Adjust the Sails and Feel the Heal

"We cannot direct the wind but we can adjust our sail."

It was a wonderful blessing to be able to run around Jamaica Pond again. Boston City Councillor Matt O'Malley made sure there was signage directing walkers/joggers/runners to run in one direction and pass on the left. There were signs at the entrances to the Pond and on the benches. Last week there was too much congestion when we got there to allow for adequate social distancing.

Even though the day was overcast, the beauty of the Pond and my deep appreciation for its majesty were abundantly clear. We did a wonderful tempo run breathing deeply, noticing the ducks, the movement of the water and how the sky began to transform revealing patches of blue and even a hint of sunshine!



Jamaica Pond has always been our happy place to run and during these times of needing to stay at home as much as possible, its majesty was magnified.

I wrote this poem several years ago that seems to be fitting for today:
Feel the Heal

Feel the heal and heal the fear let goodness Love prevail
holding hands with open heart through adversity we sail.
Living in the present a gift no future and no past
surfing waves of our emotions suffering can’t last.

Feel the heal and heal the fear an illusion that fear is real
let go relax refresh and rest Love and Light can now reveal.
Faith and love no match for fear trust for we can fly
appearances deceiving doubts kiss them all goodbye.

Feel the heal and heal the fear we’re held in Loving arms
The Universe magnificent mysterious mystical charms.
We think a door is closing we grasp and hold on tight
miracle’s just a breath away release behold its sight.

Feel the heal and heal the fear get out of jail we’re free
possibilities are endless in our hands we hold the key.
No longer do we jump through hoops in faith we take a leap
Divine protection safety our life’s bounty time to reap.

Feel the heal and heal the fear let our hearts feel calm and peace
worries and anxieties heartache all can cease.
Today’s the day we celebrate as we all now feel the heal
courage strength compassion wisdom is all we need to feel.

Here's to adjusting our sails and experiencing resilience, faith, trust, courage, and a sense of well being whatever the weather!

To your health and wellness
From my heart to yours
Mary

Please be sure to visit my website at www.marymcmanus.com to learn more about my incredible journey of transformation from a survivor of paralytic polio to an endurance runner, poet, inspirational speaker and blogger.

My books are available on Amazon.

A Jamaica Pond Run

Last Wednesday, Ruth Anne and I decided we need to change up our running route. We are eagerly anticipating the reopening of the "Little Reservoir" on Route 9 that has been renovated for the past year. We had been running on Heartbreak Hill, out and back routes on Beacon Street and around the Chestnut Hill Reservoir.

We decided to return to Jamaica Pond where we have many many fond memories of Boston Marathon training.

During one of our training runs in the midst of a brutal New England cold winter, I was inspired to write this poem:

Courage from "Feel the Heal: An Anthology of Poems to Heal Your Life"

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.

A scene I'd never witness if I let my fear take hold
courage triumphed, steppin' out with footsteps sure and bold.
Knowing that the pain subsides and Spirit can prevail
the Marathon is beckoning - through those miles I shall sail.


I was inspired to take a photo of those very rocks {minus the snow} during our run around the Pond:


Jamaica Pond's beauty is majestic in every season but I love experiencing the anticipation of Springtime in Boston from its shore:


Ruth Anne and I reminisced about one of our favorite Boston Marathon training stories while we ran {From Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance}:
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.

As we enjoyed our run and the anticipation of Springtime in Boston, I reflected on the miracle of my Boston Marathon run.

In December of 2006, I was told to prepare to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair; that as a survivor of paralytic polio, I would experience a rapid aging process and decline in functioning. I had difficulty with breathing, swallowing, walking and the limp from paralytic polio returned. I experienced chronic pain and fatigue. I hugged the banister to get from the first floor to the second floor of our Cape house. The team at the Post Polio Clinic suggested we adapt our house or move to a ranch. I was told that if I had any hope of stabilizing the symptoms at their current level, I needed to leave my award winning career as a VA social worker 3 years shy of when I was eligible for retirement. My future looked very grim.

I got still and asked for Divine Guidance and a poem flowed out of me called, "Running the Race."

I harnessed the power of the mind/body connection and imagined my life very different from my past that was fraught with disease and violence and created a future very different than the one the doctors predicted for me.

After intensive outpatient rehab at Spaulding Rehab, I was blessed to find a personal trainer who was willing to work with me to see if I could get a little stronger building on my home exercise program from Spaulding.

In February of 2008, when asked what my next health and fitness goals were, we shared in the joy of all that I accomplished in our six months together and planned out what was next. Janine was about ready to leave my house when I said, "Wait! I have one more goal..." Janine put down her things and turned around. "I want to run the Boston Marathon and I want to do it next year for Spaulding Rehab. They have a Race for Rehab Team!" Her response? "Well you're going to need to get a pair of running shoes!"

Ruth Anne and I reminisced about our many training runs with Janine at Jamaica Pond as she pushed us to do speed work and trained our minds along with our bodies as we felt as though our chests would burst when she pushed our pace.

We marveled at how we were able to go from couch to Boston Marathon finish line with sheer grit and determination honoring ourselves and Janine's incredible skill and talent as a personal trainer.

When we faced the 17 degree weather with wind gusts watching our footing as snow and ice seemed to never end during the winter of 2008/2009, I would supplement the warmth from our gear with imagining warm lava flowing throughout my body. I wrote poetry throughout our training visualizing only a successful outcome.

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.

Eleven years later we can still feel the joy and triumph of our 2009 Boston Marathon with a run around Jamaica Pond.

To your health and wellness
From my heart to yours
Mary

Be sure to visit my website at www.marymcmanus.com with Healing Resources and Updated News and Events.

My books are available on Amazon

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.

Strength and Courage

Yesterday Team McManus running for Team Big Heart went to Jamaica Pond to get in our training run. It was a spectacular late Spring day with sunshine and low humidity. Jamaica Pond is one of my favorite places to run and one that holds many treasured memories of training for the Boston Marathon.

Tom and I run in opposite directions so he can run at his pace and I can run at mine which is slower than his. Yet he is always quick to remind me that for somebody who was supposed to be in a wheelchair, I run pretty fast! Running alone lets my mind wander and sort and sift through thoughts while also experiencing the beauty of the present moment.

As I ran by the rocks along the wall, I remembered how those once snow covered rocks in the winter of 2009 inspired me to write this poem:

Courage from "Feel the Heal: An Anthology of Poems to Heal Your Life":

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 movementsnas 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.

A scene I'd never witness if I let my fear take hold
courage triumphed, steppin' out with footsteps sure and bold.
Knowing that the pain subsides and Spirit can prevail
the Marathon is beckoning - through those miles I shall sail.

Training for a marathon, especially the Boston Marathon takes tremendous strength and courage. Add in that I had been diagnosed with Post-Polio Syndrome, a progressive neuromuscular disease in December of 2006 and was told if I used it I would use it, it took tremendous strength and courage to defy medical advice. I was also told to be very careful in winter and carry a cane with an ice grip. One slip on the ice and I was a recipe for a hip fracture!

I defied medical advice again in January of 2015. In December of 2014 I sustained a serious left knee injury. MRI indicated that the knee was beyond repair and I should prepare for a total knee replacement in a few years. Oh and I should stop running or cap my distance at a 5K.

I once again harnessed the power of my mind/body connection, sought out chiropractic, incorporated strength training and cross training into my health and wellness reginmen and went on to run three consecutive Bermdua Half Marathons. I grew new cartilage, dissolved bone spurs and grew a new gastroc muscle that had atrophied from childhood paralytic polio.

It took strength and courage to start at the beginning after the knee injury but since I needed strength and courage to face adversity since the time I was 5 years old, I had a solid foundation from which to draw what I needed to heal.

I have 3 weeks to go until the Finish at the 50 5K at Gillette Stadium. I pushed my pace yesterday visualizing how it is going to feel to be a part of a big race again. I have not been part of a big field since Bermuda Half Marathon 2018.

I imagined the course and steadied myself to run from the inside out while taking in the magnificent scenes along the way:


Tom and I took our traditional end of run selfie:


On our ride home, Tom and I reminisced about our training runs around Jamaica Pond including this precious memory from "Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance":
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.

From the Foreword of "Going the Distance: The Power of Endurance" by Jacqueline Hansen:
Foreword

Eleanor Roosevelt once said “Many people will walk in and out of your life, but only true friends will leave footprints in your heart.”
I have found this to be true throughout my life.

I have also found that I am attracted to strong women friends, who are strong willed, strong minded, with lots of endurance. At least once a day I must tell myself, “thank goodness I’m a marathoner.” I am guessing that Mary McManus tells herself the same thing. She is certainly someone who has left indelible footprints in my heart. I have rarely met anyone with so many life-threatening challenges who portrays such an onward thinking attitude.

In fact, another Eleanor Roosevelt quotation reminds me of Mary: “You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I have lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’ You must do the thing you think you cannot do.”

When you read about Mary’s life experiences you will wonder how does she not only endure, but lives her life with positivity in abundance. My closest friend in life lives by the motto “Be relentlessly positive,” which is written on her office door. Mary exudes this same attitude. You will not encounter a more positive person than Mary, despite all the challenges she has endured in life.

Try to imagine what it must have been like to be diagnosed with paralytic polio as a child. Try to imagine suffering child abuse at the hands of those very family members who are charged with your upbringing. Try to imagine them together. It’s unbearable to think about. Then imagine surviving the unthinkable, and in adulthood being diagnosed with Post-Polio Syndrome. This is a story that needs to be told. This is a story of challenge, of resiliency, and a story of heart, tremendous heart.

I am fond of using the word “heart.” When coaching young athletes, which I have done my entire adult life, I often tell them to “run with heart.” As I explain to them, I can coach them on skills, on running form, on race strategy, on everything to do with their running, except I cannot create “heart.” This is something that only they can produce from within. I go on to say that “you have to want this (running or racing) more than I do – more than I want it for you.” “Always run with heart.” I am here to tell you that Mary McManus always runs with all her heart.

Just for a moment, let’s ponder the word “heart.” The Latin word for heart is “cor.” Cor is also the root of the word “courage.” I would attribute both heart and courage to Mary. Even Mary herself has said that “It takes incredible courage to heal trauma . . . healing both paralytic polio and trauma.” Author Parker Palmer wrote that “The heart is where we integrate what we know in our mind with what we know in our bones, the place where our knowledge can become more fully human. When all that we understand of self and world comes together in the center place called the heart, we are more likely to find the courage to act humanely on what we know.”

Besides being a former record-holding runner who became a coach, I am also an educator. I teach teachers about health education, so in turn they will teach the youth. One of the most important lessons we impart is how to build resilient young persons. In brief, I can tell you there are no apparent factors in Mary’s childhood that would lead to her developing into a resilient young adult and woman. Yet, none-theless, she became so. When faced with the prognosis of spending her life in a wheelchair, she did not “settle.” She chose to reclaim her life with fervor.

A musician and poet, Patti Smith, wrote the book, “M Train,” for which she was described as having the rare gift of projecting radiance despite experiencing melancholy and grief in her life. Patti Smith once said “If we walk the victim, we’re perceived as the victim. And if we enter glowing and receptive . . . if we maintain our radiance and enter a situation with radiance, often radiance will come our way.”

In my heart, I believe our author Mary McManus has mastered overcoming challenges, maintaining positivity, possessing resiliency, portraying radiance; and in doing so, she provides great inspiration for others.

Jacqueline Hansen, M.Ed.
University Course Instructor, Health Education for Teachers
Track & Field, Cross Country Coaching Education
Instructor
Author
January 2017

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 at Paper Fiesta in Natick on Mile 10 of the Boston Marathon route. Proceeds of book sales for May through July are going to Tom McManus's Falmouth Road Race run for the Joseph Middlemiss Big Heart Foundation. You can also make a direct donation by following this link.