Run for your life

To be honest I don't particularly enjoy jogging like some people seem to. Once the weather started to improve here recently I decided I would take it up again but I knew I needed some kind of extra incentive to motivate me. The GerMann and I follow the zombie TV series The Walking Dead and when I heard about a zombie jogging themed app I decided to give it a try!

The full app for your smartphone costs about four euro but I went for the smaller version that is focused on training you for a 5k marathon and costs half that. The idea is that you listen to it while you jog and using GPS it can determine your route and speed. There are different chapters or levels and as your running improves the story progresses. You are known as "Runner 5" during a zombie apocalypse world and you are sent out on mini missions to help the base camp, such as to find medical kits or bring back supplies.

The story began with an exciting start when my helicopter crash-landed into an area surrounded by zombies who I had to then escape to reach the base camp. Through my earphone I had the voice actors telling me whenever any were close and when that happened, they would shout "move!" and I had to run faster. It was really quite realistic - I could hear zombie groaning in my ear if I wasn't running fast enough!

At one point I was getting really into it and nearly jumped out of skin when a cyclist whizzed past me from behind just as I could hear zombie groaning in my earphones. And I found myself scanning my terrain for possible weapons to defend myself from a zombie attack..such as big sticks or rocks.

I've only done a few missions so far and the first was the most exciting. The ones after that so far have just been more or less training drills with a mixture of walking then running in short bursts back at the base camp.

What's good though is that you can choose your playlist from music on your phone and the songs will be interspersed throughout the story. However, it made me laugh at one point as just after escaping a zombie, the Sugababes Get sexy song blasted into my ear which somehow just didn't seem appropriate during a zombie apocalypse!

I've signed up for a 6km marathon in less than six weeks so I'm going to have to try to aim to get out running twice a week if possible. Once I've completed more "missions" in the app I'll let you know how I found it!

So I joined a gym #MicroblogMonday

Wouldn't it be great if you could just skip all the hard work and get straight to the results part, like in a cool movie montage? A few weeks ago the GerMann and I joined our local gym. Joining was the easy part! I'm aiming to work out twice a week and still go for occasional jogs.

It's going well so far though it probably hasn't helped that I haven't changed my diet much and still indulge my sweet tooth - who can resist those lovely German cakes? It also always seems to be somebody's birthday in work which means cake in the office every day!

So far it's going well and I'm enjoying the health kick and feeling good. What do you do to keep fit?

Spring fever

"Frühjahrsmüdigkeit" is roughly translated as "spring fever" in English. However confusingly it has the opposite meaning! The English term implies increased energy at the start of spring whereas Germans talk about feeling tired for no reason apart from the fact that the season has changed. The weather has been strange these days. Still cold in the mornings, a mere 10 degrees but then it heats up in the afternoons when the sun comes out to a sunny 23 degrees.

I'm delighted winter is over but now spring is here I have had my hay fever to deal with. Luckily after just a few a difficult days I managed to get it under control- taking a tablet every night. It should be gone in a few more weeks.

There's a 6km marathon the end of May which I've signed up for. This way I have the motivation to take jogging up again. And I felt great after completing the 5km run last year. People who regularly take part in proper marathons will probably be laughing reading this as very fit people don't have to train at all to do a 5km run. But over winter I haven't been doing much exercise so I'll have to build up my fitness level again slowly. I like the couch to 5k running plan.

I've never been one of those people who is obsessed with running unfortunately. They seem to love it and get a real high and miss it if they don't do it. I find it a struggle and feel happy once it's over! Once you decide to start jogging, the first few times you go are really difficult and you just feel like giving up and wonder what crazy thing gave you the idea to go running. But after a few times, it suddenly starts to get better and you find you can jog for longer and get into a stride. From then on it's possible to go for a little longer each time.

So I'm planning to go jogging, ideally one or two evenings after work and at the weekend. I use an app on my phone, called "Endomondo" to track my distance. There are also some lovely routes not too far from where I live so I don't have to jog beside a busy road but can enjoy some nature. Maybe if I do more exercise my "Frühujahrsmüdigkeit" will turn into "spring fever" and I'll be jumping out of bed in the mornings! Here's hoping.

Football and Zumba

Well I haven't been blogging much lately as you might have noticed. Sometimes life just takes over. What have I been up to? Well, as a couple, our social life has taken off a lot recently, which has been great. When we moved here, neither of us knew anyone so it has been challenging building up a circle of friends, and it takes time. But lately we have even had to turn down invites!

I have started a Zumba class. Zumba is the new craze which recently arrived in Germany. It is a mixture of dance and aerobics. There are Salsa elements, hip hop, line dancing and some parts that even resemble Irish dancing. It's surprisingly good fun and a really good workout! You will be covered in sweat by the end of the one hour class. My Zumba teacher is a mad German woman who whoops and cheers the whole time and gets really into it. She told us that one of the women in her classes lost 7 kilos in one month from doing Zumba twice a week! 7 Kilos is over one stone!

We also had visitors. Family and a friend from Ireland. The weather was lovely and sunny and everyone had a great time. By this stage, nearly two years living here I also know all the best places to show people- beautiful lakes for swimming, great views, restaurants with delicious food and of course the best pubs!

I also have a busy (and expensive!) Summer ahead of me with lots of weekend trips planed back to Ireland- for two hen parties, for a wedding, for my Dad's 60th birthday, and then of course I'll also go back for Christmas. The GerMann and I are also hoping to go away together for a sun holiday at some stage. Probably to Mallorca, also known as Germany's 17th federal state, as so many Germans holiday there! I guess we'll have to get up really early and put our beach towels on all the pool chairs just to keep the stereotype going!

Everyone has been going European cup crazy here. Or Europa-Meisterschaft as it's called. It's impossible not to get sucked into the excitement a little! All over the place, there are these so called "public viewings" where a big screen or TV is put up and you can watch the game with lots of other people. Whenever Germany were playing and when they scored, people blew horns and cheered, and when Germany won a match there were fireworks and people doing an "autokorso".

When some Germans first explained the term to me, I actually thought they were talking about joy riding! But actually there is nothing illegal about auto-kursing, it's basically when they get into their cars and drive around blowing the horn at passers by and waving the German flag and generally celebrating. In the car.

Unfortunately Ireland lost all our matches and got knocked out of the tournament fairly early. During the match against Italy, I was flying home. When the plane landed the pilot told us all that we were "2 nil" down. It took me only a few minutes to leave the airport and get to the bus area where the aircoach ticket seller told me the score was then "4-nil". So that was disappointing!

The football is over now and in case you are living in a cave and didn't hear, Spain won. The next big football competition will be the World Cup n 2014. Hopefully Thierry Henry's hand won't prevent Ireland from qualifying for the World Cup next time around! By that stage maybe we'll have a car, and if Ireland win a match I can go "autokorson" around the neighbourhood!