Beginning to Run

In December, I wrote a post about the importance of exercising to stay healthy. You can view it here. In it, I basically wrote about how as little as 30 minutes of easy exercises a day can help keep you healthy, and how you can do it from the comfort of your own home. But what happens when you want to amp up the difficulty a bit? I didn't think I'd ever want to, as I was quite happy with simply walking, but soon the itch to run began to overtake me. How did I transition into becoming a runner when I've always hated running? I can give you some tips that helped me.

First off, I walked for months before I even began running. When I had five brisk miles down without breathing too hard, I knew I was ready. I began slow. Instead of tackling my same five miles as an entire run, I broke it down into segments. I'd walk to a predetermined point, run slowly to another predetermined point, walk to another, and so on until I finished the route. As my running muscles built up, I lengthened the distance between running points until I could run the entire distance. Another thing you can do is use time to break up your run. Start by walking for a minute and running for 30 seconds. Repeat throughout your route. And, of course, it's perfectly fine to lengthen the time you walk between running sets. As you continue getting out to run, you'll also begin lengthening your running time until you can do the entire route without walking. Don't like predetermined distances or time constraints? Simply run until you're tired, and then walk until you feel like running again. Maybe the first few times you go out, you'll spend much more time walking than running, but if you really want to be a runner, that will change. Keep at it!

Next, you'll want to get a good pair of shoes. Experts say you should plan on spending around $100 for a good pair, but I've found it depends on your feet. Try different shoes at different price ranges. Personally, I wouldn't buy bargain shoes for under twenty bucks that you may find at a Wal-Mart or the like, but experiment. I would suggest you buy shoes that are specifically marked as running shoes, especially if you plan to mostly run on sidewalks or streets. Try 'em on, and if they feel comfortable and are in your price range, give 'em a try. If you're willing to spend the money and know you're committed to running, you may want to go to a running specialty store and have them match you with your prefect fit. It's all up to you.

The final thing I want to touch on here is safety. Make sure you're comfortable with where you run. Don't run somewhere you aren't comfortable. Yes, it may be convenient, but why risk yourself. It'll be better for you to drive or hop on the bus to get somewhere you're happy with rather than risk life and limb because of convenience. Or you may want to join a gym and use their treadmills if that's safer. Also make sure you're aware of your surroundings when you run. If you choose to run in the street, make sure you're running against traffic so you can see oncoming cars. If you choose to listen to music (which I couldn't do without), make sure you don't have it so loud you can't hear what's around you, be it cars, people on bikes, and anything else. Don't shut yourself off from reality while you run. If you'd like to do that, stick to a treadmill, even if you're in an environment where you think you're all alone. Use common sense when it comes to running, and you'll be fine.

That's it for now. There's not really much to getting started. I'll be back in the future to add intermediate tips and other goodies I've learned, but for now, that's all you need. Of course, there are plenty of other ways to ramp up your heart rate (biking, swimming, rowing, etc. etc. etc.), but since I chose to become a runner, that's what I'm focusing on. Above all, have fun!

Writing Prompt #120

Here is this week's speculative fiction prompt. I'm not labeling it this week, so take it whatever direction you choose. Have fun with it!

A favorite piece of jewelry is more than it seems.

Writing Prompt #119

Here is this week's speculative fiction prompt. I'm labeling it as fantasy, but, as always, take it whichever direction you choose. Have fun with it!

Your favorite childhood storybook comes to life.

Workout During Commercials

I didn't have a chance to get to the gym today, so I've created my own workout to do during the commercials while I watch my beloved Baltimore Ravens in the NFL playoffs today. This is an easy routine to do not just during a football game, but while you watch any TV show. When the commercials come on, get to work! I have a group of seven moves, but you can mix and match as you see fit.

1st commercial break: 10 pushups
2nd commercial break: 20 crunches followed by 20 bicycle crunches
3rd commercial break: 10 bicep curls for each arm
4th commercial break: 30 second plank
5th commercial break: 10 kettlebell swings 
6th commercial break: NFL Shoulder Exercise
7th commercial break: 10 body weight squats

That's the plan. If you don't have weights at home (or wherever you are), you can skip those exercises and still get a great workout (or you can improvise with items around the house - a couple of canned goods would work just fine with the NFL Shoulder Exercise, for example). My aim is to continue this pattern through the entire game, but if you're not spending 3 hours in front of the TV (with a ton of commercials to go with it), you can adapt it to better work for you. You might only do the body weight sets (1st, 2nd, 4th, and 7th), and you can certainly add or subtract the number of reps to go with each to best fit your level of fitness. While the game is going on, I'll be moving in front of the ol' boob tube to keep the heart rate elevated above sitting level. I'll be walking in place, running in place, doing sidesteps, jumping jacks, etc.

And for you writers, you can do this routine during your writing session. Write for fifteen minutes, and then do the first set (pushups). Write for fifteen more minutes, and then do the second set (crunches and bicycle crunches). Continue during your writing session, and, of course, tailor it to fit your needs like I discussed above.

This is a great system to add fitness to a sedentary activity you were already going to engage in. Since it can be as easy or hard as you're willing to make it, it's perfect for every fitness level. You can add in or substitute exercises that are more beneficial for your personal level/goals. Have fun with it, folks, and here's to a healthier you!

Writing Prompt #118

Here is this week's speculative fiction prompt. I'm not labeling it this week, so take it whatever direction you choose. Have fun with it!

What in the world is that in your stocking?

Writing Prompt #117

Here is this week's speculative fiction prompt. I'm not labeling it this week, so take it whatever direction you choose. Have fun with it!

Santa has a terrible secret that may ruin Christmas.

Writing Prompt #116

Here is this week's speculative fiction prompt. I'm not labeling it this week, so take it whatever direction you choose. Have fun with it!

A newborn child can converse in perfect English.

Exercise to Stay Healthy!

We writers are often a sedentary bunch. After all, one of the main rules of writing is to simply plant your butt in a chair and write. It's great for adding words, but not so much for keeping fit. That's why I believe writers (and everyone) should take some time each day to be active. Even if you don't have time for much exercise, do whatever you can to carve out at least 30 minutes in you schedule. Your body will thank you!

One easy way to get your daily dose of exercise is to simply walk. Put in some ear buds to listen to your favorite tunes, an audiobook, or podcasts, and take a stroll around your neighborhood. You don't need to set the world on fire with speed or distance; simply move fast and far enough to work up a sweat, and you're doing great! If the weather isn't conducive to outdoor activity, walk inside your house. You don't need a treadmill, just a few square feet of space. Walk in place, do some sidesteps, and, if you're feeling extra-invigorated, partake in a few jumping jacks. Just keep moving! And if your family looks at you funny, look right back at them and dare them to join you. After all, you're the one making the healthy choice, while they're sitting there on their keisters. Catch up on each of your days, or watch TV or a movie while you all walk in place. Have fun with it!

And speaking of watching TV or a movie, who says you need to sit down to watch, even if you've already done your daily dose of exercise? Stand up! Just this act will burn more calories than sitting, and who doesn't want to burn more calories? Throw in a slow walk to keep your feet and legs from falling asleep or cramping up, and you're burning even more!

Walks, both indoors and out, also can help your writing more directly than just keeping you healthy. Don't you hate it when you're sitting in front of your computer or pad of paper and the ideas won't come? Get up and take a walk. Even if you don't actively think about your momentary writer's block, your subconscious mind will chisel away at the idea while your body gets into shape. I, personally, find an invigorating walk outdoors works best, but I've also found mindlessly watching the boob-tube while pounding my feet works, as well. Simply put, get up and move, and you'll be surprised at how easy the idea gets unstuck. Then get back to your writing!

In the coming weeks, I'll talk more about a healthy lifestyle. I'm no expert, but I've shed about 80 pounds with the tips I'll talk about. I'll cover how to get faster and go further in your walks, how to eat better, how to start running, cross-training, and fun things like running races and apps to help get you in shape. I hope you'll check back every week or two. Stay healthy and keep writing!

Writing Prompt #115

Here is this week's speculative fiction prompt. I'm not labeling it this week, so take it whatever direction you choose. Have fun with it!

The Mayans were right...sort of.

Writing Prompt #114

Here is this week's speculative fiction prompt. I'm not labeling it this week, so take it whatever direction you choose. Have fun with it!

The airline didn't lose your luggage -- they changed it into something different.

How I Use Twitter

Most writers know Twitter is a necessity nowadays. It's one of the easiest ways to get out of your isolation and visit with other authors (and other types of people) the world over. And, of course, with so many people using the service, there are plenty of thoughts on how to use Twitter. Some people say you should never "pimp" your work, while others do nothing but. Some people say you should not post more than two or three tweets a day, while others post more than that a minute. And, of course, most are in between those extremes. So is the way I use Twitter the best? No, of course not. I'm simply giving you insight into how I choose to tweet. If you take a few tips from it, great! If not, hey, at least you get a little bit of insight into me. And I know writers (and people in general) love these little looks into other lives.

I follow a ton of people. I do this because I follow back writers. What this means is that if someone follows me, and they look like they are a writer from their description, I will follow back. I'm now following over 2000 people, so there's no way I could keep up with everyone. For this reason, I use TweetDeck. This lets me choose who's tweets I see. Because of this, I actually follow many less people than my actual follower count. So why do I do this rather than simply not follow so many people? This way, if someone does actually want to get in touch with me, and I'm not following them on TweetDeck, they still can quite easily. And, of course, I can add them to my TweetDeck easy, as well. My TweetDeck people are a mix of those I've friended (mostly through the Friday Flash community) through the years, and those who have interacted with me.

So how does one go about getting on my TweetDeck list and actually being read by me? If I don't already count you as a social media friend, you need to interact with me. If you retweet one of my posts or interact with me about something I've posted, I'll add you to TweetDeck, usually right away. I also occasionally will go to the Twitter home page and take ten to fifteen minutes to scroll through my unedited timeline. If I see someone who I don't already follow on TweetDeck making an interesting post, I'll check out more tweets by that person. If what they post isn't all retweets and/or a constant stream of self-promotion, I'll add them to my TweetDeck. I think this is a good tip for everyone. People will be much more receptive of your self-promotion (i.e. more likely to not only retweet you to their followers, but also actively go and check out your link to your blog post, book on Amazon, or whatever) if you add in other types of tweets. For example, I post about my writing life, my exercise life, tell occasional jokes, and other things that don't require a link. Things like this go a long way, not only with me, but I'm guessing many other people using Twitter. Post your links, just not every time you send a tweet.

Now you might be asking how often I read and post. Probably not enough, but it is what it is. I try to log onto TweetDeck at least a couple times a day. Ideally, and I often do this, when I'm on the Internet, I have TweetDeck open. Depending on how much time I have (or how I'm feeling that day), I may or may not read all of the tweets that are there when I log in. Probably about half the time I simply erase what's already posted (maybe reading a few of the most recent tweets in my columns) and read the new tweets that come in. I do, however, read all of the new ones that come in while I'm online. I usually post one or two self-promoting tweets when I'm on, either blog posts, recently published short stories, or links to my books. I also try to post funny things (my current favorite is posting a page from my one-a-day "You might be a redneck if..." calendar), updates on my writing (not links, but what I'm doing), updates on runs I've taken, other jokes, or whatever else strikes my fancy at the moment. I do try to retweet other people, though I probably don't do this enough. It's a fine line, really. If you retweet too much, people ignore your other posts, but if you don't do it enough, people don't pay back the retweets by retweeting your self-promotion links. It doesn't seem to be a set formula to me, so I vary how often I retweet.

As I said at the beginning, I'm not trying to change the way anyone uses Twitter, I'm simply offering insight into how I use it. If you take anything away from this post, great! If not, thanks for reading. If you don't already follow me on Twitter and would like to, here's a link to me: @ericjkrause If I already know you from another medium (including real life), I'll add you to my TweetDeck right away. If I don't, you saw above how you can get onto my TweetDeck. I hope you enjoyed this inside look into my Twitter habit!

Writng Prompt #113

Here is this week's speculative fiction prompt. I'm labeling it as science fiction this week, but, as always, take it whatever direction you choose. Have fun with it!

A new app for your phone bends the laws of physics.

Writing Prompt #112

Here is this week's speculative fiction prompt. I'm not labeling it this week, so take it whatever direction you choose. Have fun with it!

A patch of quicksand leads to another world.

16 Short Horror Stories

Halloween is now over, but why let the horror stories vanish? This year I reposted two short horror stories a day for eight days, ending on Halloween. One was a story that I'd had published in an ezine, collection, or someone's blog, while the other was a Friday Flash story I'd written through the years. I'm going to put them all in one place in case you want to see what I released but missed my posts on either Facebook or Twitter. Enjoy the reads!

Eight Days of Previously Published Horror Stories
1. 1-800-FUN-TALK
2. The Bird
3. The Eye
4. Fast Food Zombies
5. Find the Flag
6. Scream Time
7. Weeds and Dead Flowers
8. The Clown Killer

Eight Days of Revisited Friday Flash Horror Stories
1. Shadow in the Mirror
2. Chained Love
3. The Black and White Photograph
4. Pumpkin Patch of the Damned
5. The Scarecrow
6. The Fantabulous Funnybone Floatiboats
7. Bloody Mary
8. The Green-Faced Witch

Halloween Story #8 - The Green-Faced Witch

 This one might not scare the pants off of you, but I hope it'll take you back to old campfire stories you heard in your youth. I wrote this one for the young teen/tween set, but I think it's fun, and it takes place on Halloween night, so it's a perfect wrap for my eight days of revisited Friday Flash horror stories. I hope you enjoy the read!

The Green-Faced Witch
by Eric J. Krause

Jeremy stalked over to the snack table and let out an exaggerated sigh. Why did it have to rain on Halloween night? He had the perfect costume and everything. He would have had a full bag of candy, but instead Mom forbade him from trudging around the neighborhood in the wet weather. Now he was stuck at a party in his school's auditorium.

He scarfed down a few chips and scanned the room for his friends. Before he spotted anyone, a voice came from behind him. "Fun party, huh?"

He turned and found a girl in a witch costume. He didn't recognize her, but she looked pretty cute underneath all the green makeup. "I guess. I'd rather be out Trick or Treating."

"Not me. Parties are way more fun. You get to meet all sorts of people."

He squinted, trying to figure out who she was, but no luck. "Do you go to school here?"

"I used to. I like to come back and visit on Halloween."

Before she could elaborate, Mr. Martin, the assistant principal, spoke up. "Gather around, everyone. It can't be Halloween without a spooky story."

The witch grabbed Jeremy's hand. Her grip was ice cold and clammy, as if she'd just come in from the wet weather. She led him over to the group, and they all formed a circle. The lights shut off, and Mr. Martin held up a flashlight to his face. Everyone giggled, but quieted quickly in anticipation of the story.

"Thirty years ago tonight," Mr. Martin said in his creepiest voice, "a student from this very school went out Trick or Treating with her friends. She dressed up as a witch, complete with green makeup covering her face. She had a great time, and pulled in a sack-full of candy, but when they got to the large house right across the street from the school, they stopped."

One of the kids called out, "But there's no house across the street. It's a mini-mall."

Mr. Martin nodded. "It is now, but back then, it was a rickety old mansion. Most kids, and even many adults, kept their distance because they said it was haunted. And no one could dispute that, especially on dark Halloween nights.

"The young witch's group of friends crossed the street to stay as far away from the house as possible. But not her. She saw a light on and guessed whoever lived there probably had the best candy. What better place to Trick or Treat than at a haunted house? None of her friends would go up there with her. Instead, they watched as she approached the front of the house alone.

"As she stepped up to the door, it creaked open, but no one was there. She pushed it all the way open and called out, "Is anyone here?" She received no answer. Just as she started to turn away to go back to her friends, a small sign in the middle of the floor caught her eye. "This way for candy," it read. How could she pass that up? She stepped inside, and the door slammed shut.

"Her friends hollered at her to come back out, but the door remained closed. One friend ran to a pay phone in front of the school--remember, this was before people carried cell phones--and called the police. When an officer showed up a few minutes later and walked through the house, no one was there. The girl was never seen again.

"People say on dark Halloween nights, just like this one, a strange girl in a witch costume can be seen wandering around the area looking for her friends."

Mr. Martin gave a sinister laugh, and the auditorium lights flashed back on. No one said anything for a few seconds, but then the room filled with laughs and applause. Jeremy turned to the girl in the witch costume to ask if she liked the story, especially since she was dressed the same as the ghost, but she was gone.

Darren, a kid he knew from his math class, was sitting a few feet away. "Hey, did you see where the girl that was here went?"

Darren gave him a funny look. "What are you talking about? There was no girl sitting here. You walked over here alone."

Jeremy's blood froze, and he pulled out his cell phone to call his parents. It was time to go home and hide under the covers.