Zombies, Run! - App Review

In keeping with the theme of the past 2 posts, I decided to do a review of my most expensive app purchase ever.  It's was 8 bucks... but don't let the price turn you off completely

Zombies, Run!

The premise of this app is perfect for a zombie enthusiast such as myself.  I should rephrase, I hate zombies and want them all dead.  But the whole aspect of it is quite interesting to me.

Ahem, so this app is really very fun and has an interesting premise.  You're listening to your iTunes music and interspersed in the music you gear sounds from a radio/walkie talkie.  You start off in a helicopter that crashes after someone shoots at it, you don't know who it is, but you crash land on an island in the town of Abel.  Immediately you're warned about the zombie hordes in a nearby swamp and you're instructed to run towards a tower to get to safety.  Later on you learn that you need to stop by the hospital and pick up something from the Center for Disease Control.  What's in this box is the only thing that will let you into the tower because everyone in the tower earns their keep.

Along the way of your run you randomly pick up objects, like band aids, water bottles, pain medications etc.  These items because useful after your run.  Here are some screen shots.

Below you'll notice the town has a population of 60 before the run, after the run I distributed those items to different sections of the town and then I grew in experience.  You can see that the picture of the town has changed somewhat based on where I distributed the items.

Before Running

After running and distributing supplies

The bottom of the screen shows the items you've picked up along the way.  You can distribute them accordingly to different sections of Abel.

The App comes with 30 missions which are unlocked as you've become more experienced.

I just thought this was interesting... you hear beeping in your headphones, as the beeps get closer you know to run faster!

Now my first day review is that the app is definitely fun and very motivating.  I do have some things that I don't like though... for instance - they could definitely use better voice acting.  While the majority of the app you hear normal voices (with british accents) when you pick up objects a very robotic voice says "picked up pain medications" or whatever.  It's very annoying and kind of hard to understand.  For an $8 app I would have expected better, although I did read this in the reviews so I guess I knew what I was getting myself into.  

Another thing I didn't like was after I ran, my run wasn't recorded... like I couldn't go back and see how long I ran for and look at speed and altitudes like I can with runkeeper.  However, what I read on the website is that they're looking at integrating functions with runkeeper in order to have this same database of previous runs.

If you're looking for a way to make running fun and to work on some interval training (with the zombie chases) this is definitely it!  Because no one wants to hear that the zombies may actually get you!  I think in the 30 minutes or so that I ran and was doing the first mission, I got chased by zombies twice... or maybe 3 times.  But either way it was kind of neat to hear the beeping and the groans of the zombies.  VERY MOTIVATING to want to run faster!

First Rule of the Zombie Apocalypse: Cardio

509 Calories, 3.86 Miles, 45 Minutes

Yesterday I ran for 40 minutes + a 5 minute cooldown.  I want to get faster.  I started the first 20 minutes at a 5.8 pace, when that got too much for me and the remaining 20 minutes of my goal run for the day were taunting me, I reduced my speed to a 5.0.  Luckily - I finished and didn't even have to stop.  Guess I'm not that out of shape, eh? 

Inspiration is knowing that Zombies will be chasing you in August and I need to be fast.  I want to get my average speed to at least a 6.0 on the treadmill which equals a 10 minute mile.  That's ah-hundid-poicent doable. 

Last night my husband and I were talking... about zombies.  Yes, I realize at this point it is becoming quite unhealthy to actually believe that zombies could potentially walk this earth - even though I know it's totally not true or possible, at least that's what my subconscious that wants me to be able to sleep at night wants me to believe.  But just before bed... wait, I should rephrase... JUST BEFORE I TURNED OFF ALL AWARENESS AND BECAME SUPER VULNERABLE my husband joked that it would be HILARIOUS to hire 20 people to play zombies and to have them just be in our house at night. 

Background about me: I get up at least once a night to go to the bathroom...

Can you imagine what sleepy me would do if I saw not 1, not 2, not even 10 but 20 people in my living room dressed as zombies!  Not to mention the fact that I obviously got up to pee.  3 things would spontaneously happen... 1st, of course, I would pee myself.  2nd, I would HURT THESE PEOPLE.  And I suppose the most likely of these things is that my husband would be sleeping in the other room, or another house for a while for terrifying me.  But then he'd be quickly invited back in our room to sleep on the floor because I'm afraid of zombies and he's scarred me for life. 

I think that I not only need to get faster, but I need to start learning to wield a weapon.  After discussing the zombie apocalypse for the last week or so with people online and at work - pause for a moment: my life is so awesome - We came to the conclusion that you need to have a weapon that isn't a gun because ammo runs out.  Therefore, I've decided my weapon of choice is a garden shovel, with the spade on the end and the handle at the end of the stick. 

I've clearly given this too much though and I'm now afraid that I'm losing my audience.  Here's something funny to leave you with:

My Life Has Been Taken Over By Zombies!

I can't believe it's taken me this long to realize that I'm deathly afraid of the Zombie Apocalypse. 

Ok - so I know it's an irrational fear... but zombies scare the absolute crap out of me.  Last week I had a dream that I was trying to survive in a zombie apocalypse and since then I haven't gotten the thought of zombies out of my head.

This weekend I watched the entire 1st season of The Walking Dead on Netflix.  Don't get too worried, the first season is only 6 episodes long.  But I watched them all this weekend.  The show and the concept TERRIFIES me.

Scared yet?  Well you should be.

That wasn't even the scariest picture I found when I googled "The Walking Dead"  and clicked on images.

I find it very therapeutic to research as much about a show or movie that scares me to prove that it's not a real thing.  Fun fact about Walking Dead - The zombies cast for the show had to go to "Zombie School" to learn to walk and move like zombies!!!  More fun facts you'd like?  SURE - The "human" cast of the Walking Dead eat lunch separately than the zombie cast of The Walking Dead.

I hate to say this - but I'd be so damn useless in a zombie apocalypse.  Running, screaming and attracting more zombies would be my greatest skill.  I was washing my face this morning, and I half expected to see an undead standing behind me.  I seriously closed my eyes and saw zombies.  But I guess I'm going to put this theory to the test because I just signed up to run a Zombie 5k!  This most-awesome-race-I-could-ever-dream-of-and-I'm-kicking-myself-for-not-coming-up-with-it-in-the-first-place is going to be one of the biggest motivators I've ever had to train for a race.  It's not training for time, although I will want to be fast - it's training to be fast to avoid zombies!

Two types of Zombies:
Chaser Zombies - probably the most terrifying, they are the ones that will be fast and chase us!!!
Stumbler Zombies - also freaky, but they're the ones that will walk slowly, and scare the crap out of me just by being there!

Obstacles:
There will be 12 man-made and natural obstacles throughout the course of this race.  Pictures have shown crawling through tunnels, BLOOD LAKES, rope climbing, etc.  But the obstacles aren't revealed until you're actually there on race day! 


http://runforyourlives.com/

Best decision I've made in a while.  Special thanks to Kristina for mentioning it to me, her timing couldn't have been more perfect! 


I'm sorry, I am so damn distracted about zombies I can't even concentrate on writing about zombies.  I AM SO EXCITED!

What I'm Wearing To Work

Thank you Express for suggesting a completely work appropriate outfit for me.  I look to your style to maintain a youthful vigor at work and now realize that I've been silly wearing anything under a blazer.  You really are an inspiration to me and my wardrobe.

Now seriously - why doesn't Express give actual outfit ideas for people to wear to work?  Why not a skirt and cute top with a necklace or something?  Who in their right mind would wear an entirely white outfit to work (Dr.'s who wear white robes aside).  Especially women - for 2 reasons.  The first is because white is a notoriously unflattering color.  The second reason you can figure out on your own.

And not to be weird or anything, but Express is super freaking expensive.  I understand that maybe if you're in college and just looking for a way to be trendy and cute you MIGHT wear this, but without even checking online, I'm guessing that blazer is at least $150 and the pants are $60.  Unless you're parents give you lots of money for clothes then it's kind of silly to expect a younger (read: broke) girl to buy stuff like this.  You need a job to buy their clothes, but if you wear their clothes YOU. GET. FIRED.

Random Thought Du Jour

Whenever I hear someone describe something as "boring" I always think of the smell that boiling water and noodles makes when you're making Kraft macaroni and cheese.

Ok - I've officially run out of thoughts.