dick Beardsley said at last year's pre-race pasta dinner, "Running is a fantastic sport! In fact, many of the stories we runners tell have nothing to do with our races on the road but of the bonds that we as a running community share."

It was the beginning of friendships with people who are now like family.

In 2009 we met running greats Boston Billy Rodgers and Frank Shorter:


I shared my journey with Bill and Frank. When I came back into the ballroom after completing the half I was shivering and a little dehydrated having ditched my fueling and racing plan for the last several miles. It started sleeting and we just wanted to finish. Frank signed my bib and put both of his hands on my upper arms, looked me straight in the eye and said, "I know you are going to finish the Boston Marathon." He told me to have the hot soup that the 99 Restaurant has for runners in the ballroom and hydrate.

The apres race spread includes bagels, peanut butter, water, fruit, soup and rolls from the 99 restaurant. In recent years, Paul has added a post race celebration in one of the function rooms at the Hyannis Resort and Conference Center.

While waiting to talk with Frank Shorter and have him sign my poster, I met Ric Beaudoin. It was one of those not so chance meetings that sparked the beginning of a wonderful friendship not only with Ric but with two great running Clubs, L Street and the Merrimack Valley Striders who also make the pilgrimmage to Camp Hyannis. We don't see people throughout the year but when we gather at the Hyannis Resort and Conference Center, it's as though no time has passed.

Here we are at "our table" in 2011 when I ran the 10K with my friend, Deb Doiron who I met through her husband, Tim in 2009. Tim and I met on line through the "Just Finish" community and found each other in person in Hyannis in 2009:


Tom ran the half in 2011 recovering from a gastroc tear injury as he had his sights set on Boston running for Children's Hospital. Hyannis is a great training run for Boston which is what drew us to the race in 2009. It's also a Boston Qualifier and an opportunity to put a relay team together and enjoy the thrill of running as part of a team. These days, Boston Billy runs as part of a medley team and is part of the Friday night fun run out of Hanlon shoes followed by a gathering at Palio Pizzeria. It's a time for beer, pizza and story telling.

In 2010 I was recovering from my 2009 Boston Marathon run and had to take a running hiatus. Paul generously donated a table at the Expo for me to share the work of Spaulding, Rotary's End Polio Now campaign and to sell my poetry book. I donated a portion of the proceeds to Spaulding:


Tom and Tim ran the 10K that year:


And in 2010, Frank and Bill signed my Boston Marathon bib. Hyannis set the stage for my Boston Marathon run and gave me the confidence I needed to go the distance. Here are my signed bib, singlet, medal, picture of me crossing the 2009 Boston Marathon finish line, our Race for Rehab team book, and a copy of the Cape Cod Times from 2009 where I had my 15 seconds of fame:

"Mary McManus, 55, of Brookline completed her first half-marathon after making a remarkable recovery from a life-long battle against post-polio syndrome.

She spent time at the Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital and began running just last February. She competed in her first race in June 2008, finishing a 5K.

"It's like having a new lease on life," said McManus, who ran yesterday's half-marathon with husband Tom. "I was limping my way through life, but then decided to do something about it."



Through the years Paul has brought in running legends to educate and entertain us and for meet and greets with the greats.

Here we are with Dick Hoyt:


Here are Jack Fultz winner of the 1976 Boston Marathon and ultramarathoner Jimmy Garcia who were the guests in 2011:


We had the opportunity to ooh and aah over Jimmy's ultra bling:


Last year's pre-race pasta dinner brought together Boston Billy and Dick Beardsley who came in 2nd to Alberto Salazar in a duel in the sun:


We were invited to celebrate as Spaulding Race for Rehab alumni at the 586 Bistro and Bar. It was great to connect with our former teammates and encourage last year's runners as they trained for Boston.


It was a perfect weather day and a beautiful weekend.



The energy and excitement was palpable as we came together as a community that is Boston Stronger. Tom was on pace to PR but he came across members of the Race for Rehab team who were struggling through their first half marathon race. He got them safely to the finish line and gave them pointers for the rest of their training as well as tips for running Boston.

Everyone was eager and excited to return to Hyannis this year.

There was a feeding frenzy on Facebook about who was going, where are you staying, when are you coming down, how long you down for ... but all of that came to a halt when Mother Nature had other plans for Camp Hyannis this year.

Paul worked every which way but loose trying to make this year's Hyannis weekend happen. He had told me that last year registration was low but this year, he brought back the 10K and was at 90% registration for the race. When the storm hit last weekend, already tenuous conditions became unsafe for runners, for volunteers and for everyone involved in the race. Hyannis ran out of sand and salt.

The Facebook feed turned from excitement to anxiously waiting word on whether or not the race weekend could go on to sadness.

Team McManus has many treasured memories of Camp Hyannis from our first half marathon race ever, to PR'ing the 2011 10K with Deb to making new friends and having annual reunions and to being able to meet and greet the running greats. While I feel sad that there will be no Camp Hyannis this year, I'll take some time this weekend poring over my photos and treasured memories from Hyannis Marathon, Half Marathon, 10K and Relay weekend where it IS so much more than a race. Thank you to Paul Collyer for creating this truly unique racing and running experience and for all you did to try to make this year's race happen.

See you in 2016!

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.