REVIEW: RunKeeper

www.runkeeper.com

I started running back in, well....okay. I started running back when we all started running: when we were kids. I grew up and found other interests and sports like soccer, football, shot put, and of course, the opposite sex despite my 4 years in an all male, catholic high school. Anyway, in the most recent of times I rediscovered running back in 2005 (Holy crap! really? Wow. It totally doesn't seem that long ago). Anyway, after all the beer and jelly donuts, I was..."too heavy".

"BECAUSE YOU ARE A DISGUSTING FAT BODY, PRIVATE PYLE!!"

Anyway, I had packed on the pounds through years of not playing football, not running track, not throwing shot, not lifting weights, not playing soccer, yet continuing to eat and drink like I still did all of those things. So, anyway, I figured it was time to get rid of a few extra pounds and try to right this ship. My wife and I didn't have a lot of money at the time. We had let the gym memberships go to conserve so I had to look for a cheaper alternative. And by "Cheap," I meant "Free."

Turns out that there are miles and miles and miles and miles of Earth out there that you can just run loose in. So I did. I had a job where I was on the road travelling for work all the time so I ran in parks and hotel workout room treadmills and city sidewalks and airport runways. Basically, Jenny, anywhere I could run, I ran. ...well, it was running to ME.

Turns out, just getting up and being active really does help you to lose weight. My pounds started to drop and I went from almost 300 down to a paltry 225, almost 70 pounds of pure fat I ran off in a few years. Then I sort of got complacent and let work get in the way. I changed jobs, had a kid, had another kid, and kept eating and drinking as before until I stepped on the scale one day in 2010. Much to my chagrin I was back to almost 260. No wonder my pants were tight and clothes didn't really fit me anymore.

So, back on the horse. But smarter this time. I started slow and began to eat right. Not a paleo or some fad diet, but really right. 2/3 veggies, no dairy, and then protein and some grains. Drank water and coffee (occasionally beer and wine and whiskey), gave up the sweet tea that I loved so much. Desserts were apples and bananas and not covered in chocolate or in ice cream. I downloaded an app for my iPhone called "Zombies, Run!" and started to use that for my runs.

So then, before I knew it, I was running almost everyday, this Zombie app was tracking my progress and entertaining me, but it really didn't deliver any stats for me at the time. And the story updates were starting to get slow. Before I knew it, again, I had out ran the story and was kind of bored with the whole zombie thing anyway. It was good for what it was and maybe I'll pick up season 2 and see where that goes, but for now, I had needs to quantify how far, how much, how fast, where, when and a bunch of other information. Looking in the Zombies app and searching the internets I found out about RunKeeper.

Turns out my Zombies app synced with RunKeeper if I had an account. Plus, RunKeeper would breakdown all of my runs into stats, show me a track overlaid on a Google map at the end of my run, and a TON of other stuff as well to satisfy my geeky nature to show me all of the stats of all of my runs.

I have been using RunKeeper since March of 2012, shortly after I found them, and it has been one of my favorite apps of all time. It has been on every smartphone I have owned since 2012 and even made the conversion from iOS to Android with me. I got a Pebble smartwatch off of Kickstarter JUST for the fact that it was going to eventually work with RunKeeper. I could not be more pleased with RunKeeper for my level of ability. On my pebble I have the ability to view all of the pertinent stats regarding my current run. I wish the Pebble would let me start or pause a run using the buttons, but I'm not sure if this is technically possible for them. Or even if anyone out there has even asked for this.

Speaking of options for RunKeeper, a slick app is the Shoe Tracker. Developed by Queso Fitness, the shoe tracker allows a user to have a stable of shoes and then assign them to RunKeeper activities allowing you to know how far you have run in a particular pair. If you enter the price paid for the shoes, it will even tell you how much they cost you per mile to run in.

I remember back in 2007, I ran the Crazy Legs 8K in Madison, WI. I took an hour (literally finished at 1:00:01.07) to run it and my training consisted of runs like "Well, I guess I'll just run from the apartment to over there by that point in the shore line of the lake." Afterwards only to find out that I had run slightly better than a mile. But no more!

These days I strap my phone to my armband, plug in the headphones, and I am off. RunKeeper tells me how far I have gone in what length of time (I have mine set to tell me distance and pace after every 5 minutes). RunKeeper tells me if I'm faster or slower than my target pace (for a rehab run, I'll try for 12 minutes / mile, but without RK, I'd be running them at 8 because Pace is THE HARDEST thing for me to keep when I run).

One particular feature I like, given my GIS and Mapping background, from the website, viewed on a laptop or desktop machine, I can download the track from my runs and open them in Google Earth or export it as a GPX and send it to my GPS device. The only item I wish they would let me do is to grab more than just one run at a time. I am sure, given time, the development team behind RunKeeper will get this done (Please?).

                                                                                 

RunKeeper has a TON more features that I haven't even scratched the surface on, but these are the big hitters for me. If you are in the market for a good running app to track and analyze your calories burned or distance traveled, RunKeeper is for you. It is available for both iOS and Android in the appropriate stores.

                          

Once you are all signed up with RunKeeper, or the next time you visit your account, look me up. Username: TheEpeter.

What about you, Dear Runner? Do you have a favorite App you like to use when you run? Do you have questions about an app or would you like your app reviewed? Let me know what you think in the comments below and I will do my best to let you know what I think. 

Winter's Coming

Okay, so it's not really about the wildly fun to watch HBO series Game of Thrones, but it is true.

Summer is officially over given that the equinox was a few days ago on September 22nd and fall is here. YIPPEE!! This is definitely one of my favorite times of year to run. The cooler, but not cold, weather coupled with some sun shine means I can run during my lunch hour again and not have to worry about early morning runs. My neighborhood is filled with teenage AND elderly drivers, not to mention that the main drag through the subdivision is a great short-cut to avoid about 6 lights in trade-off for 3 Stop signs.

I think I speak another language since I see "Stop" and come to a halt in my vehicle whereas others seem to see those octagonal red signs and just roll through. No matter how many kids are standing at the curb waiting to cross safely.

Anyway, So now I don't need the reflector vest, or at least, I don't wear it. Its the middle of the day and I'm pretty well visible when I get out on the mean streets of "Several Conifers" subdivision. So: Excitement for the lunchtime runs. HUZZAH!!

In addition to all of this, I'm picking this blog up again (LOOK! 3 postings in a row! Amazing!)

I know.I know. I've said it before, but here we go. 2013 is almost over (4th quarter, Baby!), my kids are growing up, I'm running more, and life is just getting in there and doing things. But whatevs. It's gonna happen. It IS happening. So changes are in the pipe for you, Dear Reader. You will notice that a few things have been made better. The layout, the writing (questionably), MORE CONTENT!, and a mobile version (shh, its a secret, but seriously, go check us out on your phone).

So get ready.

Get Pumped!

Because "If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading." - Lao Tzu 

The Oatmeal Runs

Seriously. He does.

And then makes this post about The Blerch and e'rrbody goes CRAZY.

Buyin' Blerch shirts. Blerch hats. Blerch bitches. Blerch turds.

I'm with him, though. I'm hip. I'm with it.

I run for the Blerch, too.

Only my Blerch is bad poetry.

Like this:

"There is no cold.

There is no rain.

There are no legs.

There is no pain.

There is only you you.

Running.

Breathing."

Sucks, yo, but I still get my miles in.

Shitty rhymes all the way.

Can't empty my head. 

Its 2013.

Oh. my. god.

And I still suck at updates.

and posting.

And Whatever.

I still have this thing? I can't believe it.

I feel like I ought to use it more.

...or kill it.

Like a zombie.

But I can't because its like an old friend.

Maybe I will have more things to talk about later.

For now, though, just...this.

Depressing Innovation.

So, yeah. It's been awhile.

I know what I said. "More posts, more often," I promised.

Well. Sorry.

I do have a job.

And a life.

And a family.

But I was thinking recently about the economy and consumer products. I work in a consumer electronics field, so I try to stay current with the new products that are coming out these days. New phones.

New GPS and PNDs.

New watches and new laptops.

New netbooks.

Smaller.

Faster.

Cheaper.

Better.

And this put into my mind the thought that perhaps the innovation of today's new electronics and technology products, the progression of a company's product lines, has been pushed further than the norm because of the scarcity of cash. Now, I don't have a degree in economics or business or marketing or production. In fact, I'm quite firmly grounded in earth sciences and happen to have migrated to my current position through chance and opportunity. I have, however, been noticing a trend that the new technology coming out seems to be out-pacing the previous pace of tech offerings.

Let me say it another way: Mercedes Benz, a company that has been known for putting out innovative design, is now putting out a car they claim is the "culmination of simply everything." We have phones that we touch what we want to open or the name of the person we want to call and the phone opens the program or it calls our business contact. I know they've been out for awhile, but today's are WWWAAAAYYYYYYY better than what we had 5 years ago. In fact, they're WWWAAAAYYYYYYY better than what we could choose from a year ago. Heck, in mid-October to November (speculated, I don't know for sure), RIM is gonna probably put out two phones that are head and shoulders above what they put out a year ago. And what they put out a year ago wasn't bad, but it wasn't all fully designed and finished (Storm 1...you know who you are; Bold...you did a pretty good job). But this year, RIM is putting out the Onyx 9700, a phone Boy Genius reports as "Gorgeous". What did they say abut the Bold? I don't know. I couldn't find a post. You look. I'm sure they gushed. ...or not. Like I said, I couldn't find a review of theirs. Anyway....

Now, the iPhone is pretty slick. It's cool in a gee-whiz kinda way, in my opinion. It does a lot of things really well and has done a lot of things really poorly. (We're not here to point fingers and name names.) But it seems that phones coming out in Q4 2009 are going to those things really well. And the things the iPhone did poorly? Well, they're promising to do those really well as well. Apple has really pushed innovation into the forefront, but their design seems to have stagnated a bit. Will the iPhone be better in it's next incarnation? Undoubtedly. But so will everyone else's.

Why is this? Why is everyone trying to squeeze out better and better designed phones and cars at a time where there is less and less consumer spending going on? Why are companies pumping out products with more tech in them and more design and more engineering and mopre power so they run longer, go farther, look better, run smoother at a time where the average person is still kind of iffy on season tickets to their kid's sports team? Is consumer spending really that tight? Again, I don't know, I didn't look, but everywhere you turn, you hear the talking heads on TV telling us that: "Yes, money is tight. Save money by buying this thing or doing this with the little money you have. God knows the banks don't know what to do with it...and just stay the heck away from the Market."

Well I'm not here to debate that either. What I am here to posit is this: This tech that's getting ready to drop, is because of the economy. Would you rather spend you $199 on a year old phone that does things pretty half-ass or would you rather spend it on a phone that has Bluetooth WiFi touchpad multi-touch GPS turn-by-turn navigation HD stereo surround sound call quality just like your mother used to make? Would you rather get the "regular Benz" or the one that has nan-technology fibers for seats and radar under the hood while it tells you that you should pull over to the next exit and get a cup of coffee at the gas station cause you're tired, but you don't need gas because it can go another 500 miles on that one tank?

Some of those claims may be wildly fabricated, but you get the idea that you'd rather, if you're in the market for one of these things (and even if you're not), get the better one for either the same price or cheaper. Why would they do that?

Because you only have so much money and you want the best perceived value for your dollar. And they want it.

Badly.

What's the best value? Obviously it's the one that's better. Better how? Better for who?

Who cares. You need to get a top-of-the-line, newest Blackberry on Verizon's network because then you can get another top-of-the-line, newest Blackberry (for another couple weeks at least) for free. They have the best network in the country. Or, go to AT&T and get an iPhone. They've got the best phones and the best 3G. And they're expanding it!

It's a fair trade: you get awesome tech and they get a piece of your ever-dwindling "disposable" or discretionary income. But why now?

Why all this awesome tech now? The Storm 2 is purported to be using piezo-tech in it's screen. That's pretty awesome, but nothing new. But it's still pretty awesome that RIM put technology that powers itself out there. I'd be surprised if you don't hear about that. Why does RIM throw this together now? Surely they've been working on it for awhile, but is this the right time to put it out in the marketplace?

The answer is YES, Dear God, Yes. Put it out there. We want our flying cars and rocket packs and brain implants that stream videos right into our glasses while we walk down the street.

It makes me wonder, though, is this all because of the economy and the shrinking wallet of the average person, or is it because we're in an expansion of technology. A technology boom in which technology will begin to begin to outpace itself and out-dates the technology that preceded it just months earlier?

Or is it a combination of both? Is it that tech companies are putting forth a greater effort to push newer tech out the door, even if it risks out-dating the recent product they put out and frustrating recent purchasers of said product, to get "the new, hot thing" out so they can be the first to get those shrinking dollars you have?

I like to think so. I'd like to think that because of this current crappy economy we have, whether real or imagined, technology makers are putting out better tech for cheaper in an effort to get my $299 for a Bold 9700 with a 2-year contract.

...and when they offer it, they'll probably get my $299 on a 2-year contract.

Because I NEED that phone.