TJ Woodruff ONLINE

Friday I did a power test on the trainer so that I could establish some numbers to go by for the interval workouts that I’m doing.  Talking with my dad on the phone, he reminded me of when I first did such a test. I had totally forgotten about this event, so I’m glad he could remind me of it. The best we could figure it was in ’97 and I was fourteen years old. The $20 garage sale purchased Sekai 10 speed (as in 2×5) was tightly bolted to the wind trainer in the basement. I had cycle computer with a front wheel pickup mounted to the middle of the top tube so the cord would reach the back wheel. I’m pretty sure that I tried to follow the conconi protocol out of Joe Friel book, but I can’t tell you any of the numerical results. My dad’s job was to write down my HR and speed each minute, but he spent more time trying to stabilize the bike as it flexed wildly beneath me. He was certain that it was going to bust free from the trainer; fortunately it never did!

As soon as he mentioned the events of that day it all came back to me quickly. I had little idea of what I was getting into at the time and he was certain that he’d never seen so much determination come out of a kid before. The test couldn’t quantify determination back then, nor did it on Friday, but I can tell you it’s still as high as ever.  Back then I didn’t know what watts where, and I’d have likely confused the term physiology for psychology. So much has changed since then, but really it’s all the same. I still have that internal determination that drives me to push the pedals harder and longer than ever before. It might look different, but that same internal drive is alive and well today. And for whatever it might be worth, I bet that my watts have gone up since that day back in ’97.

I owe a huge “thank you� to everyone who has encouraged and supported me over the years, my family especially. I’m grateful for the opportunity to push the pedals harder and farther everyday. Keep it real, TJ

This week is flashing by quite rapidly I must say. It’s hard to think that February is all but in the books. I’ve read two books this week, the first being Training and Racing with a Power Meter by Allen and Coggan. This is essentially a great “users manual” for those of you that own power meters. It’s challenged me to use mine even more effectively in training since the there is a seemingly endless number of ways to look at all the data these things collect. I do like numbers and graphs, as much as any other physiologist geek, but I try to keep the training simple and well directed. The SRM only helps me do this. If you want to know how to better use your power meter, or find out what you might be missing out on if you don’t use a power meter, check this book out.

Book number two this week was Maximum Performance for Cyclists, written by Michael J. Ross, M.D. I will admit that I was a bit of a skeptic when first turning through the pages of this one. It is one of those things where if you’ve done something one way for so long, it doesn’t sit so well if someone tells you that could have been doing it better all along. So needless to say this one was a struggle at first, but I learned to appreciate the author’s scientific approach to training. It is a welcome change to a subject that’s so heavily steeped in tradition and myth. I actually have gone back to re-read some of this book because the ideas are just that fresh. I’ll be applying some of the interval recommendations into my next phases of training to see how this unique, scientific approach to interval training really works.

As if you expected a book review here?! Maybe you found it informational… In other news I kind of won an eBay auction by accident the other day. I threw out a low ball bid on a set of Mavic Speed City wheels that came with tires and rotors. Surprisingly I won with a pretty low offer. Hopefully they get here and are in good condition. This ought to be a versatile wheelset for any weird occasions that I might find this season. They’ll be great for any uphill bobsled TT’s I might find or possibly for the super xc event at the Sea Otter which is half done on pavement.

As for the riding scene, the recovery week has been pretty low key. The only thing that’s been in full gear is my appetite. It’s hard to keep any food in the cupboards these days! I’ve really learned to love fresh guacamole. I can eat it on almost every food, not just tortilla chips. Today I discovered that it tastes great on toasted bagels. I am feeling well rested and ready to go again soon. Best of luck to you Birkie skiers out there; Ski hard and ski fast! Until next time, -TJ

The week came to an end with another couple long endurance rides. I also got in my first mtb race.  Tim, a local cyclist, convinced me that I had to do this Desert Dash 5 mile mountain bike race. “Sure” I said, but only one problem, I don’t have a mountain bike… He did some looking around and found a Raleigh M-60 for me to race.

No joke. The frame fit ok, but the seatpost was about three inches too short. We’ll, I’ll just go out of the saddle for the 20 minute climb I thought to myself. This tactic would have won the race for me, but Craig Kidd from Idaho was also here, and he was very strong. After the midway point he pulled around me and I never was able to match the effort. Riding out of the saddle like that isn’t so efficient! Lesson learned. A good time had by all, and Craig was a pretty cool guy. It turns out he’s ridden with some other pros and noted that he watched the Shrivers go through the ranks. What a small world, we cyclists live in…

With a rest week now in full force I’ll be exercising my mind instead of my legs. I’ve got a couple new books to read this week, along with some new Gazetteers to flip through in search of California rides to do. I figured it would be good to familiarize myself with the roads before I actually move there in a couple of weeks.

The weather sounds as cold as ever back home. I’m glad that I’m missing out! Watching the men’s 4×10km relay I did get some goose bumps and wish for some snow to shred. Those Italians were untouchable. Perhaps I’ll be able to pull off two sports sometime in my career, but for now I want to figure out this cycling thing… Keep it real,  TJ

A couple posts back I briefly talked about intensity and its importance within an effective training regime. I was thinking about this again during my ride today and decided that it would be a good idea to continue by talking about the role of training volume (time or duration). After all, it is the combination of volume and intensity that make up your total training workload. Keep in mind, Volume x Intensity = Workload.

Also, this mini-article is written with the assumption that you train in order to improve physical performance. This might sound silly, but many people claim to “train,� but fail to give any thought to how their “training� will actually benefit their fitness.

You may have asked yourself, “How much should I ride?� This question could be placed in the context of a single day, week, month, or a year. The answer to this question can be complex and should be based on more than simply what the weather looks like. Let’s break it down and consider the factors that lead us to a suitable decision.  We can do this by asking a couple of questions.

1. What type of racing do you intend to do?  When you answer this, you effectively determine the amount of endurance required so that you can finish strong without totally bonking or crawling across the finish line.  Will it be three day road stage races, back to back NMBS XC and STXC events, or single day WORS races that show up on your schedule? With this knowledge you can quite precisely (thanks to the advent of power meters) determine the mechanical energy and caloric demands that these events will require at your expected level of performance.  Once you understand what your racing will require of you in terms of endurance, you’ll have a better idea of how much training volume will be required. This helps to establish a suitable training volume that will allow you to perform well in your selected events.
2. The second, highly important factor that affects your decision regarding an appropriate training volume relates directly with daily life stresses. Each of us faces unique demands each and everyday.  A person only has so much available energy, so it is important to objectively look at what amount of energy can be put into training. Here a professional athlete will have nearly 100% of their ‘energy’ that they are able to devote to training. A master athlete who works 40+ hours and has a wife and kids obviously has less ‘energy’ that can be focused solely on training.  A college student might fit somewhere between these two relative extremes. The balance between training stress and ‘everything else stress’ can only add up to 100% of the total ‘energy’ available. It’s just simple mathematics here, really. If you try to do more than life’s circumstances allow you’ll only end up burnt out, stressed out, and prone to illness and relational hardships. Who really wants any of these anyways? So, step back and take a look at what’s going on in life. How does training fit into the big picture?  For some of you, putting in bigger training hours will be no problem, while other might need to limit their volume so that an effective balance can be found.
3. So now that you’ve considered all of this, what do you do? Well, if you’ve realized that you have a somewhat limited amount of ‘energy’ available for effective training, you better make the most of every minute by making certain that each and every ride has a specific purpose, otherwise you will only misuse valuable time. If you’ve considered everything and realize that you have a lot of ‘energy’ that can be devoted to training, then you best be very careful how you spend your time on the bike. Too much volume could tempt you down the path of doing too much intensity, boredom with the sport, inadequate recovery, burn out or possibly overtraining.  It would be a shame to end up in any of these situations.

This is just a brief overview on training volume and the considerations that should be made so that your training is right on.  If you have questions feel free to hit the Inquire button above and drop me an email. As a coach I’ve helped many athletes choose appropriate training volumes while enabling them to make the most of their valuable training time.

Keep it Real,  -TJ

This third week of LT workouts got off to a good start with a couple good rides yesterday and today. The power numbers are good and better than they were for the past two weeks of LT training, despite the bit of cumulative fatigue that’s accumulated.

Yesterday Kyia, Chris, and I found some great burritos at a local Mexican restaurant. I’m talking Chipotle size and density with guac, for only 4 bucks.  A stop at Sugarbrook for some coffee followed before we parted ways. They are flying back to Minnesota tonight, but it sounds as if they got in some good training during their stay. It was cool to hang out a bit and talk about the soon-approaching season. We never got in a ride together since they spent a majority of their time off-road while I was on-road since I don’t have a mtb yet. The Americano I had was excellent and I had forgotten how good caffeine makes me feel. I haven’t had any caffeine since December so my system was 100% charged off this 12 oz cup!  I’ll be waiting until race day for my next cup I think. I’d hate to have such a rush become something that my body “required� everyday. Addictions are bad, so I’ll avoid the daily caffeine.

The next couple days are designed for recovery so they’ll be pretty ridiculously easy.  At least I have the training goals which changes day to day, because not much else does around here. It’s 82 and sunny again today. I hope everyone is enjoying the riding. Keep it Real, -TJ

With temps at the 80 degree mark and sunny skies all week long, my tan has now reached June status on the Wisconsin scale of skin tone. Monday I was at May, but now for sure it’s a June tan. I got in two more big rides today and yesterday, totaling 190 miles or so. As long as I have enough to drink and munch on, I still feel pretty strong at the end of these longer rides, and much stronger than when I started doing them at the beginning of January. Today’s ride included plenty of pavement, some dirt roads, some gravel, a bit grass, and even about 100 yards of sidewalk as I connected two roads that don’t actually connect. It worked out and saved me from riding a 2 mile stretch of road construction. I’ll likely be using this route again.

The Olympics should provide a good distraction and keep me occupied a bit during the evenings. It’s cool to watch people compete at this level knowing how much energy is put into it. And how ’bout that Ferrari at the opening ceremonies? Awesome! Hopefully I’ll get to watch some of the xc ski events; I guess they actually started this afternoon so I missed some already. Having skied the Birkie three times and getting trounced by the top Europeans, I’ve got a huge amount of respect for what they are capable of doing. They make something so demanding look so easy. It’s strange to think a year ago I was tapering for that race and hadn’t even been on my bike much at all.  A lot can change one year to the next. I know that I’ll do the birkie once again, but not in the immediate future.

That’s all I’ve got for tonight. Thanks for stopping in.  -TJ

For some reason I just love to point my front wheel uphill and spin out a good tempo/steady state effort. Not race pace, but definitely cruisin’ at that balance point. It takes about 30 seconds at this effort and my mind clicks into its own personal time warp where everything just feels great. I seriously can’t get enough of it. The people living along the Palo Verde climb have already started to recognize me as I continually ride by them. This week I was doing 20 minute drills as a progression from the 15 minute climbs of last week. Next week I hope to find some 30 minute climbs, but I’m not certain where I’ll find those.

Kyia and Chris from Minnesota are in town for awhile so we might get out for a group ride on Friday or over the weekend sometime. We just have to make our schedules line up so it works out, but I think we are all looking to do long rides on the weekend so it should happen.

About a month from now I’ll be relocating to Rosamond, California for the first block of racing on the year. The road stage races should prove to be a good distraction and of course the Sea Otter experience will be pretty huge. It’s hard to think that those events are just around the corner…

While I’m at it, here’s my approach to the early season racing: If you want to be going fast in July or August you better be going fast in March. Many of you might disagree, but I’m not alone in my thinking. Fitness does breed higher fitness and if you start behind you’ll never catch up. Fact. Also, the biggest limiter on improving from year to year is the amount of intensity you fit within the year. So the early racing approach should set me up for good seasonal fitness as well as prepare me for the years of racing to come.

Where people go wrong with this approach is in their mental game. If you aren’t “amped” to be racing in August because you’ve been going hard since March of course you won’t finish well. So if you can get your head on straight (and keep it there), you’ll be better off going with more early season racing. Simply understanding this will help keep things on the right track. The variations between two unique demands, one being mtb races and the other being road races, will aid in keeping the motivation high.

That’s my take… Enjoy the racing, and of course, keep it real. -TJ

The week came to a close with a nice rest day. I’m finding that I prefer to start things off on Mondays and make Sunday the day entitled for the most rest. Getting in a nap before watching the game was great.  The card games just prior to bed time have been affecting my recovery recently so the nap was somewhat of a necessity. My grandparents have some friends visiting and 2500 has been the official game of the week. Unfortunately I never seem to have much luck with getting good cards…

There are many similarities to observe between retirees and college students. Both leave home and families behind for several months out of the year. They both prefer living in close-knit communities with others of similar age and interests. Both populations enjoy having seemingly few responsibilities and they both make attempts to maximize the fun in their daily schedules. The only stark difference is that retirees do all of this between the hours of 6am and 9pm while college students prefer the 11am until 2am shift. I’m sure I’ll learn more but the observations are fun to pick up on.

Another week lies ahead and my “training camp� will enter day 38 with some more Tempo riding. I just can’t get enough of it. If you haven’t found it yet, there is a race schedule further down this page, in the right column. Also the “Garage� page will give you the run down on the bike setups for the year. So far there’s just the road bike in there, but I’ll add to this page as time goes on.

Keep it Real, -TJ

Today was the hottest day on the bike yet, with temps hitting the 80 degree mark. My arms are a little red now, but my hands aren’t because I’ve been wearing the longsleeve without gloves for the past couple of weeks. Nothing too serious, but I’ll have to lather up a bit more sunblock for tomorrow’s ride… The endurance is starting to build up now as these long rides don’t seem quite so fatiguing.

I snapped some quick pics along today’s route down to Poston and back. These pictures don’t do the scenery justice but you’ll get the idea of what’s out here.

The good ol’ Parker Dam. I see this thing on any ride longer than 90 minutes since there is only one road that leaves town and it goes right to it.

And here is a view from Parker Dam Road which follows the California side of the Colorado River. Nice and flat, but usually quite windy.

And here is the best view that I’ve found. You’ve got sand dunes with the cool blue Colorado in the background, lined with condos of course…

That’s all I’ve got for tonight. Keep it real,  -TJ