Smartphone Apps of the Month- October

October marks the busy season of fall. With the kids in school, Halloween preparation in full swing, and the holidays right around the corner, free time seems like a luxury. So having time to enjoy your hobbies or stay in shape can be challenging. This month’s recommended apps help smartphone users enjoy their favorite books while doing other activities and gradually walk and run their way into shape for a 5K race.

Audible: Available on Android and iPhone

I love reading. For me, there’s nothing better than curling up on a cool fall day with a cup of tea and enjoying a good book. But with my busy schedule, that doesn’t happen very often so several of those books on my must-read list go unopened. If only there was a way to catch up on reading while being able to cross off your to-do list. Thanks to Audible, you can!

Audible is an app that lets users download and listen to audiobooks on their smartphone while in the car, exercising, or doing housework. Just plug in your headphones or turn on your phone’s speaker and maximize your time!

With over 150,000 titles available, you can choose from new releases and best sellers to literary classics. Audible’s well-labeled buttons and convenient search function make it quick and easy to find and download a book. Once you download a title (which can be done over Wi-Fi to save you data usage), just hit play to listen your book. The app lets you scan back 30 seconds in case you get interrupted or just want to hear something again. You can also add bookmarks with notes, adjust the narration speed, and even set a sleep timer—which is great for listening at bedtime.

If you’re a busy person who loves books, I recommend downloading Audible so you can stay caught up on your reading while you’re on the go.

C25K™ (Couch to 5K): Available on Android and iPhone.

Have you always wanted to run one of those 5K holiday fun runs? Or maybe you just want to get into better shape, but don’t know where to begin? Thankfully, there’s an app for that. Introducing Couch to 5K.

Created for people new to running, C25K is an easy to use app designed to help motivate you from the couch to slowly ramping up your running so you’re ready to run a 5K (3.1 miles) race in nine weeks. The app uses voice commands to guide users through workouts, telling you when to walk and run. There are three workouts per week, which take 30-40 minutes each and include a five-minute warm up and five-minute cool down—all timed by the app’s stopwatch

As the program and weeks progress, you will gradually run more and walk less until you’re jogging for a full 30 minutes. The great part is the app tracks everything! You just need to provide the running and walking.

One of my favorite features of C25K is that it lets you listen to your own music on your phone while you’re exercising. And controlling your music is easy. You can pause playlists, skip songs, and control the volume all from the workout screen.

If you’re an inexperienced runner or just looking to begin an exercise routine, downloading C25K is a great way to train for your first race and improve your fitness.