TJ Woodruff ONLINE

Doing race support for the U of A team at the Collegiate MTB Nationals made for a great extended weekend in Banner Elk, North Carolina. I made the travels to the race with Chloe and we soon met up with Brian, Kyle, Alex and Evan for the event. Just two years ago I was racing, but now it was ’support staff’ that summarizes how my energy was spent. With muddy conditions I was able to help the racers quite a bit with numerous bike washes and repairs in the three days of racing. All five riders got through the weekend without a single mechanical difficulty. Given the conditions and the history of some of these riders (Brian) with equipment, and this was a huge success in and of itself. I even got to loan my shoes out to Dallas who came down from Wisconsin with only his road shoes. With the muddy conditions, the shoes likely helped a sizable amount. There was never an idle moment between doing bottle feeds, collecting warm ups, taking photos, or doing repairs, but I wouldn’t of had it any other way. It was awesome to see everyone compete to their personal best and enjoy every moment of it. Once in awhile its fun to heckle from the sideline, but I will admit that I’d still rather be on the receiving end of the crowd noise… I’m happy to have been a part of the U of A team for a great weekend. Chloe did awesome to win the XC and also the Omnium. Her 10th place in the Dual Slalom may have been her most impressive performance – on the carbon hardtail using skills that a majority of the field was left to envy. I’ll leave you with some photos from the weekend. Enjoy,

Chloe led start to finish in the wet xc.

Brian was Chloe’s biggest Super Fan -even sporting a Luna sock.

Victory.

Evan tearing up the STXC.

Kyle learning the ways of the mud.

Alex got off to a perfect start in the STXC.

Brian was warping the camera lens in the STXC.

Tim did NAU proud with some podium time.

Chloe showing the dual slalom girls whats up with her xc setup.

The Team.

This past weekend was spent in Phoenix doing a MTB/CX double weekend. The Dust Devil series got underway with the White Tanks race nice and early with a 9am start time. This meant for an especially early departure from Tucson, but it’s all in good fun. Chloe and I met up with Brian and he jumped in with the car with us just before driving into the park so he wouldn’t get stuck with his own $6 park entry. It was shaping up to be a hot one under the sun so the promoters dropped our lap count from five to four which was a relief at the start. Four laps would still make for a solid two hour long race and don’t think anyone really wanted to be out there any longer than they had to. From the line I put in a good hard effort and let the group. Over the switchback climb I got a gap and kept a good tempo going, but Rich Weis was able to come back up to me. I sat on his wheel for the second lap and let him set the pace. On lap three there were times where I could have went harder, but I saved my legs for the forth and final lap. Just through the start/finish I put in a good dig that Rich equaled. A couple minutes later I put out another effort which he pulled back. On the next incline, which was steeper than the two previous I accelerated again, this time opening a gap immediately. I kept the hammer down for a couple of minutes and never saw him again as I rode in for the win solo. It was a solid effort, but nothing like the effort it took to place 2nd here back in March when I was racing Andy Schultz. Those lap times were two minutes faster and we did five laps, not just four. It’s the off season though and I figure I’m starting further ahead of where I was a year ago. A $25 bike shop gift certificate was won before we headed to In and Out for some burgers. Super 8 was the lodging of choice and it was probably the nicest motel that I’ve personally paid to stay in – which doesn’t say all that much, but it was comfortable and I got plenty of good rest.

It was well needed as the AZ Cross #1 race was fast and furious with a sizable turnout of powerful riders. Jake Rubelt, a fellow Tucson CTS coach took the victory in the end. I managed 7th after dangling off the back of the lead group for an overwhelming majority of the 55 minute affair. Kevin from Flagstaff was just in front of me, but I didn’t quite have the afterburners to pull him back. I felt strong out there, but perhaps the legs were a bit heavy on the flat power sections due to Saturday’s efforts. Racing back to back is no problem in the spring or summer when I’m fresh, but recovering day to day is more of a challenge at this time of the year. The races made for good training and an eventful weekend.

Tomorrow I’m off to Banner Elk, NC for the Collegiate MTB National Championship. Yes, I’ve graduated already and no, I won’t be racing. Rather, I’m going as support ‘crew’ for the University of Arizona team on behalf of Momentum Endurance LLC. Of course Chloe will be racing in defense of her two titles and this time she’s also aiming for the fastest DH run on a hardtail… Kyle, Evan, Alex, and Brian will represent the Wildcats in the Mens DI events. It should be a great time and I’m excited to help the team out as they put it all on the line for this big time collegiate event. More stories to follow,

TJ

Arizona is an incredible state for numerous reasons, and I just found the most recent while in Flagstaff this weekend. I did complete the Arizona State Road Race on Saturday, but coming off of my recent two-week off season, the results produced were neither spectacular, nor noteworthy. It made for a solid 76 miles of training however, and I avoided being the racer at the race who didn’t race. I hate being that guy…

Sunday was the real motivator for me to make the Flagstaff weekend. With the company of Chloe and Brian, along with our host Kevin, and friends Mel and Kyle, we set off for some spectacular riding into the thin alpine air.  Driving just four and a half hours from Tucson you find a different world at this elevation. The weather was pleasantly cool and fall-like. The leaves were changing on the trees and the traction of the dirt had that wonderful late-season feel beneath my tires. We climbed for an hour before descended the Cat Walk singletrack. Some more tough climbing was followed with even more exhilarating singletrack descending. This pattern was repeated for four hours and somehow each turn of the trail became more thrilling than the last. Perhaps it was the altitude, the onset of fatigue, the views, or likely the unique combination of the three that made this ride one of my favorites in recent history. Its hard to beat hypoxia in such a wonderful setting. I’ll surely be back for more weekend mountain bike adventures in Flagstaff.

I hope you’re enjoying the ride as I surely am, -TJ

So as a unique twist on the usual blog post, here’s what was on my menu today – for good bad or otherwise. It’s been fun getting back into the training rhythm once again.

Breakfast
4 – 7″ diameter organic whole wheat, buttermilk pancakes with 100% real maple syrup
1 banana, sliced
Glass of Skim milk

Ride Fuel for 2.5 hours of MTB riding
60 oz water
20 oz Sun Tea PowerBar Endurance drink
2 – PowerBar Gels, Double Latte

Post Ride Snack
Large handful of Pita Chips w/ garlic hummus spread
16 oz PowerBar Recovery drink
Apple

Lunch
Fried egg on whole wheat toast
4 slices Turkey bacon
Large Romaine Lettuce salad with fresh tomatoes and Balsamic Vinaigrette dressing

Dinner
1 Box of Annie’s Organic White Cheddar and Shells Pasta, made with skim milk
Glass of Skim milk

Evening Snack
Onion bagel with honey
3 dark chocolate covered pretzels

I’m also contemplating a bowl of Joe O’s (think Cheerios from Trader Joes) before bed, but that’s yet to happen…

I might make the trip up to Flagstaff this weekend to contest the State Road Race Championship and follow it up with an epic MTB ride the following day before coming back down to Tucson. We’ll have to see what happens with this idea. I bet it’s cool up there this time of the year. Keeping it Real, -TJ

After 15 days of zero training due to moving and then crashing I finally got back on the bike for a decent ride yesterday. My preference is to take 10-14 days off for a good fall transition, so at least I was close. Although, yesterday’s endurance paced ride of 1350 Kj nearly crushed me; this spring I was doing more than twice that amount on back to back to back days. I suppose it’ll take a week or so for the body to get back into things and a couple months before the consecutive days roll right off…
Cyclocross will be next on the agenda as there’s a Tucson Series of five races this year and also a four race series in Phoenix. Last year things were quite low key with the three race Tucson series. I won the two I entered on my full suspension Litespeed Sewanee. I’d like to do the same this year, but hopefully it’ll be harder to do so with more guys showing up and going for it. A weekly ‘cross practice ought to allow me to get the skills sharpened (or at least roughed in) as I’m sure they’ll be horrible to start off with. If you’re in Tucson and would like to join in, check out MomentumEndurance.com for the ‘cross practice details. Just as Craig and I did in Eau Claire, I went to Home Depot yesterday and fifteen minutes later walked out carrying two ready to go portable barriers. They are simple to tote over to the park and they set up even easier.They are of course, the regulation height of 40cm. We’ll see what the turnout is for cyclocross practice and perhaps I’ll start mass producing these things.

That’s the scoop. It’s been hot, but not scolding with highs in the 85-90 degree range lately. My knee is still bandaged but healing quite nicely. Being able to get around has been a relief. Keeping it Real,

TJ