Bricks are back! Gotta love 'em!

[KSH]

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.

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.

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.

[Bluetree]

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

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!

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.

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!

[KSH]

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!

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

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

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!

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.

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.

[Bluetree]

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.

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!

[Velobambina]

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.