How Zombies Made Me Hate Running a Little Less Than Last Week
When I embarked on the second week of my monthly goal of truly loving running, I didn’t expect miracles. Despite the fact that he was a fairly active person on the whole, this first run turned out to be a disaster . But I learned a few things I was able to tweak to bring me to the point where I can say that while I don’t like running (yet) I hated it less than last week when I doubted my sanity. … for voluntary participation in such an experiment.
First of all, for those of you who have recommended zombies, run! application , thanks. One of the things I love about exercising on my elliptical trainer at home is that I can also watch TV while I do it, so it made sense that the lack of any entertainment would make running even more tiring. As it turns out, completing “missions” to collect supplies and rescue survivors of the zombie apocalypse (as well as listening to some tunes between panic messages from the base) helps me. Opening up the next part of the story gives me a little motivation to walk out the door.
I came up with something else about why that first ride last week was so brutal too. I don’t know how it could have happened, that it didn’t occur to me at that moment or even after thinking, but guys, I started this uphill run.
I live in a hilly area that I often walk around, and I guess I just never thought about it. But who in their right mind for the first time in ten years will run and turn to go uphill? (Obviously, this girl.) No wonder my ankles weren’t working properly, for heaven’s sake.
This week I used the hill to my advantage, as someone who really wants to have a strategic approach would do. I warmed up for five minutes, quickly climbed the hill that made my pulse speed up, and then I turned and alternated between running and walking on level ground first, and then down the slope. As the physical activity intensified, the terrain became easier and I was quite pleased with myself.
I think using the hill as a warm-up helped my ankles feel better while running, and I was also pleasantly surprised that the epic three-day soreness I experienced after that first run didn’t return .
I was going to run at least three times this week, but life got in the way, so I only got out twice. But that’s double what I did last week, and I also decided that I wouldn’t force myself to run just as an exercise this month. I want to continue doing other types of physical activity that I enjoy so that I don’t feel like I’m torturing myself unnecessarily, since that would be the opposite of the essence. At the end of the day, the goal is not only to train while running, but to see running as a simple and affordable option that I enjoy with some frequency.
I tracked my “mood” as I ran on a scale of 1 to 5, five of which was “Fuck this shit” and one was “Wow! Running is the best! “And I ended the week with a good, neutral three. I didn’t like it at that moment, but I felt stronger and immediately after that I became successful, so I think it’s a victory.
My goals for next week include three runs, at least one of which is on a scenic trail. My longest run / walk this week was just over 20 minutes, so if I can get that to 25 minutes it feels like progress. And I hope that at least one run will be equal to or close to a “two” on the sentiment graph.