By Brad Culp
March 11, 2007 -- Living in Ohio and training for Ironman don’t exactly go hand-in-hand. So, when super-coach Troy Jacobson (founder of Spinervals) invited me to spend a week at his Tucson training camp, I jumped at the opportunity. I couldn’t think of a better way to get in gear for the upcoming season than training in the mountains of Southern Arizona with a coach who knows a thing or two about making people fast.
Jacobson, better known in triathlon circles as "Coach Troy", has dedicated the last 15 years to revolutionizing the field of multisport coaching. He has produced over 40 Spinervals DVD’s, which have become a staple in many athletes routines. Additionally, he’s produced a series of Runervals DVD’s, started the Triathlon Academy (coaching services), opened TriSpeed Multipsort (retail stores) and founded the Strong and Focused Life Training Center in Maryland.
Needless to say the guy is serious when it comes to multisport. So, it should come as no surprise that I can barely move my legs after day one of this week-long odessey through the desert. This morning kicked off with a 70-mile ride from our home-base of Oro Valley (just north of Tucson) through the surrounding desert and "hills". We split into three training groups and set out from the Holiday Inn.
As we were pulling out of the drive Troy yelled to me a last second reminder. "Don’t go out too hard today Brad," he said, "it’s going to be a long week."
I had only known the guy for a few hours and somehow he had already diagnosed my type-A personality.
"Sure thing Troy," I replied and I began riding at a pace I thought I could hold for the whole day.
Forty-five minutes into the ride I realized that I wasn’t in as good of shape as I thought. Perhaps I should have spun through a few more Spinerval movies this winter. However, after a few hours of suffering my legs loosened up and my cruise control eventually set in.
Upon returning to base camp, Troy instructed us to head out on an "easy" half-hour run. I quickly realized that thirty minutes in the desert feels like a marathon anywhere else. The air is drier than Jerry Seinfeld’s sense of humor, which gave me stomach cramps after half-a-mile.
After a lunch-break, we finished up the day with a short swim at the local pool. As much as I tried to focus on Troy’s set, it was a little hard not to get caught up in the scenery. I don’t get too many chances to swim outdoors in Ohio and when I do, I certainly don’t have the Catalina Mountains as a backdrop.
Tomorrow, Troy says we have our first "hard" day, which leaves me wondering what exactly today was.
To find out more about Troy and his camps, visit www.coachtroy.com.