Dream Big: Reviving my Marathon Dreams!

When Goals Aren't Reached it can be hard to swallow, particularly when you are an achiever and Type A personality. I must say that 2018 didn't exceed my expectations and I barely stumbled to achieving a few goals. But, I wouldn't be fair to myself if I only focused on what didn't go well. After qualifying for Marathon Maniacs at the end of 2017, I had high hopes 2018 would be even better. I didn't plan for some health issues and just life getting in the way. But, you know the saying, "Life Happens" and that is my story and I'm sticking to it. Accomplishments Toward Big Goals It wouldn't be right to dismiss the goals I did reach this year. I still accomplished some cool things and learned a good lesson too. You are not less than if you have to drop down your distance from a half marathon to a 10K or 5K. Completed a half marathon in Indiana, Idaho, and Oklahoma (checking off three more states toward my 50 states goal) Learned how to take car

And the Hike Begins...UP, UP, UP  A few of the Pacific NW Skirt Sports Ambassadors met up for a wonderful hike at Little Si. The hike was steep in places, lots of rocks, lots of water with the rain, but it was beautiful and couldn't have better company! Enjoy this photo collage of our journey up Little Si...pictures speak louder than words for this post.  The rocky, hilly climb in the beginning had lots of fun places for photo opportunities. The trail was simply beautiful from start to finish and as we hiked up there was a trickle of water in the path, so it felt like we were walking up a waterfall run-off. We parked in the overflow parking and highly recommend parking there because the trail is beautiful past that first parking lot. North Sound Girls                                    South Sound Girls    The Summit...We Did It! We made it to the top and had a chance to chill for just a moment. The top is a huge rock b

You might be expecting to read oh how much I love running all the time, how every run is empowering and awesome, but actually that is not my experience at all. In fact, I have had more bad runs than good probably and honestly, it may sound strange but that is Why I Run! If you live life wanting everything to come easy, you are going to miss out on moments where growing and striving for better is actually what you need. I know you might be thinking, "But, I want life to be easy and I want everything to be awesome and happy all the time." Give me a moment and hear me out. Living life and being happy is great! But, let me ask this... Would you know true happiness if you didn't ever have to work hard for a goal?  Would you grow to be a better person if you didn't struggle a little along the way? Would your successes be as enjoyable if you didn't have to work for it? My answer to those questions is obviously "no". Running has taught me more through

As part of the Real Women Move Challenge, we were challenged to answer the following question: What makes you feel most alive? Then, we were asked to come up with a founding principle that reflects the answer to that question.  I will be honest, I've had a turbulent and yet, still successful year. Some things beyond my control happened and coping with those things can be challenging for anyone. When I answer the question, "What makes me feel most alive?", I think of hiking trips to waterfalls, how I feel after I accomplish something I didn't think I could do, exploring new places, traveling, trying new things, spending time at the beach, discovering what my two boys love (one is really into marine science and the other loves creating short stories and studying maps/countries), laughing and not stressing out.  Being a mom, exploring the outdoors, accomplishing hard things, enjoying life, those are what makes me feel the most alive. In light of going through a fe

I honestly can't believe I'm even typing this and still pinching myself to see if it is real. You see, I gave up on the marathon distance a long time ago after a scary incident at the Disney Marathon in 2006 where I got very sick from medicine I took pre-race and ended up with my first and only DNF after running 22 miles.  I was SO close! Then, as I started to realize I was only one race away from qualifying for Marathon Maniacs, I had to give it a shot.  I completed the Portland Marathon in October and the New York City Marathon in November, so I needed one more before the qualifying 90 day time limit was up.  Really, Kim? You have a calf strain and PF returned after the NYC race, you can't do another marathon.  Upon medical advice, you haven't even done more than a 5K in a month, how are you going to pull off another marathon? Is it Tenacity or Stupidity? Well, for some reason, I have either been given the gift of tenacity or the gift of stupidity.  You can dec