TRIway to the Pain Cave with Troy Jacobson

My mom grew up in a little itty bitty part of Baltimore County called Sparks. There was one bank there, and her family's close friends, the Prices, owned a tiny 2 isle store, called Price's Store of course. Pretty much nothing happened in Sparks except for farming. That is until Troy Jacobson arrived. Troy Jacobson is probably most famous for his Spinervals DVD's and is Ironman accomplishments. Now, he's started his own Triathlon Camp. The New York Times wrote a great article on it this week.
Sounds like a pretty wicked vacation. Not only did reading this make me feel lazy for my beach plans this summer, but it also somehow inspired me. Check it out? Here are some of the best parts:

Not halfway through the bike portion of my first brick since 2005, the year
I (barely) completed my last triathlon, I couldn’t decide which would give out
first, my legs or my enthusiasm. I was wondering why I wanted to return to a
sport that is actually three sports and requires the sort of fanatical training
regimen that destroys schedules and frightens young offspring. Actually, I knew
why. The only way I can calm my mind is by exhausting my body. There’s nothing
quite like triathlon training to shorten the mental to-do list.

....

GIVING IT A TRI
If triathlon camp is your idea of a vacation, there are plenty of tour guides. Here are three of the best.
TRIATHLON ACADEMY: Besides the Tucson camp, Troy Jacobson runs shorter Ironman-focused camps in Louisville, Ky., and Lake Placid, N.Y.; a beginner-friendly Tri 101 Workshop in Sparks, MD.; and clinics on swimming. The seven-day Tucson camp costs $1,095; the others start at $295. coachtroy.com.
LIFESPORT: The official coaches for the Ironman series. LifeSport holds three-day-long, race-specific camps in places like Kona, Hawaii, offering everything from hydration tricks to course secrets. On race weekend, its free clinics are great for last-minute tweaks. The camps start at $295. lifesport.ca.
MULTISPORTS: In addition to Ironman-centric camps, this company, co-founded by former Ironman champion Paula Newby-Fraser, offers custom weekend camps—from Idaho to Lake Placid to Hawaii—that include bike setup and videotaped swimming analysis. Ironman camps start at $795; custom ones start at $3,500. multisports.com. D.M.
THREE EASY FIXES
INTEGRATE THESE SIMPLE TIPS INTO YOUR WORKOUTS OR RACES, AND YOU CAN’T HELP BUT GO FASTER.
SWIM
Don’t cup your hands and glue your fingers together. Instead, relax your hands to create a half-inch space between each finger. “That way, your fingers are creating a web, and you’re pushing as much water as possible,” says Emily Mastin of the Triathlon Academy.
BIKE
On an uphill climb, your quads are your main motor. Tap into their potential by keeping your heels pushed down and thinking about your pedal stoke as a triangle: the upper point is at 12 o’clock, and the two bottom points are at 5 and 8 o’clock. “Push through a 5, back to 8 then unweight the pedal to get back to 12.” Troy Jacobson explains. “Pulling up with your hamstrings—the 8-to-12 part—isn’t very efficient on a hill.”
RUN
Don’t land on you heel, which is the equivalent of putting on the brakes—you don’t get much momentum. Instead, try to land on a flat foot, then roll forward through your toes to maximize speed. “Pretend as if you’re running on eggshells,” Jacobson says.