I started using the RunKeeper app to track my jogs, as my sister uses it and likes it a lot. It is also able to track bike rides, which I also do. So this seemed like a great solution. And to top it off, on my first run, it said my pace was a bit faster than I thought I was doing, so I was pretty happy.

Then, on my second run, it said my pace was even faster. Simply by changing how I tracked my runs, my pace went from around 12 min/mile to around 9 min/mile. Since I was 100% sure that I didn’t get that much faster in two days, I knew something was up. I blamed RunKeeper, but I think the real problem is Sprint. My sister has AT&T phone service and she said she thought RunKeeper was pretty accurate. Take a look at a zoomed in part of one of my runs and see if you can spot the problem.

photo

And this is pretty a typical run. It was made completely clear to me when I jogged 35th street from basically Ashland to State and back. Ashland to State is two miles, so this run should have been around four miles. According to RunKeeper, I had run almost five, which explained my sudden increase in speed.

Now my decision is whether to stay with RunKeeper or not. I probably will, simply because the real problem is with Sprint. My intention is to switch to T-Mobile when my contract is up. Their service probably won’t be much better, but since I refuse to go to AT&T, it’s pretty much my only option.