Item of the Week: Runkeeper App

Have you heard of Runkeeper?  I had. 

​Months, maybe years ago, but I never really gave it a second thought.  It was for the elite and the crazy runners.  People like my husband.  I thought I knew Runkeeper, and so I dismissed it.  But now I wish I wouldn't have.

My husband is a runner.  No, not just a runner, a fanatical-runner.  He is always training for something: a marathon, an ultra marathon, a work-sponsored 5-k race where he can beat his co-workers.  Right now, he's simultaneously training for his second Ragnar 200-mile team relay race in Boston and the Elite Boston Marathon.  Running is his thing.

Running is not my thing.  I am not crazy like he is.

I enjoy running, but more on a “Stay-in-shape”, “I-need-to-keep-my-sanity”, “I-get 30-minutes-of kid-free-time” kind of way.   I've done 5k's, 10k's, a 25K races and a half marathon.  But mostly, I just run around our neighborhood.

Lately, my motivation to go out for a run has gone stale.  I'm choosing more and more to just lace up my shoes for a walk, rather than put in the effort and get all sweaty from a run.  And the fit of my clothes has definitely shown this trend.  

Enter Runkeeper. 

I recently got a new phone and Runkeeper was one of the Apps that was automatically installed (or quite possibly, my husband might have installed it.  He does that sometimes.)  Having known about Runkeeper, but never actually seen it, I decided to open it up.  You know, just to give it a chance before I deleted it off of my phone to free up space.

Whoa.  I got hooked.

You see, despite it's name, Runkeeper isn't just for running.  It's for walking, and biking, hiking, skiing, swimming,...and, yes, it's also for running.   You enter your activity, and then choose a workout - either from the list the App provides, or you can create your own custom workout.  Next you set up the alerts you want to receive during your workout (pace, distance, time...), you can even choose the voice or accent you want those alerts to come as.  Then you choose Spotify (or music from your phone).  Press Start and you're off!  

When you're done, you get a summary of your workout and then a ranking of all of the workouts you've done.  And let me tell you, that first week, when Runkeeper tells you that you've just completed your fastest run or your longest run, the pride is real.

So what about you?  What tools do you use to keep you motivated to work out?