TJ Woodruff ONLINE

Sea Otter was a fun weekend and the racing was alright, though during the XC I did have one of my biggest meltdowns to date. It seems that many racers talk about the same experience, but I also had two of the best hours of racing followed by the worst 40 minutes. I was riding around 25th or 30th for a bulk of the day before I cracked out there. It was midway through the second lap while going over the steep rollers. I was good into the bottom of the hill, but by the top I was done for, hardly turning over the pedals… The guys I was riding with until that point went on to finish anywhere from 21st to 32nd while I drifted all the way back to 51st. At least I was strong for those first two hours… Sea Otter is a tough one and the race distance puts it in a tricky place somewhere between standard XC and Marathon. It’ll take a bit more training for me to keep that pace all the way to the finish next time.

The pro experience of hanging out under an EZ-Up tent that matched my kit was pretty cool and having the BMC crew there was a nice addition. A little bit of support is always helpful and goes a long ways. Much appreciated guys!

As if the giant bonk wasn’t bad enough, I brought home an armload of poison oak all over my left side. Today it’s oozing all over the place and I’ve been sleeping with an arm warmer on just so I wont be spreading the stuff onto the rest of me. Let’s hope it dries up sometime soon.

This weekend I’m racing the Vuelta de Bisbee road stage race. Two TT’s (one is uphill) and two climbing RR’s ought to make for some good training - something I haven’t done much of lately it seems. Work has kept me busy and the days go by quickly. Let’s hope I come out of the weekend alright as I get back into training mode. Have a good one, -TJ

Over the weekend I got in some wind/rain/snow storm training to complete my preparations for the Sea Otter. Since I missed out on such harsh conditions all winter, I was somewhat relived to experience such weather while in Sheboygan for Tristan’s wedding. Matter supplied me nicely with his fendered-up cross bike along with a nice place to stay. The wedding was a great occasion and a fun time catching up with friends new and old.
It’s been a nose to the grindstone week so far since I’m heading out of town tomorrow for the Otter. Even though the big teams will be at the World Cup instead, I’m pumped for a chance to race the epic two laps once again. Next report will be from Monterrey. Until then, -TJ

Thanks for the hand up Ty!

What once seemed elusive is no longer so after my first finish in the top 25 of a NMBS XC race. There was no single spectacular aspect of the race, but I was able to keep the hammer down all the way to the finish line passing enough guys along the way. My call up position wasn’t great so the start was mediocre at best, there was no big attack, and there were no technical or mechanical mishaps on my behalf. When nothing goes too wrong I suppose things can only turn out for the best. After the first lap I dangled just in front of a group of like ten guys, but forward thinking kept me focused and I didn’t have to deal with any of them as I kept the pace just fast enough. I focused on the pace and by the time lap three came around I began picking off riders who had previously been riding out of sight in front of me. Crunch time came when I caught Paul and one other rider on south end of the long loop just before entering the most rocky and challenging terrain on the course. As soon as I made contact Paul took control of the pace making and I followed suit knowing that this was a sure fire way to rid myself of all those guys (10 or so) riding in our shadows just seconds behind us. I didn’t hit any of the rocks too hard as we charged to the finish line. I made a conscious effort to ride delicately through the extremely rugged sections after having sliced my sidewall open last year. Paul had enough speed left to hold me off, but I was happy to have matched his pace as we worked around a couple riders in those final minutes. These NMBS races are tough because of the 85 starters there are likely 60 guys gunning for a top 20 or 25 placing, myself included, and we are all riding behind the 25 guys who are going for a top 10 finish. We all set our sights high and its quite rewarding to finish a race in a position that I’ve known I’ve been capable of all along. It didn’t seem that hard, I just did a good job of focusing on the task at hand without getting distracted along the way. Hopefully, now that I’ve been there, it’ll be easier to find my way back into that mix again sometime soon!

Sanjay and Anna kindly put me up at their house so along with Ty and Christine, we had a Wisconsin reunion of sorts. It was a great time and the opportunity to truly relax before and after my races played a big part in how the weekend turned out. Oftentimes it seems that the racing is the easy part when some of the travel logistics can get so complicated and tiring. This time it was made simple and I was able to put all of my energy into the pedals. Thanks again! Christine shot some awesome pictures so I suggestion you check them out here. I have to give some big props to Mike Phillips for his 9th place XC finish. This guy can do it all on the MTB and has officially stepped his game up to another level. Way to go. And filling Mike’s semi pro shoes was NMBS rookie Tom Bender, winner of the STXC event. Nice! Of course Jenna and Chloe both turned in some great results too, but for them that’s simply business as usual.
Now it’s back to reality until Friday. It’ll be a busy week at the office before I fly to WI for Tristan’s big day. Enjoy! -TJ

The BMC Team Elite came together nicely I’d say. 21 pounds and ready to accelerate - straight out of Switzerland!

This weekend’s stage race will be a good test of the legs and of the mind. Fontana was a mixed bag, so I’m excited for another shot this weekend. It all kicks off with a Super D (really its a TT, yet they call it Super D) this evening. With any luck I won’t get any spokes busted out of my wheel in the STXC Saturday and on Sunday it’ll be full on, all the time. The XC course at McDowell is relentless with little if any chance of recovery. Almost in a Chequamegon style you have to pedal all of the time…

More from the weekend. I’m off to the races, -TJ

Five laps of the xc course was a brutal way to break in the legs for the start of the ‘08 season. I managed to have a pretty clean start and didn’t have to get off my bike and run at all like a lot of other guys did after things got bunched up. Nice and steady was the pace and I’d pass guys on some of the climbs and then they’d go by me on the flats. By the end of the fifth lap there wasn’t much left in the tank as Paul and several others sped around. Finishing 47th doesn’t sound too impressive, but I had some fun out there.

Seeing DJ, Dave, and Kathleen was great there and we made a third annual visit to El Torrito for some Mexican glycogen replenishment and good times.

Today is the STXC and another shot at riding fast. It’s a tough course if you’re not starting in the front since there are several spots that only allow for single file traffic and it gets stretched out pretty early. With a good start maybe I’ll be able to hang on for a bulk of the race. More on that after the finish.

TJ

It’s been getting warm down here lately. High temps have been in the 80’s which is great, but considering its only March it makes me scared of what July might be like… Perhaps the heat acclimation will give me some sort of advantage at the NMBS opener in Fontana, California this weekend. I’m excited to race and see how things go out there. It’ll be my first MTB race of the year so the nerves will likely be running a little extra. The Fourstroke is receiving some last minute attention as I finish up the ‘race build’ It looks as if it’ll be tipping the scale at 23.5 pounds. This is the heaviest bike I’ve raced in a long time, but hopefully the additional suspension will make for more speed on the course. Of course the NoTubes wheelset is superlight and that’s where the grams count the most anyways. I used to be more of a weight weenie, but now its not quite as much of an issue although I did weigh four tires at Arizona Cyclist before selecting two of them. I feel bad for the guy who is left to purchase the heavier ones of the same model!

There are only a couple of key part changes on the bike this year. The BMC Fourstroke offers 4″ of front and rear suspension travel. This is more than I’ve ever raced on before. The FOx F100RL is 20mm more travel than my last fork. I’ve also switched to Shimano XTR pedals instead of the Egg Beaters. The Shimano pedals have a more solid feel and don’t allow such excessive movement of the feet and knees. After using fixed cleats on my road bike I’ve learned the importance of piston-like pedaling and I might be better off without all of the free float of the Crank Brothers.  These are the only changes for this year’s ride so everything else should be business as usual.

Sunday Chloe and I got out for a solid 3.5 hour ride. Up Redington to the AZ trail and back down Milagrosa. I say it everytime, but I really love these trails and each time out there I’m riding them better. With plenty of technical challenges these trails are always calling out the A game. We even ran into a Gila Monster out there. It was moving pretty slowly and likely just woke up from a long winter’s rest. He wasn’t too happy about the camera so after a quick snapshot we let him be.

More to come from Fontana this weekend, -TJ

The season kicked off with a tough Tumacacori Road Race on Sunday. Twelve circuits of the six mile hilly course is tough, but a early season challenge is always fun. A KOM on the third lap blew apart the field and I was left to ride with four others (one a French-speaking Canadian MTB pro). We kept a solid tempo for the remainder of the day and I came across 15th. Not an mind-blowing result, but a good workout none the less. I haven’t done much road racing in recent history so my tactical senses were a bit rusty out there. I’ve got a thing or two to learn on that front.

With Fontana under two weeks away I’m excited for another go at the NMBS scene. It should be fun to test the legs and see how far along the fitness is. I’ve had some good days, but the consistency is still developing.

I’ve been dialing in the bikes and trying to figure out the tire setup and all. I went as far as to test various PSI levels (from 20 to 50) and evaluate the work requirement to cover a set distance on an uphill dirt road climb. Riding with the MTB PowerTap 2.4 SL Disc brake hub allows such scientific ‘research’. At least I can verify my setup with something more than the mere sense of speed. I’ll admit that numbers will never replace the sense of feel, but they are a good way to take an objective look at things and sometimes what feels fast isn’t always the case.

The ‘08 schedule is coming together so I’ll post that on the site soon. Thanks for reading, -TJ

With under five weeks until the NMBS opener, the race season is just around the corner. I’ve been getting in some fun rides and quality training and have seem to have found a good mix. Feeling stronger, having fun, and keeping fresh are all good indications right? It’s been V02 intervals as of late. Wednesday and Thursday my PowerTap bit it, so I was left to guess at what 3 minutes was and then simply repeat that stretch of road. What I intend to be a 7×3min workout turned out to be about 7×4min as I later determined, judging by Intergalactic’s duration over the iPod. I shortened things up for 7×3min (roughly) on Thursday before getting in our weekly CTS group ride on Fridays. Anyone who’s in Tucson and looking for a pretty mellow 50 miles ought to join in; we leave from the office at 8 every week.

Rather than doing the Shootout again I opted for a double day of VO2 on Saturday as it’s hard for me to get enough of these things. Doing 15 minutes of work in the morning and then another 15 minutes in the afternoon made for 30 minutes at or above 400 watts. Now if only I could do that effort without all the recovery built in!

Sunday I got up to Summerhaven riding with Evan whose in Tucson for a couple more weeks. It was cold descending into town at the top, but by the time we’d finished up the fudge from the general store, the winds had warmed the mountain all the way up the Palisades area. It was a fast cruise down the eighty degree warmth that covered the Tucson. This ride never gets old and the five hours goes by quickly with good company out there. Just above Windy Point we ran into Jesse Rient who’s out here for another week, surely making the most of the sunshine.

And now it’s the start of another work week with a three day camp that runs over the weekend. Enjoy the riding. -TJ

Balancing work and training is tough, something I’m sure we all understand and greatly appreciate. The past week was the biggest work week of my life and I lost count of the hours once 70 rolled by - it very well could have been 80 of them… I would have gone crazy if 15 of them hadn’t been on the bike. We hosted the Spring Training Camp and it went off in excellent fashion. Our team of seven coaches really does a fine job of taking care of the athletes every need. Everyone left our camp tired, but also stronger, smarter, and ultimately better prepared for whatever they might find challenging them in the future. It was a great group and we had a lot of fun on and off the bikes. I don’t know that I’d want to do another camp of this scope again soon, but it’s rewarding to pull off so nicely. We’ve got a list of other camps yet to come this spring which ought to be equally successful though done a smaller scale.

Prior to the camp I got in another huge weekend on the bikes. Saturday was my fourth consecutive Shootout+Madera+Helmet Peak ride in four weeks. Sunday we pulled together the fastest MTB group in all of Tucson for an excellent ride. Andy, Jenna, Justin, Sue, Jesse and I battled the singletrack for 4+ hours of bliss in the Redington area. Sue’s got some nice pictures posted from that ride so check them out at her site.

Yesterday Chloe and I got out to ride at 50 year trail after watching the final hour of the 24 hours of the Old Pueblo race. It was a fun place to see some friends - most notably the Spot trio of Melis, Megan, and Jen. 50 year was in superb condition with all of the recent rain fall and since most of the riders around did the race we had the trails to ourselves, only coming across 4 others out there on horseback. This little amount of traffic is unheard of for a Sunday afternoon, but it was a welcomed change for sure. I love riding the stuff there as its always challenging. We covered 17 miles in two hours and fifteen minutes - obviously some slow going technical riding! There are all kinds of drops, rock features, ledges, stream crossings and cacti. More often than not there are three of these challenges all at the same time (cactus are always around). With snow on the peaks higher above us it was great riding in the 70 degree sunshine.

With a normal work week now underway I’m gearing up for some VO2 intervals and some training of my own. With just 40 days until the first NMBS, I best get at it! All for now.

This almost seems to be a fitting title for myself these days. With busy work weeks I’m lucky to get in one or maybe two workouts of any value during the weekdays, so with the weekend comes bigger rides. It might not be the ideal training setup, but so far I’m still improving and having fun with it. I returned to Tucson after the SICI conference at midnight on Wednesday just in time for two days at work. Thursday also happened to be my birthday so it was fun to hang out with good friends. Thanks to Chloe for setting up a little party and to Alex for making homemade pasta noodles.

Luckily we do a three hour Friday morning group ride, so that got me back on the bike after four consecutive days off. Saturday was the third consecutive week that I’ve done the 105 mile version of the infamous Shootout ride. This included the normal ride, plus the out and back up Madera Canyon followed with the return climb up Helmet Peak and down Mission Road. This one makes for a solid five hours in the saddle with a lot of intensity.

Sunday I got out on the Fourstroke to do my personal favorite MTB ride in all of Tucson. It starts off with a 45 minute dirt road climb and finishes with 25 odd miles of desert singletrack that gets progressively more technically challenging. With all of the recent rain, Justin and I had a blast rallying the trail as we enjoyed excellent traction. It’s weird that way here because with the extra moisture, the otherwise loose trail holds together better underneath the knobbies. Some 20+ wet stream crossings later we returned to our starting point with huge half bonked smiles across our faces. Anytime you can rack up nearly 3000 KJ on the MTB in a 4.5 hour ride you’re bound to of had a blast. With zero flats, overcast skies, and perfect temps the ride couldn’t have been better. It’s the rides that take you to the middle of nowhere, wear you down, and challenge you every way imaginable that I love the most. I need to get out on the MTB more often for rides like this one.

This week in the office things are quite straightforward, but with a training camp on the horizon for next week I’m plenty busy getting things in order. Enjoy the Riding,

TJ