Radio Frequency Timing/ Lou Gehrig's 5K Report (Read 503 times)

This is more a report on the timing system. I'd never been to a race with this before, and there were LOTS of issues! On the back of your race number is a wire which transmits to the start/finish line with radio waves. Different. One of the first things they announced when we got there was that you had to turn in your number after the race to be reused and if you didn't you would get fined. I could see a few problems with this mainly 1) I sweat. A LOT. I would not want someone to have to use that number after me 2) What if it gets ripped during the run? 3) What about the people who save their race numbers? I crossed the finish line and there were people waving a wand over you to scan your bib. There were so many people at that time that I had to wait a few seconds to get scanned and people were cutting. I could tell mine didn't get scanned and I was about to say something but I was so beat and the line was long I just didn't care. I took it off and moved on. I knew I had finished around 27:20 since I had hit my watch shortly after crossing the line. When the results were posted, my name wasn't up there at all. Problem here being that I didn't remember my race number after turning in the bib. (Luckily my DH had taken a picture beforehand, so that problem got solved.) I spoke with the corrections director who told me that the wands were just backup and the initial result is from a wire overhead of the finish line. BUT they use the wand and gun results for the prelim ranking. I gave her my best estimate of time in case the wire hadn't gone through and went home. The results are online now. 27:18.3. 5/45 in age group (25-29). 128/642 overall. Official results apparently use "chip time" as the girl right in front of me crossed the line under 5 seconds ahead of me but beat me by 15 seconds. I think it's screwed up to post gun time results at the race and then make official results online using chip time! Actual race report: 6th Annual LouGehrig's 10K Run and 5K Run/Walk Location- Coconut Grove (Miami), FL Weather- 73 degrees, 60% humidity, smoky/hazy from wildfires in the state The 10K people started 5 minutes before us. The 5K people had to line up further down the road but many were watching the 10K start so had to start in the back of the 5K group with all the walkers. Not a huge deal since they ended up using "chip" time. The spirit of people at this race was great, a lot of support for the charity (ALS research). I ran this with my dad (who is 51). He was in town for my graduation and I convinced him to register at the last minute. I was initially planning on running the 10K before I got injured but after losing 5 months, I opted for the 5K. I wasn't expecting to PR since I have only really been back running for the past week and a half. We started off weaving around walkers and did the first mile at a sub 8:30 pace, which was quick for me. At 1.5 miles there was a water station and I couldn't get it in my mouth so I had to walk for a bit to drink. Dad skipped it and kept going. (He usually runs 4 miles a day in CT without water.) I'm sad to say I never caught up with him again. By mile 2, I knew I had gone out too fast and I couldn't even see my dad anymore. My pace slowed down to 9:30. Coming back towards the finish line I was beat. I have never felt so exhausted. I wanted to speed up but I could barely keep running. My heart rate jumped to 191 BPM. If I hadn't had my dad, mom and DH at the finish line I would have walked. Somehow I managed to jog through even though people were spriniting past me. I guess I just pushed it too hard early on for my body which hasn't had a ton of cardio cross training during much of my time OTB. Still, it felt great to race again. That feeling at the start when you break away and look around and see all the people chasing you is exhilarating! I can't wait to do it again, I may try another 5K next Sunday night! Modified to add: My dad finished in 26:14.8, 7th of 20 in his age group and 110th overall. He hadn't raced since a 10 miler about 12 years ago, so I was very proud of him!

That's awesome, Shaunna! The wire deal sounds a lot like a different form of the chip. And like you, I don't think I would want someone else's sweaty bib, even if the someone else was me.

Stephen- My foot felt fine during the run. It's so weird, no one ever figured out what was wrong since my MRI and xrays are normal. I just started back in and am trying to keep my runs under 4 miles 4 times a week for now and just get used to it again. I still have foot pain, not usually during runs, but starting a half hour or so later and getting worse at night. A personal trainer recommended doing warm foot soaks with epsom salts after excercise and while I still have some pain, it is tolerable. I don't know if the soaks are helping or if I am just having a good week, but I'm hopeful. This morning it feels a bit stiff and painful, but not nearly as bad as it used to be. Kirsten- I doubt he'll start racing again.. he runs for fitness and weight control, he's not obsessed like those of us at RA But he does admit that if he can't run he feels yucky and cranky.. I guess it's a start. If I lived closer I'd run with him more for training. If I had been able to stay with him during the race, it would have been a PR for me. Ah well, next time.