Plan of Action...

Okay, assessment so far is hopeful- elliptical on Thursday instead of running, then checking in on Friday to see whether the Saturday run should delay a day or not. Good news! I think staying off the injury, icing, wrapping and taking a run day completely off has helped. That is better than I had hoped! Given the site of injury (a chronic injury site), the fact that blood flow to the ankle is notoriously bad, and that my hypothyroidism makes cell turnover and healing a little slower than normal, I think this is excellent news. I am lucky to have a great coach who has already provided some good advice, and an excellent doctor, who is also a runner. :-)

Today I am writing about my role models and one special thing I notice about them. Rick Muhr, my running coach, has been working with LLS for well over a decade, helping the Boston Team of over 130 runners each season train for and complete the Boston Marathon. His challenge is a big one- to motivate charity runners, some of whom have never completed 26.2 miles, and get them through training in order to run Boston in 'relative comfort'. Rick is an accomplished runner who has run amazing races, from marathons to cross-state (as in- running across the state!) events, and recently ran more than 60 miles in punishing conditions. His motivation to make a difference and especially a difference in the fight against cancer is a personal one, and it is a motivation he shares openly with a team of runners every week. I am overlooking another person who deserves this credit- his wife Lori, also an accomplished runner and a co-coach for the Team who attends each training and has helped us all with her wisdom.

My other role model is from my another of my hobbies as an amateur rose gardener- David Cannistraro. David is a Master Rosarian with the New England Rose Society Yankee District. He willingly donates his time and resources to helping novice gardeners learn about rose culture and care, performing pruning seminars at public gardens, and teaching volunteers at public gardens about roses. Just yesterday he presented at the New England Flower Show with his co-worker at their company Just Roses, Cynthia Fraser, who is an accomplished rosarian as well. David's constant encouragement that anyone can learn about and grow great roses has inspired many gardeners.

Cynthia, her husband and David at the annual Justine Mee Liff Party in the Park

To outline requirements for Master Rosarians, aside from the more than decade long term required as a Consulting Rosarian and other performance related requirements, the Master Rosarian:

• Exemplifies knowledge of roses and their culture
• Shows a strong and demonstrated willingness to share this knowledge with other rosarians and the general public
• Provides an example of outstanding service to the local rose society and the ARS (American Rose Society) and is a model of the ethical behavior exemplified in the CR program.
  The quality I want to recognize in Rick, Lori, David and Cindy, is that these people, though they have gained wisdom through concerted effort and excellence in their respective fields and could easily retain this knowledge exclusively for themselves, have chosen to share their talents and abilities to the benefit of others. I am lucky to be someone who is within radius of these extraordinary people, and to benefit from the guidance and encouragement they have provided to me. I hope I can retain this example through my running season and upcoming gardening season and thank these inspirational people for making a difference!

The rose 'Justine Mee Liff', bred by my grandfather Paul E. Jerabek, and selected by David Cannistraro to be dedicated and planted in the Kelleher Rose Garden in the Fenway. Justine Liff was the late Boston Parks Commissioner, an advocate for parks and partnership and whose work fostered a sense of community and founded the Emerald Necklace Conservancy.