Countdown to Finish at the 50 5K: What Makes Mary Run?

Last Saturday, I ran Heartbreak Hill simulating race day for the 2019 Finish at the 50 5K. After that run, I knew I was ready and it was time to go into taper time.

It's been four years since I last ran The Finish at the 50 5K. That was an epic race for me, coming back after a serious knee injury in December of 2014 that 'they' said would sideline me and result in a total knee replacement in a few years. It was the race where I met the Race Director for Bermuda Marathon Weekend and went on to run 3 consecutive Bermuda Half Marathons.

It has taken me awhile to recover fully from Bermuda Half Marathon 2018 after running two previous half marathons and to get my bearings in relationship to severe family stress with our daughter's unrelenting psychiatric illness. but here I am poised and ready to toe the starting line.

During a 2 mile easy run around Castle Island this morning, I pondered on the question, what makes me run?



I was spent after that all out run on Heartbreak Hill and a nagging knee soreness returned. I am completely recovered from that run and had to rein in my pace today as I felt fabulous running around the Castle at Castle Island while Tom got in his 7 miles training for The Falmouth Road Race to benefit The Joseph Middlemiss Big Heart Foundation.

I reflected on how much I love the ebb and flow of training; testing the limits of what my body can do and then pushing a little farther, taking time for recovery and then feeling the excitement build toward race day.

I am incredibly grateful for all that my body gives me and for my resilience.

I came to the sport of running at the age of 54 declaring that I was going to run the 2009 Boston Marathon. It was a prompting from Spirit for how else would someone go from having been told they would spend the rest of their life in a wheelchair to the sport of running? I discovered a sport where I could be unapologetically me and be celebrated for my courage to overcome the diagnosis of a progressive neuromuscular disease.

When I run and push my body, I feel fully vibrant and alive. As Dr. George Sheehan said:


I love how the sport of running gives me a sense of belonging to a community that uses running for good, for health, for wellness, for joy and for freedom as we break the shackles that bind and connect to something greater than ourselves:


And when I run and after a run, I feel a sense of contentment deep in my soul.



Counting down to Finish at the 50 5K: 2 days 22 hours 8 minutes and counting!

Let freedom ring!

From my heart to yours
In Health and Wellness,
Mary

Be sure to visit my website at www.marymcmanus.com

Hear my interview with Kendra Petrone on Magic 106.7's Exceptional Women Show by following this link

My books are available on Amazon and "Feel the Heal" and "The Adventures of Runnergirl 1953" are available in Natick Center Cultural District at Paula Romero Dunbar's Celebration Boutique Paper Fiesta coincidentally located on Mile 10 of the Boston Marathon Route. Proceeds from the sale of books for June and July are being donated to The Joseph Middlemiss Big Heart Foundation to support Tom's Falmouth Road Race. You can also donate directly by following this link.