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Bricks -- On What Days?

Aztec

Dec 31, 04 10:57

Post #1 of 15 (314 views)

Bricks -- On What Days?	Can't Post

So few training threads this week... But here's one.

I like bricks -- they seem like a great way to ramp up the total hours with less boredom.

I'm wondering, though, whether bike/run bricks are best done on easy bike days, "race pace" (i.e., moderate) days, or on harder interval days (i.e., when doing 2x20min @ TT power)? Perhaps a mix is best.

**************
Too grumpy from various injuries to have a signature line.

Rocketboy

Dec 31, 04 11:21

Post #2 of 15 (297 views)

Re: Bricks -- On What Days? [Aztec] [In reply to]	Can't Post

I break it up depending on my bike or run workout for the day and depending on where I am in my training cycle.

For example, during racing season I have a hard 50 mile ride with varying duration intervals ( a group ride with the roadies) and I follow it up with an easy 3 mile run. On Saturdays I'll do an easy ride of 20 to 40 miles followed by a tempo run (total run 8 miles). On other Saturdays I sometimes do a 10 mile time trial followed by the tempo run, climbing intervals with the tempo run, or a Dave Scott's triple brick workout.

Because of bricks I typically run fairly well off the bike. It is a necessary evil of being competitive in triathlon.

Rocketboy

slick

Dec 31, 04 11:32

Post #3 of 15 (287 views)

Re: Bricks -- On What Days? [Aztec] [In reply to]	Can't Post

Bricks are always good. the more the better. Some weeks I'll do 4 or 5 bricks. If I bike hard I might run easy and vice versa. Go by how you feel. If you feel strong go faster. If you are tired or sore slow it down to a nice comfortable pace.

I think too many people make training way too complicated.

Race13

Dec 31, 04 11:35

Post #4 of 15 (286 views)

Re: Bricks -- On What Days? [Aztec] [In reply to]	Can't Post

I do bricks on weekends because my bike workouts are a bit longer. Usually a 50 mile ride followed by a 3 mile run. I usually run at my long/ easy run pace. I believe the key is not speed on these workouts but the body's physiological adaptation to the bike followed immediately by a run. I think bricks are more about getting the legs used to the feeling than about aerobic conditioning.

Jason D

Dec 31, 04 11:38

Post #5 of 15 (284 views)

Post deleted by Jason D [In reply to]

Mike C

Dec 31, 04 11:56

Post #6 of 15 (270 views)

Re: Bricks -- On What Days? [Jason D] [In reply to]	Can't Post

"Of course if you did those all winter you would be fried by race season, so it seems like they would be best mixed in as race specific sessions in the build period. "

___________________________________________

That would almost be like a basketball player saying "Let's see, should I work on my dribble-drive shot and then my jump shot, or will I get fried if I do both"...

Triathlon is one sport with three disciplines. Running after biking is what the sport is...I don't think, if you do it intelligently, you can fry yourself by doing more bricks than less, or that by confining bricks to a specific time period in your training will yield any additional benefit.

Let's face it, running 15 miles a day would probably fry most of us in not too long...be we still run, right? I believe you can correlate that to the bike-run workout. Of course one wants to vary the distance and intensity...so I'm in the camp that says do more bricks but be smart about it!

*********************************
http://www.waronals.com

"The test of success is not what you do when you are on top. Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom."

George S. Patton

mdtrihard

Dec 31, 04 12:10

Post #7 of 15 (258 views)

Re: Bricks -- On What Days? [Aztec] [In reply to]	Can't Post

On Dec 31st when it's 54 deg. and the sun is shining in Michigan. I thought I got a sun burn but I think it's more of a windburn. It's blowing at 30 mph. Yea baby....FUN

Jason D

Dec 31, 04 12:20

Post #8 of 15 (252 views)

Post deleted by Jason D [In reply to]

Mike C

Dec 31, 04 12:28

Post #9 of 15 (247 views)

Re: Bricks -- On What Days? [Jason D] [In reply to]	Can't Post

My point is that if you want to run well off the bike...well, you need to practice running off the bike. It's not the only element in making one a better triathlete, but it is part of the program. Perhaps the basketball analogy was not the best, but it was the only one I could think of quickly...

A brick can be a hard workout, just as a 100 mile ride, 5000 meter swim or a 20 mile run...I don't do those every day, or even all year round, just as with bricks. When bricks are part of my workouts, I do them pretty much each time I ride---I just vary the intensity and length of the run. Some can be as short as 10 minutes (the run off the bike, that is) and can be as long as 10+ miles. Depends on what I am training for.

Everyone's different and can handle different training loads and stimuli. Is a brick-per-day ideal for everyone? Of course not...but again, running after biking is part of what defines triathlon, so why not work on it more rather than less?

*********************************
http://www.waronals.com

"The test of success is not what you do when you are on top. Success is how high you bounce when you hit bottom."

George S. Patton

Aztec

Dec 31, 04 12:47

Post #10 of 15 (236 views)

Re: Bricks -- On What Days? [Jason D] [In reply to]	Can't Post

In Reply To

What races are you training for?

Half-IM in June. I will likely do a sprint and possibly an Oly before then, but I'm not concerned about my performance in them, other than surviving the swim (and I mean that literally).

**************
Too grumpy from various injuries to have a signature line.

Jason D

Dec 31, 04 13:06

Post #11 of 15 (224 views)

Re: Bricks -- On What Days? [Aztec] [In reply to]	Can't Post

Sounds good - if you do not have any serious performance goals, it will actually make your swim much better.

big kahuna

Dec 31, 04 20:03

Post #12 of 15 (168 views)

Re: Bricks -- On What Days? [Aztec] [In reply to]	Can't Post

I do bricks 3 times a week. One hard, one medium and one easy. The long bike is always followed by a run, and the hard one is usually 60-90 minutes of biking followed by 40 minutes of run. The easy is just that. The hard is the first one I cut if I just don't have it that week :-)

No-Brain-No-Pain Tony

Robert

Jan 1, 05 8:09

Post #13 of 15 (134 views)

Re: Bricks -- On What Days? [Aztec] [In reply to]	Can't Post

I do one brick a week, depending upon how I feel. I do reverse bricks twice a week.

-Robert
"Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." -Anais Nin

Aztec

Jan 1, 05 8:53

Post #14 of 15 (124 views)

Re: Bricks -- On What Days? [Jason D] [In reply to]	Can't Post

In Reply To

Sounds good - if you do not have any serious performance goals, it will actually make your swim much better.

Well, I don't have any performance goals for those events. But for the half-IM, I'd simply like to be as fast as I can. Something like a <2:40 bike, <2 hour run. The swim will just take what it takes.

**************
Too grumpy from various injuries to have a signature line.

jaretj

Jan 1, 05 13:02

Post #15 of 15 (90 views)

Re: Bricks -- On What Days? [Aztec] [In reply to]	Can't Post

Bricks are fun in my opinion and I like to do a couple a week. For Half IM racing I would do a 1/2 to 1 hr run after your long bike to see how you feel on the run. It doesn't have to be fast, just long enough to see if your nutrition plan on the bike is sufficient to get you going on the run. So many people under estimate nutrition on the bike and set themselves up for a bad run right from the start.

jaretj

http://jaretj.blogspot.com