Don't Fall off the Horse. Do Not Fall off the...

Getting up on the horse is hard. But, what's harder? Getting back on that damned thing. Building momentum is hard. Losing it is easy. And, regaining it is even harder. Ask me. After a year of running and blogging every day, I'm here. I'm busier than before, but I know that's still an excuse. A good excuse but it's an excuse.

So, kids, please remember this. This blog will be back. I will be back in the running shoes. And, if you're trying to pick a habit, make sure you stick to it, cause once you lose your momentum, you are as good as done.  

New Beginnings. #MicroFiction

If you had to put some distance between you and your past, then 8,000 kilometers felt like a safe bet. So, for a week, he missed every deadline. Stealthily he searched for jobs in Iceland and two months and a turbulent flight later, he was there. 

A different country. Heck, a different continent. A new time zone. Strange new faces. Strange new voices inflecting on vocal notes he hadn’t heard before. He would have much preferred closure but escape was a close second.

As he waited for his baggage to arrive, he marvelled at his reflection in a giant Johnny Walker ad. You kissed your old life goodbye without second thoughts. That’s something you make a toast to.

And then, he saw her again.

Upon closer inspection, he found there was little in common. Blonde, not black hair. A chin piercing, not cheap earrings picked up at Linking Road. No hint of a speck-like mole on her neck. All this Scandinavian woman shared with her was an overbite. And even though he felt he had escaped, he now knew, no matter where he went, he was going to find her.

I Still Hold On To the Rails When My Treadmill Stops.

I've been running on a treadmill for some 10 months now. My pace has improved. My stamina even more so. But what I still can't figure out is how to stop it and then get off without using some support. And then I see this superb commercial from NordicTrack. It's from a Nordic (I guess so) exercise equipment company.

They have some 40 odd dancers busting some supercool moves while jogging on a treadmill. Granted I can do drum rolls while running but this is a different ballgame altogether. The best part? This is a sales commercial announcing NordicTrack's 15% discount. Sales commercials are the lowest hanging fruits in advertising. Little to no effort is put to make them more attractive or fun. So I was pleasantly surprised to find this jolly little video online.



PS: If you check the video description, you would see how they listed EVERYONE on the video. People don't realise that there's no word count on YouTube video descriptions. So, the good folk at NordicTrack put in a word for themselves, then their dancers, and then the agency. They were even nice enough to share the YouTube links of the Vine stars they hired in the video. Savvy marketing. Generous in sharing credit. NordicTrack, you've won my heart.

PPS: Quick update. With some courage and balance, I got off the treadmill today without leaning on the handles or the console.

Better Living through Your Mobile.

As much as I like to run, I can't bring myself to do it regularly. I could debate that it's not my fault what with a 12-hour work day and not being able to just get up but the fact is every time I don't run my health takes a hit. Every time I do my sinus issues are not acting up, I'm even more energetic and let's face it spending less time hunched near a computer.

I'm sure most of you face this issue. While a complete overhaul of your life is less than likely, little changes are. Say you try a little app called Google Fit.

Then you could start walking a little more every day. You could turn everyday exercise into a little game - you could beat yourself as I did on Tuesday or you could barely meet my target as I did on Wednesday. Fact is you'd haul your ass, get some exercise and if anything, have a little fun for no expense.

The best part of the app isn't it's functionality. Yes, it doesn't eat as much power as a traditional pedometer app. It's  a stellar execution of Google's in-house material design philosophy. What really makes me value the app is how it shows that with just a little change, your phone and technology in general can help you live better.

On that note, let me reinstall Duolingo again.

PS: Shipping every day is hard. Well harder than I expected it to be. Hope you are enjoying reading through my #YourTurnChallenge posts too.