Countdown to Bermuda: Happy Hug a Runner Day!

November 20th is Globally Organized Hug A Runner Day or GO HARD. This is a day for ALL RUNNERS/WALKERS to celebrate their fitness ...

Celebrate their fitness - not their pace or their distance - but their fitness!

As I sit here reflecting on the meaning of Hug a Runner Day in my life, I am in awe that in December of 2006, after undergoing a battery of tests, it was determined that I was suffering from Post-Polio Syndrome. I was told to be prepared to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair, adapt our Cape home, quit my award winning almost 20 year career as a VA social worker and to accept the fact that, because I contracted paralytic polio, I was deteriorating at a rapid rate. There was no message of hope or healing or possibility. The Team did not factor in that I was also a survivor of severe childhood trauma that might have been part of the cause of my symptoms. My life force was dwindling and it was the dark night of my soul.

Fortunately, I got still and asked for Divine Guidance.

The answer came in the form of a poem, "Running the Race." Yes you read that right. Running the race even though I had never run a day in my life, was taunted and teased with "Easy Out Alper" in gym class and was sitting in a leg brace, using a cane and at times a wheelchair for mobility. It foreshadowed Team McManus' 2009 Boston Marathon run.





Since becoming a part of the sport of running, I have met incredible people. I've met champions and heroes; those who have won the Boston Marathon, set world records, and those who are everyday champions and heroes for overcoming so much in their lives to make it to the starting line. I have runner friends who have discovered the power of running in their lives and go out and preach from the pulpit of the church of the long run on how running can help with recovery from substance abuse and mental health challenges.

Running is my therapy, my village and my life.



We are a rather crazy lot but only another runner would understand why we get up in the dark, run in rain, cold, wind and snow; run in heat and humidity testing our mettle for the medal and often times testing our mettle to discover our true strength, grit and determination.



With just 52 days to go until Bermuda Marathon Race Weekend, Team McManus is very happy to celebrate Hug a Runner Day!

Running takes me on the most wonderful adventures.

I am so excited to reunite with so many wonderful runner friends in Bermuda and excited for new friends yet to be made.

After Bermuda, we return to what we affectionately call Camp Hyannis. We see our runner friends and running greats once a year during Hyannis Marathon, Half Marathon and 10K weekend.

There are runner friends in real life and those that I know only through social media who I look forward to meeting one day. Runner friends are the best as we follow each other's running adventures, celebrate triumphs and pick each other up when we are facing life's trials and tribulations. We inspire one another to be the best version of ourselves we can be.

I'm sending out this virtual hug to all my runner friends and runners around the Globe.

Happy Hug a Runner Day!

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: 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):

Going the Distance: Exceeding Limitations - Thoughts on Transformation

"You really crushed your workout today didn't you?" a woman asked me in the locker at Boston Sports Club on Tuesday.

I was a little stunned. "How did you know? I just posted it on Facebook. Did you see it?"

"No I was watching you and saw that you had been at your workout for awhile and you seemed really into it."

"Hi - I'm Carolyn and I'm the Membership Services representative here." After we chatted about my journey and her own healing journey with MS, she commented how happy she was to have me as a member at the gym.

Well a really strange thing happened to me at the gym. I got on the Arc Trainer where I was planning to maintain at .86-.88 for 20 minutes. Before I started training for Bermuda again, during my off season I wanted to hit .90 which I did in May. Something lit up inside of me where I told myself to set goals not limits and remind myself of the person I am today - transformed and healed from the effects of paralytic polio and trauma. Before I knew what happened and a whole lot of sweat later, I hit .91 in 20 minutes. Amazing!

I got out of my thoughts and got out of the way during yesterday's workout. It was strange. I was planning on being mindful and not "overdoing it" during my work out after Saturday's 11 miler in the freezing cold.

I became aware of my automatic thoughts as a survivor of paralytic polio who had been diagnosed with Post-Polio Syndrome 11 years ago and a survivor of severe childhood trauma.

Lately I've been aware of movement and thoughts that come from habits from the past and am working to change them.

I have created new mantras such as I can get up out of bed in the morning with ease. I can get up out of a chair with ease. I experience freedom and ease in mind, body and soul.

I can sense the awareness of memories from polio and violence and because I bring them into awareness, I now have the opportunity to change them.

I bring a lot of love and compassion to my memorized self and am truly grateful that I survived the horror of my past. More than surviving the horror of my past, I have created a very sweet new present and a beautiful future for myself.

As Dr. Joe Dispenza likes to say, and I HIGHLY recommend his work, it's important to have measurements to determine progress and the outcome of change but it's also important to bear in mind that it's not so important to look at the what we have created but that we have the power to create change and transform!

Ten years ago this past May, I left my award winning social work career at the VA to heal my life from the effects of paralytic polio and trauma after being diagnosed with Post-Polio Syndrome. I was given a rather grim prognosis and was told I should prepare to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair.

I continue to become aware of how the messages and experiences from my childhood hardwired my brain and my Being and as I do, I do something different to create an opportunity to rewire as I did when I exceeded my limitations at the gym on Tuesday and continue to journey forward as a woman transformed.



Please remember change is just one thought and action away!

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: The Power of Teamwork - Two Months From Today

At this moment, (2:00pm Bermuda time) two months from today Team McManus will be at the Pickled Onion Restaurant celebrating our Bermuda Half Marathon run - my third one in as many years. It's quite an incredible goal considering 11 years ago I was told to prepare to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair after being diagnosed with Post Polio Syndrome, a progressive neuromuscular disease by Western Medicine standards. It was a result of having contracted paralytic polio at the age of 5 and then experiencing violence for 8 years at the hands of family members.

Three years ago next month I was told I never should have started running because I would need a total knee replacement and should stop running! I walked the path of Western Medicine for about a New York minute and then was blessed to be led to Ryan J. Means, DC - a chiropractor healer. He led me to the work of Dr. Joe Dispenza. While I work hard through meditation, journaling and immersing myself in the work as Dr. Joe likes to call it, setting and achieving my health and fitness goals would not be possible without Tom and Ruth Anne by my side.

We work together to get ready for long runs and to recover from long runs. We do core work together 5 days a week, a strength training circuit one day a week and cross training at the gym one day a week. We imagine what our triumphant return to Bermuda and race day will be like.

Tom and Ruth Anne could easily run so much faster if they were to run without me. It's an issue we've discussed a lot on our long runs and they constantly reassure me that this time together - and the time being able to witness my Spirit and determination while I run inspires them in life and on the roads.

The journey is made so much sweeter with our unplugged time together. As I'm writing my next book, "The Adventures of Runnergirl1953" I am reminded of so many incredible moments of Team McManus on the road to the 2009 Boston Marathon and making sure I document our journey on the road to the Bermuda Half Marathon III.

Our time together on the roads is a time for healing and a time for redemption as the magic of running works to heal all that went before.

In addition to my in the flesh team, I have an amazing team in cyberspace who fuel my journey with their positive energy and their own inspiring stories.

Recently I cleared out a lot of Facebook friends who were not on the same page as I am; who were takers rather than givers and takers and who were not inspiring me nor did they find my journey inspiring.

A flood of new friends flowed to me from Facebook and in real life; friends who I inspire and who inspire me!

As I relish wearing my bling after we cross the finish line, I will also relish and reflect on the deep gratitude I feel for the power of the teamwork that has gotten me through all the miles so far and will continue on with the many adventures of Team McManus still to come....

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: Imagine...Believe...Achieve and Anticipation!

After our Day 3/5 strength training workout on the road to Bermuda Marathon Weekend, I checked the race website to discover Race Weekend is only 60 days away!



We have 4 long runs left until taper time!

We are just going to put the finishing touches on the physical preparation for our Half Marathon and it's time to focus on the mental preparation and imagine with great anticipatation the joy of Bermuda Marathon Weekend. Next weekend we'll do an easy 5 miler.

I was going through my Facebook memories from January 2016.

I found this gem of a video from the starting line after we pass the Blue Waters Anglers Club where we had so many happy memories from our trips to Bermuda. Tom and I are at the 7:50 mark on the video:


and this video we made of our shake out run the Friday before race day:


It's one party from start to finish and every mile along the way:


The third time is going to be the charm for Team McManus' Bermuda Half Marathon 2018.

After 3 years of struggling with severe depression and symptoms of PTSD, our daughter Ruth Anne has made a miraculous recovery. She is on what she calls her miracle drugs, has a wonderful therapist, a fantastic case manager and a community based recovery program that will help her get employed again. She is volunteering again and reconnecting with her friends from college.

She is the embodiment of endurance in running the marathon of life and what an incredible blessing to return to Bermuda with her as part of Team McManus.

She was taking care of me the last time we were in Bermuda together. I used a wheelchair to get around the airport and was in a leg brace using a cane to walk from Front Street to our hotel. It was Christmas of 2007.

While taking a look back to see how far we've both come in the marathon of life is a cause for celebration, my focus is on imagining just how glorious this trip is going to be.

I imagine an easy commute to the airport, having a delicious breakfast together and boarding that Delta Flight to Hamilton Bermuda on January 11th.

When we arrive, we'll be whisked away to the South Shore to the Fairmount Southampton Princess Hotel.

I'm imagining beautiful blue skies, warm fragrant air and savoring each sensation that is uniquely Bermudian.

On Friday we will relax during the day and have several beaches and a pool to choose from to settle into the rhythm of Paradise.

At 4:00 pm we have a shuttle to take us into Hamilton for bib pick up. We will go to Miles grocery store to get our bananas and oranges and any other provisions we might need to be race ready on Sunday. Dinner will be at The Pickled Onion while the excitement builds for race weekend to officially begin with The Front Street Mile. There's going to be an epic meet up of friends from previous year's Race Weekend.

We'll head back to our Hotel to spend a relaxing evening enjoying all that is South Shore Bermuda.

Saturday is a shake out run around the Resort and doing that final piece of mental preparation for race day -- our victory lap in so many ways.

We've put in the hard work and will top off the tank over the next few weeks.

And in less than 2 months, we will be at Logan Airport:


ready for another Team McManus adventure at Bermuda Marathon Weekend! I imagine with all my mind, believe it with all my heart and we WILL achieve 13.1 with all our might!


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: Goooo Team - We don't know how to quit!

Before we set out on our 11 mile training run which we knew was going to be in very cold weather conditions, I saw this post on Facebook:


Ruth Anne and I read it out loud together.

We were planning to go to Jamaica Pond as I wrote about in Friday's blog. I said that I was psyched to take on the cold weather. Little did I know just how psyched I would have to get to make it through the training run. It was more than a training run - it was an experience!

There were no parking spaces at Jamaica Pond despite going three times around to find a parking space. I am a master at manifesting parking spaces so I took that as a sign that we needed to figure out a plan B. As it turned out - as it always turns out it was a blessing because we wouldn't have had access to a bathroom if we would have stayed at Jamaica Pond. We also had more sunshine when we arrived at the Chestnut Hill Reservoir.

When we began our run, Ruth Anne had us put our outstretched hands together and do a "Gooo Team!"



The stinging cold wind on our faces and the cold air even when the wind would briefly die down seemed unrelenting. It was record setting cold with the wind chill for November 11th. We hadn't trained in cold weather like yesterday's cold since we trained for the Boston Marathon 2009. We did our last long run -- 21 miles in 17 degree temperatures. But that was after training through a bitter cold New England winter. After last week's 11 miler in 50 degree weather yesterday's weather was quite a shock to the system.

At 6.5 miles the going got really tough for me. At mile 7, Tom kept asking me if I was okay. My right knee was hurting and swollen. As often happens when this happens to my right knee (and as I had done during Bermuda Half Marathon I), I say, "I have created this. I can uncreate it." I focus my healing energy and remind myself of the power of healing within me; the power that comes from Divine Intelligence within me and around me. I thought about how I have healed so much in my body and reminded myself that I can channel my thoughts toward health and well being or disease and disability.

The pain resolved. Yet I wanted to quit and say that we have enough miles in the Bank of Bermuda - why put ourselves through this?

I asked God for help when I felt as though I couldn't take another step and that I didn't want to experience the pain and discomfort of it all. I could feel the presence of the Divine and knew that I/we needed to keep moving forward. I know my body well enough to know that I wasn't risking an injury by soldiering on. I solely wanted to avoid the discomfort of the moment.

From ilovetorun.org:

Keep going. That pain you feel? That’s fear melting away. Like wax off a candle. That’s weakness washing out of your pores like a monsoon. That’s the old you being shed away like dead skin. That’s the new you, rising out of the ashes of your former self.

There is magic that happens when you don't quit and go beyond perceived limitations.

I surrendered to the now - the present moment and felt the power of Team McManus both on the roads and in life.

Ruth Anne would spontaneously initiate a Gooo Team gesture from time to time!

I kept my focus on our goal - 13.1 Bermudaful miles on January 14th -- a victory lap and a celebration in so many ways; Ruth Anne's miraculous recovery from severe depression and trauma and my miraculous recovery from Post-Polio Syndrome, healing the effects of paralytic polio at age 5 and unrelenting childhood trauma for decades.

We arrive in Bermuda on January 11th exactly two months from when we were pounding out the miles in the freezing cold.

Team McManus was in sync yesterday and despite the severe weather conditions, there was an ease to our run. We even all had to go to the bathroom at the same time. Fortunately the MDC ice rink was open with easy access to the bathrooms.

We had our fueling food at the car and were able to calculate loops and miles so that we would arrive at the car at the time we needed to refuel. Our bodies are running more efficiently and we required less fueling than we had on previous runs. That was surprising given how much extra effort we had to exert to keep our bodies warm and keep moving forward.

After we calculated our route to be sure to finish our run at the car, all that was left was an out and back 2.4 miles.

After the winds died down and the air had warmed up with the sun smiling upon us, we all felt a sense of serenity and peace descend. What a metaphor for life. I felt the total grace in that moment. There had been a lot of challenges in the past few weeks with Ruth Anne's providers. It was a stormy and uncertain time in her recovery. The issues are now resolved. The sweet spot of grace that I experienced as we were in the last 2 miles of our training run, mirrored the grace I feel in our lives. I kept thinking that I would have felt so much better physically if my body hadn't been so beaten up during the early miles by the wind and cold but I transcended those thoughts and feelings by focusing on those precious moments of grace where the warm sun and the beauty of the Reservoir erased those moments of discomfort.



I felt transformed and despite the pounding I put my body through, I felt healing happening on a deeper level.

As we exited the Reservoir to enter the back road where we had our car parked with just a half mile to go, Ruth Anne jumped for joy and fist pumped her hand in the air. "YES!" she said expressing a sense of victory on so many levels.



I am reminded of a quote from one of my s-heroes, Wilma Rudolph, a most remarkable woman having overcome the challenge of polio and many childhood illnesses to go on to become a Gold Medal Olympian:



If we would have chosen to stop at 6.5 miles or at any point along the way of yesterday's training run, I know that my friends would have totally understood the decision. We are well along in our training plan and the reason I upped the mileage and loaded the front end of our training with higher mileage was so, if we did encounter a day like yesterday, we could be totally confident that we would be ready to run Bermuda Half Marathon III.

It was so much more than a training run - it was an experience.

We felt the love and the Spirit of Team McManus that has overcome so many challenges especially during these past 3 years. We felt the power of what happens when two or more are gathered in His name to achieve a goal. And we discovered that, as Team McManus, we do not know how to quit in the face of what some would say are insurmountable odds.



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):