Friday, April 1, 2016

Swiss Alps and the English Coast

Oi! What an adventure! I was fortunate enough to spend my spring break in the stunning Swiss Alps and along the Coastal path in Southwest England :)

After a long and hard winter quarter at school, I knew that I needed to do something drastically different for my spring break. Something that did NOT require me to sit hours on end looking at a computer screen. So, the only thing to do was to book a flight to Europe ;) Luckily, I have some very dear friends living all over the globe that are always up for having visitors. In Switzerland, I was able to visit my friend Vera who lives in Neuchatel, a region found in the Jura mountains. There was definitely a lot more snow than I had expected at this time of the year, but I didn't let that stop me from running! I had a glorious day in the mountains, climbing ice walls, traversing ridge lines and running on top of snow in the sunshine. In total, I was able to run 15 miles at a reasonable altitude with plenty of climbing, a perfect day in the mountains :)



 After playing for a few more days in the alps, I flew over to England to meet up with two more friends where we attempted to camp and hike the coastal path. The first day was great. I was able to run around 8 miles and meet the others on the trail to continue walking for a further 9 miles. I absolutely love this path. I have hiked it in the past and fell in love with it. It can be rather bleak at times, especially during the winter, but it has a certain beauty to it that you don't really see anywhere else. After that day though, Hurricane Katie hit with gusts up to 80 mph, so to say the least, we had to pack up camp and head back to my friends apartment. We still had some lovely walks along the coast though.

So after all that running in the mountains and hills, my legs feel much stronger. I have started to increase my mileage. My foot has been giving me less trouble. If take care of it in the evenings with lots of massage and stretching, then it's happy to run the next day. So I'm hoping with time, the pain will completely dissipate.... fingers crossed!

Tuesday, March 8, 2016

Training phase 2

So I know it's been quite some time since my last post. School has kept me so busy that I barely have time to look up and see that Spring has definitely arrived. I was dreading the winter here in Seattle, but to be honest, it wasn't so bad. I was able to keep up with my running even if it was pouring rain outside since it never really got below 35-40 degrees (unlike in Michigan where the snow and subzero temperatures could definitely put a damper on your training plan!).

For the past couple months, I have been running fairly consistently keeping a base. My normal run would be around 6-7 miles and maybe a long run of 9 or 10. But I've been battling a few illnesses so I have to lay off more often than I would have liked.


I think I am ready for the next phase though! I need to start increasing my weekly mileage and my long runs. I had a therapeutic run today through the forest. The trees were covered in a thick, green moss, buds sprouting from the surround shrubs, and the flowers giving off the most wonderful scents. I rediscovered my love for running again this morning. I realized that I had just been running to get in miles this past winter and not running for the joy of it. Hopefully this weekend I can get myself to a beautiful mountain trail again. I find that variety in running routes can be extremely beneficial and exciting!



Saturday, October 24, 2015

Training Plan - Phase 1

So far I've been sticking to my own sort of training plan. I don't have a fixed one as of now, but I'm getting in the miles and mainly on the trails (aka lots of hills!). I went for an 8 mile run yesterday on the Burke-Gilman trail (a lovely bike path that snakes along Lake Washington). It's especially lovely because it's flat! yay : ) I felt like I was flying down the trail. It was reassuring more than anything to see that I can run a semi-decent pace still and that the hill running is indeed beneficial. 

Today I went for an 8 mile trail run in Bridle State Park. The good thing about this park is that the trails are 100% runnable with a hill here and there. Nice and soft on the feet. 

Fall is really setting in now. It's taking me longer and longer to warm up but I love it all the same. I have found that on chilly days like today, the best post-run meal/snack is a cup full of diced apples, cinnamon/salt, an oat cookie crumbled and hot water...sounds strange but it's so wonderful! oh and a spoonful of almond butter swirled in there too : )


Saturday, October 10, 2015

and so the training begins!!!

We had our first team meeting phone call this past Thursday! We learned a lot about event logisitics, fundraising techniques, nutrition and of course, the training plan. I am so excited to start this journey and I hope to share as much of this experience with all of you ; )

I had a run scheduled today of 8 miles. I didn't really have any expectations and because of that I had a really good run! I ran my fastest mile (7:00 minutes) post-surgeries, yay! Here's to Pacific Northwest trail running!


Wednesday, September 30, 2015

And so it begins!

I am excited to announce that I am officially apart of the 2016 MS Run the US Relay team! I will be running approximately 150 miles over six consecutive days. I was just saying how much I love running here on the northwestern trails! and now, they will be my training ground for the next 9 months or so as I prepare for my segment in the 2016 relay!

Take a look at my fundraising page and please make a donation for this incredible cause!

https://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/kristen-kelly-4/msruntheus2016relay

Lots of trail-running-love : )

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

It has been an exciting and extremely rewarding past 6 years. My travels have led me to almost every Continent on the globe. I have seen and experienced some of the most beautiful places this world has to offer, but more importantly the amount of interesting and wonderful human beings I have met along the way are without a doubt the reason that my experiences were so memorable. 

It's just one week until my Seattle journey begins. I have been looking forward to this for a long time. I can't wait to start discovering the city and all it has to offer! Oh and to start school too, of course :) I will be completing a post-bacc course in Naturopathic Medicine at Bastyr University just outside of Seattle. The program will go until the end of May and then hopefully, I will be admitted into the Naturopathic Medical program starting in the Fall of 2016. 

I secretely (or maybe not so secretly) can't wait to start running the trails and mountains in the Pacific Northwest!!!