If you are an avid runner you know the MapMyRun app is amazing. If you aren’t, here’s why you should be using it — especially if you’re a beginner and/or you picked up one of Under Armour’s HOVR connected sneakers.
In 2015, Under Armour purchased MyFitnessPal, an app-based system of tracking workouts, for $475 million and immediately put in motion plans to pair the tracking system with new hardware like shoes and headphones. Over the last couple years, Under Armour has made serious advancements on its connected fitness platform, which boasts 225 million users.
With the debut of its new cushioning platform, HOVR, in the Under Armour HOVR Phantom and HOVR Sonic on February 1, Under Armour added a small MapMyRun chip in the Connected versions of both models and it couldn’t be easier to use.
Since we have finished the performance reviews for both HOVR models (you can check out my HOVR Phantom Performance Review and HOVR Sonic Performance Review) and MapMyRun was used, we thought it would be a good idea to show you all how the app works in tandem with the shoes.
One of the best reasons to use MapMyRun is the virtual coach. According to Under Armour, nearly 80% of runners are overstriding. Those runners should be taking smaller strides and incurring more steps. The virtual coach is a great way to improve your running fundamentals, and if you’re a beginner, it’s an easy way to build a strong running foundation.
To get connected you must first download the app and make sure you have the latest version for the best updates. After that is done, hit the Tool icon in the upper right and you will be asked to choose your tracking device.
After you pick, in my case the HOVR Sonic, you are asked to sync the device.
If you have more than one pair of Under Armour’s Connected shoes, it will list them and ask you to pick one. Once you are synced, it’s go time.
This is when it gets real. As you can see, you can choose from different environments and exercises, and even pick the voice coach to assist you with timing and intervals. Side note: it is both frustrating and reassuring to hear that chirpy voice when you are on mile XXX, feel like dying, and the coach comes in with “Doing great!!”
Once set up, you are ready to roll. Well, run — you know what I mean. Now comes the really nice part: pre-loaded routes. By drawing information from not only your previous activity but also times and routes from the MapMyRun community, the app will give you routes in your immediate area and compare your times to others that have run them. So, next time you meet your neighbors at the mailbox you’ll have something to discuss…
Here is the live tracker, giving you pace and speed as well as a live map of the course you chose.
Another great feature of MapMyRun is that it’s a bonafide social media platform. You can make notes after each workout — “very hilly,” “rabid dogs,” or “not at night” — so the rest of the community can learn.
Once done, you will see this screen. To keep going, simply keep going. To finish and log the run, hold the icon for less than two seconds and the information is stored and recorded.
For those of you who read WearTesters regularly, you know I just started running semi-seriously about four years ago. I say “semi” because I am not very fast — I am a basketball player with short burst speed and I’m not built for distance. I am getting there though! I can drop a three to five mile run two or three times a week between basketball days.
I use MapMyRun almost every time I run now, and I also have the JBL UA headphones with MapMyRun capabilities. Over the course of using this app I have realized that even though I can see what others have done on the same route, I am truly competing against one thing: myself (and my previous times).
For anyone looking to get in shape, or back in shape, MapMyRun is a great personal trainer and coach that will keep you motivated. Plus, you can leave little trash talking notes after you finish, which is always good.
You can pick up connected versions of both of Under Armour’s HOVR runners at underarmour.com.
Featured image via MapMyRun
