Motivational Technology?

Back in January I struggled to get into training mode for the TVFChinaChallenge trek knowing full well that if I didn't train I would struggle on the Great Wall. Despite support from friends and family I regularly missed my personal targets and lacked motivation. By chance I came across some technology that inspired me to get going and I haven't looked back since. The technology in question is an application that runs on most mobile phones with GPS fuunctionality; http://runkeeper.com

The basic version of this app is free and can be easily downloaded via your mobile phone App shop. In my case I downloaded via ITunes. Once installed I could choose my activity and Runkeeper would track my progress in terms of distance, pace, elevation and time. After I finished the Runkeeper app would send all my data up to my personal area on the main web-site. I could then log-on to my own area, check my results and even see my activity plotted on a map. I found this app great fun and it provided me with more than enough motivation.

I took my phone, and my app, with me to the Great Wall. Each day I tracked our progress and each evening I shared our achievements with the rest of the team. If you would like to see my stats, including those from China, please visit http://runkeeper.com/user/Mandyp.

Endomondo  is another phone app of this type, which my husband uses on a regular basis. They are both great motivators and can track many different sports. Both apps provide some great reports and make training much more fun, well for me at least!