I’ve been hearing all about the triathlon circuit for a while. It’s really picked up a lot of interest in recent years. Nine years ago when I started running I hardly heard about it, even though there were a lot of runners and cyclists back then, but they mostly stayed in their own element and group. I’m hearing a lot more about it with triathlons these days.
In fact, you’ll remember that a while back I interviewed Jim Mishler, an 18 year veteran of the sport. At the time of the interview he had done about 170 triathlons if I remember right. He gave some terrific pointers for beginners and advanced triathletes. Maintain Fit members have access to the interview and transcript.
I did my first bricks workout
Well, despite doing that interview so long ago, I hadn’t ever gotten out and done a brick workout. In a triathlon, the transition from cycling to running is called bricks because when you get off your bike and start running, your feet feel like they have bricks on them. This may feel more or less pronounced depending on how strong a runner you are. Nevertheless, they call it a brick workout and it’s arguably the most challenging transition in the race.
I suppose I’d been putting off my brick workouts for a few reasons, one being that I didn’t have a great bike. I ride a very old Univega mountain bike (and unfortunately I don’t have the cash to go get a nice road bike). I also don’t have a lot of cycling gear (like those fancy pants with the gel bottom!). So I have every excuse in the world…
but…
I finally spend $40-$50 on some new slick(er) tires for my bike and did a small tune up, which basically means I adjusted the shifters and oiled the bike. And then, I did exactly what you might imagine. Yep, that’s right, I didn’t go out riding for a long time (probably three or four weeks).
OK, so I really did my first bricks workout
Well, my procrastination started to get to me and I figured that to keep up with the guys at work, I had better get on my bike and see what I could do. I sat down first and logged into my exercise log on Maintain Fit and used the google map feature to plan my course. I came up with a route that would take me 13.4 miles for the bike ride and I would follow up with a run.
I didn’t know how far I would run and I didn’t even start until after dark. In fact, I didn’t start my run (first brick run) until 10:20 pm. No worry, I just ran a mile and I thought it wasn’t so bad. I was pleased that I maintained a pace of about 16 mph throughout my bike ride.
So far so good, except, I didn’t feel like I had bricks on my feet. What were those guys talking about?
Then I did a second bricks workout
So just this past Saturday I decided I would get up and do a more aggressive ride and run in the morning. I sat down with my exercise log and mapped out a 17.4 mile course and a 3 mile run. Just like the first time, I was able to maintain a pace of roughly 16 mph, and about 9 min/mile. This time however, as soon as I transitioned, my legs definitely felt different.
As I started out, I had to consciously think about each step and make sure I was putting my foot down flat. I was a bit worried at first since I don’t want to re-injure my broken ankle (I’ve been meaning to post the x-rays. remind me if you don’t see them soon).
After the first mile I was noticably more tired than usual, but I had started to regain a normal gate. The miles went by and I finished up my second bricks workout. Boy was I tired! Just to show you how retro my bike is I had my wife snap a shot of me with my bike when I finished. And for those of you who will ask, YES, I really did ride in my running clothes (I don’t have anything else). Here’s the shot:
The next thing will be to do more swimming, but I don’t have a membership to a pool, so I’ll have to figure out how to get access to one that doesn’t cost me a ton of money.
Tell me about your bricks workouts
If you’ve recently done a bricks workout, post a comment and tell me what you thought of it. Also post pointers and tips you might have found along the way.
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Hi (couldn’t find your first name here in the about section?). Fun to hear about your first two brick workouts. If you really want to do bricks well, it’s not a requirement do deliberately make it hard…what you want to do is learn the transition so your legs DON’T feel like bricks. A short 10 minute run after most rides will help your body get accustomed to the transition. CLoser to your goal race, you can increae the distance of your runs weekly to more closely simulate race day. Enjoy! (more good stuff at my website). Coach Suzanne
Thanks for the insight Suzanne. Sounds like you’ve done a few more brick workouts than me. I like the idea of a short run after each ride, just to keep the muscles conditioned.