Since I bought my bike a few weeks ago, I feel like I am "really" training for a triathlon now. I have been reading tons of tri blogs and some books, and everything I hear says to incorporate brick work outs as much as possible. For those of you that don't know what this is, brick work outs are when you do two of the sports back to back, usually swim/bike, or bike/run. The idea is to get your body used to the transitioning between the sports, which is what tri is all about, right? (Hey, I didn't know what a brick work out was 6 monthes ago either)
So, I was supposed to do my usual long run yesterday morning. But, with the extended weekend the weekend before, I had done my 10 mile run on Monday, so I figured what a great opportunity to try a brick! I laid out all of my clothes the night before, and set up my own little transition area in my front room. I got up early, dressed in my bike gear and headed out the door. I could tell the minute I clipped my helmet on, that it may be a bad idea. The wind was terrible! I had done a 20 mile ride on Wednesday that had a fierce wind and I wasn't exactly looking to repeat the experience. I figured it was just 12 miles, so I could handle it. Well, the first 6 miles sucked, quite frankly. The wind was awful, and I almost cut the ride short a couple of times. But, on heading back the second half was fun with that wind working as a tail wind! I got the bike up to 25 mph, which for me, is the fastest yet! I did little fartlek speed work on some empty roads and it was so fun! I loved it! By then I was back in my neighborhood, and slowed down, took some time to shift gears and just spin loosely to loosen my legs and recover from the speed work and get ready for the run!
I fully intended to do 3.1 miles, which would mirror the length of run I have in my first sprint tri. But, by the time I got home from the bike, the wind was only getting worse. I headed in, quickly put the bike up, changed shoes, put on my beanie hat and other running gear and headed out. Well, I immediately knew several things in that first mile of the run:
1) These bricks are recommended for a reason. It is way harder than you think to get off your bike and go right into a run! I swear it felt so awkward to run, I felt like a newborn giraffe trying to figure out what the heck to do with my legs! It took a good mile to get over that feeling
2) This was not going to be a 3 mile run. The wind was literally blowing me around and it took my beanie hat off my head and I had to chase it to get it back. That was when I cut back into my nieghborhood to cut this run short and go home.
3) Water would have been a GREAT part of my transition. Maybe it was the wind, but I felt parched and would have killed for some water!
Well, I came home completely humbled, but feeling accomplished at the same time. I ended up just .6 of a mile short of the 3.1 I intended to do. But, it was way harder than I thought, and I am so glad that I found this out now, instead of just a few weeks from the tri. I have plenty of time to get used to it! And it makes me really glad that I have a few sprint races and then a good 8 week break before my Olympic distance one. I will have more time to prep for the longer distance, because I think the sprint will be plenty to start with! But, I am excited for the challenge!
And you know the wierd thing about that run? As laborious as it seemed, it was a fast one! I had one of my best paces in a long time! A sub 10 minute mile the whole run! WTG!
This week's work outs will be pretty minimal. I have a crazy week till I leave for Denver on Thursday to spend the weekend with my childhood friend from Texas. It will probably just be my Jillian videos in the mornings, Masters Swim on Tuesday, and maybe a quick run on Wednesday night. But, I am also going to get some good reading in this weekend of my tri books to make what training I do more effective. Win/win!
Happy training!
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