Training Table August 2007
T.J. Tollakson’s Triathlon
Newsletter
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Triathlete Magazine October Issue page 25
Going the Distance
August
was yet another successful month of racing. After my DNF and heat stroke at
Ironman Malaysia in February I was determined to give the Ironman
another try but wanted to make sure I waited for the right time. I chose
Ironman Louisville because I knew it would be hot (similar to Malaysia and Hawaii) and I would have to face my demons sooner or
later. If I want to be successful at Hawaii I have to race well in the heat. I prepared
myself adequately for this race and knew how much I would need to eat and drink
during the race. Execution would be critical. This would not only be my first
Ironman but it would also be my first marathon so I needed to be prepared for
the worst. My goal for the Ironman was simply to have a smart race and qualify
for Kona. I would intentionally hold back during the race because I couldn’t
afford to risk blowing up and bonking to go for the win. My fitness is
excellent but my experience at the Ironman distance is nil. I would need to
draw advice from as many experienced Ironman athletes as I could. After a long
day of racing I am now an Ironman and I must admit I am fully hooked on the
race. I am extremely excited to race at Ironman Hawaii in only a few short weeks.
Race
Report: Ironman Louisville
August
26, 2007, would be the
date of my second Ironman start and hopefully my first Ironman finish. I
arrived in Louisville on Thursday afternoon, picked up a rental car and
headed to the Marriott downtown where I camped out for the long weekend. Friday
morning I woke up and went to the practice swim to scope out the river and test
the current. I learned the swim would be changed from a mass start to a time
trial start and that we would now be leaving from a channel upstream to
minimize the effects of the current. I already knew my race plan would be to
come out of the channel and swim in the middle of the river where the current
would be strongest. Man, that water was flowing fast
on Friday but would slow down considerably on Sunday. I did my usual 3 mile
pre-race run then went back to the hotel for some food and just relaxed a while
before heading over to the pro meeting and registration. I left the meeting and
went back to the hotel to start to get my bike and gear bags ready for the
race. I filled my special needs for the bike and run with a bunch of junk food
since I wasn’t planning on using them except in case of an emergency. I had
cookies and rice krispy treats, some gel, and red bull. I had dinner at
McDonalds (salad and chicken wraps with some milk) on Friday night before I
went to the airport to pick up my parents and Ashley. Saturday morning I had
breakfast with my parents and Ash at the hotel (only after walking 2 miles to
find out the breakfast joint the concierge sent us to was closed). I had a huge
breakfast then went back to the room to take out my bike. On my 10 mile bike ride I had a flat tire about 4 miles into the ride on my front
tire so I used my spare tube and CO2 to fix it on the spot which would mean I
would need to buy another tube for the race. I believe having so many flat tires before a race is a good sign that you
won’t have one in the race. I skipped a formal lunch and just went with some
protein bars and recovery drinks. I met Mom and Dad at the Louisville Slugger Museum for a factory tour then we met Ginger, Mike, and
Kristen out for Dinner at the Red Star Lounge on 4th Street Live. I had a nice filet (a bit overcooked for
rare but still good) with a salad and a sweet potato. I had corn bread and some
spinach dip for an appetizer along with some bread. I had some key lime pie and carrot cake for
dessert. Feeling nice and full now. Went to bed late
around midnight but slept fine and had some dreams about the
race. I woke up at 4:30 and started eating my Myoplex bar and then some bagels along with my
Catapult/Muscle Armor Mix. I didn’t leave for the race start until after 5 and
then Ashley and I walked there. Once at the transition I set up my shoes and
water bottles and went on a desperate search for a Zipp wheel sticker cover for
my disc. Finally found one and thanks a million to the guy who gave it to me. I
headed out of transition to walk to the swim start with Ash. I had on my
warm-ups and was pretty warm at this point. Once there I did some stretching
(no warm up) and got rid of my bag. I got in the water as soon as they would
let me and did a short warm up before the gun went off. I started in the middle
of the river channel right next to the kayak and would stay close to the kayak
the whole time. It was my best swim to date and it felt super easy. I went out
hard and looked around only to notice I was in the lead with nobody around. I
continued to swim hard to the turn buoy before heading out to the middle of the
river for the free ride home in the current. The ride home was just that. Super easy and still moving fast. I was the first out of the
water and blazed through T1. I had some light calf cramps early on the bike but
plenty of time to work them out. I started out easy and just kept my HR low and
in control. I had a big lead over my competition at this point so all I had to
do was hold on. The bike course was much more challenging than I anticipated. I
drank a ton of fluids and started consuming gel at 30 minute intervals then
moved to 20 then finished at 15 minute intervals. I was glad to have two kinds
of gel on the bike since the orange flavor of the gel and Gatorade was starting
to aggravate me. The first loop of the bike was great and I urinated twice so I
knew I was hydrated. The second loop was not much fun since I had to pass a thousand
age group athletes on fairly narrow roads. It was congested and while I try to
be considerate, I am racing. The bad part is I lose the ability to drink as
often as I want since I have to pay closer attention to riding, I only urinated
once the second loop. Once out of the second loop I was on my home downhill
with a nice tailwind. I really slowed down on this part so I could some more
nutrition and started thinking about running my first marathon. The bike seemed
to take a long time and I wasn’t really motivated to ride hard at the end. I
know I will need more 6 and even some 7 hour rides to help take care of that
problem. I will get used to it. I cruised into T2 and had a good but not great
lead as I lost almost 3 minutes on the last 30 miles. I started the run feeling
super comfortable and just clipping off sub 3 hour marathon pace miles with
ease. I held the lead on the run for 18 miles when I really hit the wall and
slowed to 9:30 pace for a bit. Up to this point I was only
drinking two cups of water each aid station and taking a gel every two or three
miles. I needed more calories and it was evident. I switched to Coke at mile 20
and then started my come back from the wall. I was slowing picking up pace and
while I was passed again to sit in third place. I was at least running 7:30 miles now. I finished as strong as I could and
while I wanted to win this race bad, my goal was to race conservatively but
hard to make sure I could get a spot to Kona. Finishing on the podium and
leading the race for 7+ straight hours was just a nice benefit. I was pleased
with my performance and learned an incredible amount. I will probably drink one
cup of Gatorade and one cup of water at each aid station in the future to give
myself some more calories in hopes of keeping the bonk/wall away. I will
probably also try to take in some food from my special needs bag on the bike
with about 50 miles to go just so I can have some longer burning fuel in the
tank. I can’t wait for Kona and to fully embark on this Ironman journey. My
toenails are about ripped off from my feet swelling too much in the shoes (get
bigger shoes for Kona), my legs are very sore, but overall my soreness is not
as bad as shorter harder races. A much different kind of pain and something I
will train my body to experience so I can run a 2:50 and compete at the highest level. It was only the
beginning today and many more Ironman races will come.
Race
Report: Big Creek Triathlon, Polk City, IA
August
12, 2007, my 27th birthday and the 27th annual Big
Creek Triathlon. I won this
race twice but lost last year to David Thompson and had my course record
broken. I knew David wouldn’t be returning this year so I wanted to win and
reclaim my course record. My fitness is better than last year so I know I have
a shot. Race day would prove to be a challenge for breaking the record but it
was still a good race for me. The water was super warm at 83 degrees and I
really started to overheat a couple of times in the water but I backed it down
a bit and came out of the water feeling reading to attack the bike. I put quite
a bit of time on the rest of the field including Karen Holloway. Once on the
bike I was smashing watts and flying on my Guru. I had my fastest bike on the Big
Creek course to date with a 53 minute 40k. I needed to run a sub 34 minute 10k
to break the course record and with the lengthened transition that was going to
be tough. Well, what actually proved to be more of the challenge was the heat
and humidity. I took out of T2 intense and determined
to run fast. After 3 miles I realized I wasn’t on pace to break 34 so I just
backed it down and cruised in for the victory. I actually had my slowest time
in 4 years but managed to win the race by 9 minutes. It was a solid day of
racing and being right in my backyard it is always nice to stay close to home
and race.
|
Place
|
NAME
|
Swim
|
T1
|
Bike
|
mph
|
T2
|
Run
|
Finish
|
|
1
|
T J Tollakson
|
21:18
|
0:42
|
53:41:00
|
27.8
|
0:30
|
37:46:00
|
1:53:55
|
|
2
|
Mark Harms
|
22:53
|
0:32
|
1:00:26
|
24.7
|
0:30
|
38:01:00
|
2:02:19
|
|
3
|
Mike Morrison
|
24:13:00
|
0:48
|
58:51:00
|
25.3
|
0:35
|
41:36:00
|
2:06:01
|
|
4
|
Jason Maurice
|
27:36:00
|
0:41
|
1:00:18
|
24.7
|
0:35
|
37:58:00
|
2:07:06
|
|
5
|
Jason Halfpap
|
25:41:00
|
0:40
|
57:50:00
|
25.8
|
0:39
|
42:38:00
|
2:07:26
|
Upcoming
Events
September
16, 2007 Troops
and TriHawks Triathlon, Iowa City,
IA
My
collegiate triathlon team hosts this race and I have yet to make it back to race
so hopefully I can fit this into my schedule
October 13, 2007 Hawaii Ironman
World Championships, Kona, Hawaii
The Super Bowl of Triathlons with the
world’s best athletes vying for a World Championship
November 10, 2007 Ironman 70.3 World Championships, Clearwater, FL
Four weeks after Hawaii I will race another world championship at a more
familiar distance
As always, thank you to my sponsors and those who support
me. You make my racing possible!
In the meantime…don’t forget to
visit my web site at www.tollakson.com