Zombies ... RUN!

Some people enjoy running on treadmills at the gym, surrounded by machinery and juice bar temptations. Others run outside, on trails or along the side of the road, listening to their favorite music.

And some of us like to run through deserted, post-apocalyptic townships with the sound of radio transmissions in our ears and a small army of angry zombies chasing after us.

I don't often pay money for apps, but "Zombies, Run!" is completely worth it. For someone like me who hates running, turning every jog into an adventure is one of the best motivations.  The game mixes your workout playlist with a series of radio transmissions, and as you run you receive instructions from your superiors, pick up supplies, and occasionally get chased by zombies.

The app uses GPS tracking on your phone when you're running outside (or an accelerometor that measures your steps if you're at the gym) to track how far and how fast you're going. If you don't pick up the pace when the zombies appear, they WILL catch you!

Of course, I may have several unusual experiences with this game ... I tend to commit to the story line a bit too much, and run like my life is actually depending on it when I'm being chased ... In fact, if anyone happened to be watching my first ever "Zombies, Run" experience, they were in for a laugh.

It was last fall, and I was running through my parents' neighborhood. Taking it slow and easy, listening to the radio transmissions, proud of myself for getting in shape.  And then, just as the voice in my ear yelled, "Run, RUN!" a neighborhood dog popped out of nowhere and started yapping its head off. I had already gotten so wrapped up in the story that it scared the crap out of me, and I ran like a bat out of hell. I don't think I stopped running for about six blocks.

So take your boring, everyday runs and spice them up with the undead! Even with the slight trauma that results from coupling this game with an over-active imagination, it's worth it.

Fast Food

Brayden and I swore off fast food this summer. We're trying to start off our new life together on the right foot. No fast food, no excessive spending, whole wheat bread, that sort of thing.

I cheated. I was on my way home from taking my bridals the other day and I was starving, so I swung by the good ol' fallback, McDonalds. I had half of a cheeseburger and about twelve fries. Not twelve orders of fries, twelve fries.

((We interrupt your current program to bring you this important background infor

mation -- my typical McDonalds meal is as follows:

• one double cheeseburger
• one large order of fries
• a cinnamon melt
• an m&m mcflurry
• a chicken sandwich

And now, we will return you to your regularly scheduled blog.))

It made me sick. Really really sick. My body has gotten so completely out of the habit of eating anything fast food that I could hardly touch it. And now, we get to the heart of the matter.

I'd only gone about a month without fast food, and my body was already completely over it. I never would have thought that I couldn't go that long without fast food. I was sure that at some point in the last few years I'd gone without for a month.

I hadn't. I have been assured that it was an almost weekly thing. I never thought anything of it, because I shopped on the dollar menu. I grabbed a bite on the way to or from work, or rehearsal. Or when I needed a break from studying.

It's amazing how much a body can change just by getting rid of one thing. I imagine that principle goes for just about anything in life. Physical, spiritual, emotional. You can change one thing, and your whole lifestyle can alter for the better. As for me, not only am I significantly healthier, but I am saving so much money. (Yeah. I went back to my bank statements to figure out just how much fast food was costing me. I could have bought a new car by now.)

So that's my semi-profound thought of the day. Do with it as you will.

~Katydid

"Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose, so let me simply add that it's my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V."