Goodbye pedometer, hello Runkeeper

For the past 10 years or so, I have been using a pedometer whenever I go for my brisk walking exercise. A pedometer is a device that you clip to your waistband and it measures the number of steps you take when you walk or jog. Whilst it doesn’t measure the distance I have covered, unless I take the trouble to convert (for me it’s approx 1250 steps per km), it is good enough as a barometer to check my exercise level; and prod me to get off my butt when the end of the month approaches and I am behind target.

But lately, I have decided to ditch my trusty pedometer, which had followed me even when I travel overseas, because I have found a new love …. Runkeeper. This is a really cool app available for Android as well as iPhone. Besides measuring the distance you have traveled in km, it has a number of advantages over the pedometer. It can store your data (and share with your friends on Facebook – which I don’t), measure your speed and even plot your route on Google Maps. Now how cool is that. And it is also free. The pedometer which I have purchased from Mustaffa Centre – so far I have used 3 – costs about $20+. There are other features which I am too lazy to figure out. The above are good enough for me …. for now.

And so it’s Goodbye pedometer, hello Runkeeper.

Haha …. In case you wonder why I took so long to complete the 6.2 km route around the Pandan reservoir; I kept stopping to take photos to share with friends on Facebook.