September 15, 2015 by Darlene

Tuesdays on the Run: Fitness Trackers

Erika @ MCM Mama Runs hosts Tuesdays on the Run with April @ Run the great wide somewhere and Patty @ My no-guilt life!

This week’s topic is: Fitness/Running Trackers & Watches

I’ll categorize my use of trackers:

For Tracking Miles When Running

I use Daily Mile to keep track of my miles.

You can view them daily and

and weekly

and of course, monthly.

aug2014

You can link to FB or Twitter and comment other people’s posts but I do not.

For Tracking Distance When Running

I used to use Nike+ on my phone when I ran.

This app is easy to use and keeps track of distance, time and pace. But I only care about distance.

It also shows you a map of where you have run.

You can even add pictures.

even on the track

I recently deleted it and its the data because it took up a lot of space and switched to Runkeeper.

Runkeeper is easy to use, as well. It calls out your distance and pace. You can set walk/run intervals. You can also set goals and you can save a route. I only use it for distance and then delete the run. (So it doesn’t take up space on my phone.)

For Racing

I use my Garmin 205.

I know that it’s big and clunky but it tells me distance, time, pace…everything I need to know on one screen during a race.

I love it and I hope it never dies!!!

For Tracking my Steps Daily

I just joined the world of tracking my steps. I bought a Fitbit Flex.

The jury is still out on it since I’ve only used it for one day.

work + 3.5 mile run + walk in the mall

Ideally I would have liked one that showed the steps without syncing to my phone but I didn’t want to spend the extra money until I decided if it was useful.

It can also track my sleep but that would be very depressing.

Right now, I am hoping that it will motivate me to be more active when not running.

Happy Running! Do you use any trackers? Which ones?

February 10, 2015 by Darlene

Tuesdays on the Run: Favorite Fitness App

Erika @ MCM Mama Runs hosts Tuesdays on the Run with April @ Run the great wide somewhere and Patty @ My no-guilt life!

This week’s topic is: Favorite Fitness App

I only use 2:

Nike + Running

I use this on my iPhone when I run. I use my Garmin watch in races. This app is easy to use and keeps track of distance, time and pace.

It also shows you a map of where you have run.

You can even add pictures.

even on the track

DailyMile/Electric Miles

I use Electric Miles on my iPhone (since I don’t have the latest OS) and Daily Mile on my iPad.

This is how I keep track of my miles. You can take view them daily and

and weekly

and of course, monthly.

aug2014

You can link to FB or Twitter and comment other people’s posts but I do not.

The other app that I like (but it’s not really a fitness app) is FitSnap.

I use this to post images to Facebook, to this blog and to Instagram.

You just take a picture and choose the activity and add any other details.

Happy Running! What is your favorite fitness app?

(Don’t forget to enter my Runner’s Choice giveaway HERE.)

July 1, 2014 by Darlene

Tuesday on the Run: technology

Erika @ MCM Mama Runs hosts Tuesdays on the Run with April @ Run the great wide somewhere and Patty @ My no-guilt life!

This week’s topic is: technology

That’s an easy one for me. I work in IT and I am quite a techie nerd.

I never run without my iPhone so I’ll talk about Running with Apps.

Here are the 10 iPhone apps recommended in Jessica Clark’s post. Please go to the post directly for more details on each app.

Here are a few more that I have heard of:

And some more that I have found:

Since my original post on apps, I actually decided to try some of them myself. On these trials I was not using my Garmin because I didn’t care about pace and just want to get my miles in.

Runkeeper – this one is free and I kinda like it. It is is easy to set up. It calls out your distance and pace. You can set goals and you can save a route.

CruiseControl – this one costs $$ but not a lot. (I had a gift card or I wouldn’t have bought it.) This app pulls in all the music on your iphone according to cadence. You can set your targeted cadence and pace. It then adjusts the music as you run. Personally, this is a waste on me. I don’t choose my music according to cadence especially since I am in recovery mode. I choose music that I like. It has to have a catchy tune and a good beat to run with.

Zombies, Run! – this one also costs $$ but not a lot. (I had a gift card or I won’t have bought it.) This one integrates missions with your music. It tracks your distance and pace. It is kinda cute. Although I was being chased by a zombie, when I was tired, it didn’t really motivate me to run faster. But that may be just me. If it were free, for a change of pace, I would use it.

Runtastic – there is a free version, I have Runtastic Pro that I got free. The Pro version offers voice feedback , auto pause and intervals. The free version has GPS tracking, measures time, distance and pace, shows a map of your run as well as charts for speed and elevation. I didn’t find it as intuitive as Runkeeper. (I had a hard time even fingering out how to end my workout and didn’t do it. OOPS.)

WalkJogRun – this one cost $4.99. I have it. I am not sure if I bought it or got it for free. This app claims to be the most accurate regarding distance. it allows you to find nearby routes. It tracks your time, distance and pace per lap. It also offers FREE training plans for all distances and all levels. (The plans are worth the cost of the app.)

NikePlus – this one is free. I started using this app since it required a shoe sensor insert and an ipod. The app has a lot more functionality. Right now, it is my favorite. It tracks your miles, shoes, shows your route. It is easy to add photos and post to FB, twitter & instagram.

All the apps above are easy to set up, link to your music and work with the GPS function on your iPhone. You also have the ability to share your runs on Facebook and Twitter, if you desire.

However, with all the iPhone apps, the GPS function is not as accurate as a Garmin GPS. So if you are serious about your pace and split times, you need to use a Garmin. Also using the GPS on the phone wears down the battery. I would be nervous using it on a long run. Plus, I rather have a charged phone if I am out running alone than a GPS.

So probably I’ll use the apps from time to time but when I race or train seriously, I’ll be back to my iphone for music, communication & photos and my Garmin for distance and pace.

Happy Running! Do you use apps? If so, which one(s)?

June 18, 2014 by Darlene

Passing The Baton

mizuno-baton-ifeverybodyran Thanks to MCM Mama for this idea,

This week I am passing the Mizuno Baton.

I’ve posted about the Mizuno “ifeverybodyran” campaign.

This one is a no brainer. You run and money goes to the Back On My Feet charity. Win-Win.

mizone-donate-backonmyfeet

All you have to do is download the app and run for one week.

So, I’m pledging to run at least 20 miles this week using the app.

That should hopefully motivate me to get out there and run.

So far…

Happy Running! How about you? How many miles will you run for them?

August 4, 2013 by Darlene

Running with Apps

Awhile back I posted about iPhone running apps:

Here are the 10 iPhone apps recommended in Jessica Clark’s post. Please go to the post directly for more details on each app.

Here are a few more that I have heard of:

And some more that I have found:

Since that post, I actually decided to try some of them myself. I am not using my Garmin because I don’t care about pace and just want to slowly ease into running.

Runkeeper – this one is free and I kinda like it. It is is easy to set up. It calls out your distance and pace. You can set goals and you can save a route.

CruiseControl – this one costs $$ but not a lot. (I had a gift card or I wouldn’t have bought it.) This app pulls in all the music on your iphone according to cadence. You can set your targeted cadence and pace. It then adjusts the music as you run. Personally, this is a waste on me. I don’t choose my music according to cadence especially since I am in recovery mode. I choose music that I like. It has to have a catchy tune and a good beat to run with.

Zombies, Run! – this one also costs $$ but not a lot. (I had a gift card or I won’t have bought it.) This one integrates missions with your music. It tracks your distance and pace. It is kinda cute. Although I was being chased by a zombie, when I was tired, it didn’t really motivate me to run faster. But that may be just me. If it were free, for a change of pace, I would use it.

Runtastic – there is a free version, I have Runtastic Pro that I got free. The Pro version offers voice feedback , auto pause and intervals. The free version has GPS tracking, measures time, distance and pace, shows a map of your run as well as charts for speed and elevation. I didn’t find it as intuitive as Runkeeper. (I had a hard time even fingering out how to end my workout and didn’t do it. OOPS.)

WalkJogRun – this one cost $4.99. I have it. I am not sure if I bought it or got it for free. This app claims to be the most accurate regarding distance. it allows you to find nearby routes. It tracks your time, distance and pace per lap. It also offers FREE training plans for all distances and all levels. (The plans are worth the cost of the app.)

All the apps above are easy to set up, link to your music and work with the GPS function on your iPhone. You also have the ability to share your runs on Facebook and Twitter, if you desire.

However, with all the iPhone apps, the GPS function is not as accurate as a Garmin GPS. So if you are serious about your pace and split times, you need to use a Garmin. Also using the GPS on the phone wears down the battery. I don’t think it would last on a long run. Plus, I rather have a charged phone if I am out running alone than a GPS.

So probably I’ll use the apps from time to time but when I race or train seriously, I’ll be back to my ipod for music, my iphone for communication & photos and my Garmin for distance and pace.

Happy Running! Do you use apps? If so, which one(s)?