Jackson Fun – Orange 2006 model with 2008 Happy Feet. Used for a couple seasons but in very good condition. Stored properly indoors on bow or stern. Included extra outfitting for personalized fit. – $280

Werner Player Paddle – neutral bent shaft 194cm, 30 degree offset,  excellent condition, barely used, only three times in white water – $180

Astral Aquavest 200 Life Jacket – Adult Extra Small/Medium. Excellent condition, used for 1 season – $60

Mountain Surf Basic Bungee Spray Skirt – Great condtion, Small or Medium, not sure but fits me at 5’9″ and 155 lbs. – $25 or free with purchase of Kayak

Stohlquist dry top – orange/black never used, includes aerospace protectant – $90

Thule Hull-A-Port J Style Kayak Carrier – with straps and pads, like new – $70

Other Items in excellent condition

• Shred Ready Super Scrappy helmet with bonus ear flaps – khaki with all pads , excellent condition – $25
• NRS Hydroskin G2 wetsuit top and shorts – medium black/gray short sleet wetsuit top and black shorts – $25
• Dry bag – $6

Interested?  Make me an offer. chrishall314 @ gmail

Got to the race site early (for me) and hung around with the team. Of course when they started to warm up, it was time to put my chamois on…after giving some Joe some quick assistance with his bike. My warm up was about 20 minutes, mostly easy with some tempo and LT work throw in. It was a long race and really didn’t start for me until after about 46 miles so no problem with the warm up.

According to the power numbers, the race started out harder…but not hard. Everyone was fresh so it was fairly easy to stay in contact. I started in the front during the neutral roll out and ended up back with the motorcycle by the start of lap 2. What do I do back there you ask? Well, for the most part I mentally check out. I stop worrying about breaks and what is going on at the front of the race and only worry about maintaining contact with the group and conserving energy. I read the wind after every turn and learn where the best spots are on the race course to move up and hide from the wind. I always work my way backwards from the finish so I know how the end will unfold. This was critical since I didn’t pre-ride the course and never did this race before.

To conserve energy and help pass the time, I keep an eye on my average wattage. First lap was about 215 watts and it slowly decreased until about 201 watts on the 4th lap. It increased a bit on the 5th lap, but then actually decreased again on the last lap leaving me with an average of 200 watts for the entire race. My race did stop 400 meters from the line, but that drop in wattage is a clear indication of impending disaster and people are recovering which means more people in the field sprint.

So…I rode a pretty perfect race conserving, learning the course, and hiding from the wind until the last lap. I slowly started to make my way up to the front, and was sitting about mid-field when I say a single file line with Jim sitting about 6th or so. I quickly moved up and to join him and exclaimed politely “Jim, let me in” Good position with about 2 miles to go and I was feeling ready to unleash hell in the last mile. There is a 4 man break up the road, which I am not concerned with in the least. As you can see from Jim’s report, Jim went left as things were constantly reshuffling at the front. I keep the pressure on and was boxed in at times, but it was a long sprint so I had to take that chance and remain out of the wind. I didn’t know where anyone else from WWVC Racing was except for Jim who was in front of me, although not directly. I was constantly looking for a way to get the front to sprint for the finish. With about 600 meters to go, I am anxious, keeping the pressure on, and ready to make a move as soon as see daylight in front of me or anyone make a move. A wedge was kinda forming I was sort of in the middle about 7 or 8 back. A crash happens to my right and I just keep my eyes in front watching my line and I honestly thought the crash wouldn’t affect me. Well…it did. From my right I was hit hard and fast and went down on my left side hard and fast at about 34-35 mph. As I slid on the ground I remember thinking crap, this sucks and please make it stop. Well at least 2 people or groups of people ran into me while I was down and keep the crash going for far too long.

I quickly got up and hobbled to the side of the road. My left calf was nearly locked at this point. It took a hard shot at some point during the crash and I could barely put any pressure on it. My bike had separated from me and ended up at least a few feet away from me and I didn’t care. Someone brought it to the side of the road and I began collecting the pieces. My sunglasses were in 3 pieces, my water bottle with cage sheered off the bike, one of my handlebar end caps came off, and my power tap computer was missing for a few minutes until someone named Jen found it.

I saw Joe up the road clearly looking like he didn’t finish and then the rest of the red jerseys came to my aid. I was quickly instructed to sit down and would be checked out by the paramedic. As a precautionary measure, I was taken to the ER by the ambulance. Things went well there and they released me after maybe 1.5 hours after cleaning my wounds and giving me some food and water. I was allowed to eat my crushed cliff bar remains I had in my pocket and my remaining gel.

Thanks to everyone for your concern. It is great just knowing that all my stuff would be taken care of by you guys. Joe and some GamJams guys got my car to the ER and Joe hung out for a while to make sure I was okay.

I started to assess the damage this morning, and it looks like the frame might be okay, and the wheels look repairable. Lots of other parts are done such as the saddle, pedals, and handlebars. It is also interesting to note, that the only thing on me that survived was my livestrong bracelet and my heart rate monitor strap. Everything else needs replacing…even down to the shoes and cleats.

Summary: I am pleased I did what I came to do (except for the crash). I survived the race and was ready to spring into action…just wasn’t my day.

The thought of a life long commitment got me thinking about what a vegan really is? While I am not a fan…okay I hate being labeled, vegans are very accepting of people wanting to adopt the lifestyle. I have come to find that the lifestyle is not as hard core as I previously thought. Minor infractions do not take away from the overall mission, and I completely agree with this. I was almost afraid to call myself a vegan after my day 1 infraction, but I now realize that is not the point at all. While in general, veganism is about excluding meat, eggs, dairy, and all other-animal derived ingredients, it is a very personal decision for each individual.

As for if I will stay,  I am just going to say,  “we will see…”.  I will continue to explore what veganism means to me, and this process has been very positive and educational.

As for my physical state, all things are great. To many uncontrolled factors to determine if this can be attributed to the vegan diet, but I do feel better than normal. Weight and all other body stats are on target. I just started a 3 week training block and plan to up the volume and intensity as the racing season is in full swing. That will be the true test…

I visited Trader Joe’s to restock office snacks and had another lesson in being vegan. I started reading the labels of the cliff bars I get and read “May contain traces of dairy”. There was also chocolate in most of the flavors they had in stock and I didn’t know if that is vegan so I avoided them. As I was being rushed, I picked up a few Cliff Mojo Bars as they seemed the safest bet…although they had “May contain traces of dairy”. Afterwords, I consulted my vegan elders and got word that I can ignore the “May contain traces of dairy” which made me very happy as I chowed down on 2 bars immediately. I did some web research back at the office and found this (from http://www.veganrepresent.com/forums/showthread.php?t=5543):

Clif Bars are vegan-safe, and they rock!

I think they do have the “may contain traces of ___” disclaimer for the benefit of allergic people… to me, that’s on the same level as “a bird may have shat on that apple you’re eating, so there may be a trace of an animal there”.

I love it!!

The title of this post has great significance already. I am sad to say that less than 7 hours into my month long adventure I have failed. For breakfast I had Frosted Mini Wheats with Almond Milk. I previously threw out the box of Frosted Mini Wheats and had only 1 (Chris Sized) serving remaining, so I couldn’t look at the box and just assumed it was vegan. Apparently I was wrong. Doing a web search (trying to be search engine agnostic) I discovered that Frosted Mini Wheats have gelatin. I figured at some point I would have some minor slip up based on ignorance, but I can’t believe it was on my first meal. So what does this mean? Nothing. Veganism to me is mostly about a healthy lifestyle without animal products, and promoting veganism is about showing everyone how easy it is and not about being the crazy person who can only eat french fries. I will continue on learning about the ingredients of all the foods I eat.

I will also be keeping track of some statistics:

• Weight (lb.): 159.6  (2 lbs. higher than normal)
• Body Fat %: 13.5
• Body Water %: 62.7
• Muscle Mass (lb.): 131
• Bone Mass (lb.): 6.8
• BMR: 1806
• Visceral Fat: 4

Keirin – This started with a 1 lap qualifier, where I was 9th out of
20.  I should have done better, but as silly as this may sound, I was
not comfortable around the turns.  Later in the day I got used to
them, but I have been spoiled by the smooth surface and banking of a
real track.  I opted for keeping the inside line around the track at
the loss of speed.  That caused me to have to accelerate on the
straights which in retrospect was probably not a good idea.  I still
qualified though…but I think everyone did  Second round was a 7
up race where I easily cruised in for 4th place…the last qualifying
place.  The top 4 had a gap and I was just looking to advance.  The
third round was filled with heavy hitters.  I started off in the lead
behind the lead bike (they use a bike instead of a moped) and once the
rider pulled off I kept the pace kinda high watching the people
behind.  One guy attacked hard and I jumped on his wheel and stayed
glued to it.  We had a small gap while the other 4 struggled for the
last remaining qualifying place…since only 3 qualified this round.
I finished 2nd and Bo Lee grabbed the last spot.  Now on to the
finals, the showcase event of the evening, a 6 up race.  The finals
had all the top names and then me .  As predicted, it was a fast,
very aggressive race from the start.  Even while behind the pace bike,
the action was heated for position and I just settled into the
back…bad move.  Once the pace bike pulled off there were 1 attack
followed by a counter.  The counter stuck out to win and I was
struggling to get around the riders dying at the back so I cruised in
4th place.

Miss and out – I took 5th or 6th place in this event, but there quite
some drama.  I actually lapped the field with 2 other riders, of
course one of them did all the work.  It appeared that 5 or 6 lapped
the field, and I was one of them securing my top placing  The
officials lost track of what was going on due to the lapped traffic
and actually tried to pull me earlier by mistake.  I stayed in which
was a good move but eventually just called it quits.  With 20
starters…this was a long race, for me at least.

Scratch Race – This was a B race with about 8-10 people and  was
shorten to a 5 lap race due to time….perfect  I just stayed
towards the back surviving the attacks and waiting patiently.  With
1.5 laps to go I jumped on what I thought would be the winning move.
I followed this Chris M. high on the track while the rest of the pack
stayed low on the track.  It was me following the 1st place guy,
“Chris M.” with the pack closing fast.  With less than half a lap
remaining, he started to fade and jumped inside while I still have
about 2 bike lengths on the closing pack.  I accelerated hard and
easily distanced the chasing pack and held on for the win.

Unknown Distance – I normally hate this race, but I figured due to
time constraints this would not be that long.  This race is normally
scheduled for anywhere from 1 lap to 15 minutes.  You only know when
it ends when they ring the bell signifying 1 lap left.  Just like the
scratch race, I hung back patiently waiting for the finish.  Several
attacks, but not as fierce since no one knew how long the race would
be.  The bell rang and once again Chris M. jumped right away to get a
small gap.  I sat behind 2nd place watching Chris M. get further up
the road just waiting.  I attacked with about half a lap left and
timed it perfectly to overtake him in the final stretch as he surged
once he realized he was being challenging.

In summary…a good day.  Won every B race against some good
competition and certainly held my own in the A/B races.  Even if it is
a track event, I can still say I lapped the field

Technical details…used a 48×14 gear which was really a little too
big, but I have been having equipment issues and wasn’t about to
change the chainring.  I think a 50×15 would have been ideal for me.

Race: Nittany Cup at T-Town Velodrome – 8.8.2009
Cat: Cat 3/4
Course: 4 turn outdoor banked velodrome
Weather: almost hot
Result: 1st in the Sprints

—- Sprint Race—–
First round of the sprint is a flying 200 qualifier where the top 6
advance to the next round.  Due to a kids event at the track, the
normal 2.5 lap approach was changed to 3 laps.  Due to kids crossing
the track during my 3 laps…I ended up with 4 laps but didn’t know it
until I did a lap and still saw  2 to go.  My rhythm really got all
screwed up and the officials weren’t telling me the same thing.  So I
was ramping up speed for the 200 and ended up not getting the bell so
I slowed up since I had another lap to go.  Anyway….I put in a solid
time (my personal best) but feel I can do better and will try one gear
smaller next time.

Flying 200 (5th place) – 12.36  with 49×14 Aero helmet, H3 front and
Bo’s 404 Rear.

I switched to a 48×14 for all the match sprints.

The next sprint round was after the kilo and the points race.  I was
matched up against Chris Regan, one of the Saroff guys who qualified
2nd and is a great all a rounder.  I drew the bottom position which
meant I had to lead out the first half of lap…not the desired
position.  After that half lap with Regan behind me, I slowed up
quickly and made a move to get behind him.  He didn’t fight it much at
the 5mph pace we were going.  He started to ramp things up on the
first lap and I followed closely.  We hit the bell lap and he was
moving at a decent speed and gaining.  I wanted to get around him fast
and jumped up to sprint after turn 2 to avoid climbing up the banking
as much as possible.  I quickly realized I didn’t have the speed to
overtake him, nor could i jump back into the sprinter’s lane since
that is a sacred place for the last 200m and he claimed it.  So…I
was stuck around turn 3 and 4 riding above the sprinter’s lane, but I
had about half a bike length on Regan and was able to keep that around
the final turns and the final straight to take the win.  I was
probably inching ahead of him on the final straight.

The next round was against Brennan.  I didn’t know him at all, but he
beat Bo Lee in the first round and qualified 3rd.  I drew the bottom
position and once again quickly maneuvered him in front of me after
the first half lap at a walking pace.  From there we continued to
slowly progress around the track until the finish straight with 1 lap
to go.  I was watching him closely from behind, waiting to attack to
catch him off guard.  i was lower on the track then him, and probably
hesitated a bit when I attacked, so he ended up right on my wheel.  I
thought I had a small gap on him, but never looked back.  I just put
my head down and did whatever I could for the final lap and ended up
holding him off for the win.  I just earned a spot in a Championship
Match.

I ended up against Bo in the final match.  Bo made it to finals
because the 3 losers of the first round have a race and the winner of
that advances to the semi-finals.  He won his semi round.  I beat Bo
before and was feeling confident against him.  I knew what he had to
do to beat me so I would just have to do my best to prevent that from
happening.  I started up track so he had to lead for the first half
lap.  I stayed behind him as we crawled around the track.  I knew he
had a much bigger gear than I did, so I figured I would out jump him
just like the last guy.  Once again it didn’t work that way as I
jumped shortly after turn 4 with just over 1 lap to go.  I hit the
inside and just put my head down and went and Bo was right on my
wheel.  Of course I never looked back so I didn’t realize until
afterwards that he was right on my wheel.  We stayed that way the rest
of the lap and he couldn’t come around me so i took the win.

Lessons Learned
- When in doubt, lead it out.
- Use the track banking to your advantage

—- Kilo —-
1:17.78 with 49×14 aero helmet, H3 front and Bo’s 404 Rear.
This is a standing start 3 laps race, where you want to go out hard,
very hard, to get up to speed quick and then do whatever you can to
hold it.  It hurts.  The countdown was different then expected, and
with all the equipment changes (putting aero bars on), I wasn’t quite
warmed up or ready for the effort.  Plus I started on the back side of
the track which I never did before since they ran 2 people at a time.
All this little things seem to add up.  Well, I went out pretty hard,
but held back a little as my bike creaked at the start.  I spent about
half a lap standing then shortly after settled into the aero bars for
the reminder of the race.  I ended up with a 28.0 second first lap.
The second lap I concentrated on keeping the cadence up because there
was still quite a bit to go.  As usual, about half way through the
race I am fried and just doing anything I can to turn over the pedals.
I know I had more in me, just the little things threw me off, and if
you start bad, you really can’t recover.

Nothing else too eventful happened to me for the points race or the
scratch race, and I doubt anyone is still reading this…so I will end
here.

I plan to better these times at MABRA, I know I have it in me.

Cat: Cat 3 – 60 minutes

Course: 3 turn with fast downhill and hill with a small kicker

Weather: nice and cool with a little wind

Result: 25th (out of 100 (or close to it))

Short Version: Did some work for the first 20 minutes, hung with the moto ref for the next 20, moved up for the last 20 and gave up about 500m from the finish when I realized I had no where to move on the inside line before the final turn.

Speaking with Rusty and Dave before the race, the plan was simple and effective…to stay up front and make sure nothing serious gets away without one of us in it.  In typical fashion I was one of the last to line up and found my spot at the back of the field.  The whistle blew….I started riding about a minute later once everyone in front of me moved out of the way.  I spent the first lap moving up through the field quickly and efficiently to get to the front to do my part.  It worked like a charm, and I made to the very front on the first lap.  I stayed up front as some action was taking place and a few guys were off the front.  As the laps rolled by, a group of about 9 looked pretty serious and starting gaining ground.  I was at the front with bike doctor trying to bring them back without killing myself, or attack to join the break.  I followed some wheels and made a run for an attack as someone came by me hard, but I never caught his wheel and ended up just dragging the pack for a bit.  I was getting tired and settled back into the pack.  The break lost a few but was about 6 strong.  I chatted with Rusty and he seemed unconcerned with the break up the road.  I figured I had one attack left and could at least try to get him in the break.  He was not interested claiming it wouldn’t stick.  I didn’t quite agree, but for the most part he was right.  I continued to drop to the back and at 23:08 into the race, I assumed my spot next to the moto ref

I must say, despite the 3 crashes in the race, the pack was overall smoother than a 4 race.  Once in the back I conserved as much as possible, which usually means letting small gaps open going into turns so I can hold my speed.  I ended up leaving a little too much at times since the whole pack held speed much more than I am used to.  I started recovering in the back and was getting pretty comfortable again.  Once I was surrounded by a few guys I thought weren’t going to make it to the end, I figured it was time to move up again.  I moved around a bit as things were starting to get a little heated as the finish was nearing.  Nothing really eventful except most of the break was slowly getting eaten up.

Fast forward to the last lap..now there is only one guy off the front, and he is going to win.  I didn’t realize this at the time, I figured about 3 were still away since I couldn’t see the lead motorcycle and knew some of the people were back in the pack.  I keep my inside line since that has the most wind protection and every other lap I had little problem moving up.  The last lap was different.  The inside was clogged and with 500 m to go, I had the curb on my left, the pack on my right, and a line of about 5 guys in front of me with nowhere to go.  I kinda shut down a bit at this point realizing I was in no position to contest the sprint with the pack still 60+ strong and I was sitting about 30 back.  The last turn wasn’t too bad on the inside, with only a minor slow down, and then the charge to the finish began.   A crash happened on the outside which was not in my path, and independently someone else broke a spoke and ended up in front of me.  It sounds like the wheel would just collapse and this caused me to hesitate as I was trying to figure which of the 3 guys in front of me was having the problem.  I eventually sped up and got by them all and continued towards the finish.  I mostly passed people, but a few passed me and I crossed the line in 25th place.  Based on my position going into the last turn, there was not much I could do to get anything better than about 15th.

Good: A tough race for me based on the power numbers, but I handled it well.  It was fun to get some action in the front.  I stayed upright and was able to move around fairly easily.

Bad:  Should not have given up towards the end…who knows what really could have happened.  In harder races, I always seem to work the first 20 mins until I get tired and then settle in the back until the end.  Something this works like a charm, other times there may be a better strategy.

Race:
Duration:      58:33
Work:          730 kJ
TSS:           119.7 (intensity factor 1.108)
Norm Power:    288
VI:            1.39
Pw:HR:          0.39%
Pa:HR:          0.5%
Distance:      24.333 mi
Min    Max    Avg
Power:           0    955    208     watts
Heart Rate:      57    208    161     bpm
Cadence:         32    141    96     rpm
Speed:           3.2    38    24.9     mph
Pace             1:35    18:56    2:24     min/mi
Hub Torque:      0    387    64     lb-in
Crank Torque:    0    1058    184     lb-in

http://www.vimeo.com/1741718

After a disappointing race yesterday and my legs never feeling so bad, I set my expectations real low today.  I bailed out of the 3/4 race and just wanted to have some fun today and race with all the guys in the Cat 4 race.

The race started with the prime bell rung after the first lap, and I was still towards the front at this point and figured it would be fun to win a prime.  I had some help from Rich early in the lap, but it is a long damn lap and with lots of people attacking I got tired out before the end chasing most of them.  I was near the front, but my legs were screaming and I was several places back from taking the prime.  I took this as a sign and decided to rest up and drifted towards the back of the field.  I used this as a valuable lesson in what to do at the end of the race, which payed off.

I was nervous when a small break got 15 seconds up the road with about 2-3 people and one was Geoff’s Triathlete friend which Rich informed me.  I was getting ready to try to bridge and get some help, but WWVC kept the pace up as Mike was patrolling the front and Art went right to the front to take some hard pulls.  Great work team.  I continued to patrol the back while all this was going on   Uneventfully the break was caught with some help from Mike and Ryan with me trailing them giving them instructions.  They mostly heard me shout ‘Relax’.

As the laps wound down, I was following Mike and Ryan with about 3 to go heading to a prime which I had visions of taking.  Some guy jumped hard and I instructed Mike and Ryan to ‘Relax’ and let him go.  He kinda died and I think I could have attacked and taken it, but I decided against it.  As I got to the front Art showed up and took the wind for me as we crossed the line with 2 to go.  Everything was back together with Art and I at the front.  Art lasted up front almost a lap until everyone else got restless.  I ended up towards the middle as we crossed the line with 1 to go surrounded by teammates.  Mike was a little out of it, as I found out post race, as we were giving him details instructions which he just totally missed.  After the 2nd turn, Rich made THE move with me on his wheel.  He took the wind and charged ahead alongside the strung out pack as we were approaching the final turn.  He brought me up into the top ten before he faded, and at the same time attacks from the field came and I quickly joined in the fun.  I came around the last turn about 7 or 8 back and just tried to stay safe until the final uphill.  I was running out of space as everyone spread out but I squeezed by on the outside before the road narrows to get to 3rd place and held it there though the finish.

Great way to finish the season, and it was great to race with Rich, Art, Mike, Ryan and Roger.  Roger – sorry to hear about the flat.  Rich – Awesome move, you did the right thing to get me up there in the mix at the perfect time.  If i had a little more I could have won it….but I am sure everyone else is saying that as well.

Geek Data

Here is the final minute of the race…not quite an easy effort.  Note how I didn’t even break 1000 watts in the final sprint but still managed to move up.  I have really found 1 min power to be extremely valuable to success.

Peak 1min (495 watts):
Duration:      1:00
Work:          30 kJ
TSS:           5.2 (intensity factor 1.753)
Norm Power:    n/a
VI:            n/a
Pw:HR:          -42.8%
Pa:HR:          -11.69%
Distance:      0.53 mi
Min    Max    Avg
Power:           0    993    495     watts
Heart Rate:      97    221    189     bpm
Cadence:         44    138    106     rpm
Speed:           26.4    37.2    31.6     mph
Pace             1:37    2:16    1:54     min/mi
Hub Torque:      0    207    103     lb-in
Crank Torque:    0    842    398     lb-in

Race:
Duration:      44:16
Work:          536 kJ
TSS:           65.2 (intensity factor 0.94)
Norm Power:    249
VI:            1.23
Pw:HR:          5.2%
Pa:HR:          1.74%
Distance:      18.815 mi
Min    Max    Avg
Power:           0    1200    202     watts
Heart Rate:      38    224    177     bpm
Cadence:         44    141    99     rpm
Speed:           6.3    37.2    25.5     mph
Pace             1:37    9:28    2:21     min/mi
Hub Torque:      0    356    53     lb-in
Crank Torque:    0    994    171     lb-in