I love everything about the Freelap timing system, except what it’s telling me. And it’s screaming that I’m “OLD AND SLOW”!!!
What is Freelap? Well, that’s easy to answer; it’s a very precise timing system that an individual can use without or without a coach. Imagine the timing system they use at the NFL Combine (Brower system), but way cooler! It comes in several configurations, including a starting finger pad or foot pad, timing gates, and a watch with hip strap (they also make systems for mountain biking and swimming…very cool, but not relevant to a track blog). How it works is also easy; the timing gates emits a magnetic fields which is detected by the watch and registered. The watch will record each time you pass one of the timing gates (called TX Junior). The watch can store a boat load of times (over 700) and those can be transferred to a computer via infrared…there’s a lot more to be said about what Freelap is and you can find it on their website: http://www.freelaptrackandfield.com/ Watch the video below to see exactly what I’m talking about:
But what it DOES FOR YOU is not immediately apparent. When I first saw it online, I thought mildly, “that’s kind of cool.” But now my eyes are open. Continue reading
Sprint 42 