Hi everyone, I'm after some advice please! I'm just about to embark on week 4, but have no idea of the distance I'm covering...

[I_will_do_it]

I tend to just run variations of the same route, round a series of roads and parks (away from prying eyes!). I would like to know the distance I'm covering, so have tonight been looking into purchasing a running watch. Well! I'm stumped! I don't care about it being massively fancy and would rather not spend a ridiculous amount on it at this stage, until I decide whether I will be a committed runner or just a recreational one if that makes sense (probably best I don't get carried away just yet!). can anyone on here give me some pointers / suggest some good ones? Thank you!

[Legion Graduate]

Have you got a smart phone? There are loads of apps you can get that will do the job, many of them free. You could also plot your route on Google Maps to see how far you've gone. If you do want to get a GPS watch then you need to decide on your budget and read some reviews. I got my Garmin Forerunner 310XT in Amazon's Black Friday deals last year for around £150 (it's currently on Amazon for about £20 more) complete with heart rate monitor. I didn't particularly want one with a HR monitor but the offer made it cheaper than one without! I wouldn't be without the HR monitor now though as I can track the improvement in my heart recovery rate and I love stats! It's also suitable for cycling and swimming, so if I ever get around to doing a triathlon...

[Realfoodieclub Graduate]

I use the runastic pro app on android as it uses my phones gps. I also double check the distance on the web with route mapper I think it's called.

[LMS2110 Graduate]

Or, you could go online once home and go to 'mapmyrun' .... Free mapping website where you can plot fairly accurately the route you have taken. Obviously, it won't be as accurate as a GPS strapped on your wrist, but it's quite easy to use and completely free! Have fun. Cheers, Linda

[FirinBlanks Graduate]

You can use any of the free tracking websites: strava, Nike +, runkeeper, mapmyrun. You'll need to create an account but all of these websites will allow you to create a map of your route and work out the distance.

If you have a smartphone you can use the site's own apps while you go for a run which will also track you as you run and provide you with your speed and timings.

[wilmacgh Graduate]

I use Endomondo and have found the free version works fine on my Samsung Galaxy. BTW although keeping track of distance is fun and can be an incentive, don't get too worried if you aren't covering anything like 5k as lots of people get to week 9 and manage 30minutes but don't make 5k for quite a while after.

[I_will_do_it Graduate]

Of course! That's so obvious! I can't believe I didn't think of my phone, but I've been using my ipod shuffle! lol! I do hope Im not this slow on my run tomorrow!! I've downloaded runkeeper and strava so will see how it goes! Thank you all for your replies. X

[crox Graduate]

Don't fret about distance, just concentrate on building the time.

[I_will_do_it Graduate]

I'm more curious really. I do think that it will help push me on a little as, if I'm honest, I could have probably run faster during the last couple of weeks podcasts, but didn't and played it a bit safe. Not sure that I'll be saying the same about next week mind, I've just listened to what I'm meant to be doing tomorrow and frankly, I'm a little worried! It does seem to pick up a pace this week! Any tips?