January, like clockwork comes around every 12 months. As we grow older it sometimes feels like it comes even faster. We find ourselves asking, where did the last year go? Has it really been a year? We may take a moment or two while thinking over the prior year, wondering if we accomplished our lofty goals we set 12 months ago. This year we are keeping our goals simple; spend quality family time together, focus on our health, and paddle. The beautiful thing is that we can do all three at the same time. At the end of the year, how will we know if hit our goals? Well, that’s where technology can help and we have rounded up our favorite tracking apps.
There are so many choices out there it’s almost overwhelming, but the simplest way to look at it is that you can track your progress with a phone or a smart watch. If you have a smart watch then there is typically a corresponding app for your phone to auto-sync the data to your phone. Make sure you phone is water proof, in a water tight case, and your watch is water resistant in case you fall in. Always remember, your phone doesn’t float so secure it. Our favorite apps include Strava, SUP Trails and SUP Tracker.
Strava is great if want to track all your fitness activities. It’s a fitness, meet Facebook style app. You can record multiple exercise activities, follow your friends or like sports minded peeps and easily share your activity to your feed with a few clicks. If increasing your speed is a goal, Tempe Town Lake has “Segments” where you can track your progress. It will keep track of your personal best and where you rank against other paddlers. Grab a couple of photos, and quickly attach them to your workout to save your memories. Join the Riverbound Sports Paddle Company Club in your profile. https://www.strava.com
SUP Trails, is designed specifically for Stand Up Paddling. Each paddle will include a bird eye map view of your session. Like Strava it also logs your distance and time so you can watch your progress. You can keep the data for yourself or you can also post your results to Twitter and Facebook. SUP Trails also features a “SUP Trails Cloud” a cloud sourced database containing SUP Trails from around the world. Prefect if you plan on traveling with your inflatable paddle board as you can find SUP hotspots and routes anywhere you go. https://suptrails.com/about/
SUP Tracker, This is a IOS app that works well with an Apple watch 2 or 3. What I like about this app is that I can wear my watch and leave my phone somewhere dry. Once the app is synced to your phone, hit the water, press start and go. This app is good if you want to track your progress incognito. There is not a sharing capability, so record your paddles, see how often you are paddling, how far you go, and how much time you are spending on the water. https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/sup-tracker-stand-up-paddle/id1223453089?mt=8
Another great option for training but will cost a little upfront is the NK Speedcoach SUP II Performance Monitor. The Speedcoach mounts to your board using either the FCS mount or a standard GoPro type stick on mount and provides real-time measurements on speed, stroke rate, glide, distance per stroke, heart rate, and calories burned on the display screen. With the optional Training Pack you get programmable workouts that you can analyze by uploading your workouts to most third-party training websites.
It’s time to set a goal, grab an app and get tracking. Share your data, hide your data, either way you will at least have something to look back at next January. You can find Jason, Colin, Teri and Cory on Strava, especially our Tuesday night paddles at Tempe Town Lake. You will find our photo memories on Instagram using “#2018paddleseason” Happy New Paddle Year to you and SUP Family!
Jason, Kelly & Jake
