It's All About the Journey

Taking on back to back half marathons was a very ambitious goal for Tom and Ruth Anne. Since we had the base mileage from running the Bermuda Half Marathon, they decided to take on the RunTheBluegrass Half Marathon and work on their pace. My next goal was to recover from three consecutive Bermuda Half Marathons and train #justforthehealthofit and find harmony and healing in my training.

Tom and Ruth Anne had a rigorous Half Marathon training program to be sure that they met the time requirement for the cutoff for the Half Marathon at RunTheBluegrass.

There was a confluence of factors that precipitated Ruth Anne's recent hospitalization for severe depression. But Ruth Anne shared with us that one of the things she really missed was our Saturday morning runs getting ready for Bermuda. We also had unknowingly put way too much pressure on her with the training for RunTheBluegrass.

We were so focused on Tom and Ruth Anne's pace and the destination of the RunTheBluegrass race that we forgot all about the journey!

Last Saturday as I joined Tom and Ruth Anne for the first part of their run, a 5K at my pace right now, I introduced the idea of ditching the Half Marathon for the 7 miler. They would still get to experience a beautiful race through horse country and we would enjoy the weekend with our Bermuda buddy, Denise and her family, but there would be no timing deadline and it would ease the stress of training for another half marathon.

They even realized we could do "just a 5K" on Saturday and they could run the errands without stress or pressure.

Reunited and it felt so good - especially after Ruth Anne's hospitalization earlier in the week:


When we got home, we changed the registration from the Half Marathon to the 7 miler with ease.

It is a miracle that I continue to run and maintain a health and wellness routine after the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome 11 years ago and that I continue to soldier on in my journey healing the effects of childhood paralytic polio and severe trauma. It's a miracle that Ruth Anne has the fortitude, strength and courage to go the distance in her journey healing severe depression and the wounds of trauma. We are blessed and grateful that we are able to do all we are able to do; that we are blessed with so much abundance and are reclaiming our lives and our mental, physical and spiritual well being. Somehow 6 miles of a race course pale in comparison to all we have already overcome and the way we run the marathon of our lives.



While I know there are many wonderful quotes about life happening outside of your comfort zone and it's where the magic happens and always setting greater and greater goals to challenge oneself, sometimes it's just as important to take a step back and remember that it's all about the journey of this miracle called life!

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

Proud to be a part of Friends of Blue Diamond Athletic Displays, Inc. Be sure to visit us at Booth 758 during Boston Marathon Weekend.

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):

Countdown to Bermuda: A Mini Taper Week and Four More Long Runs - A Journey of Discovery

Bermuda Marathon Weekend website tells me it is 54 days and counting until Race Weekend! This weekend is a mini-taper run as we run 5 miles. After that we run 11.5, 12, 12 and 12.5 before we taper with 10, 6 and 4 miles on the road to Bermuda.

After Bermuda Half Marathon II, I was planning on taking some time off before training for another Half but as so often happens in my life, the Universe had other plans in store with an invitational entry from Race Director Anthony Raynor. He has been so supportive of me and my journey. During a trip to Massachusetts this summer he had lunch at our house along with Clarence "Stoker" Smith. He was exuberant to have Team McManus run the Bermuda Half Marathon 2018 and reassured me that as long as I finish the race before the last marathoner, he is fine with however long it takes me to finish the course. Here we are with Anthony and Clarence "Stoker" Smith who helped me get stoked for the past 2 Bermuda Half Marathons!



This training cycle has been a journey of discovery. We have been blessed to get in every training run outdoors. We've trained in heat and humidity, rain, bitter cold and had some perfect weather to train in along the way. It's been a mile by mile, week by week adventure.

I've met my fears, my doubts, my strength and determination. I've met myself wanting to quit and then being transformed by the Divine finding the courage to go on when I could have easily called it a day. I've had to remind myself over and over and over again that I am a perfect runner just as I am with no apologies for my pace. I've come to embrace the miracle of my healing and experience gratitude to the depths of my soul reflecting on where I was 11 years ago at this time and where I am today. It's a journey of discovering how best to take care of myself and when to add in a mini-taper.

I've discovered the strength, the joy and the love of our family on this journey on the road to Bermuda Marathon Weekend. It's just like when we trained for Boston Marathon 2009 only completely different!

We've discovered how much we cherish unplugged time together on the roads; 3-3 1/2 hours on our longer runs and how we can experience every imaginable emotion together and come through together.

I've discovered how great "just" a 5 mile run feels in chilly but not freezing temperatures.


Even though there was no reason to up the pace, I discovered there is quite a competitor inside of me. I create imaginary competitors in the distance and then sprint to pass them. Ruth Anne knew what I was doing today and told me that I left them in the dust.

I've discovered the joy of running on this road to the Bermuda Half Marathon III without an ache in my heart not knowing how my daughter was doing or where she was living, and how helpless I felt when all I could do was let go and pray that she would find her healing path.

At the end of today's training run, Ruth Anne took my hand, I took Tom's hand and she imitated the announcer at the finish line of the Bermuda Half Marathon. We triumphantly raised our arms. It was so real in my mind's eye that I cried! I was there - right there at the finish line - upright and strong unlike last year when I struggled to the finish with muscle cramps. On this journey I've discovered that by training my mind and body together, with a heart full of gratitude for the miracle of my healing and the miracle of Ruth Anne's healing Team McManus IS going the distance on January 14, 2018.

To going the distance with strength and courage
From my heart to yours,
Mary

Be sure to listen to my interview with Keith Cartwright, "From Polio Survivor to Boston Marathon Finisher" by following this link.

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):

Countdown to Bermuda: My Race - My Pace

I recently wrote a blog post about "For someone who was supposed to be in a wheelchair, you run pretty fast!"

As a back of the pack runner who knows how it feels to finish last (although last year's field in Bermuda had finishers coming in at close to 5 hours for the half), it's vital for me to remember that it's my pace and my race.



I had a dream last night that I finished the Bermuda Half Marathon but then realized I wasn't wearing my bib and I hadn't received my medal yet I knew in my heart that I had gone the distance. Part of me was disappointed I wouldn't have bling to show off to everyone when I got home but another part of me was just so proud of me for having gone the distance and that I carry that with me in my heart and soul.

After I finished our 12.5 miler which we figured out was probably closer to 13 because of Nike+, I felt as though I had already won my race. I set out to train myself mind, body and soul for a half marathon and I accomplished that goal.

I am so deeply grateful to my running village who send me so much love, support and encouragement and remind me that Sunday is my victory race.

I share that victory race with my village, with my amazing life and running partner Tom who has been with me on every step of this amazing journey, and my dear friend, healer and chiropractor Dr. Ryan. When the PT's and MD's and Aquatics Therapy instructors and even the previous massage therapist I was working with were shrugging and prognosticating what I should and should not do given the appearances of the MRI and my history of paralytic polio, Dr. Ryan told me to set goals not limits and treated me like royalty to get me back on the roads.

As so often happens, the Divine wants me to be clear about how I run my race on Sunday. One of my friends from the Merrimack Valley Striders Club posted this article this morning on Facebook. "Why the 5+ hour marathoner and the 14+ hour Ironman are my heroes."

I’m a pretty fast guy for a non-elite runner. I can still break a 4:30 mile, a 16-minute 5K and a 33-minute 10K at the age of 45. My PR in the marathon is 2:27:17 and have run in the 2:30s three different times as well throughout my life. I tell you this not to brag, but to say if I weren’t this fast I don’t know if I would be such a serious runner. I am blessed to be able to run at a pretty good gait and enjoy running at top speeds. Heck, if I were fast enough to be a sprinter, I would have probably been one, but that was not to be.

So while over the years, people have been “amazed” by how fast I can run this distance or that, I honestly think to myself that I’m just lucky to have good running-DNA and a pretty good work ethic. What I’m really amazed at are the people who work their asses off to break a 6-hour marathon or 15-hours in an Ironman – these are my endurance heroes!
It’s All Relative

For years I’ve told the countless people I’ve coached for marathon events, “It’s all relative”. When I say that, I’m speaking about the work effort that goes into running a sub-3 hour, sub-4 hour, sub-5 hour or sub-6 hour marathon. Just because I can run a sub-2:30 marathon doesn’t mean I work any harder than the individual who runs the sub-4 hour marathon, it just means I’m faster.

And if I had to be on the roads for 5+ hours (in a marathon) or 14+ hours (in an Ironman) I am pretty certain I would not be so inclined to enter one. The mental fortitude and physical demands you must undertake for multi-hour runs, rides and swims is truly amazing – inspiring, I would even argue. I honestly get a bit edgy on a run longer than 90-minutes. So, if you told me that I needed to go on a 20-mile run or 80-mile bike ride and it was going to take me 4-6 hours, I would probably say nope, that’s just waaaaay too long! But many of you out there are these people, and honestly, I don’t know how you have the will or the drive to be on your feet or in the seat for that sort of a duration – now that’s some real grit and determination!
Be Proud of Yourself

It doesn’t matter how long it takes you to cross that finish line. Those of you who take 5+ hours to run a marathon or 14+ hours to complete an Ironman, you train like the rest of us train. You have doubts if you’ll finish, just like the rest of us. You are not sure if you can handle this enormous challenge you’ve placed before yourself, just like the rest of us. But on top of all this, you know that there will be no fanfare for you. There will be no write-up in the local paper about your courage. There will be no top-3 age-group finish, most likely. You are on your feet and the roads for more hours than the rest of us and yet you still want to continue. You know you’ll be towards the end of the pack, and yet you wish to go on. You are, my endurance brothers and sisters, no less of an athlete than the 2:07 marathoner or the 8:10 Ironman finisher. You are inspiring. You are the spark that let’s others know, that it can be done if you believe in yourself and have the will to pursue your dreams and goal. I thank you for this. You are all truly my endurance heroes.

Happy Racing!

So I toss all those memories of teasing, taunting, trying to catch up and feeling less than because of all that I endured and stand tall, walking with attitude, running with pride because after all whether in life or in a race it should always be my race - my pace.

This is a poem I wrote that is included at the end of my memoir, "Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing Hope and Possibility," (chronicling the first 7 years of my healing odyssey) and "Feel the Heal: An Anthology of Poems to Heal Your Life" that are available on Amazon. What is so stunning to me is that I wrote this poem in February of 2008!

On May 25, 2007, I left my career at the VA and didn’t look back. I was discharged from outpatient rehab and in October of 2007, I decided to hire a personal trainer to see if I could get a little stronger. Six months after meeting my initial goals of getting off of a low toilet seat and diversifying the program that Spaulding Rehab had given me, my trainer asked me for my next goals. “I want to dance. I want to feel free in my body. I want to take a walk outside…” She gathered up her belongings, had her hand on the door knob and I said, “Wait … I have one more goal … I want to run the 2009 Boston Marathon for Spaulding Rehab as a charity runner.” She was totally non-plussed, sent me off to buy my first pair of running shoes and I wrote these poems on the road to the Boston Marathon.

Marathon Metamorphosis

Pounding pavement, feeling strength the journey now begun
training for the race of my life a 26.2 mile run.
Feeling God in every step in every beat of my heart
I undertake this challenge as a new chapter of my life I start.

I ran around in circles carrying baggage by the ton,
destination was survival hardened shell let in no one.
Fear and worry doubts prevailed, adrenaline in my veins
a headless horseman running wild no one to take the reins.

Stopping in my tracks I froze no longer could I move -
clawing, fighting had to cease there was nothing more to prove.
God's grace touched like a magic wand, a softness and a glow
emerging from a troubled past my blood began to flow.

Loving teachers lit the way their love a healing balm -
focusing on who I am now brings a sense of calm.
Stretching every muscle feeling God in every cell
wholeness now a blessing out of prison - no more hell.

The race is still a year away each day my dream I see
mind, body, spirit tuning turning toward the Voice of Thee.
Flexing what had once been stiff to brace against the pain
old habits die and I'm reborn to write a new refrain.
And when the starting gun goes off poised with strength and grace
the thunder of the running feet will help me set my pace.
But the starting line's the finish my race already won
achieving the impossible preparing for this run.

The healing power of self-love and faith to spark the flame
transformed me from a victim once filled with so much shame.
Unearth my buried treasures my inheritance I find
connected to my Loving God in my heart and mind.

And when I cross the finish line the greatest cheer of all
has been this magnificent journey of answering God's call.