Last month, we were lucky enough to have TJ Tollakson come and give some great information during the Jordanelle Triathlon packet pickup. TJ is a pro triathlete (here is his blog about SLC) who worked his way up from an engineer racing the age group scene up to Ironman 70.3 pro champion and a full Ironman force to be reckoned with. It was fun and interesting to hear his story. And I think that TJ’s background is a good example of how important it is to know your limitations and then commit to making that limitation a strength. He rose to the top ranks of age group elite using, oftentimes, the fastest bike split of the day. But, when considering taking the next step into the pro ranks, it became obvious that TJ would indeed have to focus on improving his run leg.
After being swept up into the USA Triathlon Olympic training center in 2005, TJ started learning from the best coaches and athletes in the world how to train effectively for the run (and everything else!) That trend continues today as he has moved into the world of the longer races and is always training with and learning from other world class professional triathletes and coaches.
It was great to hear what TJ had to say on not only run training, but several training topics. Here is the 30 minute podcast from that evening where he gave easily applicable ideas for all in attendance. His talk was followed by some fabulous Q and A. The presentation generated information on the following topics :
- Run training tips-which workouts are important
- Run workout examples
- The difference between an open marathon and ironman marathon
- Bike/run (BRICK) workouts for olympic distance, 70.3 ironman and full ironman tri’s
- Practical beginner triathlete tips
- Long race nutrition tips
Oh and one last thing. We want to give a big thanks to not only TJ and his equally talented, although more beautiful, girlfriend Ashley for coming, but to Ryan Dolan from TYR swim company for arranging TJ’s special trip.