Can anyone explain to me how I can use my smart phone or Fitbit to track my mile time?

waterweight130
waterweight130 Posts: 107 Member
edited December 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
I want to see how fast I run a mile at and I don't want to use a treadmill

I know that on my Fitbit it tracks miles completed and steps what I'm wondering is can I make my goal 1 mile instead of tracking steps, tracking distance.

If someone with more experience could help me I'd appreciate it

Replies

  • LiftandSkate
    LiftandSkate Posts: 148 Member
    Download the strava app. I use it to track my cycling and skating mileage and times.
  • MeanderingMammal
    MeanderingMammal Posts: 7,866 Member
    Strava, Edomondo, Runkeeper are all good options
  • paigeg150
    paigeg150 Posts: 27 Member
    Mapmyrun is great and it will sync with MFP
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    Don't use your Fitbit, it doesn't measure miles. It 'measures' foot steps, and as a general rule a mile is 2,000 steps. (Mile from mil for thousand, like a millimeter is a thousandth of a meter; a mile was originally defined as a thousand paces, and a pace is a step with each foot.) Since different people have different sized legs, their stride lengths are different, and this doesn't really work very well.

    But your phone uses GPS! Use any of the apps that have been mentioned, go for a run with it, and check your splits.

    My watch (Garmin Fenix 3) keeps track of the fastest mile and kilometer I run, probably many of these apps do the same thing. When you check your splits, you'll see how long it took to run the first mile, the second, etc; it could be that you got a little faster after you warmed up so your fastest mile in a run is from 1.1 to 2.1, or something like that. I can't say which app has this feature since I use my watch, but it's a good one so if an app has it, that might be the right app for you.
  • melodysf10
    melodysf10 Posts: 35 Member
    Which Fitbit do you have?
  • Liz6843
    Liz6843 Posts: 29 Member
    Oh man, check out the Moov Now. Just got one not too long ago, it gives you a crap-ton of information about your runs (and for cycling, swimming, and some other stuff). It's only like $60, totally worth it if you're a runner trying to get stats on your runs and it even coaches you!
  • olymp1a
    olymp1a Posts: 1,766 Member
    NorthCascades wrote: »
    Don't use your Fitbit, it doesn't measure miles.

    Actually some Fitbits like mine (Surge) have GPS tracking.

    If you don't have such a Fitbit then you need an app with GPS tracking. I personally used Endomondo in the past but there are many more out ther like Map my Run, Run Keeper etc.



  • scorpio516
    scorpio516 Posts: 955 Member
    A track and a stopwatch?

    Press start, run 4 laps, press stop?
  • STrooper
    STrooper Posts: 659 Member
    Best is to use a track and the stopwatch function on your phone.

    Although the GPS on many new phones can be quite accurate, different programs can result in completely different results from the same data. This error can be as much as about 5-7% difference. Most people don't run more than one tracking program at a time and the distances may seem about right, but when they are telling you that you've reached a mile (or more) at different points, you might not find the pace data reliable.

    Most of the programs mentioned above give reasonably close and repeatable results, but as is said in some advertisements: "your mileage may vary." (YMMV)
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