Achieving a runner’s high with a little help
DATA analysis has infiltrated even amateur sports, largely because of the mobile phone’s ability to track performances on a momentby-moment basis.
Distance runners were among the first athletes to adopt mobile phones as performance-enhancing tools, with apps like Runmeter GPS (US$3 or RM9 for IOS), Endomondo Sports Tracker Pro (US$4 or RM12 for IOS, free limited versions for Android) and Mapmyrun+ (free for Android, or US$2 or RM6 for IOS as imapMyrun+) helping coach runners to new heights.
These apps have pushed one another even as they have been chased by similar apps from Nike, Google and Adidas. And the competition, predictably, has yielded good things for runners.
The software’s most basic trick is logging a runner’s speed and distance on a map — which, in the age of Gps-enabled mobile phones, isn’t revolutionary.
But the apps also allow runners, walkers and cyclists to compile and retrieve information about their workouts from any device with an Internet connection, and some will publicly share routes that strangers might like to follow.
I found subtle but important differences in three highly rated apps that are available on both Apple and Android phones. People who want an app to lead them through a workout free should consider micoach.
Experienced runners who need less coaching will do well with either Mapmyrun or Endomondo, but Endomondo has more social networking elements whereas Mapmyrun has more nutrition-related features.
iphone owners should consider Runmeter GPS, which combines the coaching elements of micoach with social features of Endomondo in a clean, easy-to-use package.
Of the free apps, micoach is a good choice. You can go for a run or walk and have the app follow your progress, or you can choose from prepackaged workouts of different levels, with an automated coach pacing you. The workouts are especially good for those who do treadmill running or walking.
As with Endomondo and Mapmyrun, micoach sends its data to a personalised webpage where you can review your training and read performance tips or check up on the workouts of friends who use the service. Registration is free.
Micoach is slightly less multifaceted than the others I tried.
Take Endomondo Pro, for instance, which goes so far as to allow friends to monitor your workouts in a newsfeed, in real time, and send messages that are read aloud to you as you run.
Imagine trying to beat a friend’s best time on a particular route and have that friend’s trash talk in your head as you approach the final stretch.
Endomondo also includes more serious components that will appeal to distancetraining athletes. If, for instance, you set a time-related or calorie-related goal before starting a run, it will issue audio updates during the workout.
Afterward, you can retrieve important data like split times, average speed, maximum speed, altitude and elevation from within the app, or review that data on your Endomondo.com page.
Endomondo has also done an admirable job of keeping these features constrained in a simple, bright interface, with big, thumb-friendly buttons that an athlete can hit with a quick glance. I liked that aspect of Runmeter GPS, too. Runmeter lacks a dedicated website where you can review workouts, but it allows you to e-mail data to a particular destination, or export it directly to Dailymile.com, a social media site for tracking and sharing workouts.
The app also includes a remote trash-talking feature similar to Endomondo, as well as the coaching feature similar to the one on micoach.
If I have a quibble with the generally excellent Mapmyrun, it’s that the interface often looks dark and sparse compared with its competitors.
The core components are roughly the same, in that the software tracks the important data from a workout. And some of the social elements of Endomondo and Runmeter are also there, although your friends can’t remotely intrude on your run as they watch your progress on their PCS.
Then again, Mapmyrun has some useful features missing from the others. First, Mapmyrun has a nutrition center where you can log meals, weight and water consumption, and track your caloric budget.
And unlike Endomondo and Runmeter, Mapmyrun lets users control their music from within the app, so you don’t have to close it down and open your music player to fast-forward a song.
Depending on where you live, the website for Mapmyrun may also be much more useful than that of Endomondo.
One of the best features of both websites is that they allow runners to log on and see routes suggested by others.
The website for Mapmyrun also lets users check off routes that they have run and other routes they would like to run. Overall, the website is superior to those offered by competitors.
Of course, if you like these features but another app is more appealing to you, it’s easy enough to rely on the Mapmyrun website just when it’s needed, and stick with Endomondo or Runmeter.
That way, if you want to shout insults at a friend as he’s about to break your cherished record, that option is still available. — NYT