Zombie Fitness Part 1: Zombies, Run! 5k Training

In April of this year a dear friend of mine asked me if I would like to run the 5K Color Run with her in Rochester, NY -- a 4 hour drive from my small town in Ontario, CA. There was only one problem: I was not a runner and I had one month to train. My first thought went something like this: No. No way! I'm overweight, I spend much of my time indoors playing games or watching my favorite shows, I'm a former smoker, and I only run if something is chasing me. No no no. But apparently my brain wasn't communicating with my mouth that day because only one word came out of my mouth. Yes.

So, with one month to become a runner, or at least to become good enough to not embarrass myself completely, I turned to where any geek would go for information. The internet. What I found was a plethora of Apps designed to help you "Keep fit and have fun", as Hal Johnson and Joanne McLeod would say. As a zombie lover, one App in particular really grabbed my attention.

'Zombies, Run! 5K Training' is an 8 week audio training program for beginners to help condition your body for running a 5K. The App is currently available for iOS, and Windows Phone for $1.99 and right now it is on sale for 50% off on Android!

During each workout you will hear instructions on when to run, walk, jog, and stretch. Through the 25 workouts and 8 weeks you will get to listen to a zombie apocalyptic story and build stamina all at once. In between the instructions and bits of story the App has the option to play your own music from your playlist to keep things interesting. It also tracks your stats as you go along making it easy to see your progress.

The workouts start really slow with a gentle learning curve and clear instructions so it was perfect for someone like me who was new to running. More importantly, the zombies don't start chasing you right away! If you already have some experience running, I would recommend skipping this App and going right to the 'Zombies, Run' -- which I will talk about in Part 2 of this story.

If you're thinking about getting in shape and having fun while doing it, this App is definitely for you! You don't just have to take my word for it. This App was also featured by The New York Times, BBC, Wired, and Runner's World and has over 175,000 players world wide.

I'm not going to say you're going to go right from hating running to loving it. Trust me, this takes time. When I first started I hated every minute of my existence during the 30-45 min workouts. But now I can honestly say this App is probably the biggest reason that I am where I am now with my fitness.

By the way, I finished the 5K Color Run with a smile on my face and a rainbow every where else... yeah... everywhere.


If you want to hear more about my progress stay tuned to Geeks By Day for Part 2 of my zombie fitness review where I will talk about that and my experience with 'Zombies, Run!'.

@lamron_eb_yhw