What next? Rest, races and remembering

Well! It's been over a week since the marathon and life is chugging along. It is normal to feel a 'gap' once a big goal is accomplished- when that big event or performance is over and that focal point ceases to act as a daily beacon to organize events around. Lucky for me, I get to experience a seasonal shift as the weather improves- other volunteer projects such as work for the Fenway Garden Society, fundraising and project managing for several area parks projects, and deadlines for grants applications have all made days even busier than I would have thought (and sometimes want!) post-marathon. Right now, the challenges look to outweigh the successes, but like anything, this is a temporary phase as exploration of challenges lead to solutions going forward.

I will miss my great teammates, including Ben,who was a recipient of a rarely awarded Volunteer of the Year award with The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and whose amazing and inspiring blog account you can read here. I'll miss being surrounded weekly by a bunch of people who believe in making a difference through their actions and committment, but as I told our coaches, I think the ripple effect on the way their runners will continue to be impacted by the experience will be limitless.

And... There will be more races! This weekend is the Grafton Gazebo 5 Mile Road Race, held on Saturday, May 3rd at 10:00 a.m. This is a hilly and exciting (especially when you don't know the course!) race, and we should have a nice Team in Training contingent there. And my good friend Chris and teammate Patti have propelled me to sign up for the ING NYC half marathon in November. HALF marathon? That's right! I plan to work on pacing on shorter distances and see where that takes my running. I have yet to resolve my right ankle tendinitis, but am planning on working that out asap. For advice on how to recover from Boston, check out this recovery plan.

I would be remiss in not pointing out some great sponsors, whose products you can STILL BUY through my fundraising website until May 31, 2008:

Planet Buff:
Thank you, Scott, for offering a generous donation for each unit sold through my Original Buff Headwear link. Scott not only has agreed to donate a portion of each sale made through my site with the appropriate fundraising code listed, but to throw in a shopping spree drawing (one lucky winner!) for products for anyone purchasing through this site. Planet Buff is a great company whose products I can't say enough good things about.

Wrap n Mat:
Bonnie at Wrap N Mat has been most generous from the outset, allowing me to sell these great plastic saving reusable sandwich wraps on my site, and resending a large order of products that somehow (!) got lost in the mail.

Yuko Adachi:
Yuko's Fine Art Cards are just a tiny window into her vast artistic world, which you can view on her website. Yuko generously donated her proceeds for these cards for fundraising, and has helped me for a number of years in supporting LLS despite a busy painting and exhibition schedule.

Deans Beans:
Charlsie at Dean's Beans has been the best. She has split orders into small amounts to provide direct shipping of small qtties for my web orders , and provided quick, efficient and cheerful support all the way. This is my second year working with Deans Beans and they have turned a group of coffee lovers into satisfied and loyal customers.

All of these vendors have provided generous fundraising rates that have allowed me to sell their products while raising important funds for blood cancer research. Please take a look at their products and let me know if you are interested in purchasing their products! I can tell you more about any of them, as I've been a customer for all these items myself.

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.

It's training again....

Well, it's fall in New England again, and once again, will be training for the Boston Marathon with the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society's Team in Training. Before I get bogged down with training details, I wanted to write about my coach, Rick Muhr. Rick and Lori Muhr have been coaches with Team in Training for many years and were responsible for getting me through Boston last year.

On October 28th, during a severe storm, Rick ran 61 miles around the Grafton High School track to honor the memory of a former TNT runner and to commemorate the 100th anniversary of his employer, Saltus Press. Rick's goal that day was 100 miles within 24 hours. The driving rains and wind gusts of up to 50 miles per hour put a damper on the mileage Rick made, but not his spirit. While thousands in New England lost their power, Rick powered through his run, always stopping to thank supporters and talk with those who made the laps around the track with him. I was lucky to be there that day both during the first 26 miles and during the last several hours, and I will never forget the grace and courage he displayed as an athlete and as a human being.

So before all the complaining about training and fundraising begins, here's to you, Rick! Thanks for being such a positive inspiration for me and for everyone who gets to be coached by you and Lori.

Best,
-M