You cannot escape the looming shadow of your long-abandoned cardio routine. It will haunt you. And now, a particularly cruel and vindictive new app by Nike makes it impossible to even fool yourself into thinking you ran five miles when you know that you walked half of it, which—let’s be honest—is the only reason that half of us can make it onto the treadmill in the first place.
The app became available Monday exclusively for the iPod Touch and the iPhone 3GS and 4GS, and uses the devices’ GPS and accelerometer to give the user accurate feedback, including calories burned, pace and distance, as well as where the runner slowed down and sped up. It also visually maps out the runner’s route on Google Maps and allows the user to see how far he or she has run by tapping on the map.
The app can be used for both indoor and outdoor runs, whether on the pavement or on a treadmill, and even in areas where your device can’t get a GPS signal. (Your cardio routine knows where you’re hiding.) Several of the app’s features are also worth mentioning, particularly the voice feedback feature, which provides the runner with motivational messages from athletes and celebrities.
