It’s just under a month before I head to the midwest and visit my Korean mom and my brother who genially puts up with her. The original plan was to fly to Chicago and spend a few days in the Windy City since my boyfriend has never been, then drive to Detroit and spend a few days cursing Tim Allen and his deceptive Pure Michigan commercials (“I don’t...

Last year I did my first Ironman despite my mom’s protest that I was “gonna die,” and this year I drove up to Penticton, British Columbia to watch my friends do the race and to sign up for 2012. When I got back home, I called my mom and debated telling her about my plans to do the race again (since she was less than thrilled about me doing it the...