Eilish McColgan’s World Athletics Championships preparation with Polar's latest technology
Double Olympian and Polar sporting ambassador, Eilish McColgan (handicap -2.5), has praised the impact of her wearable Polar technology has had on her preparations for this week’s 2017 IAAF World Athletics Championships in London.
Eilish has been wearing the brand’s specialist Polar M430 GPS running watch throughout her training for the athletics spectacular which is underway presently.
Eilish will compete in the Women’s 5,000m and enters the Championships in top form. Recently in Monaco, she took a staggering 12 seconds off her 3,000m personal best and has reaped the benefits of using Polar technology during her high-altitude training camp.
Eilish commented: “For me, it's really crucial to make sure I know exactly what pace and distance I'm running every day. I have a strict training programme that I follow, so knowing the exact pace per mile that I'm hitting allows me to monitor my progress and fitness levels. I also spend a lot of months training at altitude so it's great to know at exactly what height I'm running at; allowing me to adjust my training accordingly depending on the altitude.”
In the five weeks leading up to the World Championships, Eilish’s training has taken place in France, away from her mother and coach Liz McColgan, herself a former 10,000m World championships gold medalist. This has meant the Polar M430’s advanced Smart Coaching has been a real asset, utilising features such as Running Index, which uses data to show the efficiency of an athlete’s running and Fitness Testing, which enables athletes to gauge their current fitness levels and see progress along the way. Furthermore, tracking runs and workouts on Polar Flow has meant her training has been captured throughout, allowing the data to be remotely analysed by her coaching team.
Designed for accuracy and reliability, the Polar M430 uses 6 LEDs for its class-leading optical heart rate solution, a feature that Eilish found a particular asset throughout her preparations.
“A heart rate monitor is a great way to make sure you’re not running too hard (or too easy!). It can also be a brilliant tool to show how recovered you are from the day before. I take note of my average HR for every single run - it can show me if I'm feeling a little under the weather, tired or if things are good to go! The best thing about having the HR monitor on the watch strap is that I can check my HR first thing in the morning.”
Eilish first takes to the track on Thursday 10 August for the heats of the Women’s 5,000m and if successful, will line up for the final on the last day of the Championships on Sunday 13 August.
For more information about the Polar M430 and Polar’s full product range, visit: www.polar.com/uk-en.