Celebrating Ten Years of Running: A Run & Sun & Time on the Beach

Research demonstrates that spending time at the beach has physical, emotional and spiritual benefits. These are health benefits of spending time by the ocean and What the beach does to your brain are just two articles that share the research on the benefits of going to the beach.

We were blessed with beautiful weather for late September in Boston. We planned to go to Carson Beach and run out to U.Mass Boston and back for our 5K together and Tom would complete his miles for training for Bermuda Marathon Weekend. There were many many events happening in Southie on Saturday. Parking lots were closed off and eventually roads were closed to traffic. There was a walk for Pancreatic Cancer. We were determined to have our run by the beach. We parked across from M Street Beach.

A sea of walkers in purple shirts were in front of us. Tom suggested that we were meant to take it easy and not try to zig zag our way through them. Once the pack thinned out we did pick up our pace. We took in all of the sights and sounds of Southie on a very busy end of summer day. Our runs these days are more than just a way to improve pace or get in the miles. They are a total experience of being in the moment and nourishing ourselves mind, body and soul!



Tom went off to finish his miles for Bermuda and I soaked up sunshine on the beach while reading:


David Hamilton,Ph.D. is one of the leading luminaries in the mind/body connection phenomenon. Using his background as a scientist in the pharmaceutical industry he uses research to support why and how using visualization heals the body. I was blessed to be able to share my healing journey with David and to have his editors include my story in his book. I continue to heal from Post-Polio Syndrome and severe childhood trauma. It's great to have new and inspiring resources to keep the flame of my health and wellness journey lit.

I bathed in the sunshine from Source sending light and love to all of my cells. I continue to recover from training for and running 3 Bermuda Half Marathons in as many years. That's no small feat for anyone but add in my age (I'll be 65 on Christmas) and my physical challenges, it becomes a very big accomplishment; one that needs to be honored and respected as I allow my body to put everything back where it belongs without the weekly pounding of adding on miles.

When Tom joined me again on the beach we enjoyed our lunch and savored listening to the waves. We walked along the beach and I stopped to take this video:


After our swimming workout on Sunday, we returned to the beach. The frenetic activity from Saturday was gone. There were only a few people on the beach soaking up the last warm rays of summer sunshine in Boston.

We set our meditation timer for 40 minutes and allowed the warm sunshine, the rhythm of the waves and a gentle breeze to be our soundtrack for our meditation.

This weekend was a gift from the Universe. We had two beautiful weather days to get in a run, soak up the sun and experience all the benefits that being on the beach has to offer to mind, body and soul.

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***

Celebrating Ten Years of Running: Celebrating Summer!

For the past 3 summers I have trained for the Bermuda Half Marathon. While it was a wonderful and rather sensational journey, it did limit my ability to thoroughly enjoy and savor summertime. Before I trained for the Half Marathons, I was still healing the effects of childhood paralytic polio and trauma. I had not yet reached the point in my healing journey where I was able to experience joy and freedom living in my own skin.

Saturday marked the beginning of Tom's training for Bermuda Half Marathon 2019. We will do our 5K's at my pace and then he will slowly build his mileage at his pace.

As we set out to run in South Boston by the beach, I had a sense of exhilaration and joy. I only have to run 5K's this summer. At this very time each year we had kept a base of 5 miles and began building miles.

There was a festive atmosphere along the beaches as the City prepares to usher in summer in style and to prepare for the celebration of July 4th. We passed teams of Beach Soccer players and a group setting up for a wedding in a gazebo along the water.

On our way back we passed several older people walking.

"Hey you should get a speeding ticket," one of the people walking with a cane said to us.

We stopped and turned around and smiled.

"We're from the Top of the Hill gang. You should come walk with us sometime."

"Do I look that old?" I asked Tom.

"No they want to feel youthful by having us join them," he replied.

We finished our 5K and Tom was feeling beat by the heat. He decided to get out early Sunday morning to get in the miles for Bermuda. He has run several races including a 10K during these past few months so we know he will do just fine.



We sat on the beach refueling with fresh summer fruit and going for a dip in the ocean.

I love to run and experience the world while out on a run. The summer of 2018 is going to be a very special one for me as I celebrate ten years of running and celebrate and savor summer in the City.

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

Proud to be a part of Friends of Blue Diamond Athletic Displays, Inc.

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 ****