Hello Team Polar Canada (Ontario)

What a great day for a race! It was my first half marathon on Sunday and a treat to run in the sun with the Polar branded gear.  There were several people there that we met at our Waterloo clinic the previous Thursday evening and had a great chance to follow up with some regarding the benefits of the monitor and also analyze the measured distance from the footpod (having not yet calibrated it I measured 23.3km over the 21.1 distance - pretty good I would say).  I focused mostly on the heart rate pace based on my VO2 test results and felt great.  My goal was 1:45 and I finished in 1:44:40.  Fortunately I felt great to play a little baseball and soccer later in the day with my kids.

You may or may not have seen the article I contributed to in the Toronto Star last Saturday - I managed to work the name Polar in with regards to the importance of continuously monitoring your heart rate - check here for a direct link to the article diary:

http://www.thestar.com/living/article/417104

and also here for the article itself:

http://www.thestar.com/article/417103

The retail event was great - very nice to meet both James and Kevin.  Hopefully we'll be seeing lots more of each other this summer!

Keep up the great work and cheers to the start of a great racing season!

Z

So I did not go under 3hours which I was shooting for but I did get a PB by over 5 minutes. The day before the race I was at the expo and I ended up grabing a pace band for 2:59:30. I knew my friend was also wanting to break 3hours so I wanted to rub it in that I was not just trying for 2:59:59. It was funny because that was the same time he ended up asking for also.

The morning of the race was a little cold and I was not sure what I was going to wear. I ended up wearing a thin undershirt which will help keep me warm and at the same time it won't be to hot if the weather decided to get hot. There was a group of us from Peterborough who all meet and boarded a bus that would take us to the start. This was at 6am so when the bus drop us at the start we all sat around in the athlete village for a few hours eating, drinking and staying warm.  When the word came for us to start to line up in the corrals we all parted and went into the corral that was asigned to us. I was placed in the 5th corral with others that had the same entry time as me.

When the gun went off it took at least 3min before I ended up crossing the start line. The pace was a little slower than I wanted at the start but with 5000 people ahead of me I could not complain to much. The first mile came and I check my splits and I notice with the slow start I was already 30secs off my pace. I did end up getting it back and at the half way mark I was on track to go under 3hours. I felt great but everyone says that race does not begin until mile 16 when the hills start.  At about mile 19 I started to notice I was losing time and was off the 3hour pace. I was enjoying the race so much that I just kept it at a steady pace and did not worry about my time anymore. I wanted to have some energy at the end to get the crowd going and it was well worth it. The crowd was unreal and loud. I crossed the finish line and was happy with my time.The people along the course was amazing. They were cheering everyone on and also handing out drinks and food to anyone.  I really enjoyed this race.

I found it was funny because everyone talks about Heart break hill being tough but I have to say that I don't remember running up it. I think with every thing going on around me my mind was distracted from the hill itself. 

Hello Everyone,

Thanks for all the helpful information about the retail clinics Erin and Scott! 

Today I was hoping to share my experience from the Mosport Road Race that was to take place on Saturday but unfortunately they had to cancel the race due to lack of numbers and the weather forecast.:(  It's a great race for the beginning of season to see where your fitness is at it's on a great course that is closed to traffic!  Maybe next year!

Anyway, last weekend (April 6th) I did participtate in the Shoppers Drug Mart 5km race in Douro.  It was a really nice day for racing and I was able to be fully decked out in Polar gear, shorts and all!  I saw Simon Smith there who was racing the 10 miler and Jeremy Tucker also came out for support.  The 5km race for me was to get some speed work in and to see how my training was coming along.  I raced a couple of 5km events in February.  This course had a few rolling hills but nothing that big and it was an out and back course.  I managed to be the first female across the line and beat my previous time in February by 22 seconds.  So training seems to be coming along well.  After looking at the data from the heart rate monitor it seems I am able to maintain a slightly higher heart rate over a 5km race than last year which is great to see.

I have another 5km race at the end of April in Uxbridge to try and take some more time off and then a 10km in Mississauga before the triathlon/duathlon season begins.  I've posted a few pictures from the event.

Happy Training!

Heather

Hey guys...

Erin and I did the first Team Polar clinic today. Actually, it was the first one in Canada based on the schedule so I was feeling a touch of pressure. Kevin was there to support us, and Erin had done a great job working with the store (coincidently, this is her "home" running store). We had a mixed group of 5k athletes and half marathon athletes for an 8:30 clinic before their planned runs.

Here are some points that may be helpful:

If you are doing your clinic before a planned event, be swift with the talk - having been a participant and a leader, the group doesn't want to spend too much time listening. We emphasized the ease of use, how intensity is a better measure than pace, how the feedback can help them avoid injury, optimize training and provide great real time feedback. We were also available AFTER the session to address any questions the users had.

Know the watch menu. You'll be surprised by the numb er of questions that you are asked about this.

Be prepared to set people up as they arrive - do not wait until after you have talked. Although this may seem redundant by the 10th monitor you set up, it much easier in the end.

Know how the product functions when active. What happens if they heart-touch, what happens if they scroll through the monitor, what are they seeing and what does it mean. They have lots of questions on the road.

Take a small spray bottle with water or dip your fingers in cup of water to moisten the contact pads. Its quick and sanitary.

The foot pods have not been calibrated - that means that users running side by side may see different pace information. Let them know BEFORE your head out that it could be off by about 5% but with calibration, they will be 98% or more accurate.

Erin had coordinated with the local media for a photo shot - they apparently loved the idea and had a reporter there to cover the event. It only took a few phone calls but nevertheless, they were there.

Make sure that you are prepared to do the workout they are doing. As I mentioned earlier, this was a 5k / Half group so Erin and I split the group with her taking the 5 and me doing 14k (I cut the 18 short)

What else?

Don't forget to take pictures.  The Retail Feedback Form asks for you to provide the three best pictures!!!! We brought a camera but didn't use it so we have no pictures to share (oops)

Oh, have fun. There's a lot going on, and you have people coming from every direction, but this is exciting for them - especially if they haven't been exposed to a running computer before.

The questions we were asked:

1. I am looking at Polar and other systems. Why should I buy a Polar?

2. How durable is the foot pod?

3. What if I cycle as well? Can this be used on the bike?

If you want any more information or have questions contact Erin or I.

Good Luck!