Is there a running app that keeps me to a set pace with audio cues.?

All the advice regarding increasing distance talks about slowing down, however I find it quite difficult to regulate my pace when on my own.

During my C25K I just ran at a pace I felt comfortable running at which has got me to 5K and beyond. As we ran as a group my pace was not that much different to the others, some were a bit faster and some a bit slower but not by much. I can now run just over 8K on my own ( I have done 10K but as a fluke rather than the norm). If I stop and walk for even just a minute I can then carry on to the 10K.

When we run as a group with our two '10K girls' up in front setting the pace, I manage 10K surprisingly well. When we all set off, for the first few minutes I can feel that I am running a bit slower than normal but after that feel OK. When I try to run slower when I am on my own I either drift back to my normal pace or end up doing even less distance because I am running un-naturally and tire more.

It was suggested that I use a heart rate monitor and try to keep my HR rate within limits. I have tried two types from eBay and both went wrong within a week!! Neither really helped me either as one relied on watching my phone and the other (a watch type) buzzed at preset heart rates. The second was better but it either buzzed all the time or if I increased the limits even slightly, never buzzed at all.

I have seen phone apps that display your current running pace in either minutes per km or km/hr. Some apps seem to give audio ques at every km about pace etc. but I am looking for one that can combine the two. Either tell me the pace I am running at more frequently, or better still, if I run too fast or too slow after setting a desired pace, to tell me to speed up or slow down.

I hope there is an app out there, but from the descriptions of apps I have read, none describe that as a function (or not in words that I understood it to be). Ideally it would be a free app, or at least a free trial so that I can confirm it helps me before committing to purchasing it.

[IannodaTruffe Mentor]

Can you speak aloud, clear, ungasping sentences as you run?.........if not, you are going too fast.

[Hidden in reply to IannodaTruffe]

I cannot say I have tried when running on my own. I will give it a try on an empty street. Thanks.

[John_W Graduate]

I suggest a metronome app

[Hidden in reply to John_W]

Ah, that sounds like it may work. thanks

[John_W Graduate in reply to Hidden]

There are several running music apps that allow you to select music with a certain beats per minute to run to. They will help you too.

[John_W Graduate]

Have a look at some of these:

google.com/search?q=great+r...

[John_W Graduate]

Learning how to slow down to a nice and easy relaxed jog is probably one of the best things you can do as new-ish runner - and learning that you have different paces and what those paces are. So try and learn your 'easy', 10k (quicker), 5k (quicker still) paces are will be invaluable.

I imagine you've tried relatively cheap heart-rate monitors (HRM). I agree with the advice given that it's a great way to learn how to slow down. I don't what your budget is, but if you can source a 2nd hand Garmin or Polar GPS running watch with a built-in HRM then that's a great start. I imagine you can pick them up for around £50.

A good (but not perfect) formula for heart-rate training is to stick to around (180-your age) bpm. So if you're 40, then a maximum of 140 bpm is your target.

[Yorki_Girl Graduate]

I select music that is at a slower beat per minute and run to that. I have a slow play, playlist. There are some sites that enable you to select 8, 9 , 10 minute km etc

[Chris--B Graduate]

What you are looking for may not be technically possible. The accuracy of a gps signal varies due to a number of factors including where you are, the phone model, software etc. Your position may only be accurate to within 10 meters (or more) at any given time. So in theory you could be standing still and the gps registered that you moved 20 meters within a second, then a few moments later moved 20 meters the other way. To overcome this, the gps navigation systems use an average. So an error of 20 meters over 1km is not that much, but the same error over 100 meters would be be much greater. Therefore if an app was to give you a more frequent update of your pace it could report a difference of+/- 20% even if you were running at a constant speed. GPS devices and their software are improving all the time and so my example may be worse than new devices are capable of. Tracking apps do take other factors into consideration too, for example if the accelerometer devices do not detect movement the phone may ignore gps changes.

If you have ever used a gps tracking app while on a treadmill you will be surprised how far it records you a moving.