Higher

I must be crazy. Well, more than usual. This morning, on my rest day, I decided that I should go for another run. Why, you might ask? Because I, apparently, am a masochist of imaginable measure. My legs were already sore from yesterday. A level of soreness that promised it had not yet peaked and tomorrow would be even less fun walking.

But, the kids were crazy, I wanted out of the house, had played with a bunch of new playlists last night and frankly I really wanted to get through that first mission on Zombies, Run! Remember that interval training app I talked about yesterday that immerses you into a survival horror story? That's the one! Yesterday, I ran in the early morning when it was still dark as shit o'clock. Having moans and groans coming at you from god knows where in the dark is freaky. A good kind of freaky, but still... I like my horror, but it makes me jumpy like a cat on caffeine. My imagination went a little wild. It was awesome.

This time, I was running in full day light and with that first not-sure-what-to-expect time out of the way, I was ready. More than ready. I even had a whole playlist set up JUST for escaping zombies. I needed to try it out. NEEDED to. The kids screaming bloody murder and scrapping with each other since 6:30 this morning had nothing to do with it. At all.

So, as soon as Ian was up and moving, I was out the door. Ready to inflict pain on myself and pound the asphalt. I hit start on that mission... OMFG. Zombies, Run! with music blew me right out the front door. It was awesome. More than awesome, in fact. It was perfect.

I had set up a playlist in WinAmp (the recommended music app to integrate with the Zombies, Run! app) last night. You can listen to it over on my grooveshark.com account. The ZR app lets you shuffle the music or set it to play as you've ordered it in the playlist. I set it to shuffle and HOLY FREAKING COW was it amazing. It could not have been a more perfect set. Slower, more even paced songs in the beginning, and then faster songs during the zombie chases and a nice mellow cool down. Perfect. Just, perfect.

My favorite moments were opening with One Engine by The Demberists, the  last hump zombie chase pushing myself all out to Radioactive by Imagine Dragons and then the final cool down after succeeding the mssion to Bring Me to Life by Evanesence.

I had my very first runner's high after that run. Words cannot describe. Really, I've never had one before and pictured it much different. Pure euphoria. I am so glad I am doing this. For me!

First Run

First run clocked in at 0.86 miles in 10:47. I feel like my chest is going to explode, but it's a good kinda feeling! Right? ...right.

Yesterday, I stocked up on running shorts and some loose athletic shirts at Walmart. And by stocking up, I mean I bought two. Hey. It's a start. Everything I had in the athletic clothes department was from when I was working out to get married. SIX years ago. Yeah, that shit ain't gonna fit now.

I bought new ear-buds to use with my phone. I wasn't sure what I was going to pick up when I went in. And let's get real, I was at Wal-Mart people. Its not like they were going to have a huge selection and top of the line. They were pretty generic cotton-candy colored ear-buds. I had grabbed a pair of nondescript black ones when, at the last second, I caught sight of Sony's Sports Headphones. They were sleek, modern and for five bucks more promised not to piss me off by falling out of my ears every five seconds. Winning!

During my run this morning, they were perfect. Comfortable. Stayed in place. Didn't jiggle or move about. The sound was consistent. So far, so good.

For tracking my run, I used a new app for my phone called Zombies, Run! by Six to Start. It's an interval training tool with a story. Basically, you are Runner 5 dropped in to help survivors against a horde of zombies. Along the way, you pick up items you'll need to survive (med-kits, water, food, etc) and will return them back to your base, a virtual space where these supplies help build up your resistance against the horde and unlock the next chapter. Zombies will chase you at certain  intervals encouraging you to up your speed for bursts while running. You get encouragement from other characters in the story. It's great.

Except when you run in the dark. Then, its a freaking nightmare to hear moans and scratching sounds coming in from all sides. Seriously. I had to keep reminding myself I could just stop the game if I wanted to. They weren't real. Zombies aren't REAL! Okay, so maybe I'll lay off the coffee some.

All in all, I think I did alright on my first run. I'm going to try to get out at least three days a week. Rest on the weekends. Start out slow. That's what Jay keeps telling me every time I yell about ripping it up on the asphalt. I suppose there's some sense to what he says. All I know is I'm doing it. I'm running. And, it's pretty freaking cool.

And, we're off!

Two weeks ago, I found out about the Run for your Life Zombie 5K run. It's a 5K obstacle run held in several cities between the US & Canada. It looks amazing! Don't trust me? Then check out the promo video they made for it.

I'm gonna do this shit! I can do it! No really, I can. And, I will. It's a promise I am making to myself. To you. To my friends and my family. To the masses out there reading this, I will run this 5K.

I have wanted needed to get into shape. It's shameful and I need to be healthy again. I don't have the money to pay for a gym membership and certainly not a trainer. I know myself and I know that I need motivation or else I'm just gonna stop getting up in the morning because... well, sleep is so much easier. I figure, if I can't pay someone to bust my balls and get me going on this, then I'll just manipulate someone else into doing it. My buddy Jay is that lucky person. He was silly enough to agree to do this with me! Suckah!!

Funny thing is, he lives in Vancouver. Yup... that's right. Mother. Freaking. Canada. Together, we're gonna do this. 3000 miles apart. How cool is that shit?

So hang out, grab a bottle of water and watch us fly! Cause when that zombie apocalypse crap happens, we're gonna be ready for it.