I am not a data scientist. This may be obvious to anyone forced to watch me attempt pivot tables in Excel, but it became highly inconvenient when I attempted to quantify my entire life.

Just 11 percent of adults in the U.S. track their health. Last year, I became one of them. It was a year—365 long days and nights—spent sampling myriad apps, sensors and medical tests and devices, and logging all the information into a massive spreadsheet. My impetus was born of a personal journey—a chronic disease diagnosis with no known cause and no cure.

The Journey

I used my smartphone and an assortment of apps and standalone devices to analyze my blood, gather telomere and genomic markers, and track my activities, weight and even my schedule. Data from more than 65 different technologies gave me hope that I would improve my overall health—and regain some of my former competitive running glory. And while just measuring did make a difference, which is consistent with nearly every study done, there just wasn't an easy way to make unexpected connections. No apps, no service featuring on-demand data scientists; nothing but me—and a very complex spreadsheet.