Zombies, Run! Season 1, Mission 4

36:58 minutes - 2.36 miles - 15:41 minutes/mile

Getting better! I woke up before 6 AM today and got up without the alarm, feeling pretty rested. That's how it always works for me when I'm trying to adjust to getting up earlier: on the first day, the alarm wakes me from a sound sleep, I haul myself up and get going, and I'm rested enough to get through the day pretty well. Second day, the alarm wakes me, I feel groggy and stupid and muddle through. Third day, I'm already in the habit of waking up at the earlier time and my schedule is pretty well adjusted. I tried to get to bed earlier last night, turned off the TV at 9 PM so I could start getting ready and try to be ready to sleep by 10 PM. But as I was going around closing the doors, I found the laundry I'd put in the tub to soak but forgotten to finish washing, so I went ahead and did the laundry along with the rest of my evening chores, and wasn't in bed until quarter to 10. Then I read for about an hour, so I didn't get to sleep until around 11 PM. Still, better than not starting until 10 and not getting to sleep until 12! Anyway, I feel like I got enough sleep.

There was one zombie chase in today's mission. I evaded, I won't say "easily," but without too much effort. I walked a bit after that, but not even a whole lap. I walked some more later—I was trying to save energy for a second chase, but there weren't any more. I did slow down in the second half—the app tells me my first mile was 14:56, second was 15:44, and third was 16:39. Hm, only two miles and change and I'm slowing down rather a lot. That's down to the chase, I think. Well, it will get better as I go along, I'm sure.

I had sort of planned to take today off, but I since I was up at 6 AM, I went ahead and ran. I may just try running six days a week. Definitely take Sunday off (but still get up at 6, to keep myself on schedule), but otherwise, as long as I feel okay running every day, I'll keep on doing it. Or possibly I'll want to take Fridays off, if I'm going to go to the park on Saturdays and do a longer run (but no longer than 10k). We'll see. One reason I'm hesitating about running so many days a week is that I don't want to run out of missions too soon! There are 23 missions in Season 1, plus two more free ones, and 5 seasons so far altogether. Will have to buy the pro membership to continue after Season 1, but I'm already planning to, just want to finish the free ones first. Ah, well, it seems as though there's plenty to do in the game so I'll just keep going and see how far I get! I'm really enjoying the story, and it does make the runs a lot more fun.

Zombies, Run! Season 1 Mission 3

32:04 minutes - 2.01 miles - 15:57 minutes/mile

Okay, that was better! Two zombie chases, and I evaded them both times. Got back to base with all my supplies! (Seemed to be the day for clothes, I picked up several pairs of trousers, shorts, a shirt, and an overcoat.) The first time, I think I was trying to speed up by lengthening my stride, which is not good. This time, my training kicked in and I kept form—increasing turnover but keeping my stride short. It felt easier, anyway, and I was able to increase my speed and keep it up long enough to escape the zombies! Yay! I did have to walk a lap or so after each chase to catch my breath, but my overall pace was pretty good.

Getting up at 6 AM this morning was harder than yesterday. Lack of sleep catching up with me. But I should be able to get to sleep earlier tonight. The weather was overcast and already in the 70s. No breeze. It rained a few drops, but it was warm rain and not very refreshing. Still, it was much better than running in the heat of the day!

Still thinking about how many times a week I want to run and on what schedule. I want to try five times a week. Sunday will be one day off, definitely, so the other should probably be Wednesday. I'll try to keep getting up at 6 AM even on my off days, so my sleep/wake schedule stays consistent. I might even try shifting my wake-up time earlier, to 5 AM. Might as well take advantage of the cool hours of the morning, since it looks like it's going to be a long, hot summer. And if I drive to the park for any of my runs, I'll want to be there ready to run by 6 AM, so I'll need to get up earlier.

Sat down to write this and drink a protein drink and rest for a while before starting chores. Hoping this will get my BP back up enough so that I can do chores without getting dizzy.

Zombies, Run!: Season 1, Mission 2

34:28 minutes - 2.05 miles - 16:50 minutes/mile

Set my alarm for 6 AM and just piled out of bed into my running clothes and out the door by 6:09 AM. That was much better -- there was still a chill in the air and shade behind the house where the sun was still to low to reach. It was a fun mission, and I actually got back to base with my supplies this time -- no chases. I thought I had it set to include chases, but I guess this mission didn't have any. I ran most of the way again, only a few walk breaks. My time was pretty slow, though. (Funny how my pace remains the same whether I walk or not.) I think I was saving my energy for the chases that never came, oh well.

Trying to decide how many times a week to run, since I'm not planning on doing any long runs. Stick to three times a week, or try to increase it to four or five? As long as the missions stay around 30 minutes each, I can probably do more. I might still drive to the park for Saturday missions, just for fun. Do the whole loop, that's three miles. Start practicing those 5k's!

I was a bit dizzy when I got done with my run and started doing chores. Not as much as last time, when I'd run in the heat, but still had to stop and sit in the floor a few times. My blood pressure really drops when I run, I guess.

Zombies, Run! Season 1, Mission 1

38:32 minutes - 2.23 miles - 17:16 minutes/mile

I decided to take some time off from running after the last half marathon—I was getting burned out on the training, and also I had work to do at home, clearing a couple of fallen trees and cutting weeds, and I figured that would be using all my energy. I'd downloaded the Zombies, Run! app, thinking I'd try it for something different when I started running again, and finally today decided to get out there and try it out!

I didn't do walk/run intervals, I just tried to run as much as possible. I did walk a few laps at the beginning, and again after the second zombie chase, because I wore myself out trying to evade the zombies. As long as I kept a slow, steady pace I was fine running, but the chases were hard. There were two chases during the first mission, and I got caught by zombies both times and had to drop supplies to evade them, even though I sped up as much as I could. So that's disappointing. How fast do they expect me to go? I was definitely running faster than my usual pace, but it wasn't enough.

The story was fun, and I think I'm going to enjoy doing the missions. I've already signed up for the Fall 2016 Virtual Race, which is a 5k or 10k mission to be run at your location any time between October 20 - November 1. You get a t-shirt and bib (everybody's runner #5!) and a medal and stuff. Sounded fun, and I can always do 5k, even without training. I might be really slow, but I can finish! Since it's a virtual race, I can run at my own pace and not worry about finishing times or anything else.

I really need to start getting up early to run. I ended up sleeping in late and didn't get started until after 9 AM, and it was already pretty hot. It's supposed to be in the 90s all week and it's only June. If I stick to short runs for the summer, I can get them done early before the day starts to heat up. But only if I get up early!