Week 2 of Laura's Challenge Journal

Week 2 of my Danceathon journal and it’s tech time.
I’ve been given this lovely looking app to record my activity against the training programme I’ve been given.  It changes each week to build up my endurance apparently.  Trouble is, I’m not all that into tech and it’s giving me just a little bit of a headache!

It records different activities each day, each week.  It’s taken me three weeks to work it all out!  I was shown but then promptly forgot.  I’m sure there’s others like me who don’t get excited about tech and suffer it because they have to. And yet….

… I got really excited because there’s a timer at the top of the screen that counts down the seconds and minutes and tells me when to stop.  I don’t have to go to another screen and have the stopwatch going.  Brilliant!  Is that weird to have these mixed feelings about this app?

I concede that it’s very clever.  It has lots of bells and whistles and can link to many wrist fitness contraptions.  Trouble is, I don’t want to be ruled by an electronic wrist tag!

It’s not going to measure my sleep, body fat, caloric intake, BP, resting HR (whatever that is), lean body mass.  And I’ve now got this whimpy badge that’s appeared congratulating me on my ‘1st workout ever!  You’re off to a great start!’  What nonsense.

I don’t want the bells and whistles.  I don’t want to have latest thing dreamt up by a 15 year old whizz kid to make the tech sing and smile at me.  I want real people to do that.

Am I just curmudgeonly?  I don’t think so.  I use tech when it’s necessary.  I don’t particularly like it but understand the need for it in certain circumstances.  It can speed things up but it can also separate us from others, and from our environment.

So I’ll keep on using the app because I need to.  I need to build up my endurance for the Danceathon if I’m going to last the 24 hours.  I don’t like it, but I’ll do it.  It doesn’t motivate me but that’s OK because my motivation is from the difference the fund raising is going to make to the charity.  It’s going to help keep the drop-in centre open. It’s going to help provide support to women to transform their lives.  It’s going to help women who have no one else who can, or will, help them.
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To do that I need you to help me.  Please keep me motivated by donating to the JustGiving page.  www.justgiving.com/campaign/danceathon2026.  Thank you.