Zombies, Run! 5K - Week Eight Review! Fin!

I did it!

I completed all eight weeks of the Zombies, Run! 5K app. I'm actually quite surprised. Especially considering I started it on a whim. It wasn't nearly as difficult as I thought it would be.

This week was a little bit different because each of the runs had a different itinerary. I didn't know this, so when I started my second run, I was completely confused. But I went with it.

My first run was quite frankly pretty awful. It was raining a lot. It had been all week. But I made myself get out there. There was a 20 minute run, which I managed to do no problem. I did miss out on one of the last five minute runs though. I just got really sick of the weather.

The second run was so much nicer. I was originally going to go back to my lake trail, but it turned out to be flooded, so I ended up doing the same trail that I was doing before anyway. There is this one hill on my route that is pretty major. When I run down it, I pretend I am flying. Yup, I'm that girl.

And the finale! I was so excited to complete the finale. I pushed myself really hard. I decided to mix things up a bit and went on a different direction on the trail. I haven't been that way in a very long time. I started following an older couple, thinking that they were doing the same route as me. But it turned out that they were not. So I got a bit lost. Not ridiculously lost. It's a big park, but not impossible to navigate. It actually worked out nicely because it added an extra bit of length to my run so that I could get the whole 5K in.

My timing on the 5K was exactly 45 minutes. I'm a pretty slow runner, but I'm happy with that time. I completed over 112K during the program, which I completed in about 6 weeks.

Honestly, this app was so much fun. I recommend it to anyone who is apprehensive about starting to run. I don't even like zombies (I still don't know what a shambler is), yet I LOVE this program. I can't wait to start the regular app.

You can read more about my Zombies, Run! 5k adventures at week one, week two, week three, week four, week five, week six, and week seven. Check out my Zombies, Run! profile here and see how I did this week.

Zombies, Run! 5K - Week 6 Review

I can't believe that I have been running for a month now. At the same time it feels much longer.

Week 6 runs featured:

• 5 minute walk
• 10 minute free form run
• 10 squats
• 30 seconds of stretching, 10 squats - 2 times
• 5 minute fast walk
• 7 minute free form run
• 2 minutes of stretching, 7 minute free form run - 2 times

Week 6 of the Zombies, Run! 5K app was not as straight forward as I would have liked. The list of what to do wasn't laid our very clearly. It varied slightly from the app to what Dr. Maxine Myers actually told me to do. Particularly the 5 minute walk and 7 minute run turned into a 12 minute free form run, which I actually preferred... I just wasn't expecting it.

I think my app wasn't working properly during my first run of the week. It seemed impossible to know what was going on, despite the relatively simple set. I hadn't really memorized the routine, so I was relying the app to give me direction. I ended up missing all of the squat cues and running through the set. The first time I did it, I ran for over 40 minutes of the 53 minute routine. It worked well.

I was really impressed with myself and how far I have accomplished so far with this app.

You can read more about my Zombies, Run! 5k adventures at week one, week two, week three, week four, and week five. Check out my Zombies, Run! profile here and see how I did this week.

Zombies, Run! 5K - Week Five Review: Ninja Zombies

The exercises this week looked like:

• 5 minute walk
• 5 minute free form run
• 30 second walk, 1 minute run, 6 heel lifts - 8 times
• 10 minute free form run
• 5 minute stretch
• 10 minute free form run

5-1 I went for my run in the park. This time I decided just to run around one of the lakes. It worked perfectly. The scenery is so beautiful. Of course, it was raining. The trees in the park were a nice protection. The beauty of running around the lake it that I consistently knew which parts were extra muddy. However, I did keep running into a group of teenagers filming some sort of movie. They set their camera up right in the middle of the path. I would have yelled at them all four times that they made me run off the trail, except I didn't want to ruin my zone.

Because I had a zone. I managed to run 35 minutes out of the 50 minute session. Which means that I was running during all of the free run portions. It was only supposed to be 33 minutes of running, but the app screwed up and made me run an extra two minutes.

The story is getting a lot more involved. Dr. Maxine Myers and Janine joined me on my run. Maxine is starting to open up a bit. She even gossiped during this run! I like Janine so far, but her character is a little bit shady. Plus, she doesn't get along with Sam. An enemy of Sam Yao's is no friend of mine. As you can see I am getting pretty into the story.

5-2 I took three days off from running, mostly due to the rain not agreeing with my schedule. I was so excited to get back to my story. I did the same route as last time. It was a gorgeous day. Perfect for running around the lake.

I was a little confused about whether or not the app was giving me the right timing. I felt like the runs were happening ending much quicker than they should have. I'm not convinced I was wrong, since I've had issues with the timing before, but I checked the time of the run and it seemed to match up with how long everything should have taken.

5-3 My final run in week 5 was so amazingly awesome. Whenever I start my runs, I always feel like I'm not going to make it very far, but somehow I end up surpassing my expectations. Especially during this run. I did the same route I always do, expect this time I did 5 laps around the lake instead of just 4. Which means that I was able to complete over 5k within the time of the app (which is 53 minutes).

It was also a fun day for the storyline. Jody (aka Runner 4) was my companion. She's pretty funny in a ditzy sort of way. We went on a mission for knitting supplies. Success! I especially enjoyed the part when she talked about Ninja Zombies. How horrible would that be if a ninja was turned into a zombie? Hopefully they wouldn't get to keep their ninja skills once they turned into a zombie.

You can read more about my Zombies, Run! 5k adventures at week one, week two, week three, and week four. Check out my Zombies, Run! profile here and see how I did this week.

Zombies, Run! 5K - Week Four Review

I feel like the challenge level regressed with week 4 of the Zombies, Run! 5K application. There was more "forced" running in last week's set of exercises. I was not into the fast vs slow walking. I would have preferred it to be one minute of running vs one minute of walking.

The three workouts in week three look like this:

• 5 minutes of walking
• 5 minute of free form run (run or walk)
• 10 second knee lifts, 1 minute slow walk, 1 minute fast walk - x 5
• 1 minute walk, 30 second run - x 5
• 15 minute free form run

You can check out my Zombies, Run! profile here and see how I did this week.

4-1 I had such a difficult time convincing myself to get out of the house. It was a gorgeous day, and I had so many plans in my head about where and when I should be running. Studying took longer than I thought, but I made myself get out there. I ended up trying a completely new route. There was a lot of up hill on my new route, so I don't think I will be doing it again. I ended up going past my old elementary school and my old high school. Neither of which I had any intention of passing when I first started. 

The fast walking worked in my favour today because I wouldn't have been about to do much running since I was spending so much time going up hill. By the time the actually running came around, I was on flatter terrain, so it worked out well. I did run most of the free form runs as well.

4-2 The character of Sam joined me on my run today for most of it. It was a nice change from the Doctor. I like her and everything, but she is a little too authoritative, and I don't really know anything about her character. Sam wears his heart on his sleeve. I especially liked the fact that he kept making fun of me for doing the knee lifts. Good to know that the app thinks I look as ridiculous as I feel when I am doing them.

Another beautiful day in Mundy Park. I jogged around Mundy Lake a few times. I think one day I will try and do most of my run around the lake. It is such a beautiful spot.

4-3 I had originally planned on going to the pool instead of doing another run tonight, but I figured that a run might fit into my schedule better. I didn't expect it to be pouring outside though. I decided to do my run as planned. I ended up driving to Como Lake so that I could just stay on a flat surface and be able to finish as soon as the run was over. I really enjoyed running around the lake. It's roughly 1km around, so I ran it about 4 times.

I decided to run during the fast walking bits and it was easy peazy for me. I ran quite a bit during this session. It was really nice during my first couple of laps because there was no one else on the track. Eventually I started to run into a few people, and I did not like that very much. It was cold, dark, and wet out. I kept thinking that they were going to attack me. Ridiculous, I know. But not completely. If it were ever to happen, it would be in a situation like that.

This run was probably the most intense from a story perspective. Runner 6 was injured, so I had to distract the zombies so that the other runners could bring her back to the base. My app had a bit of a glitch in it at one point. It told me to start running for 30 seconds, and then about 2 seconds later it told me it was time for my 15 minute free run. Not only did it cut my 30 second run to nothing, but it also skipped my last walk. I've noticed this happening before, but I was never 100% sure because the timing wasn't as obvious.

I'm halfway done the app now! I'm excited that I am progressing, but also a bit sad because it will be over soon. I'll just have to start using the regular app - but that means a whole lot more running than I am used to right now, so its a bit nerve racking.

You can read more about my Zombies, Run! adventures at week one, week two, and week three.

Zombies, Run! 5K - Week Three Review

Yesterday, I completed week three of Zombies, Run! 5K. I had a lot more difficulties with the running part this week. It wasn't that the app all of a sudden became a lot more challenging - my problems were more related to just not feeling very well when I was out there. Although, this week did seem to give a big jump in the challenge factor. A lot more running... or at least opportunity to run.

The three workouts in week three look like this:

• 5 minutes of walking
• 5 minutes of free form run (run or walk)
• 1 minute of running, 1 minute of walking, 10 knee lifts - 5 times
• 8 minute free form run
• 2 minutes of stretching
• 8 minute of free form run

My Zombies, Run! profile is here. I really like being able to see all of the stats involved.

3-1 I finally made it to 5 KM! I had to run back and forth down my street a few times when I got home, but I travelled for 5 km, and this makes me happy. I've been alternating between running in the park behind my parents house, and just running in my neighbourhood. Both of my routes seem to cross mini lakes, which makes me smile.

3-2 This run was such a challenge for me. It was raining, so that didn't make it especially fun. It was also kind of rushed since I knew I only had a certain amount of time to get home and shower. The runs only last about 35 minutes, but I often go a little bit longer. I ended up cutting my route short so that my route matched the game because I was just not feeling up to snuff.

I'm starting to like running in my neighbourhood a little bit less. This partly came about because I am made about the sidewalk situation on some of the suburban streets. I was running down a sidewalk on a surprisingly busy road when all of a sudden it just disappeared. There was no longer a sidewalk on the side I was on. It stopped in a completely random location and switched to the other side of the road. No rhyme or reason. It's bizarre.

3-3 I had my whole day planned out perfectly, but the weather did not want to cooperate. I waited for a few hours in my work out gear for the rain to stop. I'm sure there are people who will run in crazy rain storms, but I am not one of those people. That being said, I live in Vancouver, so I have to get used to running in the rain. But this was too much rain. In the end, it actually turned out to be a pretty nice day later on. Oh, Vancouver life.

You can read more about my Zombies, Run! adventures during week one, and week two.

Zombies, Run! 5K - Week Two Review

I just finished "Week Two" of the Zombies, Run! 5K program. I've actually only been doing the program for one week. The first week (which you can read about here) was pretty easy, so I didn't feel like I needed to take the days off that Doctor Myers (the character leading the runs) suggested I take. Instead, I dove right into week two.

Each day in week two consisted of:

• 10 minutes of walking
• 30 seconds of running, 5 heel lifts, 1.5 minutes of walking - 5 times
• 10 minute free form run (walk or run)

The story is what keeps me going. Each run ends up being about 40 minutes long, but I always find myself wanting to go longer. I am enjoying the different characters that keep joining me for my runs. It seems that almost every day I am running with someone new. I was also pleased to make it outside of the base. I was getting a little bit worried that all of my training would happen inside of the base, and what fun would that be? The point is to run from zombies.

The story is what keeps me going. Each run ends up being about 40 minutes long, but I always find myself wanting to go longer. I am enjoying the different characters that keep joining me for my runs. It seems that almost every day I am running with someone new. I was also pleased to make it outside of the base. I was getting a little bit worried that all of my training would happen inside of the base, and what fun would that be? The point is to run from zombies.

I've started looking at the online component of the app. If you go to the Zombies, Run! website, you can see exactly how far you have run each day and combined. If you enter your weight, it will also give you a rough estimate of  calories burned, as well.

However, I have been having a few minor problems with the app. Sometimes the app has just decided not to play my music anymore. If I exit out of the app and put new music in, I can pick up where I left off, but my online maps become disjointed and things don't add up correctly. It seems to be happening every other day. At first I thought it was because there was something wrong with the playlist I selected, but then it started happening to playlists that have worked in the past.

There was also a problem when Sam went crazy during one of my sessions. The story audio completely disappeared. I was still doing the 30 seconds of running bit, so I just kept running for awhile. I kept thinking to myself that this is a really long 30 seconds. I exited out the app and tried again, but it seemed to freeze in the same spot. On my third attempt I decided to just keep going without the story, but the audio eventually came back after about a song and a half.

Zombies, Run! 5K - Week One Review

Two things I hate: zombies and running. Who knew that putting them together would totally rock my world?

When I first heard about Zombies, Run!, I thought it was probably the coolest running app available. I hadn't actually planned on learning to run, but a few days ago I was telling my brother about how cool the app sounded. It was at that point that I realized that I had to try it. I found out that the company had also released a 5k learn to run version. Within ten minutes I had borrowed some workout gear from my mom and was hitting the park trails.

The app adds an extra dimension to each run. You get to run, listen to your own music, and get an extra push from the radio controller. I also really like the feature that tracks where you have run. I know most running apps probably do this too, but this is the first one I've used. I used to follow routes with my car afterwards so I would know how far I was running. So far I have just been training to avoid zombies, so we will see how I do once zombies actually get into the mix.

The first day was just a free form run with an introduction to the story. I was surprised at how involved it was. I arrived at Abel township via helicopter and started running towards the base. I think the first day of the regular Zombies, Run! and the Zombies, Run! 5K are the same.

The next day, I surprised myself by moving my schedule around so that I could fit a run in. Although, I am using the term "run" quite loosely. Since I'm starting with the learn to run app there isn't much running going on so far.

Week One consists of three workouts (not including the introduction). Each day has the same system. I am Runner Five, and I am being trained to be a runner for the Abel Base Camp. Each day looks like this:

• 10 minute warm-up walk
• 1 minute of walking, 15 second run - x10
• 10 minute free form run (run or walk as much as you like)

The characters are really interesting. I am especially a fan of Sam Yao, who is the dispatcher. He was romantically involved with the old Runner Five, Alice, who has recently become a zombie.

I ended up getting a blisters on both of my ankles (very common for me), so I have to put bandaids on before I go out running. During workout 3, I forgot to put the bandaids on. I decided to run through the pain. The story kept me going despite my uncomfortable ankles. When I got home, I looked at my shoes and they were both absolutely covered in blood. It's a good thing there weren't any real zombies around. I would have been toast... They can smell blood, right?