She Runs by the Seashore

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Disclaimer: The Weav Run app is currently free, but I will be receiving a lifetime subscription in January 2018 as part of being a BibRave Pro. Learn more about becoming a BibRave Pro(ambassador), and check out BibRave.com to review, find and write race reviews!

If you’re doing an easy run, you can listen to a song on the Weav Run app at a slower tempo. If you’re going for speed, you can listen to the same song at a faster tempo.

But it’s not just a sped-up or slowed-down version of a song — it’s a much more in-depth process than that.

As a BibRave Pro testing this app (it’s available to download for anyone with an iPhone), I had a chance to get on a call with the app’s co-founders, which I thought was really interesting.

Lars Rasmussen, one of the co-founders, said Weav is able to get multiple music files for a song — what someone would get to create a remixed version.

The challenge isn’t speeding up or slowing down the songs, but making them sound good, Rasmussen said.

On the app, runners can set the music between 100 and 240 beats per minute.

Weav’s mission, Rasmussen said, is “to change the way people think of recorded music.”

How to Use Weav Run

Weav Run is easy to use.

If you have an iPhone, download the app here. The app is not available for Android yet, but if you would like to find out when it is, visit this link.

When you open the app, you can choose whether you’re running indoors or outdoors — this feature was actually added since I downloaded Weav Run. (I used it for the first time on Thanksgiving of this year.)

Then, choose “Detect My Tempo” or “I Know My Tempo.” If you choose “Detect My Tempo,” the music will adjust based on your speed. If you choose “I Know My Tempo,” you set a consistent tempo — or you can change it during the run. You can also move between modes once you start your run.

With “Detect My Tempo,” you start running, and with “I Know My Tempo,” you hit “Start.” If adjusting your tempo manually, you move your finger around the dial to the left to make the beat slower and to the right to make it faster.

Then, you can save your run afterward in the app, and the runs can also be synced to Strava. The screen at the end shows the total minutes of running with music, number of runs, average cadence and distance. This can also be accessed from the clipboard icon at the bottom.

 

I did not opt to sync my runs to Strava because I already have my watch sync to Strava.

My Experience 

I run with groups or friends often, and I don’t run with music when I run with other people, but I’ve used Weav Run for runs on my own. Most of these runs have been shorter distances; the longest run I recorded with the app was four miles.

Overall, setting my own beats per minute worked better for me than having the music follow my pace.

On the first run I did, the music seemed like it was going too fast for me, and I noticed that on other runs, as well. Weav is still working on the app, and my for my 2.3-mile run earlier today, Dec. 21, I set the music at 175 beats per minute and Weav Run did track me as running 175 steps per minute. My watch tracked me at 178 steps per minute, which is pretty close. I’m going to keep using it and I will see if the detecting tempo gets closer for me.

When I set my own beats per minute, the app helps keep me very consistent. In particular, I did a run with the app on Dec. 4 in which I set my beats per minute to 180, hoping to go faster than usual — which I did, based on my recent paces. I ran the first mile in 9:00.61 and the second mile in 8:58.96. My watch tracked my cadence at 183.

Side note: This may sound like a high cadence, but I’m only 5 feet tall. This article said elites’ cadence is 180-plus, so imagine how fast I might be if I were 6 feet (or even 5 feet 3 inches!)

I rarely run on the treadmill, but I decided to on Friday, and I listened to Weav Run music the whole time. It definitely made the run feel like it was going by faster — it kept it interesting. There were some times when the app slowed down when I hadn’t, as noted above.

There are 25 songs available on the app in the U.S. (there are much fewer if you are in a different country), but as BibRave Pros, we were given access to hear more songs engineered for the app, which were awesome. So, additional songs will be coming to the public.

I really liked the beats of the songs in Weav Run and the way they were put together.

It was fun to run with the app, and the music has a great energy to it. Rasmussen said on the call that a run with Weav Run “feels easier” because of the endorphins that come from running at the same beat of the music.

I’m actually listening to the music now, as I write this post, and I’m sitting, but I’m tapping my feet.

Now that I’m listening to it while not running, I now also feel like I could use it for cleaning, to add a bit of fun to that — and of course, dancing while cleaning.

As BibRave Pros, we were also given access for beta testing of a not-yet-released feature of the app that will allow for interval training. It’s still being worked on. I haven’t tried this yet (because I haven’t done any interval training since I got the app — oops!), but I am looking forward to trying it!

The first day I used the app, I tried to use it and Charity Miles at the same time, and that seemed to kill the battery. However, the other times I used just the Weav Run app, and I only had a problem when I had a low-charged phone to start with — which is obviously my fault.

In addition to the new indoor running screen, I noticed another small change — when I downloaded the app, the mileage showed up with “km,” but now it says “mi.” Small changes like that show it’s a work in progress that continues to improve.

The #WeavStreak

After running with Weav, go through different runs and see overall data on this screen. (Screenshot)

Weav also is hosting a 30-day #WeavStreak, which I’ve been participating in (today was day 22 of my personal #WeavStreak). I started the Runner’s World Run Streak on Thanksgiving, and I started the #WeavStreak on Day 8 of that streak.

I’ve been posting a selfie, tagging @WeavRun and using the hashtag #weavstreak after my run each day on Twitter (@vanessajunkin).

 

I didn’t start on the first day of the Weav streak, but it was extended till Dec. 30, so I will be able to fit in my 30 days before then. You can learn more about the streak here. A lucky participant will win running shoes!

Ready to download the app and give it a try? Find the app and more information at run.weav.io. Weav Run can also be found on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Join BibRave, Weav Run, fellow BibRave Pros and me on Twitter for #BibChat on Tuesday, Dec. 26, at 9 p.m. Eastern Time!

So, what songs do you like to run to? Let me know if you try Weav Run and what you think! 

See what other BibRave Pros had to say:

• Meridith
• Lindsey
• Brenda
• Chris
• Fallon
• Emily
• Lissa

Like She Runs by the Seashore on Facebook here.