Do I really need one?
The answer is yes, no and maybe! Ok, that was not helpful so let’s talk.
What is the goal you hope to achieve? Is it a casual, not significant, not a lifetime goal, a just for fun experiment? If the answer to those questions is yes, then a dedicated App to track metrics and life changes may be a bit too much.
Is your sport goal more about a way to engage a like-minded community and just engage and share some of your fun adventures while working to accomplish those casual goals, then the answer can be the “maybe”. Realize the need for an App is not about achieving the goal but more to connect and build on relationships and have fun during your journey, which “maybe” is the real goal.
Significant events and goals that require days, weeks, months and possibly years of dedication and scheduled time commitment for success, require a way to record, track and analyze performance data and allow you to learn and grow for success.
What do I use? Training Peaks is my go-to App for real goal analysis and tracking. My “social” App of choice is Strava. I use Strava to share select data and build a social network of sport friends and acquaintances who have similar likes and sport hobbies. It is not my analysis tool of choice. There are other Apps you can find, these two do a great job of what I acquired them to do. Look, research and pick the Apps that fit your needs and life conditions.
Apps can and usually do cost some kind of fee to use. Be aware of that before you commit to a subscription. Make sure you can afford the cost for the length of time you want to use it. Make a useable backup copy of data you save so when and if you decide or the App decides to quit, you can still have potentially valuable data that can transfer to another useable platform. It is no fun to rely on an App, save data to it and then possibly without warning, shut down with a total loss of all your data. It has and does happen.
Apps can have various levels of commitment and expense. Depending on your goals, the least expensive version might be the choice. More significant goals might require a higher level of expense and commitment. Be wise, understand the costs and options that come with the varying levels of commitment before spending dollars.
Training Peaks currently, 2024/2025, has 3 price levels, Basic/Free, Premium/$125 per month and Premium with a paid coach relationship/$189 per month. Please check and confirm price before committing.
Strava currently, 2024/2025, has a free version and a $12/month version ($80.00/year). Please check and confirm price before committing.