Now that my twin girls are in college, Mother’s Day just isn’t what it used to be. There is little to no fanfare. There are no cards or gifts. There is no mention of going out for dinner. It has just morphed into another Sunday.
Not that I expect to receive cards or gifts every year. I don’t. And I’m not hurt by it. It is just…different.
There were, however, a dozen red roses on the kitchen countertop when I returned home from my 16-mile run yesterday morning. And text messages from all of my daughters wishing me a Happy Mother’s Day. And we did make a trip to the “Mugga-Mall” (my husband’s moniker for the Mall of America in Bloomington) to test drive a few computers since mine is failing rapidly. And he did ask if I wanted him to fry me up a burger for dinner. But to be honest, I was well worn from my morning run, and I did have to work today at 6am, so, I declined the offer, and instead crawled into bed early with my laptop to resurrect my blog.
Today, life continued as usual. If it weren’t for Facebook reminding me of what happened on this particular day since 2011, I wouldn’t have recalled all the wonderful (and not so wonderful) events that had happened in the past.
Probably the biggest life changing event happened on May 12, 2012, when I ran my very first half marathon in New Prague, MN. It was the race that started it all, propelling me into the sport of running. My sisters both travelled from New York just to witness the event. At the time, it was huge, having trained for months to prepare for the 13.1 mile run. And now, I’ll eat a 13.1 mile run for breakfast on my morning off.
But I by no means want to downplay the event. That was the run where, despite needing a modest 2 week recovery period, I decided I could run a marathon. The following year, I took on Grandma’s Marathon in Duluth, MN, scoring a Boston qualifying time, which brought me to the infamous city in 2014 to run my first Boston Marathon.
I have since gone back to New Prague to run that half marathon every year, with the exception of 2014, where a Boston Marathon training injury forced me to wear a boot for the month of May.
I am almost certain I’ve had an age group placement in all of these New Prague runs. Of course, small town runs will do that for you. But, I’ve never belittled them. I’m a darn good runner. And I deserved the age group win, even if there were only 5 in my age group.
This year, I ran the half marathon alongside my running group compadres, Amy and Josh. Amy is a die hard runner just as I am. She scored her first EVER age group win. She was just tickled. And I was tickled to see her so tickled. She too stated, “Smaller race, which helps with placement.” Oh PSHAW, Amy! You EARNED that podium spot…smaller race or not. Run with it! “Wear that medal all weekend,” I told her.
As runners, much like as mothers, we don’t give ourselves the credit we deserve. We work hard, day and night, night and day, and we just don’t bend over far enough to give ourselves a pat on the back.
Now is as good a time as any to start.
This is why I resurrected my blog.
This is why I write.
This is why I run.
I’m standing atop the tallest podium this day. And I intend to shout it out to anyone who will listen.
Thank you for listening.