A Story of Good Customer Service

A quick story about good customer service. I buy a lot of MP3 music via Amazon, because they often have very good special pricing on full albums. I bought a Green Day record (for $5) back in September, and didn't notice at the time I selected the [Edited] version. I noticed the other day when I was playing it in the car and some 'bad words' were missing.

So yesterday I searched on the Amazon site for a contact number, and finally found the 'we'll call you' functionality that Apple and others use. I used the callback feature and was on hold for only about a minute when Adam came on the line and asked how he could assist. I told him the story, he asked for my name and looked up my account in seconds. He said he couldn't really do an 'exchange' of digital content, but what he could do was add a credit to my account for $8.99 (the current cost of the un-edited version of the album), and I could go in and buy it using the credit, essentially getting the version I wanted at no additional cost. I thanked him, he asked if there was anything else he could do, and I said no and thanks again.

The whole call took about three minutes, and when I logged in to Amazon a few minutes later, there was my credit, and I soon had the new NSFW version of the album safely* stored in my iTunes.

Way to go Amazon! You may continue to take my money.

*My tale of iTunes woe is for another time...

First Tri of the 2007 Season

The Strawberry Fields Triathlon is a relatively new event. This was the fourth year, and my first time doing this event. It is very similar in layout to the Breath of Life tri I did last year in Ventura. The ocean swim is a rectangular course out, across, and in around two buoys, about 400m total. The run back to the transition area is a bit longer than that at Ventura, but the transition area is grass, rather than an asphalt parking lot.

The swim was a lot tougher than I thought it would be. The seas were rough and the water was chilly (59F), but the cold wasn't really a problem as I had a full tri wetsuit. For some reason, I found myself breathing really hard and fast early in the swim. For this reason, I couldn't get into a good rhythm, and spent most of the swim doing a 'water polo stroke', i.e. head out of the water. I was disappointed that I wasn't able to do an efficient swim, but I just couldn't get relaxed enough to do it 'right'. There were nice 5+ foot waves right around the buoys, which made for some excitement. If I had my surfboard with me, I would have really enjoyed it, but swimming through them was not as much fun. I ended up right in the impact zone on the way out, which meant a dive under the crashing wave, then fighting my way back up to the surface for air. On the other side as I rounded the buoy for the swim back to shore, I caught a couple of smaller waves and bodysurfed for a few yards, which was nice. By the time I reached the shore, I was drained. I walked/jogged up the beach toward T1, trying to catch my breath.

Transition 1 took longer than it should have, as I was still trying to recover from the hard swim effort.

By the time I got on the bike, I was feeling better and ready to go. I ate an energy gel as I got out on the road and settled into a nice quick rhythm. It was still cool weather, so I was glad I took the time to pull on a long sleeve jersey. I would later wish I had also brought shoe covers. The course was flat and fast, and well-controlled by local law enforcement. I passed several riders and was only passed by a few on serious time-trial rigs. At one point I, a 28YO woman, and a 43YO man were all on a long straight stretch at about the same pace, and we had to take care to stay out of each other's draft, as drafting in a USAT race is illegal and subject to a penalty. There was a fair amount of jockeying back and forth to try and stay 'legal', but eventually our little group split and spread out. At one point about halfway through the ride, I saw an unfortunate competitor pulling up on the side of the road with a flat. What a bummer that must be to have a mechanical in the middle of your race. (NOTE: I know the ages of the other competitors because the body markers wrote everyone’s age on their right calf.)

As I neared the final turn toward the dismount area, I saw Des cheering and snapping pictures. As I passed her position, I suddenly realized one of the marshals was shouting '...at the red line!' I saw the red line on the road just in time and skidded to a stop, unclipping from my pedal a millisecond before I fell over.

I ran the rest of the way toward my transition spot, racked my bike, and stripped off the long sleeve jersey, gloves, helmet and shoes. I slipped on my running shoes, grabbed another gel and was off.

Last triathlon I did, I had a major case of 'jelly legs' after getting off the bike. This is a phenomenon where ones legs have gotten accustomed to spinning pedals, and when you suddenly make the switch to running, it feels like they were not made for that purpose. This time, there was no perceptible wobbly feeling, but I was dealing with a different issue. The fast, chilly bike leg combined with my ventilated shoes had left me with no feeling in the front half of my feet. Running on numb feet is not a pleasant experience, and it was distracting. Otherwise I felt relatively good. I ate a gel and settled into my comfortable 5K pace. I was not being passed by many runners, but I imagine that was due to the order in which the waves started (mine was second to last, and most of the faster racers were ahead of me on the course). As I neared the first turnaround and aid/water station, there was a white car sharing the road. This section of road was supposed to be closed to traffic, but apparently the driver had not gotten the message. He was slowly driving straight toward the turnaround aid station, when a sheriff’s explorer came out into the lane waving and trying to get the driver's attention. A resident who was standing on his front steps watching all this commented that it was 'an elderly man in a buick, so everyone watch out!' We all had a morbid laugh at the Santa Monica Farmers' Market reference. Law enforcement got the driver redirected down a side street without incident, and I grabbed a water and made the turn. The next leg took us back along the path past the finish, so we could look enviously at the runners who had already made the second turn and were finishing. Another half-mile or so and I reached the final turn for home. At this point I knew exactly how much farther I had to go, so I kicked up the pace a bit (which for me probably meant going from 6.1 mph to 6.2). As the finish arch came into view, the crowd noise was growing. Friends, family and volunteers were making sure every competitor felt the love. As I crossed the line, I heard the announcer talking about a couple that had just gotten engaged at the finish, then he announced the names of several of us that had just crossed the line. Des was there to give me a big hug and congratulations, telling me I did great, and my run was really fast. That was great to hear, as the run is my weakest event.

I remembered to stop my stopwatch shortly after the finish, and my unofficial time showed 1:25:11, which was better than my time last year of 1:27:39 (although a different event, so the real test will be in June when I do the same race as last year).

I ended up 16th out of 30 in my category. Not bad, and an improvement over my last effort, which is what I was shooting for. My splits were:

Time: 1:24:46
Swim: 0:14:58
T1: 0:03:43
Bike: 0:35:15
T2: 0:01:53
Run: 0:28:57
BikeOverallRank: 174
Bike MPH: 19.5
RunOverallRank: 371
Run Pace/Mile: 0:09:39
Penalty: 0:00:00

I was really happy with my run result. Generally I run about a 10-minute pace, and I actually walked for a few seconds twice on my run, so it could be quite a bit better. If I can get near a 9:00 pace in one of my events, that would be a huge accomplishment for me.

Pics can be found here.

I am looking forward to my next race now. Des is so fired up after watching another event that she has entered a race in May so that she can have one under her belt and not have the Ventura event as her learning experience. I will be her crew/photographer for her event in May, so watch this space for another race report, this time from the better half of Team Chesnutt.

Success!

6/23/2006

While playing with my dog tonight, I twisted my left knee and felt a twinge. Great! My knees have been solid throughout my training, and two days before the event, one of them gets unstable. Oh well, ice and rest for the next 36 hours...

6/24/2006

Went to pick up my race packet today. My number is 1066, which is my birth month and year. Could this be a harbinger of good luck?

The packet included a number for the bike, one for my jersey, and not much else. One thing about this particular triathlon - there no information overload. I think the organizers assume participants have done this before, or are doing it with a buddy who has.

Knee is still a little sore. Packing some ibuprofen, just in case.

6/25/2006

Woke up bright and early at 4:30. I had packed everything the night before, so was ready to eat a bowl of cereal and a banana, drink a glass of juice, and head out into the darkness. My lovely and patient wife bundled herself into the car with her eyes half-closed to be my support crew/cheering section.

We arrived at the beach at about 6:00. The schedule was for the first wave to go off at 7:15 (I was in wave 10). I found the transition area and racked my bike and set up my towel. The day was cloudy and cool so far. There was a briefing for the racers where we were given last minute instructions and rules. With fifteen minutes until the first wave, I changed into my trunks and wetsuit. Des and I walked down to the beach, where the swim waves were staging behind volunteers holding numbered signs. We mingled on the beach and watched the lifeguards and organizers tow buoys into position to mark the swim course. There were several different size and color buoys, so it became a game of guess which ones are for us (the olympic and sprint courses were different).

The way the waves were scheduled, wave 9 was Sprint men 0-35, then mine was Sprint men 35-44. Next was Sprint men 45-up, and two waves of Sprint women. I told Des it looked like I'd be getting passed by fast women and old guys all day. >;-]

We all cheered as the gun went off and the first wave hit the water about 7:30. Each wave started about 5-7 minutes after the preceding one. We were the second sprint wave, so once the last olympic wave went out, the safety personnel re-aligned themselves, and wave 9 hit the water. The sun was just starting to come out and beat on our black neoprene-covered backs, so we began to warm up. The cold water wouldn't be nearly as bad now.

Wave 10 got the one-minute warning; goggles on, ready to go. The gun went off, and I started my chronometer and jogged to the water. I knew I wasn't going to be one of the fastest swimmers, so I stayed toward the back to avoid having the fast guys swimming over me. My goggles were fogging up a bit, so I pulled them out and dunked them in the water to clear them – much better! I swam a variety of strokes, but without much 'form'. It was mostly about moving forward, keeping my breathing under control, and using my legs as little as possible (I would need them for the next two events). I rounded the last buoy and stroked for the shore. My wave was mingling with a couple of the olympic waves that were technically coming around the outside of us. Traffic got a little heavy close to shore, but there was no major contact. I watched one guy in my wave swim off to the right repeatedly. Apparently he missed the lines on the bottom of the pool. >;-]

I bodysurfed a wave to the shore, and jogged up the beach. I was winded, but not exhausted. My unofficial split by my watch was about 12:00. I reached the transition area, peeled off the wetsuit, rinsed off my feet, put my socks, helmet and bike shoes on, and grabbed my bike. I lost a little time here as I put on my cycling jacket, then decided it was warm enough and took it off again. Doh! I took a quick slug of accelerade from a bottle, and brought a bottle of H2O on the bike. I could tell this was a slow transition, but the next one would be faster.



I ran the bike to the mount area, got on, and pedaled off. I anticipated the bike would be my strongest event. I started at a brisk pace, and passed a few riders on the way out of the park. On the nearby neighborhood streets, we were riding in a small 'lane' marked by cones, so passing wasn't easy. Once we got to the main artery (Harbor Blvd), things opened up considerably. I was spending as much time as possible in the aero position, and was maintaining a pace of 21-24mph on the southbound leg. I passed several riders, and for the most part was only passed by guys on full-aero TT rigs with disk rear wheels and such.

I made the U-turn and headed back on the northbound leg. Oh joy, a headwind! It wasn't too strong, and could be mitigated by staying aero, so I spent most of my time tucked in. I was concerned about using too much of my legs and having nothing left for the run, so I worked on pedaling more on the upstroke as I got closer to the transition. I pulled in to the dismount area and could hear Des yelling 'go Jimi' or words to that effect. >:-]

When I got off the bike and tried to run to my rack in my bike shoes, I felt like I had borrowed someone else's legs! Wow, call me Linguine Legs! I stumbled to my towel, racked my bike, swapped the bike shoes for the running shoes, and was off on the run.

I ate a gel as I was starting the run, washing it down with water. I felt pretty good, and was starting at a decent pace (for me). The sun was out, so that made things look a little better. The run course followed a bike path up to Surfer's Point in Ventura, where I've spent many, many days floating on a plank of fiberglas and foam. This time, I couldn't stop to survey the swells and determine if it was a Good Surf Day. As it turned out, I got my answer at about the 1.5 mile point of the run, when I spotted my good friend Ward standing by his car, getting ready to peel off his wetsuit. He gave me a shout of encouragement, which helped boost me along. At one point, I had to slow to a fast walk to catch my breath, and another runner unknown to me shouted 'Don't stop! Keep on going!' as she passed in the other direction. This was a recurring theme on the day. The encouragement from the volunteers and the other competitors was amazing, and one of the best things about this event.

As I passed the last water station on the return leg, I felt like I needed one more drink, but all they were holding out at that moment was gatorade. Oh well, I would be OK for the last .25 mile.

As the finish line came into view in the distance, I kept telling myself 'Don't walk, it's just a little farther. Keep turning them over. Keep turning them over.' The volunteers, family, friends and other competitors surrounding the finish were clapping and cheering for everyone as they came home. I was running faster now, trying to finish strong, and carried along by the wave of support leading up to the finishing gate. As I stepped on the timing pad to stop my race clock, I was all at once elated, drained, and proud. I had set a goal to finish the race and make a decent showing, and other than my pitiful running, I had done it. Des tells me they announced my name at the finish, but I didn't hear it.

I found Des in the crowd, and she gave me a big hug and told me how proud she was and how great I did. She also heard them announce my time of 1:27-something, which was pretty close to the time I had on my watch: 1:28:11.

I grabbed some water and found a place to sit down. The emotional effect of completing this little race was surprising. After a few minutes, I stood back up to walk around and stretch a bit. We watched and cheered for some of the incoming racers, then wandered over to the food/drink/exhibitors area.



We partook in some of the amenities, then headed for home. The sun had gone back into hiding, and the day was cooling off a bit, so we went chasing the sun and found it back in Simi Valley.

All in all, this was a phenomenal experience, and I'll definitely do this race next year. I may try to work in another one this year, also. I'm not sure my knees could take the abuse of a regular triathlon schedule, but one or two a year sounds doable.

I’m already thinking about several areas where I can improve my time, particularly in transitions.

Official result:
SexP Name Home Bib Div
159 Jim Chestnut Simi Valley, CA 1066 M40-44
Time Div/P Plc Swim T1 Bike T2 Run
1:27:39 M40-44/33 225 13:05 3:52 37:15 1:36 31:55

Deciphering the above:
SexP – My place among all the male racers
Div/P – My place in my age group
Plc – My place among all racers
T1, T2 – Transitions between events

For the rest of the pics: http://seamus.exposuremanager.com/g/boltri

A little riding...

6/22/2006

Co-worker Joel and I set off for a 6:30am ride around Westlake. Took it easy this time, able to hold a conversation while we rode. I did put my head down and spin up to 25mph for about .5 mile, just to keep comfortable with the aero bars. We did 2.5 laps (turned up Lakeview on the third lap) for a total of 13.1 miles. Even taking it easy, we averaged 16.0 mph, so I should be able to make some time on the 12.7 mile, flat bike course Sunday.

I'll probably take it easy tomorrow, then go for a walk Saturday. Should be fresh and rested.

Sunday is just three days away...

Taper week continues...

6/20/2006

I decided to run today during lunch. The gym at my office has TVs which were tuned to the England/Sweden world cup game. Nice! I decided to do 1.5 - 2.1 miles (see how I felt after 1.5 and continue or cooldown). I warmed up for about four minutes, then set the pace to 6.0mph. I ran to 1.5, walked for two minutes, then ran to 2.1 miles. Cooled off for a couple of minutes, then stretched.

I'll be glad when tapering is over. I don't feel like I'm getting enough of a workout, although I did get to see a really nice goal scored by an England striker..

Take me down to the sea.

6/17/2006

I felt I should really get in an ocean swim to get a feel for what to expect. I have surfed, bodysurfed, snorkeled and spent time at the beach for years. I also recently added scuba to the list, so I'm no stranger to the ocean environment. Well, my first foray into the waves as a swimmer was an eye-opener.

I brought my surfing spring suit (thin neoprene with short legs and arms) with me, as the water is still a bit chilly in the Ventura area. As I pulled up at the beach, the weather was about mid-70s and sunny, and there were several beach-goers enjoying the day. Waves of 2-4 feet were breaking on the sand. I noticed several other folks that looked like they were practicing for an upcoming triathlon, including a large group of all ages, shapes and sizes preparing to swim. I warmed up a bit, put on my goggles, hit Start on my chronometer, and ran into the water.

HOLY &%*# that's COLD! Wow! I was not ready for the frigid water. I punched through the surf zone, and tried to settle into a nice swim rhythm along the shore, but my breathing was much too fast and hard, due to the cold shock and the exertion of plowing through the waves. I rolled over onto my back to backstroke for a while and try to catch my breath. I finally got my breathing under control, and looking at landmarks on the shore, could tell I was not making much progress. I had tried to estimate a 400-meter triangle to swim, and was only about 100m into it at this point.

I tried once again to get a nice easy freestyle stroke going, but it was hard to breathe efficiently in the rough water. I ended up doing a combination of freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke, and head-out-of-water crawl. I finished my estimated 400m in just under ten minutes.

I was planning to jog out of the surf to simulate running up the beach to T1 (Transition to the bike), but was too tired, so I walked. I got back to my starting point and walked around for a few minutes to rest.

Once I caught my breath, I decided I needed to give it another go. I re-set my watch, hit Start, and ran into the water. This time the temp wasn't as much of a shock, as I had just come out of the water. I made another attempt at a smooth freestyle stroke, which just didn't last very long. I found the most efficient stroke seemed to be head-up freestyle, so I could continue to breathe regularly. I know this will not make me fast, but at least I won't be dying for air when I finish. I completed the second attempt in a little over eight minutes. I look forward to seeing how long the real course is, compared to my estimation.

Lessons learned:

1. A spring suit may be insufficient for the water temp, particularly at 7:15am (it was closer to 10:00 when I hit the water today). I plan to bring my full suit with my Saturday when I pick up my race packet, and see how it is for swimming. I know it's going to be a bear to take off during transition, but if it allows me to start the swim more comfortably, that may be worth it.

2. Get wet before the swim. I've read it suggested in other first-timers' accounts, but it was definitely brought home today. You want to take a dip before your race starts to get past the initial shock of the cold water. Also, it will put the initial layer of water inside your suit that warms up and acts as insulation.

3. It's going to be difficult conserving energy during the swim. I'm going to have to go easy at the beginning of the bike if I want to have anything left in the tank for the run.

4. I thought the run would be the hardest part of this triathlon. Now I'm not so sure the swim won't be worse.

So to recap: My run will be slow, my swim will be slow, I hope I have a good ride! >;-]

Let the taper begin.

6/15/2006

I have read several beginner training plans, most of them designed for at least 16 weeks of training for a first triathlon. All of these plans recommend at least four weeks of 'tapering' training, meaning decreasing length and intensity of workouts so that the body is fresh and rested for the event. Since I started my training roughly 12 weeks out, I had to compress things a bit. Also, I felt I needed to build a much stronger running base, so I kept up my training levels until this week.

Today, I went out for an early-morning ride. I ended up doing 12.6 miles at an average of 15.9 mph (there was some extended climbing involved). I'm going to try to get in a bit of a run this weekend, as well as an ocean swim. Next week, I'll most likely do one short run, one bike, and a swim (not the same day). I also need to find some time to practice transitions. That is one place where any triathlete can pick up free time, regardless of fitness.

Eight days to go!