By Brad Culp
March 12, 2007 -- "Chefs and coaches are a lot alike. There are a ton of ingredients that we have access to and we mix them up in different ways."
Those were the words of Coach Troy Jacobson at last night’s group lecture on "the fundamentals of training". If today is any indication, one of the ingredients that coaches have to work with is climbing. This is rather unfortunate for a Midwesterner like myself. We don’t have many hills in Ohio and we certainly don’t have anything like Mt. Lemmon.
That was the climb scheduled for day two of Troy’s spring triathlon camp near Tucson, Arizona. The road up Mt. Lemmon winds for 27 miles and tops out at over 10,000 feet. I was more than a little relieved to learn that we were only climbing for an hour-and-a-half, instead of the almost three hours it would take to finish the climb.
Before the gang of 35 campers headed over to the mountain we had an "optional" hour-long run. I opted to stay in bed. I haven’t done a legitimate mountain climb in, well, my entire life, so I saw no need to wear my legs out beforehand.
We began our ride from a McDonald’s parking lot (that would come in handy post-ride) and after 15 minutes of easy spinning it was time to climb. I set my shifter into the small ring (something I haven’t done in ages) and began climbing with the "A" group. The bottom of the mountain would be the only place that I would see most of this group. My people aren’t made to climb. By "my people", I mean ex-swimmers/power-lifters who can’t do away with their upper-body no matter how hard they try.
The first hour was anything but fun, however, the scenery helped to take my mind off the fact that I’m seriously out of shape. My only motivation to keep climbing was that the temperature dropped with each foot I went up. My people also aren’t made to train in the desert heat.
My already-waning focus was shattered when I saw Cherri, a fellow camper, keeled over, on the side of the road. As I rode closer I noticed that a fair-share of blood was oozing out of her nose. I also noticed that she was laughing, which was a huge relief. Apparently, it’s a common occurrence for her when she trains at altitude. Luckily, Troy was close behind to help stop the bleeding and unluckily, I was sent back up the mountain.
My legs miraculously loosened up for the final half-hour and I felt like a domestique making his way up Alpe d’Huez (I’m sure I didn’t look anywhere near as graceful). I topped out at just over 7000 feet after about 15 miles of climbing.
After that it was time for the fun part. I pointed my nose downhill and held on tight for the best 20 minutes of my life. I would have braked more, but my untrue wheels began to shake every time I applied the pads, so I opted to lay off of them. It was like staying on a roller-coaster for ten straight runs and it was well worth the price of admission.
We finished up the afternoon with a quick swim in the most scenic pool you’ll ever see and a lecture on swimming technique. The fun continues tomorrow with a long ride around legendary Gates Pass and a transition run on the local trails. If you’re not here, you’re missing out.
To find out more about Troy and his camps, visit www.coachtroy.com.