I’m setting 30-day challenges this month. Today is day 1. The challenges I chose are meant to help me improve my writing and fitness:
- Run at least 5 kilometers every day
- Blog every day
To start the month, I just finished a 21K run today, my first long run for a long time. One thing I realized that I really missed in running is the meditative state you are in when running longer distances. I used to be able to think out and outline column pieces during long slow distance (LSD) runs. In my solo run tonight, I was able to come up with several ideas for new projects as well as improvements on current ones.
I’ve been able to run nightly for 13 straight days and I hope to keep that up for this month’s challenge.
RUNKEEPER. The app for iOS and Android not only allows you to keep track of the distance of your run via GPS, it also serves as training log, resource and social network.
It’s a challenge to find the time to run but I realized it’s something I need to make time for not only to improve my fitness but also my writing. I’m able to think better after a run. Ideas come out, without fail, in my nightly runs.
As with anything I do, I use tech as a crutch. RunKeeper allows me to keep track of my runs while Lift reminds me of habits I want to build or change and keep track of these. You cannot change what you cannot measure, someone at Lift wrote (I can no longer find that link).
LIFT. The app allows you to sign up for challenges and keep track of your progress.
I’ve also decided to resume blogging – really blogging and not just making this site a repository of my newspaper articles and column. By working to be able to blog everyday, I hope to sharpen my craft (writing coaches tell you the best way to improve your writing is to keep doing it) as well as discipline myself into writing regularly.
Day 1 is about to end, a whole month awaits.
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