Apps for running intervals

[pinkxray]

I use the Galloway training plans for my runs. In previous years I would set intervals on my Garmin. I now have an Apple watch(and iPhone). Can anyone recommend anything where I can set intervals with something telling me when to walk/run. I’ve been trying to just look at the watch but that just pretty annoying quick. My Garmin isn’t holding a charge very long and I really don’t want to replace it since I already have an Apple Watch.

 

[Herding_Cats]

I know a lot of people use intervalpro or runkeeper for their intervals. I use interval timer-HIIT workout because I can do text-to-speech for the changes and it will play over my music(the other ones might do that too..I haven’t used them.) Or there are various dings, buzzes, and other noises you can use. I also like that I can do mixed intervals and program the voice to tell me what pace I’m supposed to be running when it’s a progression workout. Takes a couple minutes to set those up, but they’re really easy to edit or just have already programmed for next time.

 

[broadsheet]

I use a free app called IntervalTimer and it works great.

 

[Naomeri]

If you want something super super basic that will just keep repeating the desired run/walk intervals until you tell it to stop, I use RunIntervals on my iPhone. The tones that tell you when to switch are not terribly disruptive if you’re listening to music during your run, but they’re obvious enough that you won’t miss them.

 

[jimrpa]

Intervals Pro hands down. Works great. It can work standalone on the Apple Watch. Let’s you define multiple timers with different intervals, provides verbal cues, will announce pace at each mile, has haptic feedback on Apple Watch. Not much else you can ask for. Grab intervals pro and don’t look back.

 

[sunshine girl]

I've used Running Interval Timer Pro forever ... it's SUPER basic. You can pre-program 11 different intervals. The screen shows a countdown in green/red (run/walk). Can set the alert to vibrate, and/or play a choice of sound (which will play over whatever audio you're listenting to). But I don't think it has an Apple Watch component.

I have been using that old app for so long that I think I might try out one of the other ones on here... would love for the interval alerts to just haptic-ping me on my Apple Watch. But one of the things I like about my current app is that it's so so basic. I don't need much in terms of bells and whistles.

 

[Mr_Incr3dible]

During races, my walk interval is the mile markers / water stations. Count off some steps walking (50 for me) and resume running.
Or you could play x-number of songs and walk x-number of songs, as they are all around 3 minutes or so (unless you are listening to Rush albums).

I'm so analog. And my kids remind me of it.....
(I do have my shiny new Garmin 945 and could probably program in intervals, but I truly do it analog).

 

[camaker]

During races, my walk interval is the mile markers / water stations. Count off some steps walking (50 for me) and resume running.
Or you could play x-number of songs and walk x-number of songs, as they are all around 3 minutes or so (unless you are listening to Rush albums).

I'm so analog. And my kids remind me of it.....
(I do have my shiny new Garmin 945 and could probably program in intervals, but I truly do it analog).

Run/Walk Alerts are the way to go with Garmin. They‘re super simple to set up and run forever so you don’t have to hassle with setting up a special custom workout. You are limited to time intervals with them, though, so you’d have to move away from your mike marker approach.

 

[Dopey 2020]

Another vote for Intervals Pro if you are going with Apple watch. Can be customized as you wish but is simple and just works.

 

[DVCSunDevil]

Does anyone know of an app that tracks distance AND intervals for the same workout? The Apple Fitness app on the Apple Watch only allows you to customize a run based on time or distance. I would like to setup an interval run for a certain distance, though. Any help would be appreciated!

 

[GollyGadget]

Does anyone know of an app that tracks distance AND intervals for the same workout? The Apple Fitness app on the Apple Watch only allows you to customize a run based on time or distance. I would like to setup an interval run for a certain distance, though. Any help would be appreciated!

Garmin lets you do that but I’m guessing you don’t have a garmin watch based on Apple Watch mention. Hopefully someone else will have another suggestion for you.

 

[Fenway1970]

Does anyone know of an app that tracks distance AND intervals for the same workout? The Apple Fitness app on the Apple Watch only allows you to customize a run based on time or distance. I would like to setup an interval run for a certain distance, though. Any help would be appreciated!

I think what you're asking for is a workout with time-based intervals over a fixed distance, correct? For example, to practice Galloway run/walk intervals, which are time based, but over a specific total distance? Do I have that right?

If so, sadly, no I'm not aware of how to do that on an Apple Watch but I found a "workaround" of sorts for this past Dopey. I was practicing 4 min/2 min intervals and noticed that the net effect of that was about a 12 min mile. In other words, each run/walk repeat was about a half a mile, and it broke down to roughly 0.4/0.1 based on distance (at least when I was fresh).

So, I changed my intervals to distance based in half-mile increments: 0.4 run to 0.1 walk. This had the added benefit of being able to "program" my total mileage by simply changing the number of repeats (e.g. 30 repeats = 15 miles total).

It's not perfect. Obviously as you get fatigued you will slow down so your time won't be consistent from repeat to repeat. But it's the best way I could find to do what I think you're asking for.

 

[nostalgic4disney]

During races, my walk interval is the mile markers / water stations. Count off some steps walking (50 for me) and resume running.
Or you could play x-number of songs and walk x-number of songs, as they are all around 3 minutes or so (unless you are listening to Rush albums).

I'm so analog. And my kids remind me of it.....
(I do have my shiny new Garmin 945 and could probably program in intervals, but I truly do it analog).

I’m curious what is generally your time on a half marathon ( I know that there are other factors that come into play) . I like to do this as well but usually only walk during change of songs. I’m looking to improve my time so I am interested in the longer walking time during a full song.

 

[mmm_texas]

I'm not sure if I'm understanding the question correctly, but I'll throw my setup in the mix. I use Runkeeper on my iPhone, and have saved custom settings for 30:30, 60:30, and 90:30 intervals that repeat indefinitely. I pick the one I want to use that day, and stop my run manually when I get to whatever distance I'm going for.

You can string together any mix of times or distances, and set the sequence to repeat as many times as you'd like.

It works for me, but I will say that one minor downside is that it doesn't give an option to do ad hoc changes in the middle of a run.

 

[DVCSunDevil]

I think what you're asking for is a workout with time-based intervals over a fixed distance, correct? For example, to practice Galloway run/walk intervals, which are time based, but over a specific total distance? Do I have that right?

Correct. I did find an app, Intervals Pro, that shows the distance you have run at the bottom. So you can run timed intervals and also see your total distance. So if I wanted to run 90/30 intervals for 5 miles I can see that.

 

[radiodome21]

You can use your Apple watch for interval running. You use the Apple workouts app, Easiest thing to do is to google interval training Apple Watch. It’s what I did because I bought a new watch a few months ago. It’s been fantastic and I used it yesterday for the Spring Surprise 10k. I use it for every run.

 

[DVCSunDevil]

You can use your Apple watch for interval running. You use the Apple workouts app, Easiest thing to do is to google interval training Apple Watch. It’s what I did because I bought a new watch a few months ago. It’s been fantastic and I used it yesterday for the Spring Surprise 10k. I use it for every run.

That’s what I use as well. However, the app doesn’t show distance when doing timed interval training.

 

[mmm_texas]

That’s what I use as well. However, the app doesn’t show distance when doing timed interval training.

Not sure if it's different because I have the Ultra, but the Apple Watch Fitness app does show distance for me when using a custom, time-based interval workout, but I have to scroll to see it. However, it also looks like you can set up custom screen layouts tied to your custom workouts, so you might be able to eliminate the scrolling issue using that.

 

[radiodome21]

I can see my distance of my completed run from yesterday in the fitness app on my phone. I wasn’t too happy with my finish time and pace yesterday and this is somewhat helpful. If you’re talking in real time I honestly don’t know if it tells your distance of each interval. I prefer it to display my heart rate zone.

 

[DVCSunDevil]

I can see my distance of my completed run from yesterday in the fitness app on my phone. I wasn’t too happy with my finish time and pace yesterday and this is somewhat helpful. If you’re talking in real time I honestly don’t know if it tells your distance of each interval. I prefer it to display my heart rate zone.

Mine shows the distance in the app as well. Yes, I am looking to see the distance in real time as I am running. For example, I want to run 90 seconds then walk for 30 seconds for 5 miles. I can setup the 90/30 intervals easily, but there is no way to see how far I have run. That app I downloaded shows both, so I will use that. The downside is that it costs money, but what doesn't these days?