Training Table May 2006
T.J. Tollakson’s Triathlon
Newsletter
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www.tollakson.com for the latest information about my races and
2006 calendar
Race and Travel
I
left Tucson on April 28, to embark on a month long journey
around the country traveling to races and relocating to Iowa. First on my schedule was St. Anthony’s. I would
leave Tampa, FL
on May 1, and head to San Louis Obispo to spend the week with Anthony Yount
before Wildflower on May 6. I left San Louis Obispo after Wildflower on May 8,
and headed back to Tucson for the night and took off for Iowa. I made a stop on May 9, in Colorado Springs and joined the Colorado College Masters swim team
for a workout. I finally made it back to Iowa on May 10, only to leave for Memphis a week later. It was a hectic month but I learned
a lot about my body’s ability to handle racing and travel. After Memphis I spent the next two weeks revisiting my base
training to help reset some of the lost fitness during the travel and racing. I
finished the two week base period with a 20K road race in Des Moines, IA,
the Dam to Dam. My new address for the summer in Iowa is:
TJ Tollakson
14239
Ridgemont Dr.
Urbandale, IA 50323
Race
Report: St. Anthony’s, Tampa, FL
April
30, 2006, I was pumped
for this race and ready to make an impact on the non drafting classics like I
did 6 weeks ago at the half ironman distance. The field was exceptional this
year and the toughest this race has ever seen. My training was great following
Ironman 70.3 California but I pushed myself a bit too far and I was feeling the
effects of over training in the two weeks leading up to the race. I knew it
mattered little how I felt two weeks before the race, so I took it easy and
made the right choice. I felt extremely fresh and ready to go on race morning.
The water was choppy to say the least but I still felt I could have a good
swim. At the start of the race we took off into the breaks and immediately I
was lost in the waves and swimming solo. Not a good sign. You always need to
have people around you, especially in the rough water. I was out of the water 2
minutes back of the leaders but there was little I could about it besides work
my way back into the race on the bike. The ride was flat but technical with a
lot of turns necessitating quick accelerations. I started out strong, perhaps a
bit too strong on the bike. It was my first race effort in 6 months and towards
the end of the bike I was fading a bit. I entered transition in 6th place
and held 7th as Craig Alexander passed me quickly on the run. I was
in 7th through 4 miles and then was caught by a pack of runners and
I held on to finish with the pack in 10th place. I was only 27
seconds back of 7th place. I should have been able to hang on, and
next time I will know I have the guts and ability to run with those guys
|
PLACE
|
NAME
|
RANK
|
SWIM
|
T1
|
RANK
|
BIKE
|
T2
|
RANK
|
RUN
|
RANK
|
FINISH
|
|
1
|
Rasmus Henning
|
2
|
17:29
|
0:49
|
2
|
55:26:00
|
0:43
|
2
|
31:48:00
|
1
|
1:46:14
|
|
2
|
Hunter Kemper
|
4
|
17:34
|
0:45
|
5
|
56:24:00
|
0:40
|
1
|
31:33:00
|
2
|
1:46:54
|
|
3
|
Matt Reed
|
3
|
17:33
|
0:48
|
3
|
55:39:00
|
0:43
|
4
|
33:00:00
|
3
|
1:47:41
|
|
4
|
Andy Potts
|
1
|
17:27
|
0:45
|
7
|
57:14:00
|
0:42
|
3
|
32:04:00
|
4
|
1:48:11
|
|
5
|
Craig Alexander
|
10
|
18:05
|
0:44
|
8
|
57:42:00
|
0:43
|
5
|
33:05:00
|
5
|
1:50:16
|
|
6
|
Bjorn Anderson
|
15
|
18:34
|
0:59
|
1
|
54:39:00
|
0:47
|
21
|
36:01:00
|
6
|
1:50:59
|
|
7
|
Richie Cunningham
|
17
|
18:35
|
0:45
|
13
|
58:28:00
|
0:42
|
6
|
33:20:00
|
7
|
1:51:48
|
|
8
|
Brian Fleischmann
|
6
|
17:36
|
0:46
|
18
|
59:19:00
|
0:47
|
8
|
33:40:00
|
8
|
1:52:06
|
|
9
|
Shane Reed
|
7
|
17:37
|
0:49
|
20
|
59:24:00
|
0:45
|
9
|
33:40:00
|
9
|
1:52:13
|
|
10
|
T.J. Tollakson
|
23
|
19:28
|
0:54
|
4
|
56:05:00
|
0:51
|
15
|
34:58:00
|
10
|
1:52:15
|
Race
Report Wildflower Long Course, Lake San Antonio, CA
May 6, 2006 I was in rural California at a beautiful lake resort with several of my
professional triathlon friends. Tri California was gracious enough to put us up at a fully
furnished lake house. After a solid 10th place finish at St. A’s the week before I was ready to make my mark on Wildflower and
finish with a solid top 10 on my first attempt. Race morning went as usual with
an early breakfast of bagels, Myoplex bar, Catapult, and then some Red Bull. I
was determined to show my swimming ability in this race and go out hard with
the leaders. I did exactly that but failed to maintain my swim velocity. I was
actually the second swimmer around the first buoy but then felt my body
overheating and my arms extremely fatigued as I intentionally slowed and faded
to the second pack. I was out of the water at the tail end of the second swim
pack and on the bike chasing. The pace was intense from the start as Chris Legh
and Chris Lieto took off in pursuit. The pace was actually a bit too strong for
me. While I was up to 4th place at one point in the race, I was soon
blown up on the bike with nearly 10 miles remaining. I cruised into transition
in 7th and thought I could hold on to the top 10 spot but once I was
running I knew it was going to be a long day. I had nothing left in my legs and
the brutal off road hills were torturing me. I was spent and guys from way back
were slowly picking me off. I wanted to drop out of the race badly because I
knew it was not my day. I didn’t make this trip to drop out of a race and I
refused to let my expectations for a great race overrule my determination to
finish what I started. I hung tough and finished 17th. I was not
pleased with my finish but I can say I was pleased with finishing when many of
the other top pros simply pulled out of the race. In retrospect I should not
have done this tough race only 6 days after St. Anthony’s but at least I know
for the future.
|
PL
|
NAME
|
FINTIME
|
AGE
|
SWIM
|
TRANS1
|
BIKE
|
TRANS2
|
RUN
|
BIKEMPH
|
RUNMPM
|
|
1
|
Bozzone, Terenzo
|
3:53:43
|
21
|
0:23:34
|
0:00:54
|
2:16:20
|
0:00:58
|
1:11:57
|
24.2
|
0:05:37
|
|
2
|
Legh, Christopher
|
4:01:38
|
34
|
0:24:31
|
0:00:59
|
2:18:56
|
0:00:52
|
1:16:20
|
23.7
|
0:05:57
|
|
3
|
Remaly, Greg
|
4:03:29
|
26
|
0:23:49
|
0:01:04
|
2:18:18
|
0:00:56
|
1:19:22
|
23.8
|
0:06:12
|
|
4
|
Evans, Tom
|
4:06:08
|
38
|
0:23:20
|
0:01:05
|
2:19:20
|
0:01:06
|
1:21:17
|
23.6
|
0:06:21
|
|
5
|
Seeley, Matt
|
4:09:29
|
36
|
0:24:41
|
0:01:06
|
2:23:23
|
0:00:55
|
1:19:24
|
23
|
0:06:12
|
|
6
|
Dean, Mitch
|
4:12:52
|
27
|
0:23:39
|
0:00:54
|
2:29:09
|
0:01:05
|
1:18:05
|
22.1
|
0:06:06
|
|
7
|
Blake, Jasper
|
4:13:37
|
33
|
0:24:37
|
0:01:00
|
2:29:29
|
0:00:52
|
1:17:39
|
22
|
0:06:03
|
|
8
|
Rix, Joshua
|
4:14:49
|
28
|
0:25:05
|
0:01:02
|
2:26:10
|
0:00:53
|
1:21:39
|
22.5
|
0:06:22
|
|
9
|
Salerno, Jonathan
|
4:16:32
|
27
|
0:24:32
|
0:00:52
|
2:29:02
|
0:01:00
|
1:21:06
|
22.1
|
0:06:20
|