Coach Troy Training Camp

A few weeks ago I was invited to help with an IMKY weekend training camp hosted by Coach Troy Jacobson (of Spinervals) and locally by The Training Studio. I love being a part of tri camps and meeting new people, so I eagerly agreed! The weekend went something like this... You think you're shape? Think again!!

Friday was intros, lectures, and dinner. At dinner I got to know the campers and was able to get a feel for the caliber of athletes attending. The caliber: kick ass. There were some blazing campers!

Saturday was scheduled to be a long ride and t-run. We met at the Galt House at 6:00a and were welcomed with thunderstorms. After some quick thinking we reorganized the day, we met back at 9:00a and decided to do a long run instead. I led a group who was supposed to run between 8:00-8:30 miles... none of our splits were over 8:00 and the campers were talking away the whole time!

After the run we had rounded up a number of trainers and Troy led the campers through a killer trainer session. It's pretty cool that it worked out this way as the campers were able to experience the Spinerval smash-fest live and in person; a feature other camps can't reproduce! This involved several sets to failure, big-12, and isometric squats (yes, they had to hop off and squat post-long run!!).

Dinner that night was fan-freaking-tastic!! We all went to Fourth Street Live and ate at Fridays! Afterwards everyone was invited to have a few drinks at Fourth Street, but most, including myself, were satisfied with the amazing peanut butter chocolate chip pie and the sound of bedtime. I slept like a baby!

Sunday morning, 5:00a wake up call. We met again at 6:00a and this time we were welcomed by sunny skies!! Game on! Myself and Larry were in charge of the front pack of riders for our overdistance ride. Troy also joined the fun and showed us all that he can single handedly ride us under the table! This was one strong pack of riders!

In our group was: Larry, Troy, myself, 2 female campers, and 2 male campers. These girls were amazing cyclists and triathletes. We managed to hang with the boys until they dropped us on the second loop. Us girls clawed our way back to them on 42, and caught them before they left our aid station (which was, by the way, the greatest aid station ever!! There were cookies, homemade scones, the works!! The Training Studio crew were THE BOMB!!) and were able to hang on for dear life over the last 25 miles... into a killer headwind!

These campers climbed so strong and maintained a solid steady pace throughout the course of the day. I never once could let my guard down and cruise on the back of the pack. We worked, the whole time! It was awesome!

I was able to meet some very cool people this weekend! Coach Troy is so smart and I learned more than I ever expected. I will definitely sign up for another one of his camps! The Training Studio crew is such a tight knit family and I'm so thankful to be a part of it! I had a great weekend and I have a renewed sense of drive for the sport. Now if only I could feel my legs!

Hope you all had a great weekend! Train on!!