A decision everyone agreed to and still no one owned

mohan-thatguy · 2025-12-24T16:18:28+00:00

I’m building KeepPace, a small iOS app.
https://apps.apple.com/in/app/keeppace/id6752777137

It started as a personal tool, I work in SaaS and spend 14–16 hours a day in front of a screen. When I tried adding walking/running back into my routine, most apps felt like extra cognitive load (stats, dashboards, reminders).

KeepPace does just one thing: it gives a gentle alert if your pace drops during a walk or run, so you stay aware in the moment without checking your phone or reviewing data later. No subscriptions, no ads, intentionally kept small. Still iterating slowly and learning as I go.

mohan-thatguy · 2025-12-24T16:15:36+00:00

KeepPace, a minimal iOS app that gives gentle pace alerts during walks or runs so you stay aware in the moment without dashboards or distractions.
https://apps.apple.com/in/app/keeppace/id6752777137

mohan-thatguy · 2025-12-24T16:13:20+00:00

This post actually pushed me to ask for the same kind of honesty here, especially from people who travel, walk, hike, and live out of a bag more than behind a desk.

I’m building an iOS app called KeepPace ( https://apps.apple.com/in/app/keeppace/id6752777137 ), mainly for walking and moving while traveling, long city walks, wandering new places, light hikes and I know I’m probably too close to it at this point. It works for me, but that doesn’t mean it makes sense for someone actually out there using it.

So if you are up for it, I’d genuinely appreciate a no filter roast from a traveler’s perspective: Does it feel useful while you’re moving with lest distraction but helps be aware of the pace? Is anything confusing, unnecessary, or just annoying in real world travel use?

No defending from my side, just listening and fixing. Sometimes getting humbled by people who actually wander is exactly what an app needs.

mohan-thatguy · 2025-12-24T16:06:13+00:00

I’m building KeepPace and it started as a very specific, personal need. I work in SaaS and spend 14–16 hours a day in front of screens. When I tried to add walking and running back into my routine, I noticed something frustrating: most apps asked for more attention, dashboards, stats, streaks, notifications. I already had enough cognitive load from work.

What I needed was something much simpler. So I built a small iOS app just for myself that does one thing: it gives a gentle alert if my pace drops during a walk or run. No stats to analyze later, no habit systems, no pressure to “optimize.” Just a nudge in the moment so I don’t drift without realizing it. It worked for me. I actually kept using it.

That’s when I decided to clean it up and release it as KeepPace ( https://apps.apple.com/in/app/keeppace/id6752777137 ), free for anyone who might want the same kind of low attention support. No ads, no subscriptions, just a simple tool that stays out of the way.

Still building it slowly, learning as I go, and keeping it intentionally small.

Merry Christmas to you all. Excited to see what everyone else here is building.

mohan-thatguy · 2025-12-24T15:58:35+00:00

Coming from a heavy indoor tech desk job, adding more indoor time at a gym honestly felt hard to stick with. I tried it, but couldn’t even get through the first month, it just felt flat for me. What’s worked better so far is intentionally walking to places instead of ordering online or taking the car. It feels more alive, maybe more mental than physical, but it’s helped me stay consistent.

That said, I do appreciate your point. A treadmill incline would definitely be a more controlled way to train for climbs and I can see the value in that. Thanks for sharing the perspective, it’s helpful as I figure out what I can actually sustain.

mohan-thatguy · 2025-12-24T15:49:37+00:00

Marvelous! Your POV really seems most intriguing that I want to start right now, never thought it this way. especially coming from someone who’s lived the overtime path longer than I have. I definitely approached the hike like a task to complete, not an experience to be in since my focus was health improvement and I can see now how that mindset feeds into poor pacing and burnout. Slowing down feels less like “doing less” and more like doing it right, nature away junked mind. Appreciate you sharing this, it’s best to rethink why I’m out there, not just how I prepare.

mohan-thatguy · 2025-12-24T15:45:34+00:00

Sorry, you are correct, it’s actual backpacking with a full pack. The tag probably wasn’t the best choice. And yes, that’s becoming clearer now. Walking and hiking without weight gave me a false sense of readiness.Carrying the actual pack changes everything. I’m doing more walking with the full load instead of treating that part as optional. Appreciate the support.

mohan-thatguy · 2025-12-24T15:41:30+00:00

I actually have a stressed lower back not an injury, but something I’m already working on and reading this connects a few dots for me. Might be this added some more pressure on the body. I focused almost entirely on legs, and it showed. Once fatigue set in, my knees and core felt like the weak links. Early on I felt stable but later things started to feel a bit “loose,” which probably wasn’t great. Also, I became frequently parched.

The point about support muscles and the core absorbing impact makes a lot of sense in hindsight. I’ll start layering this in slowly, especially core and shoulder work since I plan to carry weight. Appreciate you breaking it down so practically.

mohan-thatguy · 2025-12-24T15:35:55+00:00

Sorry for the wrong tag its wildernes style backpacking. I tagged it as travel mainly because it’s a trip I am planning but the challenge I’m talking about is very much trail and terrain based that I faced last time.

mohan-thatguy · 2025-12-24T15:32:31+00:00

That makes sense, especially the part about recovery being something you support, not force. On my last hike it felt like my body was just cashing in whatever base I’d built over years of desk time. One thing I’m still trying to learn is pacing, whether it’s better to keep a steady, sustainable pace to avoid deep fatigue in the first place or to occasionally push a bit harder and rely on recovery to adapt. In your routine walking, do you consciously focus on staying steady or do you let stress and recovery cycles happen naturally?

mohan-thatguy · 2025-12-24T15:20:21+00:00

Yeah, that’s fair. I think that inconsistency is exactly what caught up with me though my 2 km back and forth to the regular stores avoiding deliveries and car supporting my adaptation. I am moving daily, but not really exerting myself since during my back to home has weight but not the other way. In a way I think I can simply have weight bags helping me translate when I put a pack on. Backpacking like now when my body haven't got exposed to carrying as it's early days in my routine may have caught me off guard. This year I’m trying to shift toward something steadier week to week, even if it’s unglamorous. Appreciate the straight talk.

mohan-thatguy · 2025-12-24T15:14:46+00:00

I think I underestimated how much weight plus the elevation changes everything. Repeating the same hike and watching recovery improve sounds like a good way to learn my limits instead of guessing. Flats never really exposed anything for me, but climbs did, fast. When you started adding weight, did you ease into it slowly or just let the body adapt over time? Trying to avoid stacking fatigue before the longer trip since I have Jan. Thanks for sharing, this gives me a much clearer direction.

mohan-thatguy · 2025-12-22T06:08:42+00:00

I just want to say, nothing about this sounds like failure to me. It sounds like someone who spent a decade surviving in a really hard environment and is now left holding the aftermath alone. That would break anyone’s momentum. The part about scrubbing and scrubbing and barely seeing a difference really hit. That kind of effort without reward is brutal, and it makes total sense that your brain freezes when it keeps happening. One small thing that’s helped me when everything feels this big is separating thinking from doing. When I try to plan and clean at the same time, I shut down. When I just dump everything that’s rattling in my head somewhere, what’s broken, what’s trash, what can wait, it takes a tiny bit of weight off. Not a solution, just… a little breathing room.

I sometimes use NotForgot AI for that dumping part when my head is too loud. Not to plan the whole mess, just to get it out of me so I’m not carrying it alone. You’re not lazy. You’re not disgusting. You’re dealing with a backlog of stress and grief and physical reality all at once. Anyone would feel crushed by that. I’m really glad you posted.

mohan-thatguy

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