Bricks are back! Gotta love 'em!

OK ladies... as triathletes, we need to keep bricks in our workouts. :D

What is a brick?

You ride...and then you get off the bike and run.

In my triathlon club, we did a brick at least once a week. Now that I am back to running, I am trying to focus on doing at least one brick a week.

Yesterday, I rode 23 miles and then ran 2 miles. OH.... the jelly legs for the first mile. I forgot about the jelly legs. But I kept running and the jelly legs went away. :)

I also had someone send me something about Ironman training for the normal guy/gal... and there was a funny line about how you always need to run after riding. He said something to the point that after you ride in a bike rally for 60+ miles, other people get to go eat and shower... you get to run. That is so true!

So, get out there and start doing those bricks ladies! Let us all know how it goes.

PS- Doing a brick from a spin class to the treadmill... is good too!

Great reminder! I promise to do brick training as soon as I am cleared. My appointment is 12/22, hopefully I will be cleared to ride.

You are SOOOOO lucky to have a tri club. I have 2 ladies I sort of know that did them last year for the first time. If I get one done I WILL be a member of a very elite club around here:D

How soon before do you need to start doing bricks? My first goal is the Blizzard Biathlon in February but it is just a 3mi run and 500 yd swim. (Only problem there is it could be below 0° F when running) I won't be doing a full tri until next summer (june or july)

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Originally Posted by eclectic

You are SOOOOO lucky to have a tri club. I have 2 ladies I sort of know that did them last year for the first time. If I get one done I WILL be a member of a very elite club around here:D

How soon before do you need to start doing bricks? My first goal is the Blizzard Biathlon in February but it is just a 3mi run and 500 yd swim. (Only problem there is it could be below 0° F when running) I won't be doing a full tri until next summer (june or july)

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Well, uuummm... I don't really workout with my tri club. They are all way too fast so it got a little depressing. But, when I did my Tri 101 program with them... we did the bricks 2 times a week.

Eh... a run and then a swim... no worries on the bricks.

But, when you start training for your tri, DO THE BRICKS! I seriously think this is where I failed in my training efforts.

It sounds very cold where you live. Bundle up!

So you're running again? Wicked! :D

Yep...gotta love 'em. We do them once a week in this household. I think the run after every ride is agreat way to go. It does not always need to be a long run, just enough to get the point across.

WE LOVE BRICKS!!!!!

I need to see if there are any tri clubs near me, for future reference.

Bricks..... Yup SO have to try that again.

It's on my to-do list. I just have to work on the running by itself thing before I go full tilt into riding and then running. :)

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Originally Posted by DirtDiva

So you're running again? Wicked! :D

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I am running! *Knocks on wood*

The past couple of weeks... the pain in my legs has taken a huge turn for the better. I have been amazed.

I even ran 3.60 miles last week, in 39 minutes. I was so proud that I could run that far, and the worst pain I had was a side cramp (thanks to eating a waffle that morning!).

Even afterwards, my legs held *strong*. I iced my legs after running and I had very little pain the next day or so. In fact, the pain was a .50 on a scale from 1-5!

And... if I can get my miles up over the next few months, I am seriously going to consider doing IMAZ in 2008 with my cousin!

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Originally Posted by KSH

I am running! *Knocks on wood*

The past couple of weeks... the pain in my legs has taken a huge turn for the better. I have been amazed.

I even ran 3.60 miles last week, in 39 minutes. I was so proud that I could run that far, and the worst pain I had was a side cramp (thanks to eating a waffle that morning!).

Even afterwards, my legs held *strong*. I iced my legs after running and I had very little pain the next day or so. In fact, the pain was a .50 on a scale from 1-5!

And... if I can get my miles up over the next few months, I am seriously going to consider doing IMAZ in 2008 with my cousin!

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Are you still working with the coach?

You've made so much progress recently. It must feel great to FINALLY get more than 5k under your belt!! :D

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Originally Posted by colby

Are you still working with the coach?

You've made so much progress recently. It must feel great to FINALLY get more than 5k under your belt!! :D

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Well, the odd thing is that I haven't seen him in about 3 weeks.

I think everything is finally just coming together. Something has finally clicked.

I won't say I'm out of the woods... but I certainly see a lot of hope on the horizon!

my goal for this year is to take 15 minutes off of my sprint time. Huge I know, but a little here, a little there - even the transitions, my first one was over 6 minutes:eek:

I know that to make this goal I really need to do the bricks this year in training. I did far too few last year. Unfortunately in the winter I spin at a little spin studio, nothing there but bikes. Maybe I can find a way to run home.

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Originally Posted by Brina

my goal for this year is to take 15 minutes off of my sprint time. Huge I know, but a little here, a little there - even the transitions, my first one was over 6 minutes:eek:

I know that to make this goal I really need to do the bricks this year in training. I did far too few last year. Unfortunately in the winter I spin at a little spin studio, nothing there but bikes. Maybe I can find a way to run home.

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15 minutes is a huge goal... BUT if you can get your bike average up and your run time down... you can cut that time off your sprint time I bet.

And with bricks... you can run faster off the bike than you might otherwise. I would guess???

Good luck with your goal Brina. With hard work and focus you can do it! :D

ah yes i remember the first time i attempted a brick thanks to girls like you.

i thought i was going to die. :eek: though i made it through it and felt like a better person afterwards. i try to do them when i can.

glad to hear your back up and running. take care of those legs!

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Originally Posted by KSH

And... if I can get my miles up over the next few months, I am seriously going to consider doing IMAZ in 2008 with my cousin!

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KSH, that's wonderful! So great to hear your progress and that things are going well for you. I hope you end up signing up.

IMAZ is one of the races I consider when I dream of doing an IM (we're talking 2009 or later), but that race is very early in the season for someone who lives where it snows.

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Originally Posted by Offthegrid

KSH, that's wonderful! So great to hear your progress and that things are going well for you. I hope you end up signing up.

IMAZ is one of the races I consider when I dream of doing an IM (we're talking 2009 or later), but that race is very early in the season for someone who lives where it snows.

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Well, nothing is written in stone just yet. If my legs don't hold up, I will be cheering my cousin on.

He picked IMAZ because his parents (my Aunt and Uncle) live there... otherwise, I never really thought about which one I wanted to do. So, it sounded good to me.

Yea, it is early in the season... for people up North... as you can't really train like you need to in snow.

Did another brick today! :D

I rode 30 miles on a mountain bike... as a *fun* ride... at about a 10 mph average.

Then I went and ran 20 minutes... and I guess 2 miles.

My legs felt really great from the start... and I didn't have jelly legs. Maybe it was because I rode so slow today? :confused:

Either way, my brick felt great!

Hhhuuummmm... anyone else out there doing their bricks? :cool:

I have done a couple since my last post... my last brick...

Rode 37 miles at a 16.5 mph average
Ran 2 miles at a 10 minute mile

That is the most riding/running I have ever done back-to-back. The run... HURT. It was HARD. I walked some of it, and sprinted other parts to keep my 10 minute mile. Parts of it, I was so focused on just moving... I closed my eyes and ran (I verified the pavement was OK before doing so). Yes, I was kind of out of it.

I hope it gets easier! Hopefully, if it doesn't rain or snow this weekend, I will be out there to do it again!

ah heck, i think runnning 500 feet is an accomplishment! have fun brickslayers.

I did a pseudo-brick the other day at my gym after work. Usually I just run but that day I was feeling frisky, so I decided to spin for about 30 minutes at a high intensity. I put in one longish hill climb in there to mix it up, then went directly to the treadmill (after wiping the bike, of course!) where I ran for about 25 minutes. My legs felt pretty bad at the beginning, but I started off slow and eased up to my usual pace. I felt pretty great around the first mile, but after that it all went down hill and I was panting and puffing by the end. But I finished the amount of time I had set as a goal... went directly to my abs class and then from there to my rock gym.

I think all that working out really had an effect though, because at the rock gym I was doing a usual training exercise and I tweaked a thigh muscle, so I think I had just overdone it a bit.

I'm hoping to do a few more of those, and definitely some outdoor ones on the nicer days, after the hols!

K.

I am doing mine.....gotta love 'em!!!!!!!!

I'm doing mine - once a week! Although lately I've been cheating and doing it at the gym (60 minutes on the spin bike + 5k on the treadmill).

It's been so cold in the a.m. lately that the full-on clothing change gets tedious. This morning I got back from my ride (35°) and immediately turned on a hot shower. My core temp was OK, but my skin temp was so chilled that I couldn't feel how hot the water was! I had to use my tongue to gauge the temp... oh my. :eek:

Yeah those runs can hurt. My coach has me doing drills that have me hopping and skipping a lot on the balls of my feet. It's supposed to teach me to keep from hitting the ground too hard when I run, thus preventing back/knee issues.

I did my first "sort of brick" on Sunday just to see what they are all about. I won't seriously start doing them until spring and the tri is closer.

I did an hour of spinning class then went up and ran a mile on the track. there was probably more time between the two than in a "real life" situation because we had to put the bikes away.

My legs actually didn't feel too bad :) the first lap was tight but then it always is, after that it felt pretty good. I am not a shake 'em up type runner and am slow but I really am beginning to believe "I can do this!" :D

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Originally Posted by Kimmyt

I did a pseudo-brick the other day at my gym after work. Usually I just run but that day I was feeling frisky, so I decided to spin for about 30 minutes at a high intensity. I put in one longish hill climb in there to mix it up, then went directly to the treadmill (after wiping the bike, of course!) where I ran for about 25 minutes. My legs felt pretty bad at the beginning, but I started off slow and eased up to my usual pace. I felt pretty great around the first mile, but after that it all went down hill and I was panting and puffing by the end. But I finished the amount of time I had set as a goal... went directly to my abs class and then from there to my rock gym.

I think all that working out really had an effect though, because at the rock gym I was doing a usual training exercise and I tweaked a thigh muscle, so I think I had just overdone it a bit.

I'm hoping to do a few more of those, and definitely some outdoor ones on the nicer days, after the hols!

K.

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Hey, you did a brick! Indoors or outside... doesn't matter. You were on a bike and then you ran. Sounds like a really hard brick too! I would have eased into it... maybe the same time on the bike, but only run 1 mile afterwards. Then again, the first mile usually sucks the most, so if you can make it past the first mile... it gets better. Doesn't sound like that was the case for you though.

And then you went rock climbing... too much for me lady! Great job!

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Originally Posted by Bluetree

I'm doing mine - once a week! Although lately I've been cheating and doing it at the gym (60 minutes on the spin bike + 5k on the treadmill).

It's been so cold in the a.m. lately that the full-on clothing change gets tedious. This morning I got back from my ride (35°) and immediately turned on a hot shower. My core temp was OK, but my skin temp was so chilled that I couldn't feel how hot the water was! I had to use my tongue to gauge the temp... oh my. :eek:

Yeah those runs can hurt. My coach has me doing drills that have me hopping and skipping a lot on the balls of my feet. It's supposed to teach me to keep from hitting the ground too hard when I run, thus preventing back/knee issues.

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You are NOT cheating!

Being cold is miserable. Being on a bike and cold... really miserable. But it's what we have to do... right?

Drills huh? Sounds like some of the drills my running coach has given me over the past few months. I am suppose to learn how to control my entire leg and muscles when my feet hit the ground... tightened my glutes... all that. I'm not too good at that yet.

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Originally Posted by KSH

Being cold is miserable. Being on a bike and cold... really miserable. But it's what we have to do... right?

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Strange as it sounds, K, I get a perverse thrill of being outside in the elements when everyone else is warm in bed.
I was raised by workaholic Japanese parents who always told me, "Don't be ashamed if someone is better than you. Only be ashamed when someone tries harder than you."
As much as I rebelled against my parents as a kid, I'm now finding I've turned into them! ;)

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Originally Posted by KSH

Drills huh? Sounds like some of the drills my running coach has given me over the past few months. I am suppose to learn how to control my entire leg and muscles when my feet hit the ground... tightened my glutes... all that. I'm not too good at that yet.

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I'm not too good at it either. I'm supposed to be focusing my next stride more on pushing off with my legs, rather than concerning myself with cushioning my foot as it falls. Am I making sense? I am also a little off on my right knee. I forgot what he called it but in horse terms, I'm "offset on my right fore." I have to make it a habit to keep my feet more in line with my leg, walking, standing, all the time. Bad habits are hard to break!

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Originally Posted by eclectic

I did my first "sort of brick" on Sunday just to see what they are all about. I won't seriously start doing them until spring and the tri is closer.

I did an hour of spinning class then went up and ran a mile on the track. there was probably more time between the two than in a "real life" situation because we had to put the bikes away.

My legs actually didn't feel too bad :) the first lap was tight but then it always is, after that it felt pretty good. I am not a shake 'em up type runner and am slow but I really am beginning to believe "I can do this!" :D

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Great job on doing your first one! Totally makes sense to them... when it's warmer!

I know for me, my downfall my first year of tri's (OK, I'm only on year 2 and I was plagued with running injuries so only 2 tri's this past year) was the lack of bricks in training. I now know, that bricks are an essential part of training.

I would suggest that you keep up with them at least 3 months out from your tri. But I'm not an expert or a coach... so you don't have to pay any attention to me.

And you can totally do this! I am certain you will be telling us you are a triathlete very soon next year!

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Originally Posted by Bluetree

Strange as it sounds, K, I get a perverse thrill of being outside in the elements when everyone else is warm in bed.
I was raised by workaholic Japanese parents who always told me, "Don't be ashamed if someone is better than you. Only be ashamed when someone tries harder than you."
As much as I rebelled against my parents as a kid, I'm now finding I've turned into them! ;)

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OK, you are just sick...wanting to be outside and all when it's cold ;) :p. I guess we are all a little sick though, because we do tri's!

I like that quote from your parents...really good stuff.

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I'm not too good at it either. I'm supposed to be focusing my next stride more on pushing off with my legs, rather than concerning myself with cushioning my foot as it falls. Am I making sense? I am also a little off on my right knee. I forgot what he called it but in horse terms, I'm "offset on my right fore." I have to make it a habit to keep my feet more in line with my leg, walking, standing, all the time. Bad habits are hard to break!

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WOAH! You seriously sound very similar to me.

I too need to learn to push off with power. I am completely lacking in that area when I run. As well as using my muscles when I land. My coach and I always laugh when I need to be powerful on my push off...because it's so pathetic. :o

My knees have a bad habit of falling inwards, so I have done many running drills that focus on KNEE OUT! HA!

Bad habits are hard to break... thus, my running coach had me stop running for a few months this year and focused on retraining my body to the new form slowly. I would run in slow-mo to get the form perfect. So, that way, my body would know the right form, when it was time to run.

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Originally Posted by KSH

My knees have a bad habit of falling inwards, so I have done many running drills that focus on KNEE OUT! HA!

Bad habits are hard to break... thus, my running coach had me stop running for a few months this year and focused on retraining my body to the new form slowly. I would run in slow-mo to get the form perfect. So, that way, my body would know the right form, when it was time to run.

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Oh yea! My coach was telling me of long-term studies that were done regarding male and female PCL/ACL injuries, how they got them and what kinds were common for each gender. The results were that male injuries came mainly from trauma/impact, whereas females became injured more from repetitive motion/daily tasks.
It was surmised that women are taught as young girls to move the "female" way, you know... demurely, like to bend delicately, keep the knees together, etc and it's simply the WRONG way to do things. No one really took much notice of that we're standing, lifting, sitting, running, jumping, landing, etc incorrectly!
When young girls were taught the proper way to move (like BOYS) the incidents of knee/back injuries decreased dramatically when they got older.

It's weird to have to think (and rethink) things that are so automatic. Even as I'm sitting here typing, I'm fighting the urge cross my legs... bad for the knees!
:rolleyes:

I did my first brick on Monday. Rode 40 miles and felt strong. Then I ran 3 miles---it was quite warm for December (in the 60s) and although I was wearing running shorts & a s/s t-shirt, I got a bit overheated. The run was hard but I wouldn't let myself walk. Looking back, I think I was dehydrated a bit, so I'll have to remember to get more fluids in next time.