Apologies for the use of a tired word, but I believe it’s warranted.
This year’s IMLP was to be my first IM racing with Infinit. The simplicity of two high-density bottles on the bike appealed to me after years of more complex assortments, and it seemed to provide nice, even fueling in training.
So my wife, 2.5 yr old, and two dogs arrived at our beautiful rental house out on the run course at LP Wednesday evening and I dutifully unpacked everything from two cars. Apparently when you reserve a minivan from a rental company, it doesn’t actually mean that one is available. But that’s another story…
I head upstairs to use the bathroom, turning on the lights and the ceiling fan (why these details, you may be asking…), and enjoy a couple minutes of peace and quiet. I recall that the pitch of the noise of the ceiling fan changes for a moment, but think little of it.
I wash up, head downstairs to help my wife and son negotiate a complex new TV/electronics setup in the hope of watching “bikes on TV,” and then, a few minutes later as I return upstairs for TV instructions, I notice a strange crackling, popping noise.
The bathroom ceiling fan is on fire and flames are licking up into the attic.
I spend a minute looking for a fire extinguisher, fail to find one, call 911, evacuate my family. On my first trip outside with an armload we notice smoke pouring out of the eaves. I make two more trips, one for the dogs, and one for another big armload, and that’s it. We throw stuff into the cars and back out of the driveway to allow the trucks to come in.
Those of you out on River Rd on Wednesday night saw how this turned out: http://www.adirondackdailyenterprise.com/page/content.detail/id/507693.html
Here’s the point of the story: we lost a bunch of stuff, but one of the most important things relevant to the race was my nutrition, the 4th leg of the race. I called Infinit Thursday morning and spoke with Katie, who assured me they could help me out. I then learned that Saturday express delivery doesn’t happen in Lake Placid. Amazingly, on Friday afternoon I received a custom Infinit blend along with a sweet visor and T-shirt. I simply cannot say how much this meant to me after dealing with altogether too much pre-race stress. And even more incredibly, the product was free.
You simply cannot place a value on this kind of customer service and responsiveness. As the sport as a whole, and especially M-dot racing, becomes increasingly cool and impersonal, it warms my heart that our sport can still claim many terrific, personable entrepreneurs like the team at Infinit nutrition as our own.
So, THANKS Infinit. And if you’re in doubt about your race nutrition, give them a call.
Sincerely,
Vaughn Cooper
16x IM finisher, 7xIMLP, 6xIMH
PS: My lousy marathon on Sunday had nothing to do with nutrition and everything to do with an old foot injury (nagging metatarsal nerve pain).