A Perfect 10 Kind of Run

We knew a front moved through with cooler air for our Wednesday run. We usually get up early and head out to beat the heat but Ruth Anne had a Zoom Occupational Therapy session and wanted to take time to prepare for it. I had no qualms with us sleeping in a little later.

The weather was spectacular. Ruth Anne felt great after her session with her therapist as she prepares for a virtual tour at U Mass Boston Grad School in Urban Planning and Community Development. We both felt gratitude overflow in our hearts to Erin and for this past year of healing after 14 hospitalizations in two years. We were excited for Ruth Anne's Health-i-Versary that is happening today!



I was excited for being able to reach my goal of 50+ miles for August.

We chose to run 3 times around the small Reservoir on Route 9. There were two very dignified elegantly dressed older ladies walking in front of us. As we passed them, I wished them a wonderful day through my mask. "You too," one of them replied. "You're going at a pretty brisk pace there." Ruth Anne and I smiled.

We paused to take photos of the spectacular day savoring every precious moment of the perfect 10 weather:


There was a perfect mix of sun and clouds with cool, crisp air. I felt as though Source was kissing my face and blessing my run with gentle breezes.

We checked our mileage after two times around and I knew either we would go over or under the mileage if we did another loop. Since the weather was glorious and there was no one else out, we decided on the third loop. Our original calculation did not include the mileage to get home!

I deposited another 3.75 miles toward my goal of 50+ miles with only 6 miles to go divided between two runs.

Today's run was a celebration of life, of hope, of healing and possibilities despite all appearances to the contrary one year ago for Ruth Anne and 13 years ago for me.

We felt the glow of a perfect 10 kind of run for the rest of the day and had that energy reflected back to us in comments on our Facebook post.

The feeling after a good run is truly the best feeling in the world!

Be sure to visit my website to be inspired by my health and wellness journey at www.marymcmanus.com

My books are available on Amazon.

May you know the joy of a perfect 10 kind of run day!

From my heart to yours
In health, wellness and joy
Mary

Wellness Wednesday: On Signs and Scenes from a Morning Run

To beat the high heat and humidity, we set the alarm for 6:30am to get in our miles. Having the goal of running at least 50 miles for the month of August motivates me to get in the miles I have set in my training log for this month. It took us a little while longer than usual to get ready. Wednesdays are the days when Tom has to go into his office so we adjusted the mileage to ensure he would have enough time to get ready and go into the office. I will still be able to exceed my goal for this month!

We continue to heal from the past 3 years of Ruth Anne's health challenges. I felt the need to share how I was feeling reflecting back on where we were this time last year. Ruth Anne courageously shared her memories and we all felt lighter after expressing ourselves.

Tom is our official photographer for our runs and he stopped to capture a photo of this dragonfly:


In almost every part of the world, the Dragonfly symbolizes change, transformation, adaptability, and self-realization.

The change that is often referred to has its source in mental and emotional maturity and understanding the deeper meaning of life. The Dragonfly’s scurrying flight across water represents an act of going beyond what’s on the surface and looking into the deeper implications and aspects of life. The Dragonfly moves with elegance and grace. The Dragonfly is iridescent both on its wings and body. Iridescence shows itself in different colors depending on the angle and how the light falls on it. The magical property of iridescence is also associated with the discovery of one’s own abilities by unmasking the real self and removing the doubts one casts on his/her own sense of identity.

The Dragonfly normally lives most of its life as a nymph or an immature. It flies only for a fraction of its life. This symbolizes and exemplifies the virtue of living in the moment and living life to the fullest. By living in the moment you are aware of who you are, where you are, what you are doing, what you want, what you don’t, and to make informed choices on a moment-to-moment basis. The eyes of the Dragonfly symbolize the uninhibited vision of the mind and the ability to see beyond the limitations of the human self. Dragonfly’s can be a symbol of self that comes with maturity. They can symbolize going past self-created illusions that limit our growth and ability to change.

How remarkable that the dragonfly crossed our path and that Tom was able to capture it in a photo. We are undergoing a time of transformation in the world and, in our little corner of the world, moving forward from 3 years of trauma and illness. The angels have been and are always with us!

As our sweat poured, we felt the joy of being alive and the gift of a new day. We even saw a smiley face in the clouds:


In preparation for my participation in the Boston Marathon Virtual Expo panel "Whole Life Running and Late Life Running" we talked about my miracle of healing and transformation. We reflected on how I was able to make the miraculous shift from having been told to prepare to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair to a life of health, wellness and being physically active!

We shifted gears to a more light hearted conversation as the smell of coffee and bacon wafted through the air. We have a rule that we cannot talk about food before we hit the halfway mark of any run. We were on our way home as the conversation turned to "what's for breakfast?"

What a wonderful Wednesday wellness run with a sign from the Divine and beautiful scenery. Next up on Saturday is the New Balance Falmouth Road Race At Home Edition for Tom and Ruth Anne and the Falmouth Walk for me. While it would be wonderful to be in Falmouth for race weekend, we feel deep gratitude and contentment for the blessings of health and wellness and the gift and blessing of running in our lives.

For inspiration on your health and wellness journey, be sure to visit my website at www.marymcmanus.com

My books are available on Amazon

From my heart to yours
To your health and wellness
Mary

An Early Morning Run

We knew that we needed to get up and out the front door early if we were going to get in our miles for yesterday's run. We set the alarm for 6:30am, did our meditation, had a banana and water and laced up those running shoes.

My runs have become more precious to me during these challenging and unprecedented times. I relish time in nature and time with Tom and Ruth Anne. I love how I feel empty and satiated after a run. During runs in summertime, I love the trickles of sweat pooling in the small of my back and how I continue to sweat after the run ends.

My head clears during a run and other than needing to "mask up" when another runner approaches, there is a rhythm and sense of normalcy to our lives.

Rather than focus on what I miss this summer, I let my heart overflow with gratitude for the gift of an early morning run, for our health and wellness, for air conditioners, for grilling and dining al fresco in our yard, for great restaurants and take out near our home, for virtual races and for being able to stay connected with friends and family on social media.

The weather has been fantastic. There's been a few days of high heat and humidity but we don't have the days on end of either oppressive heat and humidity or dreary rainy days. We have been blessed with being able to get outdoors for our runs.

We have been treated to scenes such as these and express our gratitude and joy through a selfie:


One of my favorite things about an early morning run before breakfast is savoring a bowl of Raisin Bran with banana, an English Muffin and OJ. Food tastes exquisite after exertion.

We had a lot of wonderful plans for the summer of 2020 especially now that Ruth Anne is healthy but sometimes life has other plans. We have discovered the joy in simple pleasures, time together, grateful for our health and abundance and celebrating life one mile at a time with an early morning run!



To learn more about my journey of transformation from a survivor of paralytic polio and trauma to the finish line of the 2009 Boston Marathon and beyond, be sure to visit my website at www.marymcmanus.com

My books are available on Amazon

From my heart to yours
In health, wellness and joy
Mary

Rise, Shine and Run

Wednesday mornings are a special and sacred time for a before breakfast run for Ruth Anne and me. It's the one day that Tom goes into the office and has to get up early. We get up early with him and head out the door for a run.

One of my friend's posted on Facebook that if this is Mother Nature's way of apologizing for the past 3 months of lock down, she will accept it. We have had a glorious stretch of late Spring and now summer weather. It seemed as though summer was opening her arms to greet us with sunshine and a gentle breeze.

After four years of not being able to enjoy summers because of illness and frequent hospitalizations, 2020 is the summer to celebrate healing and recovery for Ruth Anne. You can read about her journey in my blog post "The Missing Piece of the Puzzle" We savor every moment of sunshine and our time together.
We always take time to enjoy the lushness of the newly renovated Reservoir and document these precious runs with a post run selfie.



When we got home we looked closely at the photo of the sun and expressed awe to see the extension of light and the angel orb.

On the run we talked about the miracle of healing in our lives; Ruth Anne with PANDAS and me with Post Polio Syndrome. We talked about how blessed we are to have found our healing paths and wonderful providers and teachers to help us harness our resilience, strength, courage and to relight the spark of our own lights within us through our connection with Source. We are now beacons of light with our message of healing, hope and possibilities despite all appearances to the contrary.



Our hearts swell with gratitude and we savor those special moments while running when we discover time and again how wonderful life really is!

Be sure to visit my website at www.marymcmanus.com and be inspired by my incredible journey from having been told to prepare to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair to the finish line of the 2009 Boston Marathon and beyond.

My books are available on Amazon.

From my heart to yours
In health and wellness
Mary

I Exceed All Expectations..I am a runner!

@John Bingham

It was a cold dark day in February of 2007. It was the dark night of my mind, body and soul. In December of 2006, I was given the diagnosis of Post Polio Syndrome, a progressive neuromuscular disease. I was told to prepare to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair possibly needing a feeding tube and a sleep apnea machine. "If you use it, you will lose it," was the philosophy 13 years ago of how to "treat" and and try to "stall" the symptoms of a neuromuscular condition.

As I sat in a toe up leg brace


I got still and asked for Divine Guidance...The answer as I wrote about in "Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing, Hope and Possibility":



And then I felt a stirring in my second chakra (only then I didn’t know it was my second chakra – I thought it might have been something I ate). I went over to my laptop in the corner of the living room and I wrote this poem:

Running the Race
Early summer 1959 my kindergarten year
Everyone around me filled with nervous fear
Despite the Salk vaccine hope polio would disappear
The polio virus crept right up and knocked me in the rear.
Dancing all around the gym feeling free just like a bird
I dropped to the ground just like a stone
and no one said a word.
The pain it was so searing-the diagnosis even worse
"It's polio" the doctor said...he was abrupt and terse.
Called one of the 'lucky ones' I had a 'mild case'
But with the other athletes I could never keep their pace.
Miss Holly physical therapist,
curly hair and a warm, broad smile
It tempered the pain of being apart - to walk I'd take awhile.

I always wore those 'special' shoes
the kids they poked and teased
With no support and much abuse
with childhood I wasn't pleased.
But put nose to the grindstone and learned all that I could
I couldn't kick a ball but my grades were always good.
Years went by and no more thought to polio did I give
I accepted the limp and everything else
and decided my life I would live.
But symptoms of weakness and muscle pain did grow
I kept a stoic face hoping no one else would know.

Life no longer was my own I struggled through each day
Suffered in silence, isolated from friends-
trying to keep depression at bay.
And with the grace of glorious God my world it opened wide
I discovered there was a Post Polio team
and they were on my side.

Using wheelchair to travel, set limits on what I could do,
Resulted in joy to realize I could live life anew.
Celebrated my body- creaks, groans and need for a brace
While in my mind I focused on winning a 10K race.
Sought out paths for healing and my spirit flew free
For the first time in life, I could truly be me.
The chains are gone and possibilities abound
I'm a tree with my roots planted firmly in ground.
I'm now off the sidelines, no need to sit and whine
So much gratitude fills my heart and love and beauty shine.
After all these years I can join the loving human race
I exceed all expectations and now I set the pace.

I sobbed to write those words. I had never spoken about polio or the abuse I endured. I became curious. Why am I writing about winning a 10K race?

May 25th marked the 13th anniversary of when I took a leap of faith to leave my award winning career as a VA social worker to heal my life. And heal my life I did!

I ran the 2009 Boston Marathon


and fell in love with the sport of running.

After a serious knee injury in December of 2014, I once again harnessed the power of the mind/body connection defying all appearances and prognosis that I needed a total knee replacement and ran the 2016, 2017 and 2018 Bermuda Half Marathons.

I took a break from endurance running and even from running races. I returned to the roads last May with a series of 5K runs. I wasn't running that many miles and went out for runs 2 days a week going to the pool once/week and strength training twice/week.

My goal for this year was to work my way back up to a 10K but then "the thing which shall not be named" happened and life came to a screeching halt. My chiropractor is pregnant and closed down her practice early for maternity leave. During the initial stay at home order, it was difficult to find places to run and maintain distance from other runners. Everyone was in a state of shock and anxiety.

Yet we managed to maintain a regular running schedule and I worked on speed rather than increasing distance.

I did notice on my Nike+ that the mileage for March, April and May was 10-15 miles more than for last year. In March, the gyms closed.

One by one races were cancelled. Some were rescheduled as virtual races. We cancelled our hotel reservations that coincided with race weekends although we are holding out hope for Cape Cod Marathon Weekend which would be Tom and Ruth Anne's first half since Bermuda 2018.

I was very close to hitting 40 miles for the month of May but would need to add on a little extra mileage to get there.

Tom and Ruth Anne were going to do a long run in preparation for the virtual Falmouth Road Race and Cape Cod Marathon Weekend but wanted to stay with me to celebrate the third consecutive over 40 miles month.

It was a gorgeous morning for a run with geese, swans, turkeys and a beautiful blue sky:


Instinctively everyone ran in one direction at the Reservoir.

There was so much joy and freedom!

Tom suggested we add onto the mileage by running down Beacon Street to the fountain in front of the Waterworks Museum and then do our loop around the Reservoir.

When we got home we had run 3.41 miles:


and I saw my Nike+ total for May as 40.18 miles!

While 40+ miles in one month might not seem like a lot for many runners, for me it is quite the accomplishment.

After all, I was told to prepare to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair and a whole host of other predictions were made based on my history of having contracted paralytic polio at age 5.

I am proud to be a part of this amazing sport where, if you run, you're a runner and for me... I exceed all expectations and now I set the pace!

Be sure to visit my website at www.marymcmanus.com to learn more about my incredible journey from the diagnosis of Post Polio Syndrome to the finish line of the 2009 Boston Marathon and beyond.

My books are available on Amazon

To your health and wellness
From my heart to yours
Mary

Magical Monday Morning Miles

May 19, 2007...My butterflies were out in full force as I had only a few days left of my award winning career as a VA social worker. Six weeks prior I gave my notice that I was leaving my career to follow my newfound passion as a poet and writer and heal my life from the effects of childhood paralytic polio and trauma. I was saying goodbye to my veterans, their families and my colleagues. I had a retirement party on May 17th organized by my Team at the Causeway Street Outpatient Clinic:


Invitations were sent across the campuses and people dropped in to wish me well. The Social Work staff gave me a farewell luncheon at Bertucci's in West Roxbury and showered me with meaningful gifts that I still cherish today.

I sat wearing my toe up leg brace having my cane near by:


and had a pad of yellow lined paper to write down poems that were flowing out of me. Although the first poem I wrote was called, "Running the Race" I would not know the magic that was in running shoes until April of 2008.

May 18, 2020 ... It was a grey drizzly yet warm morning and as I do every Monday morning, I lace up my running shoes to go out for a 5K run. These runs are even more special and sacred during the pandemic. While this time of having a stay at home order has brought much heartache and angst, it has also been a time of overwhelming gratitude and appreciation for the "little things" in life especially being out in nature when no one is around free to run.

We were treated to serenity and solitude and the joy of Mama Goose teaching the baby geese how to feed while the Papa Goose stood guard ready to defend his family at a moment's notice:


I did my fastest time since March 7th which was right around the time the pandemic with a shut down was looming on the horizon.

I was sweaty and felt that rush of endorphins that one gets after a great run.

There IS magic in those running shoes and magic to be experienced all around while on a run.

From my heart to yours
In health and wellness,
Mary

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

My books are available on Amazon

The Joy is in the Journey

On yesterday's One Minute Thought for the Day, Kristabeth Atwood of Rites of Passage, LLC shared the above quote from the Buddha. She spoke about how it is more important to travel well than to arrive at our destination. I reflected on our current situation given the pandemic and how we all just want to arrive at a "new normal". But it is truly in the journey and how we navigate uncertainty that tests our mettle and forges who we become.

On May 25th of 2007, when I set out on a quest to heal my life taking a leap of faith leaving behind my 20 year award winning career at the VA, I had no idea of where I might arrive on the journey.

I was blessed to discover the sport of running that transformed my life and to be a part of the 1% of the world's population who have run a marathon. The joy was in the journey as I trained for the 2009 Boston Marathon and made incredible friends along the way. The village of runners continues to grow and grow and our fiber of friendship grows stronger with the challenges of the pandemic.

After running Boston, I was told that I might not and probably should not run again but a physical therapist from Australia offered suggestions of what I could do to build up my strength and endurance to return to the roads... but I had to take time off from running.

This wonderful memory "just happened" to pop up on Facebook. It was my come back race in June of 2010. The pictures embody the phrase, the joy is in the journey:


Even though there are times when I feel overwhelmed, anxious, fatigued or sad during these times, I find my way back to joy through a practice of gratitude.



I went to the grocery store today for the first time in two months. Tom had been our hunter/gatherer as I affectionately called him during these past two months. He wanted me to conserve my energy and to not have to contend with wearing a mask for prolonged periods of time given the history of trauma that was getting triggered by having to wear a mask.

Tom has a lot to do for work right now and there were a few other errands he needed to run after work. I felt a feeling deep in my soul that it was time for me to "woman up" or "mask up" and get the groceries. Ruth Anne agreed to go with me.

I didn't know what we would or wouldn't find but I set the intention that I would find everything that we need.

It was definitely a new and somewhat disorienting experience to not be able to go up and down the aisles as we used to do when grocery shopping or easily return to an aisle if we forgot something, but armed with an attitude it is what it is for now, we were able to get our provisions. I experienced joy in being able to procure many of our favorite brands that had been sold out in recent weeks. We saw a lot of merchandise being brought in to stock the shelves while we were there.

I felt tired after the experience but so proud of myself that I was able to move beyond the traumatic events that had been triggered by the pandemic and requirements that go along with it.

My heart overflowed with gratitude that in this time when so many experience food scarcity, we experience abundance. We are sure to share our abundance to help others in need through donations or service. I felt so grateful that we are abundant with Tom's job and our income from social security.

I acknowledged how and why I was feeling a drop in my energy and then looked around for something to boost my mood and energy besides chocolate that is!

There were harbingers of hope and reminders of the Divine at work right in our very own yard.

There was a bush that looked like it was dying last winter. We know not to cut anything down in winter for you never know what might return in Spring. And during the winter this "stick" seemed to be growing out of the ground. We let them be.

What a surprise to see pink flowers on the bush and green leaves growing on the "stick":


I took pause to appreciate our raised bed garden and tomato plant ...


and felt in awe of the presence of Divine all around.

It's easy to lose hope and faith during these times when we are being bombarded with divisiveness, rancor, fear and conflicting information about the pandemic. It's easy to experience despair wondering when will we ever arrive on the other side of these conditions that have shaken all of us to our very core. It's easy to wonder what summer will be like with all the traditional events being cancelled and uncertain plans for possible beach closures.

But I love finding things to be grateful for and finding the joy in the journey surrendering the external conditions and what I don't have control over to the Divine. Time and again my Higher Power that is all around me and within me has seen me through some of the darkest most uncertain times in my life and led me to a place of joy. During this time I am being called to experience the joy in simple pleasures and find gratitude and contentment in the gift of each present moment.

It is better to travel well than to arrive.

From my heart to yours
In health and wellness
Mary

Be sure to visit my website to learn more about my journey of transformation from a survivor of paralytic polio and trauma to the finish line of the 2009 Boston Marathon and beyond.

My books are available on Amazon