Week In Training Review: Week 5

This week, I've been trying out a new app on my Android to help me with my outside runs. On my treadmill, it is easy to track pace, distance, and calories burned. Outside, it is easy to track distance by mapping out a route on the computer, and average pace by timing the entire run, but getting times per mile and real-time pace is a bit trickier. Recently, I've been looking into purchasing a GPS watch but when I saw the prices, I decided to figure out a way to make-do with what I have. The app that I was previously using was called SmartTrainer, and I did not like it very much. It was inaccurate, would crash frequently, and did not really do the things it claimed to do. I need something that can tell me my current pace, what time I finished each mile, and my overall time and distance.

I decided to try Endomondo first. It has all of the features that I need, and the paid version has a setting that saves the battery of the phone. Unlike SmartTrainer, it only uses GPS rather than a combination of GPS and tracking your steps. This seems to make it much more accurate.While the real-time pace did not seem accurate at all and jumped all over the place, the overall average pace seemed extremely accurate and consistent.

I really suggest that if you're going to use a phone during your runs, that you get an armband. I bought one that is made for an iphone, by Belkin, but my android fits inside and I can still use the touch screen through the protective cover.

This week's schedule:

Week	Mon.	Tue.	Wed.	Thu.	Fri.	Sat.	Sun.
5	Off	4M	4M	6M	6M	3M	off (traveling) Mon. 11M

I met a personal record this week and ran eleven miles! I am showing this Monday's workout because the eleven miles was supposed to happen on Sunday but due to traveling, it had to happen on Monday. Even though technically it belonged to week 6, it is really part of week 5's schedule.

I was beginning to become discouraged with my long runs. Until this Monday, I had been unable to get to 10 miles. I was beginning to doubt my ability to finish a 13.1 mile race by August 21st, which is when my first half marathon is going to be. But now that I've broken through that wall, I am much more confident that I can do this. My only long run before the race will be only 8 miles, so this past Monday was my last chance to prove to myself that it's possible.