I have this weekend and next weekend before my first triathlon, so I figured I better get out there and try a brick workout. This past winter I did a bike/run workout using the bike on a trainer and the treadmill, but I only did it once and it was pretty hard. This weekend was the perfect opportunity to try a real brick. The weather this morning was a sunny 60 degrees and my legs are feeling a little more rested from the marathon, so there were no excuses.

I mapped out a 20 mile bike ride from my house and set up a little transition area in my garage. About 6 miles into the bike, I noticed I couldn’t get one of my shoes out of the clips. Turns out I lost a screw from where the clip attaches to the bottom of my shoe and the other screw was very loose. Luckily, my bike mechanic/husband packed my little saddle bag with a set of hexy-screwdrivery-things, so I was able to get the single screw remaining tight enough that I could make it for the rest of the ride. Other than that, it was an uneventful, beautiful ride with fantastic weather and lots of other bikers to say hi to along the way.

When I got home from the bike ride, I quickly got myself ready for the run. Halfway down the driveway, I realized that I still had my bike shorts on. I had worn some spandex shorts underneath for the ride so I could just slip the bike shorts off and not have to run with the chamois. I have a pair of tri-shorts, but right now my newbie tushie needs a little more padding on the bike. That is probably TMI, but the point is I had to stop, take off my shorts and toss them in the yard. I’m really happy that I practiced the transition and will definitely practice this a few more times before the race so I don’t forget anything.

So then it was time for the run. I never really thought about what “brick” was supposed to be referring to, but it instantly came to me as I started to run. My legs certainly felt like “bricks” for the first mile. Surprisingly, my pace was a little faster than I would have expected and my heart rate was fine. It seems like it was just a weird sensation in my legs that wasn’t really effecting my performance. I only ran 2 miles, so it will be interesting to see what happens when I have to run farther. I have another bike ride tomorrow, though, and I didn’t want to tire my legs out any more than the 2 miles I had planned.

After surviving my first brick workout, I’m looking forward to trying it again. I learned a lot from it and it breaks up the time having the transition in between activities. Right now the race is still far enough away and everything tri related is new enough that training is just a whole lot of fun. I’m guessing next week, when the race gets closer, that I will start to get nervous. For today, though, fun is good.