Memories of Marathon Training

In February of 2008, I declared to my personal trainer that I was going to run the 2009 Boston Marathon for Spaulding Rehab Hospital where I took the first tentative steps on the road back to life after the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome. I had just come out of a toe up short leg brace



and had never run a day in my life yet something deep within my soul stirred as I blurted out that goal to Janine after partnering with her for 6 months.

We trained through one of the worst brutal New England Winters. Two of our favorite spots to train were Heartbreak Hill and Jamaica Pond. The Carriage Road on Heartbreak Hill and the path around Jamaica Pond were usually well treated for runners.

Heavy snow and rain was in the forecast for Monday and Tuesday. We decided to run on both Saturday and Sunday and take to our favorite Boston Marathon training places.

On Saturday we ran on Heartbreak Hill. Despite the frosty air, the sunshine through the bare trees provided enough warmth to inspire our run. There were a few other runners out on the hills and we warmly greeted each other as we passed. Tom and Ruth Anne are getting ready for the Bill Rodgers Somerville Jingle Bell 5K happening on December 15th. I am running for the joy, health and well being that running gives me.



The temperatures continued to plummet on Sunday and the skies looked ominous. Ruth Anne suggested we go to Jamaica Pond to change things up a bit. They had been renovating Jamaica Pond and as good fortune would have it reopened on 11/23! Our breath caught as we saw all the work they had done to create a new space worthy of Frederick Law Olmstead who originally designed The Emerald Necklace. Jamaica Pond is one of the gems in the necklace. Since Tom and Ruth Anne did their tempo run on Saturday, we decided to stay together enjoying our time together outdoors savoring the sights and sounds of nature.

As we ran by the rock wall, I remembered a poem I was inspired to write early on in our Boston Marathon training:

Courage

The fear of ice and snow and slush embedded in my soul
a training run in winter - the path to Being whole.
A winter scene - Jamaica Pond - a feast for eyes' delight
to witness nature's splendor and behold this glorious sight.

A leaf - a tiny dancer - skating free without a sound
God's breath directs her movements as She guides her twirling 'round.
Families of ducks decide to walk or take a dip
a comedy of errors into icy water slip.

Branches now bejeweled though bare bend with loving Grace
sparkling diamonds' anchor water's surface hold in place.
God's hand a glove of glistening snow hugs rocks along the wall
their heads peek out reminding me I'm answering God's call.

I had been warned by physical therapists and several physicians to avoid going out in the snow and ice. I "had" osteoporosis and was at risk for fractures if I fell. When I was training for the 2016 Bermuda Half Marathon, I had a major fall and the only thing that broke was a piece off of my front tooth. I've had a few falls since then and I am strong and resilient!

We enjoyed sharing memories of our Jamaica Pond training runs like this one from "Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance" with a Foreword by Jacqueline Hansen:
Something happens to me when I run around Jamaica Pond. Perhaps it is feeling the energy of Bill Rodgers. When we trained for Boston in 2009, I didn't know that’s where he trained. Our trainer would take us to Jamaica Pond for speed work and hills. We would do our long runs around Jamaica Pond because it was one of the few places with a clear path during winter. We have many fond memories of our Jamaica Pond training runs like the day that Tom lost me on our training run:

And who could EVER forget us losing each other around, emphasize the word a-round Jamaica Pond. Tom had stopped at the car to fill up the water bottles and get some snacks. He had his iPod on really loud. I was in the zone and ran by him. I saw him looking for me in the opposite direction and yelled to him that I was over here. I felt so great and the weather was wonderful that I did not want to interrupt my rhythm. Tom thought that since I had to go to the bathroom (and the bathrooms were not open yet) that I went off the trail and went to pee in the woods. We finally caught up with each other and laughed so hard at the irony of losing each other around Jamaica Pond.

While the trees were bare and the sky was grey foreboding the coming snowstorm, there was a beauty and majesty to our run that Tom captured in these photos including a selfie in front of the Boat House:


After twice around the Pond, we blasted the heater in the car for our drive home. I fondly recalled how I used to imagine warm lava flowing through my extremities when we trained for the 2009 Boston Marathon.

It's a warm and wonderful feeling to return to the places where we ran our miles leading up to our arrival at Hopkinton on 4/20/2009



to begin our 26.2 mile run to the finish line on Boylston Street.



Give the gift of inspiration this season with my Trilogy of Transformation books and "Feel the Heal: An Anthology of Poems to Heal Your Life" available on Amazon.

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

You can read all about my journey of transformation from the diagnosis of Post-Polio Syndrome to the finish line of the 2009 Boston Marathon and beyond in my Trilogy of Transformation available on Amazon and feel the heal in my anthology of inspirational poetry.

I was featured in a Wellness Warrior blog by Meghan Khalei of Lovely Bones Physical Therapy. To read the blog follow this link.

Be sure to visit my website at www.marymcmanus.com to learn more about my inspirational journey and for healing resources.

Kendra Petrone and I talked about my healing journey before the 2019 Boston Marathon on her award winning Exceptional Women Show. Listen by following this link.