Four Weeks - Four More Long Runs & A Benefit Concert

When I woke up yesterday morning to the alarm clock at 7 am, I had absolutely no desire to get up and run 19 miles. On Sunday, we ran the Hyannis Half Marathon and on Thursday, my trainer, Janine had kicked our butts eight times up the hill. Our cat, Alex, had created a crash in the middle of the night to which I awoke with a start and then tried to settle myself down after my adrenaline was pumping (miraculously the fishbowl of shells which he knocked into the sink did not shatter or break so he was not injured). But no excuses - I knew that after yesterday, we had only four more long training runs until we taper as we are moving ever so close to the start of the Boston Marathon.

On days that I run, I drink no decaf coffee (I gave up caffeinated coffee a year ago) because it can be dehydrating so I had water, juice and began my pre-running ritual of having one piece of toast, stretching, having oatmeal and another piece of toast and more water. I had filled up all of the water bottles for the fuel belt and prepared baggies of pretzels. The other two members of Team McManus awoke and we got prepared for the day. I told myself that despite feeling tired, I would get through this training run.

We arrived at Marathon Sports at 8:30 am where a Saucony representative had created a festive atmosphere. The Spaulding Rehab team trainer, Domenick D'Amico was there and he was helping us to plan out our 19 mile run (which was 18.6 miles with a lot of hills). He is a gentle spirit who has run 17 marathons including 9 Boston Marathons. A few other runners congratulated us on our successful Hyannis run. To our surprise, there was a raffle drawing and Ruth Anne and I won Saucony t-shirts. By 8:50 we were on our way.

The sun was shining and it was 39 degrees but there was a stiff headwind. I knew I needed to harness all of my psychological strength to finish this training run. I invited God to join me on this training run and asked God for help at different points when I was feeling tired and sore. She was right there with me every step of the way. I had my iPod and listened to shuffle songs. We took a nice and easy pace and I dismissed all thoughts of how long this was going to take us. We had done an amazing 15:38 minute mile at the Hyannis Half Marathon race and the important thing was to got those miles into our legs and to run safe and healthy. I made sure that I drank a lot of water, used my gel and had pretzels to replace salt and to add carbs for fuel. Team McManus was in a great rhythm. Ruth Anne power walked; she is amazing at finding a pace that matches our running pace; Tom kept a steady running pace and I alternated between power walking and running. At the end of our training run, as we reached Cleveland Circle, I decided to bring it way down and walk. Tom ran ahead to order our post training run pizza at Cafe Nicholas. The training run took 5 hours and 15 minutes - but who cares? Despite feeling tired and still recovering from Sunday's Half Marathon, WE DID IT! We came home and took hot showers; Ruth Anne and I watched Friends on DVD and then our tradition - American Idol Rewind. We had Thai food from Trader Joe's for dinner and went to bed at 9 pm. I got 12 hours of sleep and awoke this morning feeling sore but blissful knowing that we only have four more long runs on the weekends - and a benefit concert.

On March 14th, we have been blessed to create An Evening of A Cappella Music at Brookline High School. We have all been busy with ticket sales and I have been extremely busy with promotions. What a blessing to connect with a Boston Globe reporter who is a Brookline High School mom (Dr. Bob Weintraub, headmaster, referred me to her). My PR student is preparing a press release to send out this week and most importantly, regardless of what may be right now in terms of ticket sales, we are visualizing a sold out house. I visualize a reunion of my twins' classmates and teachers from Brookline High School. I visualize my colleagues from the VA coming out for the evening and it being an evening overflowing with magic. We are blessed to have two wonderful raffle prizes - a Tiffany's bracelet and a WERS gift basket. We have certificates from Boloco to sell. It's going to be a marvelous night for a community to come together for an incredible cause and to celebrate a miracle of healing.

Amidst training for the Marathon and creating a benefit concert, I am busy with book promotion and creating customized poetry for my clients as well as expanding my client base. I know that God is bathing me with Her love and strength and I move forward in total joy giving thanks for the blessings which overflow in my life.

To learn more about my wonderful book of inspirational poetry and customized poetry, log onto www.newworldgreetings.com
To donate to Team McManus, go to www.firstgiving.com/teammcmanus
If you are in the greater Boston area, please join us for an Evening of A Cappella Music at www.firstgiving.com/ballinthehouse