A lot of people find exercise to be more enjoyable when they’re also listening to music, and there’s the argument that a good song can even boost your performance during a workout.
The makers of Cruise Control: Run have taken that idea one step (ha!) further by finding a way to adjust in real time the music on your iPhone. This means you can set your target pace or just start running, and the app will continually keep the rhythm in check so that your footsteps fall just so. Click “more” and I’ll show you how it works.
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The Setup
The first thing Cruise Control will need to do upon initial startup is scan your music. It’s looking for “good running songs,” which means it’s analyzing whether or not a song’s tempo falls within the range of cadences used in running.
Songs that match the criteria are imported into the app’s master playlist. But just because they’re the right tempo doesn’t mean you’re forced to run to them — you can give a song a thumbs down if you would rather not run to it. And under the Music tab found on the home screen, you can also create custom playlists.
At setup, Cruise Control scans the music on your iPhone for good running songs. It also lets your connect social networking accounts.
During setup you’ll also have the opportunity to tell the app which units of measurement (English or Metric) you prefer, as well as link accounts for sharing, such as email, Facebook, Twitter and Google+.
One last thing: Cruise Control must be allowed to use your current location if you want to use the mapping and route features.
Different Modes
After you get through the setup and finally land on the home screen, you’ll see that Cruise Control conveniently has four different run modes so that you can choose the mode you like best, or whichever one will be most helpful in getting you through that day’s run.
- Free Run — Just start running and the app will continually adjust the music to your steps.
- Pace — Select your target speed; the app will keep the music steady at that tempo, and all you have to do is match your steps to the rhythm.
- Heart Rate — Similar to Pace mode, you select your target heart rate. Then match your steps to the music beats to meet your heart rate goal.
- Cadence — Serious runners know about the 90 strides per minute rule of thumb. Whatever your tried-and-true stride count may be, input it and the app will adjust songs to play at the same tempo so your footsteps are steady.
Selecting Pace, Heart Rate or Cadence will take you to screens where you’ll input your desired minutes per mile, target heart rate or strides per minutes. Following that you’ll tap Next to select your music. You have control over the playlist, the start song and shuffle (turn off or on). Then tap Start Run and get going!
In Pace, Heart Rate and Cadence modes you match your steps to the music beats. In Free Run the app matches the music to your steps.
For Free Run there’s no extra information the app needs you to provide, so you’re taken straight to the music selection screen before starting your run.
For Heart Rate mode you’ll need a compatible heart rate monitor. Cruise Control recommends using ANT+ and Bluetooth Smart heart rate monitors and stride sensors. Visit the Cruise Control website to learn more about the developers’ favorite makes and models.
Full disclosure: Heart Rate mode is the only mode I didn’t test, as I don’t run with a monitor. But if this mode is important to you, the developer’s website has plenty of information on the topic. Note that Cruise Control should work with all heart rate monitors that use the ANT+ protocol as long as you have an ANT+ key for your iPhone. (At this time I’m unaware of anyone selling ANT+ keys for the iPhone 5, but I’m sure this will change soon.) The app should work with all heart rate monitors that use Bluetooth Smart, no key required.
Cruise Control’s developers claim that in their lab tests, they found, on average, the measured heart rate fell within two beats per minute of the target.
You have complete control over the music. Build your own playlists, view the master playlist, or thumbs-down certain songs so the app won’t play them again.
The four tabs along the bottom of Cruise Control’s screen are, from left to right: Run Modes, Playlists, History and Settings.
If you’re the kind of person who likes to know and record all the stats from your workouts, History will be an important part of the app. Here you’ll see all your workouts listed — most recent is at the top — along with distance and time. Tap on any one of these to share your run via email or social networking, view your total time and pace, plus view the route, which will be mapped out for you with your start and end points plotted. I found the distance the app recorded to be very accurate for a route I had already measured using Google Earth.
Cruise Control stores information related to each run’s time, distance and route.
My Experience
I currently run three to four times per week, with my workouts being a mix of fast, moderate and slower paces. Previously I would map my route before my run and then use my digital watch to check my time when I hit certain landmarks to stick to my goal pace. Now Cruise Control does all of this for me. All I have to do is input my desired pace time and get going. As long as I match my steps to the rhythm, my timing stays on track.
The first time I tried using Cruise Control I confirmed the app uses mapping to detect your distance traveled. In other words, running on the treadmill will result in 0 miles/kilometers traveled, despite the fact that the treadmill computer says something entirely different. Later, on outdoor runs, I checked the accuracy of the app against my usual digital watch method, and found the two agreed on my time and pace for the distance I knew I had just traveled.
Under About You in Settings, the app will calculate your target heart rate zones for you based on your max.
The app’s running rhythm detection works best when you hold your phone or wear it in an armband while you run. If you’d like to use the app while your phone is somewhere else, Cruise Control recommends you buy a stride sensor. I tried running with my iPhone in my hand (good for adjusting pace/cadence on the go) and also tucked into my running belt. The app worked just as well both ways.
You can switch to Free Run mode at any time by pressing the + and – buttons at the same time. This was a useful functionality, for example, when I was going up a big hill or downhill and my pace picked up or slowed down. Pressing both buttons at the same time once more switched the app back to the mode I was originally using.
In Free Run mode it was fun to play around a little bit — I slowed down and sped up just to experience the music responding to this, which it did seamlessly and without a problem. I’m very impressed that Cruise Control can vary a song’s tempo by so much without changing the music pitch. This makes for a very smooth experience, and allows me to focus on what I want to focus on: just running.