She's a Brick, House!

03/07/08 - Bike and Run (BRICK)

So, this is not a #1, and then #2 workout. Today's workout was one continuous effort of cycling and then running. It's named a 'brick', and I've heard a few reasons as to why. My take on it, is that after cycling and then jumping off the bike to start running, your legs feel like you've got a ton of bricks weighing them down! Instead of propelling forward like you would normally, you just kind of push each leg forward.

Our bike ride was pretty sweet. Nothing too outrageous, about 18-20 miles of hilly course along the ocean side. My new road bike is really treating me well, I love how fast you can get going. I think I'll need to get myself a bike computer that tracks my speed! I started the ride feeling tired though. Going for a ride the night before may not have been the smartest of ideas. My legs felt burnt the entire ride, especially on a few of the more serious hills. That's what gears are for though! I just tried to tell myself to stay calm and fluid in those moments... actually singing a little Beastie Boys song at times to help me relax, "Let it Flow, let yourself Go, slow and low that is the tempo!" Once I started relaxing, the hills disappeared under me!

Couldn't have been a nicer day for an early morning workout either. We've had several weeks of rain here, and this was one of the first sunny and warm mornings. The fields were lush and green, brussel sprouts were being harvested, the ocean was glassy, and we were greeted by our favorite roosters as we road by their house. Yes, sounds just perfect, right? It was, until the moment we decided to hop off our bikes and start running!!!

Going from bike to run is the second transition in a triathlon, and probably the most difficult. We got to our cars, threw the bikes in, traded out shoes, pulled off bike shorts (I had run pants underneath), and away we went. Ha, it sounds fast, but it was more like, away we slowly and painfully trodded down the street! In addition to using a different set of muscles when you run, my bad bike seat is cutting off circulation to my legs, and I was running on what felt like the numb and clutzy feet of a giant. Couldn't feel the road at all!

That feeling dissapeared after about 5 minutes or so, but wow, what an experience! All this working out is starting to come together now. I'm going to swim, bike, and run all in one race! I had an eye opening workout today, and am even more excited and motivated to kick this training into full gear!