Run to the Beat with Weav Run

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!

As I have mentioned previously, I am a runner that is all about her music while running. The more upbeat the better to help keep me going. Over the years I’ve tried all kinds of tricks to keep my pace pumping with the help of tunes.  Things like downloading special BPM (beats per min) mixes on iTunes to carefully cultivating special running playlists with music that I *think consists of a certain BPM. Sometimes I’m successfully, sometimes I come to a lull when a slow song creeps in and no matter what, it takes a lot of time to do.

So I was super stoked when I was introduced to the Weav Run app. It takes all of the work out of it for you and calculates your perfect run soundtrack. Basically, what Weav does is commissions dance remixes and using stems (individual instrument files) plus their special they adapt a song’s tempo to match a specific cadence anywhere between 100 - 240 beats per minute. And because they are using the individual song stems, the music always sounds great, and not just like a chipmunks version of a song.

So How Does it Work?

When I ran up this hill, I heard the music tempo slow

Pretty darn great so far. I’ve used Weav for several runs now on the Detect My Tempo setting where you just let the app track you and adjust your music accordingly. This way, I am getting some good stats on my base running BPM so when race day comes, I will be able to set a slightly faster tempo on the I Know My Tempo setting so I can try to match a slightly more aggressive tempo and hopefully push a bit faster on race day.

It was super simple to set up for the first run and walks you through the Calibration mode. It is very user friendly and provides a ton of data. You can even link it to your Apple Health data. (BTW, sorry Android uses, but the app is only for iOS at the moment).

I can attest that the tempo in the Detect My Tempo mode is pretty legit. On my regular lunch-time running route, there is a crazy steep hill. About half-way up it, I could hear the music starting to slow down – actual audio proof that I was slowing and it made me want to work even harder to keep the beat up. Maybe it’s just me, but there’s something there inside me that was all like NO!! CAN’T LET THE MUSIC KNOW I’M STRUGGLING!!

I’ve been pretty successful in keeping my runs steadily in the 190 steps/min range and the more I use the app, the more consistent I feel about my running.

Some Other Insights

So far I really like Weav and will continue to use it esp for really dialing in my goal race pace. I’ve talked to several people both online and in person about this app and here are the answers to the most common questions that have come up.

Just a few of the current tracks

• ·    Does if use your music? – No, like I mentioned above, the way the app works is by breaking down songs so they can be sped up or slowed down and still sound great, so you only get the songs that come with the app. Right now, that is 25 songs, but according to the folks at Weav, they have about 30-35 new tracks that they are in the process of licensing and will be dropping soon.

• ·    What songs does it have? – Like I said, it only has 25 tracks, but they are enjoyable. A few popular ones, like the Imagine Dragons song, Believer and OMI’s Cheerleader plus some throwback songs like RUN DMC’s It’s Tricky (hell yeah) and OutKast’s Ms. Jackson. Overall, the music was pretty enjoyable and even for the songs I’d never heard of, I didn’t not like them and tbh, they tended to blend into the background with the focus being on the beat, which it should be.

• ·    Can you use it on the treadmill? – Yes! They just recently released an Indoor Mode, however, I can’t tell you too much about it cause I don’t have access to a treadmill (Outdoor Runner, yo). As far as I can tell, it looks pretty similar to the Outdoor Mode for the I Know My Tempo mode (you dial up your Tempo and it maintains the beat). You can enter put in your time and milage and it will calculate a pace for you.

• ·    Can you sync it with other apps? – Right now you can sync it with Strava and with Apple Health. I don’t use Strava (I’m a RunKeeper Girl myself) and when I mentioned this to Weav Help, they said they would look into a possible RunKeeper integration for the future (side note: Weav Help was super responsive, they want their users to love their app and it shows).

·    What else is on the horizon for Weav? – As I mentioned, they are working on an Android roll out, but this might take a bit to happen and they are focusing on perfecting the iOS version before expanding too much. Also, there is an Interval mode that is coming soon that will feature 9 different interval programs all driven by the music.

What Else?

Weav has been a really great company to get to know. They are super responsive on both social media and if you submit any feedback. They will also on occasion organize fun events like the current 30 Day Weav Run Streak and group meet ups via Facebook in NYC. You can follow them socially here-

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/weavmusic

Twitter - https://twitter.com/WeavRun

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/weavrun

 

Weav just released a new upgrade that makes it compatible with Apple Watch, which I use, but haven’t had a chance to try it out yet – the upgrade come out late last night, but I hope to try it on my next run. I did a quick trial (while in bed, lol) and everything seemed to look good.

Also, currently the Weav app is free to download and use, but they will be going to a subscription service in early 2018, so heads up on that.

Intrigued? Download it today and find out for yourself your person BPM pacing - https://itunes.apple.com/app/apple-store/id1128018936?mt=8