Guesswork be Gone
Friday, January 26, 2007
2006 was a year of life-changing experiences.
There was turning 30 (which I've heard is the new 20).
Then there was gmail, with its snazzy searches and incredibly convenient g-chat feature (Seriously, people, I didn't believe it either at first. But it's that good.)
And finally, there was Map My Run (also a direct result of the genius of Google. Coincidence? I think not!)
For any runner or cyclist, this is, perhaps, one of the greatest inventions of all time. Right up there with the dry-wick gear, bodyglide, and the ipod.
Gone are the days of driving a route in your car and mentally guesstimating the approximate mileage lost or gained by things like cutting through parks. Gone is the guilt and (if you're anything like me) the subsequent tacking on of extra blocks at the end, to make up for that guessing (because, heaven forbid you should run 2.93 miles instead of 3). Gone are the boring days of running only a few calculated routes, or the difficulties of running or biking while out of town.
You can store all of your routes right online and there's a handy little calculator in which you enter age, height, weight, and total time for the route; in return, it spits out your average pace and how many calories you burned.
It's brilliant. Pure and simple brilliance. And, for the Type-A runner, a little bit like crack.
Try it and see. I dare you. You'll be hooked in no time.
Posted by Erin 1:11 PM 0 comments
For those of you new to this blog thing...
I've heard from quite a few people that they wanted to post a comment on here, but couldn't figure out how. So, here's a primer:
- For the particular post (blog entry) that you'd like to comment on, click on the "comments" portion (ex: Posted by Erin 11:19 AM 0 comments Links to this post) at the bottom of each post.
- In the box under "leave your comment," type what you'd like to say.
- Under "Chose an Identity" click on the "Other" button (unless you have undergone the life- changing experience of gmail) and enter your name.
- Press "Publish Your Comment" and, voila! (or as a certain Wisconsin political blogger who will not be named would say, "Wahlah!"). Mission accomplished. Well done, you!
Posted by Erin 12:47 PM 0 comments
What Comes Around...
Friday, January 05, 2007
I could have had a free bike.
Coulda, woulda, shoulda.
Here's the story: I walk into the Trek store in October, pick out a bike and all of the fixings that go with it...which, if you've ever decided suddenly one day to "take up" biking, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Water bottles, water bottle cages, aerobars, spare tires, tire-changing tools, an under-the-seat pack to hold the spare tire and tire-changing tools, a tire pump, bike trainer, shoes, a fitting. I could go on for close to forever. But, you get the picture. Lots o' stuff.
In any case, I open up a Trek card (great deal - no finance charges for 12 months), promise to make good on all the goods by signing my name on the dotted line, and the store clerk realizes there was a shoe fitting or pair of shorts or something that didn't get rung up. So, she runs the card again, and I sign, again. Then, I go home happy.
About a month down the road, I get a statement from Trek. For $36. So I pay it. And, assuming the big whopper of a statement is not far behind, I pay an extra few hundred dollars toward the bike et al.
Two months come and go, and I get a letter from Trek indicating that I overpaid by several hundred dollars and they'd like to refund my money. I just have to call a specified 1-800 number.
After explaining the reason for my overpayment, the customer service representative tells me she sees no record of me having bought a bike and I should contact the store to see if they do.
I hang up the phone and realize I have two options: 1. call the store, alert them to their (rather large) mistake, and pay for my bike the old fashioned way, or 2. pretend the whole Trek-instigated letter/conversation never happened and go about my training a little bit richer.
Now, I'd like to say that I immediately jumped to #1, but I didn't. I don't know if that makes me a morally-marginal member of society, or just plain human. But we're talking a LOT of money here folks. Money that I wouldn't necessarily have to pay if I didn't pick up the phone and alert the Trek store to a mistake that they didn't even know they had made.
At the very least, it was tempting not to. I thought about it, and thought about it, and thought about it. I weighed my options. Over and over again.
In the end, one picture keeps resurfacing: me on a dishonestly-come-by bike, on a miserably hot (or, given this year's weather, cold and drizzly) day in September, struggling up and down hills and struggling just to keep my legs moving after 6+ hours on a bike, with the phrase "most difficult Ironman bike course in the world" (not sure where I heard it, but after seeing the Wisconsin course, there's not a doubt in my mind that it's true) narrating the scene.
The Ironman is a 2.4 mile swim and 112 mile bike, with a marathon tacked on to the end for good measure. It's one hell of a hard race. And, I figured, why make it even harder?
So, I picked up the phone. Because from what I've heard, Karma's a bitch. And I'd really rather not have her tagging along on September 9th.
Posted by Erin 11:19 AM 0 comments