Zombies, Run 5k Training - Week 1, Run 1
Oct. 12th, 2012 06:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
eveglassSo it looks like the people behind my ever-beloved Zombies, Run! have a new app out, and this time it's a couch-to-5k program. It's set in the same universe as the main Zombies, Run! app, between missions one and two, just as Runner 5 is getting acclimatized to Abel Township. There aren't really any spoilers per se, at least not yet. The premise behind the app is simple: a whole bunch of runners are out sick for smoke inhalation (they burned down a building to scare away a zombie horde, but got caught in the smoke), so Abel needs all the runners they can get. Enter you, Runner 5.
Thoughts on the first run and the app in general
The first "mission" is led by Dr. Myers with a little bit of input from Sam at the beginning and the end. Unlike the main Zombies, Run! app, which is all action, all the time, the 5k training app really feels more like... well, training. There's some fun banter between Sam and Dr. Myers at the beginning and the end, but the rest of it is all just Dr. Myers explaining the training you're doing that day and cutting into the music occasionally to say, "Run now," or "Slow down to a walk now."
Now, to her credit, she manages to mix it up each time and not use the same words. (After all, there aren't that many ways of saying, "You're doing great! Time for another run!") But it does get a bit repetitive after a while. But that's okay, the banter at the beginning and the end is worth it.
Also, unlike the main Zombies, Run! app, you don't pick up supplies as you go. (You're training on the base, not out in the wide world.) You do, on the other hand, get one "bonus" item at the end of each run. Today's item: Rajit's novel. Rajit is Abel Township's commissary. He claims to have been a published author before the outbreak. But based on the reactions from Sam and Dr. Myers, his novel is not actually very good. On the other hand, Rajit's the guy who controls access to the hot water for showers, so I'd better play nice.
More mundane thoughts on running
Let me start by saying that I was kind of torn about buying this app. Not because of price -- I think four dollars is extremely reasonable for the content you get -- but because I have no real desire to run a 5k. I've been quite happy with my walks. Moreover, I had a number of concerns:
- Starting an 8-week program now would finish it up in mid-December, when it will be well below freezing and there will likely be snow on the ground. I have no interest in running on snow or at -20 C. Moreover, the days are already starting to get dark quite early, and running at night might prove problematic.
- As I generally do my walks on the way to or from downtown, I was worried that I'd hit a lot of traffic, pedestrian congestion, and red lights.
- I usually carry a backpack with me, which is moderately heavy and kind of unwieldy. It's fine for walks, but I was worried about running with it.
- I tend to be very responsive to the beat of my music. I set up my "Zombies" playlist for my walking speed, about 130 bpm, and worried that I'd naturally fall into that rhythm instead of a faster running pace.
In any case, I decided to go for it anyway. It's not too cold yet, it was still daylight when I left work, and if I start finding the winter too uncomfortable, I can shelve it until the spring or find a treadmill somewhere. To deal with the pedestrian traffic, I decided to take Rene-Levesque instead of Ste. Catherine, in the hopes that there wouldn't be the throngs of people you tend to get on the more major arteries. Finally, I did up my backpack's hip-strap in an attempt to get a little extra support. Sadly, the hip-strap isn't well placed and has a tendency to ride up to my stomach, and let me tell you: trying to run with something pressing against your stomach is Not Fun.
Anyway.
All three runs in the first week are apparently the same: walk 10 minutes, intervals of walk 1 minute / run 15 seconds (10 repeats), and then free-form run for 10 minutes. I didn't find it too hard at all. In fact, my main takeaway from today's run is that 15 seconds is really short. I'd start jogging, go for what felt like 5 seconds, and then it was already time to go back to walking. I actually did another 6 mini-runs (fifteen seconds each) during the free-form run because they were just so short. I was feeling kind of winded by the end, but still. If the program ramps up gradually, I think I should be fine.
That said, most of my worries came to pass.
The backpack was, indeed, awkward. I think I'm going to have to ditch it if I want to keep up with this program. And while I managed to avoid most of the Ste. Catherine pedestrians, during the first 20 minutes of my run, I probably hit about 80% red lights. And with run intervals so short, you can lose an entire "run" to a poorly-timed light. In fact, I lost two: one to a corner where I arrived just as the light turned red, and one where I was stuck on the meridian. (I thought I'd have enough time to cross. I was wrong.) I did what I could, running/walking in place, but it's not the same. Urban runners: any tips?
Also, unlike when I'm walking, I could definitely feel the stress on my shins during the run intervals. Oh, shin splints, how I didn't miss you. I also think I'm getting a blister on the tip of one of my toes, which is weird and annoying.
Finally, I find myself pretty tired. I know some people are invigorated by exercise: they do a workout and feel ready to take on the world. That's not me and never has been. Even when I was doing karate regularly, I'd finish a class and then feel ready to take a nap. That's sort of how I feel now, and the setting sun isn't helping. On the other hand, maybe a nap isn't such a bad thing. After a shower, naturally.
In the end, I'll probably keep at it, at least for a little while. I prefer walking, especially playing Radio Abel mode in the main Zombies, Run! app. (Fun fact: I finally got to hear my call-in segment to Radio Abel. It was so cool!) But this could be fun, at least for now. I'm willing to keep at it until the weather turns unbearable.
See you Sunday. Unless it rains, in which case Runner 5 is staying home.
Thoughts on the first run and the app in general
The first "mission" is led by Dr. Myers with a little bit of input from Sam at the beginning and the end. Unlike the main Zombies, Run! app, which is all action, all the time, the 5k training app really feels more like... well, training. There's some fun banter between Sam and Dr. Myers at the beginning and the end, but the rest of it is all just Dr. Myers explaining the training you're doing that day and cutting into the music occasionally to say, "Run now," or "Slow down to a walk now."
Now, to her credit, she manages to mix it up each time and not use the same words. (After all, there aren't that many ways of saying, "You're doing great! Time for another run!") But it does get a bit repetitive after a while. But that's okay, the banter at the beginning and the end is worth it.
Also, unlike the main Zombies, Run! app, you don't pick up supplies as you go. (You're training on the base, not out in the wide world.) You do, on the other hand, get one "bonus" item at the end of each run. Today's item: Rajit's novel. Rajit is Abel Township's commissary. He claims to have been a published author before the outbreak. But based on the reactions from Sam and Dr. Myers, his novel is not actually very good. On the other hand, Rajit's the guy who controls access to the hot water for showers, so I'd better play nice.
More mundane thoughts on running
Let me start by saying that I was kind of torn about buying this app. Not because of price -- I think four dollars is extremely reasonable for the content you get -- but because I have no real desire to run a 5k. I've been quite happy with my walks. Moreover, I had a number of concerns:
- Starting an 8-week program now would finish it up in mid-December, when it will be well below freezing and there will likely be snow on the ground. I have no interest in running on snow or at -20 C. Moreover, the days are already starting to get dark quite early, and running at night might prove problematic.
- As I generally do my walks on the way to or from downtown, I was worried that I'd hit a lot of traffic, pedestrian congestion, and red lights.
- I usually carry a backpack with me, which is moderately heavy and kind of unwieldy. It's fine for walks, but I was worried about running with it.
- I tend to be very responsive to the beat of my music. I set up my "Zombies" playlist for my walking speed, about 130 bpm, and worried that I'd naturally fall into that rhythm instead of a faster running pace.
In any case, I decided to go for it anyway. It's not too cold yet, it was still daylight when I left work, and if I start finding the winter too uncomfortable, I can shelve it until the spring or find a treadmill somewhere. To deal with the pedestrian traffic, I decided to take Rene-Levesque instead of Ste. Catherine, in the hopes that there wouldn't be the throngs of people you tend to get on the more major arteries. Finally, I did up my backpack's hip-strap in an attempt to get a little extra support. Sadly, the hip-strap isn't well placed and has a tendency to ride up to my stomach, and let me tell you: trying to run with something pressing against your stomach is Not Fun.
Anyway.
All three runs in the first week are apparently the same: walk 10 minutes, intervals of walk 1 minute / run 15 seconds (10 repeats), and then free-form run for 10 minutes. I didn't find it too hard at all. In fact, my main takeaway from today's run is that 15 seconds is really short. I'd start jogging, go for what felt like 5 seconds, and then it was already time to go back to walking. I actually did another 6 mini-runs (fifteen seconds each) during the free-form run because they were just so short. I was feeling kind of winded by the end, but still. If the program ramps up gradually, I think I should be fine.
That said, most of my worries came to pass.
The backpack was, indeed, awkward. I think I'm going to have to ditch it if I want to keep up with this program. And while I managed to avoid most of the Ste. Catherine pedestrians, during the first 20 minutes of my run, I probably hit about 80% red lights. And with run intervals so short, you can lose an entire "run" to a poorly-timed light. In fact, I lost two: one to a corner where I arrived just as the light turned red, and one where I was stuck on the meridian. (I thought I'd have enough time to cross. I was wrong.) I did what I could, running/walking in place, but it's not the same. Urban runners: any tips?
Also, unlike when I'm walking, I could definitely feel the stress on my shins during the run intervals. Oh, shin splints, how I didn't miss you. I also think I'm getting a blister on the tip of one of my toes, which is weird and annoying.
Finally, I find myself pretty tired. I know some people are invigorated by exercise: they do a workout and feel ready to take on the world. That's not me and never has been. Even when I was doing karate regularly, I'd finish a class and then feel ready to take a nap. That's sort of how I feel now, and the setting sun isn't helping. On the other hand, maybe a nap isn't such a bad thing. After a shower, naturally.
In the end, I'll probably keep at it, at least for a little while. I prefer walking, especially playing Radio Abel mode in the main Zombies, Run! app. (Fun fact: I finally got to hear my call-in segment to Radio Abel. It was so cool!) But this could be fun, at least for now. I'm willing to keep at it until the weather turns unbearable.
See you Sunday. Unless it rains, in which case Runner 5 is staying home.
