Training Table February 2005

T.J. Tollakson’s Triathlon Newsletter

Check out…

…the latest issues of Inside Triathlon and Triathlete magazines to view articles announcing me as their selection for Amateur Triathlete of the Year. A copy of the articles can be found at www.tollakson.com

2005 Pro Debut

The wait is over, and I have decided to turn pro in 2005. This means forgiving my spot on the Amateur Team USA for the World Championships in Hawaii this year, but provides the chance to race the best in the world and maybe even win some money. My tentative 2005 race schedule is included below. The races in bold are high priority races and the rest are races that I would like to compete in if I have the time and money.

2005 Schedule

Date	Event	Location	Goal
04/24/05	St. Anthony’s Triathlon	St. Petersburg, FL	Top 5
04/30/05	Wildflower Half Ironman	Monterey, CA	Top 10
05/22/05	Memphis in May	Memphis, TN	Top 3
06/12/05	Escape from Alcatraz	San Francisco, CA	Top 5
7/10/05	New York City ITU Race	New York, NY	Top 5
7/16/05	Life Time Fitness	Minneapolis, MN	Top 10
7/26/05	Spirit of Racine	Racine, WI	Top 3
07/25/05	Boulder Peak Triathlon	Boulder, CO	Top 3
08/28/05	Accenture Chicago Triathlon	Chicago, IL	Top 3
09/04/05	Boston Monster Challenge	Boston, MA	Top 5
09/12/04	The Triathlon at Pacific Grove	Pacific Grove, CA	Top 3
09/13/04	LA Triathlon	LA, CA	Top 5
10/02/05	Scott Tinley’s Dirty Adventure Triathlon	San Lois Obispo, CA	Top 3
11/08/05	Treasure Island	San Francisco, CA	Top 5

Sponsors

With the changing of the season I have picked up some new sponsors and kept some old ones.

v Cannondale has agreed to provide me with a complete Ironman 6000 Bike that I will be racing with in 2005. I am very proud to ride and race with a Cannondale since my employer Alcoa supplies the Aluminum for the frame. Rory Mason is my new contact with Cannondale.

v Ironman Wetsuits and Ian Pund have continued to support my race efforts and I will be wearing a VO2 Fullsuit in 2005.

v Computrainer and Tim Becker have provided me with a new Computrainer 3D Pro which is aiding my winter training sessions when I can’t ride outside.

v Michelin Bicycle Tires and Leif Erickson will continue to support my racing efforts with cash incentives and product deals.

v Specialized Bicycles and Erick Marcheschi have agreed to supply me with Cycling Shoes, Optics, and Helmets for 2005. I am very excited to be racing and training with the Specialized brand.Profile Design and Chris Travers will be supplying me with Aerobars, handlebars, fork, stems, and hydration systems for 2005. Since I used Profile Design in 2004 I welcome the sponsorship with open arms and great optimism knowing the products are fast.

v Red Bull and Libby Barnish with Athlete Relations have graciously supplied me with the one and only energy drink suitable for training and competing athletes. I live by Red Bull, so the product endorsement is a no-brainer for me.

USAT Olympic Resident Team Winter Training Camp

I was invited to attend the Olympic Resident Team’s 12 week Winter Training Camp in Chula Vista, CA. Alcoa has graciously given me a two month leave of absence to attend the camp for 8 weeks in February and March. The camp in fully funded by USA Triathlon and the US Olympic Committee. I will train in the San Diego area with the country’s top professional triathletes and undergo all the benefits of the US Olympic Training Center. I am much honored to be invited to this camp and will take full advantage of my time there. To prepare for the rigors of camp I increased my swim volume to 30,000 yards per week, and increased the intensity and durations of my bike and run sessions. If only the weather would cooperate I could spend more time training outdoors. I have now been at the camp since Monday and my body is struggling to adapt to the rigors of full-time training. This is truly a different level of training.

Training Sessions

My current training involves swimming 5,000 yards a morning 6 days a week doing a main set of 3,000 yards on a 1:15 to 1:20 base interval. My running consists of 40 miles per week in 10 mile increments on a treadmill at 6:53 pace. My cycling consists of 4 rides on my Computrainer mostly consisting of an interval session doing 5 repeats of 5 minutes hard at 350 watts and then recovery for 5 minutes at 150 watts. While I would ideally be training outside on the bike and run I am limited to the indoors because of the ice on the sidewalks and streets.

Honors and Accolades

I was featured in the January issues of both Inside Triathlon and Triathlete magazines. Inside Triathlon named me the Amateur Man of the Year. Triathlete magazine named me Amateur Triathlete of the Year. USA Triathlon is flying me to San Diego to attend the Endurance Sports Awards, a black tie awards ceremony at Sea World, where I will be receiving the Endurance Triathlete of the Year Award.

Ironman Legends Mark Allen and Dave Scott at the awards ceremony in San Diego.

2005 GOALS

My goals for 2005 are different than in the past season and the focus is now on prize money. I aspire to earn over $10,000 in prize money for my inaugural pro triathlon season. I also want to win one major non-drafting race, and one ITU draft legal race. Most importantly, I aim to stay healthy and injury free for the entire season.

In the meantime…don’t forget to visit my web site at www.tollakson.com