All Done But the Shouting....
So today was my last hard workout, prior to the tri... and it wasn't a monster workout by any stretch, but a hard effort swim workout. And it's done. And I'm happy about that. I think for a triathlete, I make a pretty good runner. But no matter -- I'm looking forward to the race this Sunday.
Random notes:
1) I rode the bike course last weekend before the Noreaster came... or at least, I rode most of it and then some. Some roads weren't well marked (though presumably will be on Race Day) and I ended up riding 21 miles instead of the 16 mile course.
2) I saw a lot of other bikers on the course -- many I'm sure we're doing a test ride like myself. One dude - I promise you - will destroy me come Sunday. He had the aero bars, the tear drop helmet and the tights with Italian words on. I had my biking shorts, a windbreaker and my 10 year old Cannondale. And while the purple Cannondale comes in at 20 lbs. and is a fine machine, let's face it -- I've got shifters on the down-tube for crying out loud.
3) Holy Crap, do I love Endurox R4 - I tend to be skeptical about a lot of vitamin-nutrition stuff, but I've been taking this after workouts for two weeks now and am amazed at the difference... Absolutely amazed. Rather than feeling ready for a rest day when a rest day comes, I'm like, huh, why am I resting today? Granted, some of this is my taper, but not all of it. Go Endurox R4! Even the diabetic in me love it -- though there's a good amount of carbs in the Endurox, they're easily absorbed by the body and require a little bit less than the usual insulin from my pump. Incidentally, the people at Hammer Nutrition align themselves rather closely to diabetic athletes, but I don't know -- I'm rather smitten by the Endurox at present.
4) And on the subject of nutrition, I have to tell you how annoyed I am about Enervit and their USA distributor Veltec. About six weeks ago, they did a promotion through Active, offering me a free "RacePack" (small samples kit) and since I was actually in the process of figuring out my nutrition, I responded. So they send me to a dealer with my special coupon and ask for my RacePack - the e-mail says, "Your RacePack is waiting for you at ...." . And the dealer looks at me like I'm from Mars. He gets on the phone and - 15 minutes later - tells me that he has to order special stuff from the company and won't have it for three weeks or so and I'll need to come back.
Now - that could be the end of the story - but I was annoyed. After all, hadn't I done exactly what Veltec and Enervit asked me to do? Gone to a dealer that they chose? So, I googled around and found the name of a winky-wink for Veltec, shot him an e-mail and explained my side of the story.
Being a smart marketing guy, he totally got it. He understood how I felt and what went wrong and said they'd ship me a Race-Pack. Except they never did. And when I wrote the guy a week later, he confided that he was no longer an employee of them (but a contractor) and was sorry that he lacked the clout to do more. Looking back through my e-mail, the guy did ask me to let him know if the RacePack never arrived and I just did, but still, the point remains: if you're not going to execute, why bother?
Incidentally, I wasn't the only one to notice this.
So, my triathlon is Sunday and what's the moral of the story? I have nothing but great things to say about Endurox R4, Power Bars & GU Energy Gel, because they helped me put a nutritional plan together that helped me train smart and will get me through this race. I have nothing but bad things to say, however, about Enervit, because my perception is that it's a company that doesn't know anything about the basics of customer service or marketing so why should I trust them with something as important as sports nutrition? Keep in mind -- I even gave them the opportunity to fix their silly mistake and they still failed.
5) One other nutritional story -- a few weeks after Enervit neglected to care about me, I won a case of VEGA Whole Food Energy Bars on another website. They arrived in a bit more than a week, along with a book and a shaker bottle.
Now, here's the thing: I don't think they taste very good at all. I've shared them around the office and nobody thinks they taste very good, not even our lone vegetarian. But I've got the case here and I'm still trying to get used to them. Why? a. They are good for me - the book explains how and why but - more importantly - I do feel good after I've eaten them. b. Some things are an acquired taste. That's just a fact. c. By sending me the case, VEGA made an investment into me. The least I can do is return the favor.
6) After the triathlon is over, I have 2 5ks scheduled in the next three weeks, followed by two races in June, including my first 30k! I can't wait. :)
Random notes:
1) I rode the bike course last weekend before the Noreaster came... or at least, I rode most of it and then some. Some roads weren't well marked (though presumably will be on Race Day) and I ended up riding 21 miles instead of the 16 mile course.
2) I saw a lot of other bikers on the course -- many I'm sure we're doing a test ride like myself. One dude - I promise you - will destroy me come Sunday. He had the aero bars, the tear drop helmet and the tights with Italian words on. I had my biking shorts, a windbreaker and my 10 year old Cannondale. And while the purple Cannondale comes in at 20 lbs. and is a fine machine, let's face it -- I've got shifters on the down-tube for crying out loud.
3) Holy Crap, do I love Endurox R4 - I tend to be skeptical about a lot of vitamin-nutrition stuff, but I've been taking this after workouts for two weeks now and am amazed at the difference... Absolutely amazed. Rather than feeling ready for a rest day when a rest day comes, I'm like, huh, why am I resting today? Granted, some of this is my taper, but not all of it. Go Endurox R4! Even the diabetic in me love it -- though there's a good amount of carbs in the Endurox, they're easily absorbed by the body and require a little bit less than the usual insulin from my pump. Incidentally, the people at Hammer Nutrition align themselves rather closely to diabetic athletes, but I don't know -- I'm rather smitten by the Endurox at present.
4) And on the subject of nutrition, I have to tell you how annoyed I am about Enervit and their USA distributor Veltec. About six weeks ago, they did a promotion through Active, offering me a free "RacePack" (small samples kit) and since I was actually in the process of figuring out my nutrition, I responded. So they send me to a dealer with my special coupon and ask for my RacePack - the e-mail says, "Your RacePack is waiting for you at ...." . And the dealer looks at me like I'm from Mars. He gets on the phone and - 15 minutes later - tells me that he has to order special stuff from the company and won't have it for three weeks or so and I'll need to come back.
Now - that could be the end of the story - but I was annoyed. After all, hadn't I done exactly what Veltec and Enervit asked me to do? Gone to a dealer that they chose? So, I googled around and found the name of a winky-wink for Veltec, shot him an e-mail and explained my side of the story.
Being a smart marketing guy, he totally got it. He understood how I felt and what went wrong and said they'd ship me a Race-Pack. Except they never did. And when I wrote the guy a week later, he confided that he was no longer an employee of them (but a contractor) and was sorry that he lacked the clout to do more. Looking back through my e-mail, the guy did ask me to let him know if the RacePack never arrived and I just did, but still, the point remains: if you're not going to execute, why bother?
Incidentally, I wasn't the only one to notice this.
So, my triathlon is Sunday and what's the moral of the story? I have nothing but great things to say about Endurox R4, Power Bars & GU Energy Gel, because they helped me put a nutritional plan together that helped me train smart and will get me through this race. I have nothing but bad things to say, however, about Enervit, because my perception is that it's a company that doesn't know anything about the basics of customer service or marketing so why should I trust them with something as important as sports nutrition? Keep in mind -- I even gave them the opportunity to fix their silly mistake and they still failed.
5) One other nutritional story -- a few weeks after Enervit neglected to care about me, I won a case of VEGA Whole Food Energy Bars on another website. They arrived in a bit more than a week, along with a book and a shaker bottle.
Now, here's the thing: I don't think they taste very good at all. I've shared them around the office and nobody thinks they taste very good, not even our lone vegetarian. But I've got the case here and I'm still trying to get used to them. Why? a. They are good for me - the book explains how and why but - more importantly - I do feel good after I've eaten them. b. Some things are an acquired taste. That's just a fact. c. By sending me the case, VEGA made an investment into me. The least I can do is return the favor.
6) After the triathlon is over, I have 2 5ks scheduled in the next three weeks, followed by two races in June, including my first 30k! I can't wait. :)
Things I'm compelled to say:
ReplyDelete(1) I've never tried Endurox, but Hammer is my brand-o-choice. Perpetuem has changed my training big time.
(2) If we don't actually meet this weekend at the TFKS, I'm going to have to conclude that you don't exist.
(3) If, indead, you don't exist, I'm going to have to go on medication el pronto. Never fun, so let's find each other on race day.
(4) Down shifters are cool and don't ever let some Eye-talion tell you different.
So how'd it go??? I did it as well, though as a relay team. Being a mom of 3 kids under 9, I really don't have the time I'd like for training. Someday. Hope you had a great time. It was a great weather day.
ReplyDeleteHave you been able to find the results posted anywhere yet???
Thanks! -M.
Good for you, Michele - when our kids came, I took a decade-long break, so you're waaaay ahead of me!
ReplyDeleteHaven't seen results posted, yet, but expect they'll be on the Hempfield Tri Club site within a few days...
Last year's results were on RedRoseRaces.com, but I don't think they managed the race this year... Could be wrong about that, but I'm keeping a closer eye on the Hempfield site. :)