Run Bermuda! Run Happy! I surprised myself....Running and Training With Heart

Another week of training is in the books on the road to Bermuda Marathon Weekend.

What a week it has been!

On Day 1, we miscalculated the mileage for our long run. Tom was quite adamant about the fact that since we were ahead of our mileage from last year's training schedule that we repeat 8.5 miles on Saturday. Ruth Anne and I were totally on board with that. However we had an epic do the math failure and ended up doing almost 9 miles!

I surprised myself with my reaction. I didn't get angry or frustrated nor did Team McManus have a meltdown as we've been known to do on long runs. Even though my body was tired and I would have much preferred to end the run at 8.5 miles, I surprised myself with my ability to turn off my mind and run with my heart.

From the Foreword of Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance by Jacqueline Hansen:
You will not encounter a more positive person than Mary, despite all the challenges she has endured in life.

Try to imagine what it must have been like to be diagnosed with paralytic polio as a child. Try to imagine suffering child abuse at the hands of those very family members who are charged with your upbringing. Try to imagine them together. It’s unbearable to think about. Then imagine surviving the unthinkable, and in adulthood being diagnosed with Post-Polio Syndrome. This is a story that needs to be told. This is a story of challenge, of resiliency, and a story of heart, tremendous heart.

I am fond of using the word “heart.” When coaching young athletes, which I have done my entire adult life, I often tell them to “run with heart.” As I explain to them, I can coach them on skills, on running form, on race strategy, on everything to do with their running, except I cannot create “heart.” This is something that only they can produce from within. I go on to say that “you have to want this (running or racing) more than I do – more than I want it for you.” “Always run with heart.” I am here to tell you that Mary McManus always runs with all her heart.

I was blessed to meet Jacqi at the 2016 Hyannis Marathon Weekend. She came out on the course to greet me as I ran the 10K. She gave me a hug and whispered in my ear, "Run with all your heart."

On Day 2, we cross trained at Boston Sports Club. In the past I would have backed off from my cross training in the pool. I surprised myself the morning after.

I surprised myself to realize that it's not just about putting in the miles, it's now about going the distance on my health and wellness journey. Training for a threepeat of the Bermuda Half Marathon is the goal that I'm using to inspire me to train 5 days a week!

On Monday morning, I surprised myself with how much energy and determination I had for our Monday Morning workout! Team McManus had a great rhythm with how we did our circuit of strength training. We are becoming efficient and motivated and inspired with each workout we accomplish.

On Tuesday mornings, Ruth Anne and Tom do a 5 miler at their own pace working on their pace. They have their sights set on the Hartford Marathon in 2018. It's my day to cross train with the Arc Trainer and Bike at the gym. I really surprised myself as, rather than maintain my pace on the equipment matching Tom and Ruth Anne's 5 and a little more miles, I put in a sweaty 5.6 miles getting my heart rate up to 130-140!

Yesterday was day 5/5 for Team McManus and we run together doing a tempo run twice around the small Reservoir near where we live and then down the street on which we live. Given the previous 4 days of intense training I surprised myself with a -1.01 split between mile 1 and mile 2. I felt so much joy running free and discovering that yes, indeed, even when training for a half marathon, fartleks can be fun!



It's easy to still hear the voices of the naysayers who predicted my future after the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome, a progressive neuromuscular disease and then proclaimed the end of my running career in December of 2014 after a serious knee injury. It's easy for me to talk myself out of testing the limits of what I can do being afraid of an injury or my body breaking down again.

I've learned through this incredible journey of the past 10+ years that when I run with God and when I run and train with heart, all things are possible.



It's now two days of rest and recovery relishing what I've accomplished, how I surprised myself and getting ready to begin the training cycle all over again on Saturday.

Hmmmm I wonder what surprises are in store for next week!

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):

Favorite Runner Quotes and The Power of Endurance

"There is something magical about running; after a certain distance, it transcends the body. Then a bit further, it transcends the mind. A bit further yet, and what you have before you, laid bare, is the soul." - Kristin Armstrong







This past week has been an intense and stressful week with transitions, changes and many demands all around. I reflected on the metaphor between running and life, and felt overwhelming gratitude that I am an endurance runner. The power of endurance has served me well this past week.

As an endurance runner, I know that I always have a little more in the tank than I think I do. I can always push myself knowing that there are less strenuous miles ahead. Next week with the Fourth of July holiday and a strenuous transition behind me, it is going to be a much easier week. I'm looking forward to sharing a cup of tea with a dear friend, going for a chiropractic adjustment to counter the stress I have been experiencing and my dear friend and healer, Dr. Ryan J. Means is going to be in Boston on leave from his job in China.

It would be easy to wish away the "stressful" miles and just get to next week but the tough miles in life or on the roads are the miles where our mettle is tested; the time when my strength, my fortitude and my very soul are refined like the gold in the crucible.

As Jacqueline Hansen wrote in the Foreword of my book, "Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance":

Eleanor Roosevelt once said “Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.”

I have found this to be true throughout my life. I have also found that I am attracted to strong women friends, who are strong willed, strong minded, with lots of endurance. At least once a day I must tell myself, “thank goodness I’m a marathoner.” I am guessing that Mary McManus tells herself the same thing. She is certainly someone who has left indelible footprints in my heart. I have rarely met anyone with so many life-threatening challenges who portrays such an onward thinking attitude.

In fact, another Eleanor Roosevelt quotation reminds me of Mary: “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”

Tomorrow is Friday! These past 10 days or so have been a marathon in my life in their own right. With my favorite runner quotes, and my power of endurance, I see the finish line and easier miles on the horizon. I am so grateful for all the lessons and blessings of the challenges of these past 10 days and look forward to moving forward!

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):

Celebrating 10 Years of Healing: The Gift of Running Part V

The gift of running is the gift that keeps on giving!

It's a gift I give to myself every time I lace up my running shoes and go out for a run. It's the gift of health and wellness and the gift of challenging myself; of being One with nature and testing myself out in the elements. It's the joy in the journey of preparing to get to a starting line and the sheer exhilaration of racing and crossing a finish line.

Running is a sport like no other where you can get up close and personal with running greats.

I had the privilege of meeting Bart Yasso during Bermuda Race Weekend and here in Boston and Tom ran part of the Bermuda Triangle Half Challenge 10K with Bart:


Bill Rodgers and Frank Shorter signed my 2009 Boston Marathon bib. They have been so supportive of my running journey whenever our paths have crossed through the years:


And I was blessed to meet Jacqueline Hansen at the Hyannis Marathon Weekend in 2016:


She touched my heart in this moment during the Hyannis 10K - from "Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance":
In the distance a figure came toward us. The expanse of ocean was to our left and this beautiful woman came 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." It was Jacqueline! 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” and those words were seared into me. I was bullied and teased and struggled with my identity as a runner when I first started running....
After Jaqi'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, several years earlier, she had run Bermuda. 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 how Jeffrey {my muscular therapist} told me 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.

And Jacqui wrote the Foreword to my book, "Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance"!

There are moments and friendships to last a lifetime that I will continue to share as I share my running chronicles and adventures as I continue to go the distance on the roads and in my life.

For today, I leave you with this precious memory that happened on Heartbreak Hill during the 2009 Boston Marathon.

From "Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing, Hope and Possibility":
At mile 20, there was Dom, our team trainer. He had tears in his eyes as he embraced Team McManus. He put his hands on my shoulders and said, 'you're gonna qualify - go finish. I'm so proud of you. Go get your medal'

As a mobility impaired runner, I was on pace to finish to qualify for the Boston Marathon. Back then a finish under 8 hours meant that I was qualified to run Boston again. However, one time would be enough!

On May 25th, I will celebrate my 10 year anniversary of when I left my award winning career as a VA social worker to "heal my life." I had no idea that the gift of running would become a part of my life nor that I would be able to go the distance again after a serious knee injury in December of 2014. I am deeply grateful to Dr. Ryan J. Means, my earth angel healer chiropractor who came into my life at precisely the right moment to get me back on my healing path.

Here's to the next 10 years!

To going 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):


Mary McManus, MSW knew challenges since she was five years old beginning with contracting polio followed by enduring nine years of violence at the hands of family members. Those early challenges prepared her for taking on the challenge of the diagnosis of post polio syndrome, a progressive neuromuscular disease in December 2006 when she was at the height of her award winning career as a social worker at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Asking for Divine Guidance as she had throughout her trials and tribulations, she discovered the gift of poetry in her soul. Her first poem, “Running the Race,” foreshadowed her 2009 Boston Marathon run. “Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance,” chronicles Mary’s journey as a survivor of paralytic polio and trauma, as a runner and a woman who refused to quit. Eight years after her diagnosis, she was finally led to two healers, a chiropractor and a muscular therapist, who helped her reclaim her life and go the distance, a woman transformed who embodies the power of endurance.

Going the Distance: Bermuda Half Marathon Race Report: Part II - Running with Heart

I posted a picture on Facebook that I was rereading Jacqueline Hansen's book, "A Long Time Coming," to inspire me for race day. "A perfect way to manage taper time... reading about inspirational pioneers in women's running. Poignant since Joan Benoit Samuelson is running this weekend! It's my second reading and must say it's even more enjoyable the second time around!"


Jacqueline, who has been gracious enough to write the Foreword to my soon to be released book, "Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance," posted, "Thank you Mary! I loved that Joanie wrote my foreward, and now I have written yours.❤ Have a good race, stay the course and, as always, run with heart. Love, JQ"

I replied, "Will do."

Little did I know how much I would have to run with all my heart to get me to the finish line after the "wheels came off the wagon," one of my favorite Aaron Sorkinisms.

Shortly after mile 11, we met a volunteer out on the course. He could see that I was struggling and got right in my face and said with his rich Bermudian accent, "The race is not for those who are swift. The race is for those who can endure. You're the winner. You can do this. Now go finish!" He was preaching and infusing me with strength and positive energy. I reassured him that I was going to finish the race set before me.

Last year they did not have a mile 12 mile marker and it didn't matter because I was sailing through the final miles of the race. We knew we were coming close to the finish. This year I was so grateful to see Mile 12. The question was not would I make it to the finish line but how. I had to accept the fact that for whatever reason I could not straighten up and was leaning to my left side. My left arm was in some kind of spasm. I had lost muscle control over my upper body. We stopped and stretched every which way I could think of to get relief and hydrated.

"Are you okay? Do you need water?" a beautiful runner said with a delightful English accent.

"No we have enough water...I'm stretching trying to work out cramps. Thank you."

As we turned the corner I welcomed the downhill heading into Front Street. One foot in front of the other was all I could think about. At the wall in front of the Rosedon Hotel, a spot where I felt incredible triumph last year, I felt that I was losing control over my body and Tom supported me from collapsing. I dumped water on my head, took a big gulp of water and pulled myself together. I had to block out the trigger that was happening inside of me about the day I collapsed in gym class after contracting paralytic polio at age 5. I brought myself back to the present. Tom had the brilliant idea of having me put my arm around his shoulder and he braced my hip to give me support while I powered on.

"Come on. Put your arm around me. I'm going to help you."

It was the angel from mile 12.

She could tell I was stunned. "They did it for me when I cramped up in Chicago and Phila actually. It's okay. Let me know if you want me to go lower or higher."



I powered up Bermudiana Road and then down Bermudiana Road...the final hill!

I just kept saying thank you amidst the conversation we were having to keep me distracted from what was happening in my body and to keep me focused on my single minded goal to cross that finish line.

"I'm going to step aside right before the finisher's chute so I'm not in your finish photo," this angel said to me.

I was never so happy to see a finish chute in my life! As we had planned and visualized so many times, Tom and I held hands high with a huge smile on our faces to celebrate that I ran my second CONSECUTIVE Bermuda Half Marathon. It wasn't pretty but I got it done and only took about 20 minutes more time than my time last year.



As soon as we crossed, I was greeted by medical tent volunteers. "Come in here and let us check you out," they said. Tom insisted! "Wait where are our medals?" Tom said he'd go see about them and came back to tell me that they ran out! My first thought from days gone by was I was too slow and missed out but we found out that a shipment of medals had disappeared and never arrived in Bermuda. I think they must have gotten lost in the Bermuda Triangle.

Tom had forgotten his wallet to pay for brunch back at the hotel so while I was being attended to, he ran back to the Rosedon to get the wallet. He bumped into our friends Diane and John from our running Club and asked where I was. When they heard I was in the medical tent, they asked if they should come see me. Tom said they didn't have to but true to runner's code and running family they came to see me. As soon as I sat down on the cot, I felt everything release. I was amazed at how I was not frightened about what happened and had total confidence in my body's ability to make a rapid and complete recovery.


Vitals were fine including blood sugar and one of the EMT's told me that I had fueled and hydrated well based on how well I was recovering given how I looked coming into the finish.

Diane and John were incredibly supportive and I asked if we could take a finisher's photo and borrow their medals. Without hesitation they said of course!

One of the Bermudians, Natalie, with whom I became good friends on Facebook saw me after I left the medical tent and asked me how I was. Word travels fast on that little island of Bermuda.

Our after the medical tent celebration photos with Natalie and Tim, Team McManus with Team Jannetti, and Team McManus (taken by Diane Jannetti) :


My angel, Jamie-Lee Wright, came back to see us and check in with me. She had a stellar running comeback at the Triangle Half Challenge after 6 months of not running due to an injury and training for 6 weeks prior to race weekend. After she PR'ed her half she went back to her house which is along the race course to cheer on a friend running the full marathon. He was struggling and she ran him to the finish. It was after she helped him to cross the finish line that she came to find us to help me finish!



I can look upon my race experience as something that can happen to all runners; hitting the wall, cramping up and the body just shuts down.

The Bermuda Half Marathon happening as it had became a profound mystical experience for me.

The fear that I could collapse again and have no control over my body happened, and, instead of the experience crushing me, I was able to dig deep and move beyond it as a 63 year old woman. The deep wounds of having been bullied and teased and left behind while I was left to try to catch up with my peers lugging a hip to ankle heavy metal brace was Divinely transformed as Jamie-Lee came to find me, support me, reassure me and care for me as one's dearest loved one would do. I went from being an outcast in gym class known as "Easy out Alper" (my maiden name) to a woman celebrated and honored for being a source of inspiration for so many.

After the race, it was time to celebrate!

To be continued....

To your health and wellness,
Mary

Going thee Distance: Pre-Race Report: The Hazelwood 5K Run

With the Bermuda Half Marathon 2017 on the horizon, I was not planning on running another race.

Until Jacqueline Hansen posted this on Facebook:
Kudos to my colleague Geoffrey Smith for saving the historical Hazelwood Women's 5K in New Bedford, MA from extinction. As well, there will be a separate men's only race. Pretty unique.
Check out their website and FB page for more information.

I'd seen Geoff's post about the race on Facebook but dismissed the possibility of running the race because of my training for Bermuda but after seeing Jaqi's post, I was moved to email my friend and race director Geoff Smith to see if it was an all paces race. Geoff immediately responded that it was!

The Hazelwood Women's 5K is one of the longest-running women's road races in the country.

It is a celebration of women and their participation in running.

The timing is exquisite as yesterday marked 32 years since Joan Benoit Samuelson won Gold at the 1984 Olympics and as the Olympic Games in Rio had their opening ceremony.

Joan's Olympic Marathon run was, as Jaqi eloquently writes about in her book, "A Long Time Coming."


The sport of running, while a competitive one for the elite runners, also offers a level playing field for us mid and back of the pack runners where the elite runners want everyone to experience all that the sport has to offer.

On October 15th, I will be toeing the line taking my place in a women's only race. It is a way for me to honor the pioneers like Jaqi who fought for equality for women in sports dispelling such myths like if a woman runs a marathon her uterus will fall out.

During these next two weeks all eyes will be on Rio as the best of the best compete in the XXI Olympiad.

The road was paved for women like Shalene, Desiree and Amy to compete in the Marathon representing the very best that the US has to offer in distance running. On the men's side, Meb will be going for the Gold.

Running is about so much more than running and racing and winning although it is indeed a beautiful spectator sport. Running is about a lifestyle and about who we are and I am so excited to be running the Hazelwood 5K Run in October. Hope you can join me.

To your health and wellness,
Mary

"A Long Time Coming" by Jacqueline Hansen

"Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints on your heart." ~ Eleanor Roosevelt quoted on p. 161 of "A Long Time Coming"

When I saw that Jacqueline Hansen was going to be the guest speaker at the Hyannis Marathon Weekend pre-race pasta dinner I did not know anything about her other than she had won the Boston Marathon in 1973 as was advertised on the website.

We sat enthralled listening to her stories about when she ran the Boston Marathon to qualify for the Olympic trials, all the work she did to get equality for women endurance runners and fielded questions from the audience with Geoffrey Smith and Bill Rodgers.



After the dinner, Tom and I met Jacqueline and purchased her book.



It is dog eared and well loved as I took Jacqueline's journey with her from, as she calls herself, "a child of the sixties, who became a feminist in the seventies and a soccer mom in the eighties. I suppose I spent a good deal of the nineties and beyond, on giving back to the sport that gave me such rich life experiences. Looking back, I would do it all over again in a heartbeat."

We are so blessed that Jacqueline did it all the first time, working through injuries and health issues and sharing all the trials and triumphs she experienced as a runner and a pioneer for women's equality in the sport of distance running.

I could hear her voice coming through this intimate portrayal of her life on and off the roads.

From her Boston Marathon run to qualify for the Olympic trials:
"When I woke up on the hospital cot with an IV bottle hanging overhead and dog tags around my neck, in a woolen blanket, the doctor said, 'We're keeping you here for observation. Your temperature is below 93-degrees' I responded with teeth chattering out of control, 'Did I finish? What was my time?' He made a joke to the nurse that, although I was dying, I'd like to know my time. She went away to find out. My watch was still running so I did not know and had to know."

She creates a beautiful tapestry of journal entries, blog posts, narrative and inspirational quotes that lead off the chapters.

Chapter 19 is preceded by this quote, "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed it's the only thing that ever does." ~Margaret Mead

With passion, leadership, dedication and bringing together a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens, Jacqueline Hansen paved the road for women to be able to run endurance events in the Olympics. The trail she blazed and the story she tells will capture your heart and captivate your mind.

It's such an exciting time here in Boston as we get ready to celebrate 50 years of women's running and honoring Bobbi Gibb, the first woman to run the Boston Marathon throughout the events of the 2016 Boston Marathon festivities.

I feel incredibly honored and privileged to have met Jacqueline Hansen in Hyannis and recommend her book to all of you. She left a footprint on my heart when she came out on the course of the Hyannis 10K. She stopped me and hugged me and whispered to me, "Run with all your heart." And I did feeling the touch of a champion blessing my journey.

Jacqueline Hansen's heart, humility, honesty and reflections will leave a footprint on your heart as you turn the pages of "A Long Time Coming."

To your health and wellness,
Mary

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