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Tag: Polar
24Jun

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One of the best things about running is that you only needed a pair of shoes to hit the road and exercise. However, nowadays there are several popular gadgets that help you track your training and progress, provide valuable data such as heart rate, pace, distance, etc. and entertain you while you are running (almost indispensable for those long run training marathon sessions).

We are fans of using gadgets, it is certainly helpful to monitor your performance, and with it train more efficiently.

As with any device, there might be that time when you needed it the most and the gadget for some unknown reason crashes on you.  Since we began with Where do I run, 6 months ago, our staff has participated in several races from 5Ks to triathlons to marathons. In this relatively short time, 2 of our staff members have faced the unfortunate experience of having their devices “freezing” in the midst of a race. They were using different brand devices and in different conditions (triathlon in Miami and 15K in Bogota).

When this happened to them, the initial reaction went from surprise to frustration; from anger to acceptance.  So based on these experiences, and some research, we have came up with a list to help you better manage this situation.

  • Manufacturers have authorized technicians that can provide maintenance to your device. It’s not a bad idea to have your device “tuned-up”; try doing this while you are not in the middle of a training program;
  • Rinse the devices that are in contact with your body with warm water after training; this will avoid sulfur-containing compounds from sweat adhering to the equipment;
  • Check the battery a couple of days before the race; change or recharge it if needed;
  • Try running once in a while without any gadgets, so you get used to reading your body;
  • If the device crashed on you during a race:
    • React quickly
    • Move to the side, so you don’t block the rest of competitors;
    • Try to restart it, though don’t waste more than 1 minute;
    • If it doesn’t work, move on, forget about the situation and focus on getting signals directly from your body; this combined with mile/kilometer marks and pacers should help you run very close to your desired pace.
  • Complete the race, ultimately, that is why you signed-up and trained in the first place.

We hope you don’t encounter this situation, but if you do, it’s not the end of the world, and you will be satisfied anyhow once you cross the finish line, you might be even pleasantly surprised with your time.

 

4Sep

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This was my comeback race in Latam after living for five years in New York, and mostly competing in races organized by the New York Road Runners.

I was a bit hesitant in signing up for the race, since I only have gotten to Bogota two weeks before the race and hardly had time to train (Bogota is the third-highest capital city in South America at 8,612ft or 2,625 meters above sea level); though at the local gym I joined, I was told that it is one of the better organized races in the city, so I decided to give it a shot.

This was the third anniversary of this 10K race, which has historically had Polar as its main sponsor. This year it also counted with Citibank as a sponsor as part of its 200 years celebration. One of the special features the race offered this year was the possibility to participate with a team of 4 people competing in relays (a couple with run 5k, passing the relay to the next couple to compete the 10K course). I haven’t seen this in other races before, but I thought it was interesting to promote a higher number of participants (people seeking only to run a 5K).

I tried to sign up online, but couldn’t do it because as a mandatory field you needed to input a cell phone, which I did not have yet. Instead, I had to go to one of the Polar stores to do it in situ. The process was fairly easy and quick (no issues because of not having a cell phone here), and had to pay the equivalent of approx. $30. Race pack was handed at the stores starting on Thursday until Saturday. No major issues in collecting it, you just had to hand in your receipt of payment.

The race start time was scheduled for 8:30am with runners suggested to get there at 7:30am. The race started at a relatively centric spot in the northern part of the city (Cra 15 and street 97), which is easily accessible by public transportation.

I got there at 8:00am and there was fairly large crowd (approximate 4,000 runners participated). A group warm up led by a personal trainer started 15 minutes prior to the race. I thought this was interesting, since it was a way to motivate the participants -it was aerobic-music-driven exercise moves-, and also prepared you for the coming effort. Five minutes before the start time I decided to go to the corral (one single corral with no pace separation), though there wasn’t any formal announcement, loud music continued playing. There was no horn or indication that the race started, but I saw people moving forward, however, we were slowed down by a partial barricade in the corrals, which I thought might have been to separate elite athletes from other runners. It was not a big issue, but if you had a larger crowd this could be dangerous.

The day offered good running conditions with approximate temperature of 65°F or 17°C under a sunny sky. Through the race, you had 4 hydration points (2 offering water and 2 a sport drink), which felt enough. Turns were announced in advance with hanging banners and you had volunteers through out the race, which played a key role, especially in the second half of the race, since the route interfered with “Ciclovia” (a program by which each Sunday a main avenue in Bogota is closed for car traffic allowing it to be used by runners and cyclers).

The finish line was in the same spot where the race started; once you crossed the line you got a medal (which is always nice), a bottle of sport drink and fruit.

Approximately, four hours after crossing the finish line, I got an email from the race with my time, which I really liked.

I did not broke my PR, but I felt pretty good about my time, considering the lack of training and the altitude, and also gave me an idea of the local running community.