Best Running App: Nike Run Club
One Running Back Story
I went home to New Brunswick in the summer of 2003 for a few weeks. It was that summer that I began teaching at the Csehy Summer School of Music on the piano faculty. There was also a new oboe teacher and assistant at the camp that I was curious about. I found out that she was not only a great musician, loved the students and what the camp was all about, she was also a runner. She had just finished graduate school and was working in Connecticut. Ok - it was Marji! And so I began to make a plan to begin to get to know her.
I told this to my mother at our family camp. The next day my mother appeared out of the family trailer with a pair of running shoes and said, "Faint heart never won fair maiden."
And so I began to run and train in hopes to run with Marji and enjoy the sport that has been a massive part of her life.
Every run, though, that I have been with Marji has been really tough and she leaves me in the dust. She ran in college and is just an incredible athlete.
I, on the other hand, am not.
And, like this section is titled, this is just one reason why I run. There are many others which I may share on the blog but at a later time. We all have our deep reasons why we train.
Fast forward to today where I am 7 weeks out from my first half marathon. Previously, my running has consistently been focused on running hard all of the time. But, thanks to my friend Phil Robertson, I am following a training schedule and trying to follow it as best I can. It has paces, and efforts built in.
The Best App for Me
The training plan is built off of the free resources and free running app from the Nike Run Club. This, in my opinion, is the best resource out there for runners who are in the beginning stages of their running journey or have been running for a while and need to focus up their training. And since I'm not an advanced runner, yet, it could very well be a great app for advanced runners. I also use Strava for the social aspects and love reconnecting with folks all over the world on their fitness journey.
(By the way, I'm not an affiliate of Nike ... yet ... hahaha! ... so I'm recommending this application just out of pure joy from using it for the last 5 years. But can you imagine, this speaker/professor/concert pianist being a Nike athlete... I can only dream...)
The Best Feature
The best feature of this app is the Guided Runs. In their training plan for the 13.1 mile distance race, they have experts guiding you through each run. You can listen to your playlists and the guided runs at the same time. And by experts I mean experts - Shalane Flanagan, Colleen Quigley, Cory Wharton-Malcolm, and Eliud Kipchoge to name a few.
I have learned so much about running, life, and myself through diligently listening to the guided runs and following their sage advice. There are distance based runs, there are time bases runs, there are speed runs, there are long runs. Some of my favorite guided runs are with Headspace founder, Andy Puddicombe. I sync up my blue tooth headphones and let the coaches guide me.
This whole program is founded and curated by the Nike Running Global Head Coach, Chris Bennett. His guided runs are incredible and each coach lines up with his philosophy but from a different angle and a different way of presentation. I love it.
And so, today I just wanted to share a bit about my favorite running app and I think the one that could really help you if you are interested in this incredible sport. You can find the training plans here: https://www.nike.com/running/training-plans
I'm about to get my speed run in for today. Gotta go.