I use four websites to track my workouts. Here’s why.

A reader, Phil, emailed me [a few weeks ago] to ask:

I read your blog occasionally and noticed in today the picture of your running stats. What program do you use?

I actually use four different websites to track my running stats. *hangs head in shame* They all do different things really well, so I thought I’d talk about what I use and why today.

I’m a big believer in logging all your exercise. If only because when I write it down and see it all added together, it makes me feel really, really good about myself.

My lifetime stats on DailyMile.

My lifetime stats (~2.75 years) on DailyMile.

For route discovery: MapMyRun

This was the first service I used, because it has a sweet iPhone app. I don’t use the iPhone app any more — not since I bought a GPS watch — but the website is really really good for planning out new routes or getting “routespiration.” That’s my totally made up word for looking at other running and cycling and walking routes that people have done in your neighborhood.

The map drawing tools are awesome.

The map drawing tools are awesome.

They’ve made a lot of updates over the three years I’ve been running. It’s way better than just tracing out a route in Google Maps because its much less hassle, and it gives you the distance with each new point you add.

The discover tool is very powerful, too, because a route that might look like a good idea from Google Street View might be terrible in practice (too remote, too many fast cars, too narrow of a road). If many other people have chosen that road as a route, it’s probably a safe choice for you.

To sync my watch: Nike Plus

I bought a GPS watch last year — NOT THAT YOU NEED ONE TO BE A RUNNER. It’s definitely a “nice to have” thing, but I trained for four marathons without one and you can too. The benefits of the watch are a) that I don’t have to carry my iPhone with me — but I do anyway to listen to music, and b) the watch tracks my heart rate with my pace.

It has a nice little animation when you load a run.

It has a nice little animation when you load a run.

I bought a Nike watch and it syncs with the Nike website. I don’t really use the Nike website to catalog my workouts, though, because it only tracks them as runs, not walking, cycling or yoga. The post to Facebook feature is probably best from this website, though.

To analyze my stats: Smashrun

My friend Andrew clued me into this website. It syncs my runs down from Nike Plus and lets me dig real deep into my performance. How did my heart rate compare with my pace on this run? On my best runs? On my worst runs?

A look at my stats for the last 12 months from Smashrun.

A look at my stats for the last 12 months from Smashrun.

It syncs with NikePlus and Garmin, so importing my runs is a breeze. And it syncs my HR information, which is very helpful for me in comparing how a run felt vs. how hard I worked.

Details from my last run

The bars are my pace and the line is my heart rate. I can see my avg. HR has gone up so much on an “easy” run since before I took a break in May.

Smashrun is also, really, only for running. It just gives me much better information and detail than the Nike site gives me.

For logging everything: Daily Mile

I’m a huge Daily Mile fan, and I still use it to log every workout. Walks, yoga, cycling, weight lifting … and running.

Screen Shot 2014-09-12 at 11.03.18 AM

If you’ve been reading this blog much, that screenshot probably looks familiar, because I log everything here.

I actually found DailyMile when I was searching for “fitness logging software with a blog widget” (see my widget below? 🙂 But the other thing it does really well is that it has a Facebook-like friend feed where you can track and encourage your friends’ workouts.

Screen Shot 2014-09-12 at 11.13.35 AM

I love this feature because I love cheering friends on in their fitness journeys. And nothing gives me warm fuzzies like getting a “great job” from friends for a tough workout.

DailyMile hasn’t changed much in three years. If it would incorporate some of the stats tracking that Smashrun has, it would be killer. You can add workouts via its app, Electric Miles, and the RunMeter app will posts workouts to DailyMile, too. I sync my workouts over from NikePlus using the website.

And there you have it. Is there a killer fitness tracking app you use that I’m missing? Tell me about it in the comments.

Pattie Reaves

About Pattie Reaves

I'm a new mom and renegade fitness blogger at After the Couch. I live in Brewer with my husband, Tony, our daughter Felicity, and our two pugs, Georgia and Scoop.