Brick!

With the weather here in the north being far less than optimal, or stable, or... you get the point. One has to take advantage of the temps when you can. Especially during the early to mid-springtime. As I was out running the other day, it reminded me of the first brick that I ran during our first "heat" wave in early April. (And for those unfamiliar with a "brick," it's training two legs of a triathlon back to back so your body gets used to the stress of the transition from one sport to the other.) Here's some notes that I jotted down from that "awesome" day!

So I completed my first bike / run brick outside today... my first ever. I've done them indoors on a spin cycle and dreadmill. Nice, controlled environment. But today, oh jeeze!

Picked a nice rolling 18.5 mile out and back ride along a road well traveled by cyclists. On my way out I am loving it! Average speed was in the 21 to 22 range. I'm thinking FOP possibly.
I then got to my turn around point at the top of a hill and BAM, a sustained 15 mph wind hits me in the face as I pointed in the direction I came from. I felt the wind on my way out, but thought it was coming across me. Nope. I quickly understand why I averaged such a nice pace on my way out. What I didn't understand was why I was going SLOWER down the hill I just came up! Seriously, I was going 16mph down the hill I came up at 18 on a larger gear!

Needless to say I learned a lot about shifting along the way back to my house. Finally got to a point where I got back into the 20's but it was short lived. I couldn't wait to be off of the bike, out of the wind and running.

Took about 2 minutes to get changed and ready for the run. A quick drink and off I went. My legs from about the mid-calf down must have thought this was a joke and were just waiting for the punch line. Soon my lower back followed suit and I stiffened up pretty quickly. I tried to change my cadence to a quicker step to offset the pain, but I fear this made me look quite ridiculous. (A quick shadow check confirmed this.) I was no longer the graceful runner that I thought I was. I merely appeared to be a contestant from the biggest loser who could only run from the couch to the fridge before pulling a hammy.

I got my first mile down and stretched out my calves for a minute or so. I planned on five miles and was determined to get them in. I started back along my path for another half mile and absolutely felt worse. I was wondering if this was the infamous "bonk" that I've heard of. Nope. My head and my heart are still wanting to go. My legs are just freezing up on me. At that point I decide to turn around and wiggle my way back up the hill that I just came down. I finally got back on the home stretch, tried to open it up a little to finish strong and got nothing! At this point my form likened something closer to a drunken sorority girl at her first fraternity party than a polished athlete. But I got it done. Painfully, humbling and erudited!


So there it was, my first introduction to reality. Since then I've had little opportunity to get another brick in other than an indoor swim and spin class. However, this next week is looking better and I'm eager to get out and reign this interesting phenomenon in and call it my own.