All I Needed to Hear

When it comes to my involvement in the sport of running, my mom is not my biggest fan.

Sure, she supports me. When I ran my first marathon in October 2005, she traveled three hours to the Twin Cities to cheer me on. She helped my sister Brooke and I raise money when we decided to run the Chicago Marathon for the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation. She showed up for that race, too.

But, when I complain of aches or pains from running, I don't get sympathy from my mom. I'm told to scale back running or find a new sport. When I mention I've just come in from a long run, she might reply, "Should you be running that far?"

When I go home for the holidays in a few weeks, my mom will quickly tire of me talking about running or needing to head out for a run. I considered participating in a satellite 6.1-mile "race" on Dec. 26 for a cause I support. Considering I got zero support from my husband, I can only imagine how my mom would respond if I told her I was planning to leave my family for an hour to run the day after Christmas. For financial reasons, I've decided not to participate in the satellite race.

I'm sure my mom would prefer I put my energy into making babies (maybe in three to five years) or finding a job that doesn't have the word "free" in its title.

There are days when I wish my mom would be my biggest cheerleader, and I've told her as much. Then, she drops a gem like she did after the Philadelphia Marathon on Nov. 21.

A few hours after the race, I talked on the phone with her. When I told her that I had achieved a personal best by at least four minutes (six weeks after Chicago!), she said although she gives me flack for running, she was proud of me.

That's all I needed to hear.