Zombies, Run! 5K Training

I've been unhappy about my weight and general fitness for a while now, and putting on another half stone during the Christmas period really put a dampener on my body image! As somebody who works as a digital artist with sedentary hobbies like gaming and blogging, I don't exactly have the most energetic lifestyle! Which is why, when I discovered the Zombies, Run! App, I was incredibly keen to try it out. Zombies, Run! is a podcast, a game and a running app all in one that incorporates gaming elements with a really engaging story. The basic plot outline is that you are a survivor of a zombie apocalypse and have settled in a town called Abel, and now you've joined a group of people tasked with the job of fetching supplies and scouting the local area. Runners, as they're called, are the hope and future of Abel. You are Runner 5.

As Runner 5, you run or walk while listening to the app, and the plot gets more and more involved with each episode. There are actually two versions of the app, the regular Zombies, Run!, and a 5k training mode which operates like other Couch-2-5K apps with weekly goals to help get you in shape. In the regular app, there are periodic 'zombie chases', where you're urged to run faster to escape the oncoming onslaught of zombies, and you collect 'supplies' during your run that the game tracks and monitors for you. If you don't run fast enough during the zombie chases, you risk losing some valuable supplies!

The Zombies, Run! 5K Training app doesn't include these chases, and you don't pick up in-game supplies. Instead, the app presses you with training drills, including running, walking, various exercises and stretches to increase your running stamina. Each week increases the amount of running you do and pushes you a little but further, while of course offering an engaging story to compliment your run. The goal is that by the end of week 8, you'll be able to run a full 5K, or for 30 minutes straight without stopping.

Since Zombies, Run! has become quite an important part of my weekly routine now, I thought it was about time I started tracking my process here. I've just started week four, which means I'm nearly half way through. Regrettably. I have to take a bit of a break this week, because I'm being forced to miss two of my run days to convention prep and travel, but I'm going to get back at it again next week and hope my legs don't hate me too much for the break! I thought I'd track my process each week by showing the little images the app gives you on completion of each run.

Here's the training so far:

I've already completed workout one for week four but as I have to miss the next two, I'll start again next week and will post weekly updates from then on! As for my personal experience with the app, I'm finding it really fun, but it is a challenge for me! As you can see from my time and pace, I'm extremely out of shape! I used to love track and field as a kid, but even then I wasn't a long distance runner. 200 meter sprint was more my speed, so even though I'm slow and out of shape, I'm quite impressed I'm now able to run (well, alternate run/brisk walk, if we're going to be honest!) 2 miles without stopping. In fact, I don't get out of breath at all while doing these runs, even though I do work up a heck of a sweat. What I do struggle with are my calf muscles. I've been stretching every day between runs and they still feel like glass within minutes of running, even after three weeks of training. I know, I know, three weeks isn't long after decades of no real exercise, but still! They need to sort themselves out sharpish, because I'm planning on entering the Zombies, Run! Virtual Race this April! Wish me luck!