Taper time is an opportunity to heal up all the niggles going into race week feeling ready, steady and strong. During this training cycle and taper time, I discovered new mantras. As I trained for Hyannis, I took a deeper dive into healing trauma and polio symptoms. When my physical body is taxed and when there is emotional stress, tremors tend to worsen. I came up with the mantra "steady as she goes" combining that with conscious movement. Conscious movement is a phrase I discovered in Norm Doidge's book, "The Brain's Way of Healing." It's a way to harness the power of neuroplasticity to heal neurological symptoms. After two 4 milers and a 2 miler within one week in bitter cold weather, I experienced a very tight IT band. I brought out my foam roller, paired it with the mantra of relief, release, relax, and conscious movement to avoid tightening up around the tightness.
My relationship with my body has become more intimate. With the goal of the 10K, it motivated me to take my healing to a new level and to love and care for myself in deeper and more meaningful ways.
My relationship with Tom has grown and our love deepened as we get ready to celebrate 49 years since we met and 48 years of marriage. It's amazing what all those early mornings, miles on the road and weathering every type of weather will do to deepen a relationship.
We were so grateful for warmer temperatures and no wind on Saturday morning feeling the energy of so many runners out training for Boston. With Saturday's miles, our training cycle on the Road to the Hyannis 10K is in the books. Tom and I did an easy 2 miler celebrating our 48th Valentines Day together. We are grateful for our beautiful life together. We are grateful for how we navigated incredible challenges through the years together and grateful for the many blessings now in our lives.
When I was diagnosed with Post-Polio Syndrome in December of 2006, told to prepare to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair, and expect an accelerated decline in functioning as I aged, Tom said it was a no-brainer that I should leave behind my award-winning social work career. I had an almost 3 figure salary with full benefits. My heart overflows with gratitude for his unending support. We've had amazing adventures during these past 20 years as I found my way to a healing path and the sport of running. I am so excited for our next adventure in Hyannis.
"Love is a Four Letter Word," one of my favorite poems, popped up as a FB memory for Valentines Day. I wrote Love is a Four Letter Word early on in my healing journey. I am deeply grateful for discovering the gift of poetry in my soul.
Tom and I, along with several of our friends on social media, have been following the Walk for Peace. The monks and their journey have expanded our spiritual awareness. I am tapping into the meaning of my own journey as I trained for Hyannis. I could not rest on my laurels but needed to take on at least one more challenge of a live race for myself and posterity.
We had our final before breakfast strength training workout on Monday morning. It's been an amazing 8 months of consistency, discipline and perseverance as we trained not only for race day but to age strong. It feels strange yet wonderful to not be checking the weather to plan out training runs. It was too early to check race day weather on Monday. During our work out and at breakfast, Tom and I expressed our sense of accomplishment and gratitude for this training cycle and all our minds and bodies have been able to achieve. I reminded us of the importance of speaking positive words into our life every morning especially as we count down to race weekend.
March 1st will be our victory lap. It will be a time to celebrate us. As I've shared in previous posts, March 2nd is Tom's 74th birthday and the 49th anniversary of when we met on a blind date! March 4th is our 48th wedding anniversary. This year marks 20 years since I was diagnosed with Post-Polio Syndrome, told to prepare to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair and expect an accelerated decline in functioning as I aged. Every day is a celebration of life that will be punctuated by Race Weekend.
Tuesday was the first day we had no run scheduled. Since it's been a minute since I've gone through taper time, I did a bit of research to remind myself of the phenomenon of Taper Madness and indulged in Taper time Tuesday musings. Taper madness is described as a temporary, common phenomenon among endurance athletes experiencing high anxiety, restlessness, self-doubt, and "phantom pains" during the reduced training (taper) phase before a race. It stems from reduced endorphins, accumulated fatigue, and the psychological shift from high-volume training to rest. It is best managed by trusting the
training, reducing mileage, staying active with light movement, and avoiding the urge to over train.
Reading that phantom pains are random, temporary aches or muscle twitches that seem to appear when training drops, is caused by tissue repair and heightened awareness brought me great comfort.
Vivid and strange dreams can be a symptom of taper madness. On Monday night, I dreamed that I ran the Boston Marathon again. Instead of a medal, I was given a flimsy piece of paper to put around my neck. But that dream ties into the need for me to stay focused on ALL of my previous race successes and all of the successful training runs we had. There was only one training run during this training cycle when I hit the wall and I was able to power through.
My mind has traveled to my one and ONLY DNF that was in Bermuda at the 10K in 2024. Rather than feel the grip of fear this could happen again, I am comparing that training cycle with time leading up to race day and this training cycle. My meditations are focused on healing and allowing taper time to work its magic. I know from sports psychology and the power of visualization that I can use my imagination to anticipate the joy of a wonder filled race weekend and race day, or remember what happened in Bermuda. The only reason I am revisiting what happened in Bermuda is to experience the contrast between that training cycle and events leading up to race day with this training cycle. This training cycle has been infused with joy and gratitude. Treating ourselves to a brunch or lunch after every long run to relish our time on the roads and savoring a well-earned refueling meal was a game changer on the Road to Hyannis. If my thoughts briefly wander to negative what-if's, I quickly replace them with, "Aah but what is the very best that could happen." I looked through the photos from Hyannis in 2016 and felt a flutter of butterflies anticipating the excitement of race weekend.
I love the tips for managing taper madness:
Trust the Process: Believe that the reduced workload is allowing your body to fully recover and build strength.
Stay Active (But Light): Avoid complete inactivity; instead, keep up light movement, such as short, easy runs.
Manage Energy: Use the extra time for sleep, stretching, and organizing gear.
Avoid Over-Checking: Do not obsess over the weather forecast or obsessively analyze old training data.
On Thursday, Tom and I went for an easy walk around the neighborhood to soak up the sunshine and continue our mental preparation for Hyannis. I reminded myself that phantom pains and tightness are temporary and just passing through; that we are going to have an epic race day. I am checking the weather so that we make sure we pack all the proper gear we will need. I'm so glad we purchased ponchos early on in our training as right now the forecast calls for rain. I've been doing a lot of stretching, foam rolling and taking longer time for afternoon meditations that sometimes drifts into a nap. I am reminding myself that this is my body's way to recover and prepare for race day. I continue to thank my body for all it has given me during this training cycle. I continue to express my deepest gratitude to Tom for being with me side by side and stride by stride on the roads and in our life together.
Through the eyes of gratitude everything is a miracle. This journey of healing and transformation and the gift of this training cycle has been an incredible miracle in my life that I appreciate from the depths of my heart and soul.
Visit my ***NEW*** website to learn how poetry, optimism, gratitude and the mind/body connection helped me to transform my life. After having been told in December 2006 that I should prepare to spend the rest of my life in a wheelchair, I went on to cross the finish line of the 2009 Boston Marathon and have many adventures as runnergirl 1953. Be sure to visit the recently updated News and Events Page for links to podcast interviews, speaking engagements and where you can find my incredibly inspirational story.
I was recently the guest on The Optimism Institute Blue Sky Podcast. "Mary McManus has never had it easy. As a kindergartner, she was a victim of polio just a short time before the vaccine was introduced. She also faced trauma in her home life but somehow managed to persevere and overcome these and still more obstacles throughout her life. Today, Mary is an inspiring author, poet, motivational speaker, and finisher of the Boston Marathon." Here is the link to the Episode Website. Be sure to subscribe on your favorite podcast platform and on YouTube.
Reach out to me at maryamcmanus@gmail.com if you'd like me to speak to your organization or group to inspire them with what's possible despite all appearances to the contrary; how one finds strength, resilience and determination in the face of seemingly impossible odds.
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