stacieyates

I'm up to a touch over 416 miles as of the end of April, which means I'm pretty much exactly on, possibly a smidge ahead of, schedule. This last week or so has been a "light week", as I'm trying to prevent my legs falling off on Saturday morning while running a 5K race, my sixth day in a row of running. The next weekend, the 19th, I have a 10K, so this will probably be an "easy month" compared to the last two.

Run Like You Stole It is going pretty well. 218.84 miles completed as of March 11, so I'm not exactly ahead of schedule, but then, I'm not exactly behind, either. If I slowly increase weekly mileage at the same sort of clip as last year, I'm more than set to hit 1200. Even if I maintain, I'm probably set. This is assuming no major illnesses or injuries. Thankfully, I've been blessed in the lack of injury department.

Had my best weekly total at 26.66 miles just last week and I've finished Maskerade and Feet Of Clay in audiobook form, mostly while on the trot or crosstraining in some fashion.

I've also thoroughly enjoyed the new running app/game Zombies, Run! on several of my outings, which, if you haven't heard of it (Which is nigh impossible if you follow running blogs or sites at all, evidently. Or even geeky sites that tend to post on all things zombie...) is kind of what would happen if you introduced a radio drama to a basic running app and they had a baby which went off to school to learn how to be a video game. I realize that probably makes no sense, but seriously, that's the best explanation I can come up with. You're Runner 5, the zombie apocalypse has happened, you're dropped by circumstance (which I won't spoil) near a place named Abel Township, and since gasoline is valuable for generators, runners are a prime way to move things from place to place, gather intelligence, ferry supplies or to carry messages.

They do a lovely job of dribbling out tantalizing story to you in nibbles between the playlist of your choice, as well as occasionally taking part of the game out into the "real world" through websites and email messages, your running leads to you picking up supplies in a way that actually makes sense in story context, though you do have to imagine on longer runs that you've gone out with your Bag of Holding. It's obvious they've paid some real attention to characterization and storytelling. The radio guys are hilarious, full stop. It allows for different fitness levels including a casual stroll and most missions can be completed in 25 or 30 minutes, tops.  Even someone with a relatively low tolerance of horror movies can probably handle this without freaking, as the zombies are generally more "George Romero" than "28 Days Later", and all "zombie chase" mode requires is that you pick up your pace for a minute. You can also skip that feature if you're less into being randomly ambushed. If you are at all a fan of zombies, perambulating, radio dramas, mysteries, running, ways to distract yoursefl on the bike/treadmill, storytelling or fun, you'll probably find it well worth the $7.99 price tag, since 30 missions are in the works for Season One alone and even the running app portions are impressively solid for a first release.  More features are coming soon, evidently and a season two is already in the planning stages.

For iThingies only at the moment, but an Android version is coming. I find it nicely motivating in the same way that listening to a really good audiobook can get my butt out the door on those cold, miserable, dark mornings when I would just as soon stay in bed if there were not a treat of some sort in running.

Got so stinking close to getting 100 miles right off the bat, despite the cold temperatures, getting back up to (ha!) speed after some holiday time away from running and the craziness that is Stuff I Have To Do In January At Work. Topped out at 94.54 miles.

I am trying not to be annoyed that my usual  five-mile-and-a-bit run would have put me over the top or near enough as to be rounded up even by Rufus Drumknott. Especially as I actually overslept one warm morning and didn't get a run in that day.

Still, the legs are working, I'm cross-training a bit and I'm listening to those audiobooks, and we've even had the occasional morning where I could run in shorts and/or short sleeves, so it's not like I can complain. Much.

For anyone who might actually be interested, I did manage to complete my slightly Discworld-themed 2011 resolution to perambulate at some speed 1000 or more miles before the year ended. That's apparently the distance, round trip, between Ankh-Morpork and Lancre. fwm.kintera.org/ladysybil

Having braved snow, sleet, rain, sun, humidity, triple digit temperatures, hills, marauding trolls, my own klutziness in the form of stubbing my toe and scraping the same knee twice within two months (I did this in two separate states, even, and thoroughly scared the bejeebus out of some random stranger in Nashville by skidding along the sidewalk, I'm talented!), the premature sole-flapping of my beloved first pair of Nike Frees, countless hours of audiobooks, radio plays, music, switching from the iPhone 3G to the iPhone 4S, adjusting to running with a headlamp, my first official 10K race, and possibly one ambiguous pazuma, I racked up a total of 1061.69 miles and raised $238.94 for Free Wheelchair Mission.  Along the way, I went from 15-18 mile weeks and 4 miles being a "long run" to racking up mileages more in the 25 mile range and proving I could actually run for 8 miles and not have my legs drop off.

'Twas fun, informative, motivating and I did not constantly harangue people about donating, so much of the money raised was my own monthly pledge, not that there's anything wrong with that. I may have to come up with a similar challenge for 2012.

Happy New Year, folks.

As is traditional, I've got myself a fitness-related New Year's Resolution in place. It's sort of a Discworld-themed one, oddly enough, and it's for a good cause. I plan to run from Ankh-Morpork to Lancre in 2011, which Wikipedia tells me is 1000 miles.

A lot of the enjoyment I get out of running is simply because it's a time set aside not only to keep my body in good working order (and listen to Terry Pratchett audiobooks), it's a time set aside to feel grateful that I'm physically able to run. So I thought it rather fitting that I tie it in to a modest fundraising goal on behalf of Free Wheelchair Mission, an organization that is dedicated to distributing lightweight wheelchairs without cost to individuals who have no alternatives.

Runners tend to be a charity-minded lot (we have the "free" t-shirts to prove it) so I like the idea of joining the Run For Mobility crew to motivate me to run a lot further this year.

You're donating directly to the organization, the donation page is merely a way to keep track of individual fundraising goals. The contribution is tax deductible and all that jazz. If you  happen to be in a giving mood and wish to pledge a donation, I also like the idea of doing something for you in return. So if you have a hankering to have me take a whack at a particular fic prompt, do a music meme or a takeoff on a line from one of the books that has you wondering about the story behind it, pitch it to me and I'll see what I can do. It can be something like what prompted Unwound (an incident mentioned in the books that doesn't get fleshed out), a music prompt like "listen to my favorite song and see what comes to mind", or something vague like "I would like something shmoopy involving Sam, Sybil and a fireplace" or "Nobby pawns something belonging to Sam." or even "Young Sam is convinced there is a monster under the bed. How do his parents handle this?". Or just ask me to do a music meme in which I shuffle through 10 random songs I happen to own and only write as long as each song plays. Obviously Discworld is my current preferred fandom and the various Vimeses tend to be my favorite characters to write, but I'll at least consider pretty much anything you can think up[1].

Mind, "considering" means I may have to either say "Can that marinate in my head for a few weeks first?" or "Sorry, I think my brain just ran off and hid at the thought of writing that." in response and ask you to go with a different idea. It's all in good fun and on the honor system anyway.

[1]-Anything you can think up that I can imagine writing without subsequent nightmares, mental scarring or not being able to look myself in the eye in the morning. For example, I'm sorry, but I can't imagine, say, Sybil cheating on Sam with Carrot, so I can't write it convincingly. Yes, I've seen a fanfic that involved that. Yes, I was horribly traumatized. Don't go look for it. You'll thank me. In other words, nothing more traumatic than getting yourself knurd.

Link to my donation page just there. Where it says [link]. Not this one. The one below.

fwm.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/d…