| Use apps to make your time outside more enjoyableJune 10, 2013 - Art SmithIt’s the time of year when everyone is outdoors — taking advantage of warm weather and longer days. Regardless of what form of exercise you are taking part in there is likely an app available to make the activity more enjoyable for you. Running For people training for The News and Sentinel Half Marathon there are apps such as Couch to Half Marathon, as well as a very large group of apps that will do everything from measure your heart rate to allow you to “race” against a ghost of yourself recorded from a previous run. There are also apps for people training for shorter runs, such as The News and Sentinel Two Mile Race. There is an excellent couch to 5K app that my wife Lori has been using. The app changes as you work you way through the different weeks and includes warm-up and cool-down exercises you can do before and after your run. I don’t actually use an app when I run; I just let Lori tell me when to run. I prefer to use a nearly weightless iPod shuffle, which plays music – just music. There is an excellent list of running apps, with links, available at http://greatist.com/fitness/best-running-apps-faster-smarter Hiking Right now I’m really in the testing stage of apps. The most important thing is to find one that works for you. Map My Hike provides you with a lot of urban walks people have done. There are dozens for instance for downtown Parkersburg. Other apps do a great job of making you aware of elevation changes as well as using the built in GPS of your phone to track you on the trail and provide mileage for you. A great list can be found at http://www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/get-out-of-here-seriously-weve-got-the-best-hiking-apps-to-help-you-do-it/ Camping Fishing Regardless of what you like to do outdoors, there is probably an app to help you enjoy it more. ![]() ![]() ![]() Article CommentsNo comments posted for this article. ![]() ![]() ![]() Post a Comment![]() ![]() ![]() | in: News, Blogs & Events Web ![]() ![]() ![]() |