I went for my first run in just over a month this morning. I’m not a fan of running and after running my first half marathon last year I had intended to continue running at least once a week but before I knew I was running once a month!
Finding little motivators is huge for me and my running. I have to run outdoors, I can’t handle the dreadmill! I look for pretty scenery and cute wildlife. This morning I was rewarded with seeing pelicans and 2 dolphins in the river! 
I also have to to have all my gadgets and accessories – my fitbit, armband, sweat wristband, headband, headphones, my knee brace and of course, cute running gear! The more fitspiration the better!
But most importantly I need my phone with Runkeeper.
Runkeeper is a GPS fitness app you can use to track your runs, rides and walks. You can even manually log other workouts like swimming. The GPS activity tracker is great because it gives you your time, distance and pace. When I first started running all that mattered was that I actually did the run. I didn’t care how long it took or what my pace was. Then when I was training for my half marathon my running improved and I had to be running at a certain pace to make sure I was on track. For those hard core runners pace is everything! After this morning’s run I looked back at my activities in Runkeeper and compared it against my run in January and my half marathon in August. Amazing to see the difference!
Runkeeper also works with your music so you can make the perfect playlist of your favourite running tracks. Running to the right music is a huge thing for me because running is such a mental game but when ‘your song’ comes on you get right into it and before you know it you’ve run 1km! There are also audio cues you can set up to tell you when you’ve run a km or when 5 minutes has passed. The audio cues are great to help keep you motivated and still work with your playlist.
There’s a lot more you can do with Runkeeper like compare your progress and follow plans but what I probably loved the most was the social network. You can add friends who will show up in your newsfeed and also on your leaderboard. Competing for the top of the leaderboard is great fun! And getting positive feedback from your friends about a tough run or a new personal achievement is so rewarding. Runkeeper also works with social media so you can share a new personal best on your Facebook or Twitter account.
So if you’re new to running I definately recommend you get Runkeeper. There are other apps you can get but most of my friends have Runkeeper. So I would suggest you find out what your running buddies have and get the same. The more virtual moral support you can get the better! :)
findingNQ 