Zombies, Run!

            One of the failings in my lifestyle is that I've always found exercise hard to come by. It wasn't a problem when I was in school because I rode my bike to school every day, year round (up hill both ways, in the snow wearing a t-shirt – no, really, that actually happened once). The problem for me came after I graduated and there was no more purpose for my exercise.

            Purpose is a big thing for me – I have a hard time going anything without it. My friends can attest to how hard it is to get me to “just hang out” and going somewhere just to visit and talk to someone it unfathomable to me (luckily my grandparents are understanding of this). As for exercise, going to the gym is to social for an insecure introvert like me and if I'm walking or biking, I need to be going somewhere and have a good reason for it. As for running, I’d better have something chasing me.

            I had a solution for a while with the Wii Fit. The goals it gave me helped me exercise every morning. Then my work hours went from a couple of evenings a week to four mornings a week and I didn't have time any more. When I quit that job to work with chainmaille and writing, I didn't have enough space where I lived. Now I have enough space, but said room with space is above my sister-in-law’s bedroom and as a person who hates making any sound I can’t bear the thought of stomping over her head every morning.

            Colleen recently found a solution in the form of an app called Zombies, Run! (I bet you were wondering what any of this had to do with the title, weren't you?) This is a phone application that tells the story of a zombie apocalypse – and you’re one of the characters in it. You play the role of a runner for a camp trying to survive all the zombies, with the important role of going out to fetch various supplies or information – which inevitably ends in running from zombies.

            Colleen never thought running was a viable form of exercise for her until she found this app – and its counterpart, which trains you from nothing to a 5k runner. She started on the training program and was surprised at how well she took to it. The clips of the story she was sharing with me caught my interest, so I decided to join her. Now we have a regular running routine and are getting closer to that 5k every day – and we’re amazed at how effective the training program is. Not only that, but we look forward to running so much that we’re disappointed on the days we aren't running.

            So it is that I've discovered that to get me to do anything, I simply need to find a way to turn it into a video game. I now have that “something chasing me” requirement for running filled – even if the zombies are only in my mind (and the app sound effects).

Click here to find the charity anthology containing a couple of my short stories.

If there's any subject you'd like to see me ramble on about, feel free to leave a comment asking me to do so.