iSmoothRun - a brilliant running app for iphone

[ChrisL]

last week I tried using the RunKeeper app to log my training. I found it a bit clunky to use and it was a pain to have to start & stop both it and the C25K app at the same time so I looked around to see if there was anything better available. I came across a demo video of an app called iSmoothRun at youtube.com/watch?v=ZiEA4E0...(Not working as expected?) which looked good so I downloaded it for £2.99 and tried it on today's run. It is absolutely brilliant!

In about 10 minutes or so you can program it with all the various C25K interval combinations to build up your complete 9 week C25K program. It then completely replaces Laura so if you are in love with her dulcet tones read no further. Like Laura it will tell you when you need to get ready to run / slow down etc. Unlike Laura it will also tell you how far you ran in each interval, what your average pace was, even what your cadence (strides per minute) was. It will also tell you to speed up & slow down to help you hit your target paces for each interval. If you are repeating a run (eg W2R1, 2 & 3) it can tell you if you are going faster or slower than last time as you go around.

It doesn't congratulate you when you finish but it does show you where you ran on a map, colour coded according to your speed and gives a whole ream of fascinating stats such as average pace, net pace (ignoring warm up & cool down), average speed, calories burned, cadence, steps run, height climbed/descended etc. It also gives 1km split & interval stats so you can see if/where you started to flag in the later stages. There are graphs too if you like that sort of thing.

Naturally you can listen to any of your playlists as you go around and when you have finished it will even tell you which tune you ran fastest to. How cool is that?

Clearly there is a small investment in buying the app and then in the time to program it but I think that for people who are serious about progressing and improving their speed & distance it will repay in spades. I really like the way you can tell it what pace you want to run each interval at and have it tell you to speed up / slow down. There is also a built in metronome for people who want to learn to quicken their stride. If you are planning to run/walk a 5k ParkRun you can program it with the specific run/walk pattern you want to follow on the day. If you are progressing to 10k or more you can program the full range of long runs, gentle runs, speed intervals etc that now make up your training.

iSmoothRun is very well designed and fantastically easy & intuitive to use - one of the best apps of any sort I have ever seen. And no I am not associated with the company that designed it in any way....

[YJB1 Graduate]

Oohhh that sounds exciting! I shall look for it now! This ticks all my slightly obsessive boxes. I quite like Laura but I'll be finished with her in three weeks all being well, then I plan to switch to a 10k schedule I have found. I'm looking forward to an evening of programming it all in. Thanks for the heads up.

[ChrisL Graduate in reply to YJB1]

Hi YJB1. Glad someone found it useful. Which 10k schedule are you planning to use and where did you get it?

[YJB1 Graduate in reply to ChrisL]

I have just downloaded it - all set for a play! I found a schedule on the WalkJogRun website, also a half-marathon schedule which isn't quite as ambitious as it sounds, I have done a couple before. I am starting again after a 2 year break following some injury problems. There is a good choice of schedules for various levels including Run/walk schedules which I should probably use given my previous problems.

[ChrisL Graduate in reply to YJB1]

Aha. Thanks.

[Nilzed]

Oh, i love gadgetry and stats, but i like Laura, but i would love to be able to track my improvement, but i am still so new, and Runkeeper is such a disappointment, but, Laura.

I think i am not ready. But statistics! Color coding!

[ChrisL Graduate in reply to Nilzed]

I don't now about you but I found that RunKeeper did not always switch on/off when I tapped the screen. I thought it was my phone at first but I dont have any of that trouble with iSmoothRun.

[Nilzed in reply to ChrisL]

It randomly had me leaping tall building, jumping rivers and motorways and other glitches, adding miles. Even without that, it gets more and more accurate on repeats of the same route, but that points up how inaccurate it is on one-offs. Ive stopped using it.

[Nilzed in reply to Nilzed]

And yes, i had to pay attention to if my taps actually worked. But no more so than usual with my phone, i dont think.

[Mum2run Graduate]

I downloaded this app based on your review as I was looking for something that would give me audio time markers a bit like Laura but would allow me to use my own music. Any ideas why I can get the audio voice over but can't hear my playlist? I can play my music then go into the app and it works but I was expecting the app to find and start my music when I started my run.

[ChrisL Graduate]

Hi Mum2Rrun. Yes, you can play your music from within the app. That is how it knows which track you ran fastest to (I still think that is very neat). On the New Run screen where you set the activity (running), the workout (I have setup Week1, Week2, Week3 etc), your weight and which shoes you are wearing the 5th item down is Playlist. Set that to the playlist you want to listen to. Then when you hit Start Your Run she will say 'workout started' and the music will then start. It will continue to play after you stop the workout and you need to go into the standard music app to stop it playing. Hope this helps...

[Mum2run Graduate in reply to ChrisL]

Thanks ChrisL that's great. I didn't know it told you which song you ran fastest to does it bring that up at the end in the stats? Looking forward to trying it out on Friday.