Training Table August-September 2005
T.J. Tollakson’s Triathlon
Newsletter
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Finish Strong
August
and September usually signal the end of the regular season triathlon calendar. After
fracturing my clavicle in March my season had a late start so I felt crammed to
get in a few more races this season. I have had some good races this year but I
really haven’t put together a solid
great race this season. The Accenture Chicago Triathlon was the perfect
opportunity for me to have a great breakthrough race and get some national attention,
especially for my cycling ability. I would focus the last part of my season on Chicago but also had several other important races. I
would start the month off with a trip to Bellingham, WA
to race at Pro Nationals on August, 7. Bellingham would be my second draft legal race and it would
be important to prove I am more capable than my results at NYC showed. After Bellingham, I returned back to Iowa to race the Big Creek Triathlon. This is always
one of my favorite races and racing in front of friends and family makes it
that much more important. There was a two week gap after Big Creek before
Chicago and then I would embark on a 3 weekend race journey that included Chicago, the Boston ITU race, and finish with my second
attempt at the half ironman distance in Longleat, England. I was up for the challenge of a rigorous racing
and traveling scheduling and excited to become fully immersed in the pro
triathlon life.
Race Report: (ITU) Baker’s
Tri the Cookie US Pro Nationals, Bellingham, WA
August 7, 2005: My second draft legal race of my career would
take place in Bellingham, WA,
for the US Pro National Championships. Not exactly the best environment to try
and gain experience but sometimes the only way to get experience is to dive in
head first. I flew into Seattle
on Thursday night and stayed with friend and fellow triathlete Jon Salerno.
Friday I spent the day with Ryan Vanderloop of Ironman Wetsuits working out a
sizing issue with my current wetsuit and then Ryan drove me to Bellingham on Friday evening where I met my homestay, Kip
Wayerski. Kip, a triathlete himself, was an excellent homestay and he even had
an endless pool at his place. I was staying at the Wayerski resident with 2004
Olympic alternate Doug Friman. Doug and I really lucked out being with paired
with Kip. Saturday was low key with some light workouts riding the course,
running the trail, and swimming the course then attending the pro meeting. The
bike course would be challenging since it was 6 laps and each lap contained an
ascent of the killer Alabama Hill. I was prepared with a 12-27 cassette on my rear wheel. Sunday
morning was unusual because we weren’t scheduled to race until 3:00 PM. We didn’t actually race until close to 4:00 so I was a bit thrown off on what to do and eat
during the day. I made the mistake of eating too much and paying for it on the
run, but I’ll get to that part. All the top American men were at this race vying for a national
championship and the atmosphere was intense. They introduced the athletes by
world rank and I am not ranked so I was one of the last athletes announced. I
was positioned on far right side of the dock angled away from the first buoy. I
learned quickly after this race that I should never position myself to the
right of a swim start. Since I breathe to my right, I don’t notice what is going in
the race to my left. I was already in the middle of the pack around the first
buoy which put me in a difficult spot. I tried to advance up the line of
swimmers and around the second buoy the pack took a longer route and I went
more direct but it cost me time and I was gapped swimming out of the draft. I
swam the entire course on my own in between two packs. Not a smart way to swim,
I’m learning. Once out of the water and on the bike I picked up a few riders
that dropped off the main pack ahead of me and the pack from behind me soon
caught up. I was in a difficult spot. Every lap I dropped the group of riders I
was with at the top of the hill, a testament to my strong cycling ability but
useless in a draft legal race unless I could get someone to go with me. I
talked to Derek Kite about bridging up with me and we decided to attack on the
fifth ascent of the hill. Fifth time around I made the ascent and attacked,
Derek was no where around so I tried to maintain the break solo but that is
nearly impossible when there is a pack chasing you. The pack caught me right
before the final ascent and then I broke away with David Thompson to get a
slight lead on the pack into transition. Once on the run, that late meal was
very apparent. I was bloated and couldn’t muster the energy to run fast since
it was causing so much pain in my stomach. I finished a disappointing 26th
but it was a big improvement on my finish in NYC.
|
PLACE
|
NAME
|
AG
|
SWIM
|
TRANS
|
BIKE
|
TRANS
|
RUN
|
FINISH
|
|
1
|
Hunter Kemper
|
29
|
18:02
|
0:43
|
1:03:08
|
0:21
|
30:57:00
|
1:53:10
|
|
2
|
Andy Potts
|
28
|
18:00
|
0:44
|
1:03:14
|
0:25
|
31:33:00
|
1:53:54
|
|
3
|
Matt Reed
|
29
|
18:09
|
0:46
|
1:03:03
|
0:19
|
32:21:00
|
1:54:36
|
|
4
|
Joe Umphenour
|
36
|
18:09
|
0:45
|
1:03:01
|
0:21
|
32:35:00
|
1:54:48
|
|
5
|
Brian Fleischmann
|
26
|
18:05
|
0:46
|
1:02:47
|
0:25
|
34:14:00
|
1:56:15
|
|
26
|
Trenton Tollakson
|
24
|
20:06
|
0:53
|
1:06:10
|
0:28
|
39:28:00
|
2:07:02
|
Race Report: Big Creek
Triathlon, Polk City, IA
August 14, 2005: I was back in my element, a non-drafting Olympic
Distance course on my home turf. Since USA Triathlon Age Group Nationals in Kansas City was cancelled the day before there was additional
competition in this local event. I was also helping friend Brad Bach complete
his first triathlon, so he was all decked out in my racing gear. The morning
started out perfect with unusually cool temperatures and a wetsuit swim. Immediately in the
swim I gapped the rest of the field and never looked back. I worked the swim pretty hard and
just let up a bit at the end as I started to fatigue on this slightly long swim
course. I had a good lead over the next competitors out of the water. I was on
the bike and all alone, just how I like it. I had some problems generating
normal threshold wattage on the bike for the first 7 miles but soon found a
better groove and settled into a nice pace. I managed the fastest swim and bike
of the day. I entered T2 with a solid 2 minute lead over the competition and
just added to that on the run. This was my best 10K run to date; I was feeling
solid and comfortable with relaxed technique. I just kept the turnover rate
high and I was cranking out 5:38 miles. I finished with a new course record, my best run yet, and
nearly a four minute margin of victory. Thanks to all of my friends and family
for attending this race.
|
PLC
|
NAME
|
plc
|
time
|
yds
|
time
|
plc
|
time
|
mph
|
time
|
plc
|
Time
|
pace
|
TIME
|
|
1
|
T J Tollakson
|
1
|
20:57
|
1:17
|
0:46
|
1
|
56:10:00
|
26.6
|
0:35
|
2
|
34:57:00
|
5:38
|
1:53:23
|
|
2
|
Brian Bich
|
7
|
22:23
|
1:22
|
0:56
|
4
|
58:20:00
|
25.6
|
0:23
|
3
|
35:17:00
|
5:41
|
1:57:16
|
|
3
|
Michael Boehmer
|
14
|
23:04
|
1:25
|
0:44
|
5
|
58:29:00
|
25.5
|
0:21
|
4
|
35:31:00
|
5:43
|
1:58:07
|
|
4
|
J J Bailey
|
11
|
22:51
|
1:24
|
0:54
|
2
|
56:41:00
|
26.3
|
0:33
|
8
|
37:59:00
|
6:07
|
1:58:55
|
|
5
|
Michael Grahinger
|
22
|
24:19:00
|
1:29
|
0:50
|
8
|
1:00:08
|
24.8
|
0:35
|
5
|
35:59:00
|
5:48
|
2:01:50
|
|
66
|
Brad Bach
|
122
|
33:20:00
|
2:02
|
2:45
|
56
|
1:09:07
|
21.6
|
1:59
|
50
|
43:19:00
|
6:59
|
2:30:28
|
Race Report: Accenture
Chicago Triathlon
August 28, 2005: My return to the Chicago Triathlon after winning
the amateur race in 2004 was exciting. I was pumped for this course and ready
to destroy the competition on the flat bike course. I was mentally ready for
this race and physically prepared. The 11:00 AM start time was about perfect in terms of preparation. The in water
swim start was physically rough but I was holding ground with some of the
world’s best. I went a little long around the first buoy and lost some time but
was back in the pack and drafting nicely. The pack started to separate a little
and I found myself at the back of the front pack which is not a good place to
be. Another lesson learned. With about 300 meters left in the swim I was gapped
when I lost concentration and started swimming towards shore. I was out of the
draft and couldn’t generate the speed to get back in. There is no room for
mental errors when racing. I would pay for this error later in the race and in
my pocket book. I was about 40 seconds down after the swim and exited with
David Thompson. Once on the bike I was truly in a groove and smashing out 340
watts or more for the duration of the course averaging over 28 mph. I lost my
GU flask on the bike when I rode over a pot hole, so I had no solid calories to
consume on the bike, again a mistake I would pay for later. I biked into second place but couldn’t catch
swim leader Andy Potts, who still had 20 seconds on me so I didn’t win the $500
bike prime. I was frustrated on the bike because there was a large group of
athletes illegally drafting off of each other. I was upset because it was
taking away my strength on the course and making things easier for them. At any
given time over half of the pack of 10 riders were sitting up on the hoods, out
of the aero position. It is nearly impossible to ride fast if you are not in
the aero position at all times, and the 56 minute bike split was definitely
impossible if not in the aero position at all times. I don’t respect cheating
in a race and I refuse to stoop to the level of others cheating. I was second
into T2 and had some good TV coverage for riding so strong, but those following
were close and had fresher legs from taking it easy on the bike. Right away I
could tell I was missing my nutrition from the bike and stomach problems set in
once again. I just couldn’t force myself to run fast. I faded to a
disappointing 14th place and out of the money. I learned more this
race and will return next year with a vengeance to race well and prove this
race was a fluke.
Race Report: (ITU) Boston Triathlon
September 4, 2005: My third and final ITU Continental Cup of the
year. I flew directly from Chicago
to Boston and met up with my homestay Robb Johnson on
Monday afternoon. I spent the week training and preparing for the race in Cambridge at Robb’s very convenient location. This race is
set up a little different with an indoor transition in the World Trade Center off of Boston Harbor. The swim was two laps around the building with a run through the
building in between laps. It was a wetsuit swim and an in-water start so it
would be easier to stay with the leaders, but it would string out with the run
through the building. I was in good position on the first lap of the swim
staying in the pack and feeling like I was in a washing machine. When in the
draft you aren’t really swimming that hard you are just staying afloat and
moving your arms forward to stay in close proximity to the people around you. The
run through the building was tough and re-entering the water after running was
an unusual feeling but I quickly adjusted. I held pace with those around me and
exited about 20 seconds down of the leaders but in good enough position to ride
with the lead pack. Once in the pack I worked out a plan with 2004 Olympian and
leader of Team Aegis, Victor Plata, to make a break away attack with Arturo
Garza. On the second lap I made the break and immediately had a huge gap on the
field and just put my head down and went hard. I continued to pull hard to try
and set up Arturo for the win. I was just trying to give myself the biggest
lead possible on the bike. By the end of the short 22 mile bike I put a solid 1:45 on the main pack and positioned myself well for
the run. I ran well on tired legs and finished 11th just out of the
top 10 but still my best ITU race of the year. A huge
milestone in my racing career.
|
|
Name
|
Age
|
S
|
Rank
|
Swim
|
Rank
|
Bike
|
Rank
|
Run
|
Finish
|
|
1
|
CRAIG ALEXANDER
|
32
|
M
|
16
|
19:29
|
6
|
52:38:00
|
1
|
30:07:00
|
1:42:15
|
|
2
|
ARURO GARZA
|
28
|
M
|
5
|
19:20
|
2
|
51:06:00
|
8
|
32:00:00
|
1:42:26
|
|
3
|
DEREK KITE
|
33
|
M
|