Training Table

USA Triathlon logo Traning Table Chicago 2004

T.J. Tollakson’s Triathlon Newsletter

Special Edition: Accenture Chicago Triathlon

For those of you following my racing season, the Chicago Triathlon represented a major milestone in my racing career. I entered the race knowing I was going to have a chance to win the race. I didn’t expect to win by nearly four minutes.

It was a cool morning in Chicago and with an estimated 7,500 competitors the transition area was open early from 4:30 to 6:00 AM. I arrived at 5:00 and had to wait in line for 20 minutes just to get into the transition area. Once my bike was in place and my running shoes set, I headed back to the hotel so I could grab some food and relax before my 9:00 AM start. At 8:00 AM I walked back to the race start with Teresa Gildemeister, a fellow industrial engineer from Alcoa now working in Lafayette, IN. I went on a quick warm-up jog and put on the wetsuit awaiting the chilly 63-degree waters of Lake Michigan. It was windy so there was substantial chop in the water, which was making for a rough swim. Without a swim warm-up and the cold water I had a foot cramp immediately upon entering the water so it was good thing there was in water start. I was able to relax before the start and managed to get myself towards the front of the pack. The gun went off without warning and I soon found myself thrashing in the water for position. This was great practice for Shreveport where there will be even more thrashing with a very competitive field. At the one and only turn of the swim I was around a couple of guys from my wave but couldn’t gauge where I was in the pack. There were so many swimmers in the lake, and with waves starting every four minutes in was pure chaos in the water. I was passing all kinds of swimmers and running into everyone. I tried to focus on my stroke but I could tell I wasn’t using my shoulder enough and caught myself dropping my elbow. Still, I focused on my body position and kept the strokes long and powerful as I battled the rough waters.

Once out of the water, I looked for a pair of old sneakers I placed along the 400-meter path to the transition area. I slipped the shoes on but didn’t tie them and took off the top of my wetsuit. This wasn’t going to work so I quickly abandoned the shoes and continued the run to T1. My feet were very sore after the short sprint on rough asphalt so the grass of T1 was a relief. I quickly found my bike and headed out into the wind for the fastest bike of the day. Lakeshore drive was packed with cyclists and the inside four lanes of the eight-lane boulevard were closed to traffic. We were supposed to ride on the left and pass on the right, but I spent the entire ride on the right passing people. I narrowly avoided several catastrophes and probably upset several riders screaming at them “On your right!” to notify them I was passing. This didn’t always help but made for a safer ride. I was absolutely flying and have never felt faster during a race. My powertap data from the ride shows the course to be 25.53 miles long, and I averaged 311 watts for the entire ride and a blistering 27.6 miles per hour. The bike dismount line was around a blind corner and not having done the course before, it took me by surprise so I had to stop before dismounting my bike.

I rushed into T2 and observed all the bikes were missing from my wave rack so I knew I was the first one in from the bike. 6.2 miles left of the race, could I hold off the runners coming from behind? I had no idea and was running scared. The first mile was downhill on grass with a tailwind, which really helps the morale as I turned in a 5:40 split. My next three miles were all 5:45 exactly. I was on pace to have my fastest 10k in a tri ever. At the turn around on the run I noticed Michael Boehmer, 2002 World Champion and top finisher at the 2004 World Championships was around 7 minutes behind me. I started to fade on the run the last two miles heading back into the wind I had to consume some hammer gel as my quads were beginning to cramp and I had a stiff side stitch. Mile five was 6:08 and mile six was 6:27, but it was still good enough for the win. My parents were there to cheer me on to victory. I would later find out I had a faster bike than the entire pro field beating Australian Craig Walton’s time by over 1 minute. I would have placed in the top 10 of the pro field earning some significant cash.

Below are the results:

Class

First Name

Last Name

Swim

Swim Rank

Trans1

Bike

Bike Rank

MPH

Trans2

Run

Run Rank

Pace

Final

Overall Rank

MOVERALL

TRENTON

TOLLAKSON

0:22:11

0:01:21

0:55:28

26.8

0:01:16

0:36:29

05:53.0

1:56:48

MOVERALL

ANDREW

STARYKOWICZ

0:21:50

0:01:29

0:59:17

0:01:22

0:36:37

05:54.0

2:00:38

MOVERALL

BRAD

WHITE

0:22:37

0:01:26

0:58:36

25.3

0:01:15

0:37:33

06:03.0

2:01:29

M25-29

BAILEY

0:23:49

0:01:12

0:59:51

24.8

0:01:13

0:35:50

05:46.0

2:01:57

M25-29

CHARLES

SMITH

0:22:03

0:01:38

1:02:51

23.6

0:01:19

0:34:35

05:34.0

2:02:29

M20-24

MICHAEL

BOEHMER

0:26:03

0:01:13

0:58:52

25.2

0:01:06

0:35:48

05:46.0

2:03:04

M20-24

ERIC

OTT

0:23:36

0:01:27

1:01:23

24.2

0:01:10

0:35:47

05:46.0

2:03:24

And Pro Results with me added in (Pros had a separate transition allowing for a much faster time and did not have to run the 400m to T1 which was added in my swim time, they completed the same swim and bike course but did a multiple loop run course)

Class Rank

First Name

Last Name

Swim

Swim Rank

Trans1

Bike

Bike Rank

MPH

Trans2

Run

Run Rank

Pace

Final

Overall Rank

CRAIG

ALEXANDER

0:21:01

0:00:26

0:58:34

25.4

0:00:17

0:31:49

0:05:07

1:52:09

MATTHEW

REED

0:20:52

0:00:19

0:59:00

25.2

0:00:12

0:32:17

0:05:12

1:52:40

CRAIG

WALTON

0:20:19

0:00:22

0:56:48

26.1

0:00:20

0:35:31

0:05:43

1:53:21

GREG

REMALY

0:21:10

0:00:27

0:58:00

25.6

0:00:19

0:34:27

0:05:33

1:54:24

BRIAN

FLEISCHMANN

0:21:11

0:00:25

0:59:39

24.9

0:00:20

0:33:36

0:05:25

1:55:13

CHRIS

MOFFATT

0:21:09

0:00:17

0:59:18

0:00:15

0:34:20

0:05:32

1:55:21

TIMOTHY

O'DONNELL

0:21:13

0:00:28

0:59:21

0:00:20

0:34:48

0:05:36