Dream Big: Reviving my Marathon Dreams!

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