My feeling is that they’re of little value over 10 minutes or so. I do believe it is a good idea to get the body used to the transition, but in races I’ve noticed that time frame generally lasts from 0 to about 10 min. I have been able to train my body to begin the run with almost none of the “tree trunk legs” syndrome through frequent, very short runs after the bike. To me that alone is worth doing short briks. Good way to practice T2 while you’re at it.
Yup, that’s what I do too…or did when I had any tris planned.
My thought exactly. When I decide I no longer hate my bike again, my
plan is to do at least a 15 minute run after every bike. Not because it’s
a brick but it’s a way to get some free run frequency when warmed up and
I already have the time blocked out. Would longer be better? Probably, but
it turns into a big chunk of time during the work day for me.
I did a lot of bricks in training for my first few tri’s. Eventually I stopped doing them as I really wasn’t noticing any difference. I got used to running off the bike and it wasn’t really something I had to ‘re-learn’ or keep fresh. Did zero bricks leading up to my first big race of 2009 and ran a PB half marathon off the bike.
Like most questions the answer to your question “depends” on a lot of factors. What is your training and racing background? Assuming you do not have a long history of racing (less than 4 years) I strongly encourage running off the bike, especially early in your triathlon career. As you progress you can incorporate less. The purpose of the brick is muscle adaptation and as someone mentioned earlier identifying proper pacing and nutrition on the bike which works best for you. I would start with shorter bricks 10-15 minutes and for a half, no more than 30 minutes. As I review my racing results, the years in which I incorporated bricks in my training showed a significant difference (positive) in my run times than in years where I didn’t.
bricks arent as worthless as some people think they are. they just arent as good as separating the work out.
but there are just some days where its impossible to get 2 workouts in without pushing them back to back. running takes priority over either biking or swimming so i never do a true “brick”
I do bricks 5-6 days a week. It is a hell of a lot more efficient from a timing perspective. In the end, as triathletes- you always run off of the bike. If you want to run fast off of the bike, learn how to run fast off of the bike.
I tend to think they’re of little value for anything > oly
And the research would agree with you. Like anything they are specific to what you need to do. So if you are doing ITU racing, F1 style and sprints then bricks are the most applicable to you. Anything longer and less so to very, very much less so as the distance increases.
The research shows that after 1km there are no velocity advantages (ie you are not running faster then someone who has done no bricks) to doing bricks, it’s just in that first 300-950m (depending upon which study you read) that people run a bit faster if they have done bricks.
Anyone who says it’s all bc of the bricks why i ran faster probably needs to reexamine their training and look to see if they were in just better running shape overall.
Superior running fitness leads to superior running times not bricks, unless you are running under 1km.
Thanks for the great info Rich…one last question…do you have an approximation of how many feet of total climbing you do on the bike leg? I tried emailing and asking the race organizers but was directed to the elevation map–no help, really.
I don’t know off hand. I would search for the course on MapMyRide or some other tool that someone one has created. It should give you to the total gain…not that it matters though. It’s a hilly bike course but there are still some flat and very fast sections.
But the run is just killer. Just sucks to do that course with shitty run fitness. It will smack you around right out of T2 and doesn’t give you a break, at all, until mile 6.
Bricks:
Useful for time efficiency: get off the bike, run, done, one costume change.Useful for figuring out what strategies work for you: how to manage tight calves, hips, hamstrings or whatever little nigs you personally have.Useful for increasing run frequency, related to first bullet above.However, you get all of those bullets done above in the first 20-25’ of a brick. After that it’s “ok, I get it, this is another run on tired legs…I get it, can I stop now?” I’d rather have that athlete run 8:00 pace on relatively fresh legs than that same 8:00 pace, or likely slower, on tired legs. Personally, once I know what it feels like, how to manage, work my way through slamming my head against a wall, I get it and don’t necessarily need to practice slamming my head against the wall…at least not very often or for longer than 20-30’ at a time. I’d rather make myself a faster runner by finding times and places in my schedule to run faster on fresh legs, not slower on tired legs.
For HIM and IM races bricks are most helpful in finding proper pacing early in the run. Maybe the transition is just easy for me but I too often am running the first miles of the race a minute or more faster than planned and at very low perceived exertion. You allways pay for this. With brick runs I try to practice holding back the pace that first 15-20 minutes and once I have my goal pace locked in I finish up even if that sometimes means walking awhile to get home.
For shorter races I practice bricks at FTP or race paces in the weeks leading in to the races.
Short rides during the week days were 30 minutes, but as I progressed in my base training, I have been doing an hour of cruise intervals (20, 25, 30 mins in HR Zone 3 as). I don’t really have any ‘easy’ rides in my schedule from here on out.
If you ask me, you should already know your exact game plan for the run. (via RP Mile Repeats etc). If you HR is too high during the workout then you know, I cant handle this pace…
Running off the bike isnt going to help you more than a well thought out training day. Again just my opinion.
my approach to bricks is that the most crucial time they help is for the transitional period------the first 1/2 mile where your legs feel weird.
Leading up to an important race I’ll do one longer brick like you talk about, but I’ll do a few mini-sprint brick sessions. I think I read about Molina doing this at the track? Basically, bike in a trainer in my living room, hammer hard on the bike for 3 minutes in bike shoes, hop off, in race mode switch shoes and run 1/4 mile down the street and back at 5k pace. Repeat this for a half hour or so and you’ve thoroughly tricked the crap out of your legs about what to expect.
I’ve noticed by doing this, my legs felt more solid sooner than by doing a weekly brick session of a 2 hour ride followed by a one hour run.
In the end, as triathletes- you always run off of the bike. If you want to run fast off of the bike, learn how to run fast off of the bike.
With so many people saying “specificity…specificity…specificity” on the forum, I don’t get why there isn’t better concensus about doing bricks. Maybe it needs a better definition, from responses it seems like people are talking about completely different workouts when using the “brick” term.
For example, running fast off a fast bike is a completely different workout than running slow off a slow bike.
My n=1; my “bricks” are ~40min bike at LT, either as 1x40, 2x20, 3x13, 4x10 etc, followed immedately by 4x800m (Daniels I pace) with equal run/rest time
My “running after biking” is a moderate 5k-10k off a ~3hr moderate/hard bike.
The “brick” workout I found very useful for lowering sprint run times, I went from 20+min 5k after bike to 18+min 5k. The bike after running was intended to help my pathetic run endurance, not race speed.
I will acknowledge, however, that these 800m interval sessions were my first, so could be doing those intervals alone, regardless of biking first, was explanation for improved 5k run time.
I’m no coach, but as an athlete I could not disagree with you more. If you tell yourself to run slowly on tired legs, you will. But the benefit of bricks is to learn how to run your fastest off of the bike.
And, as an experienced marathoner with a 3:06 PR I can tell you that running off of the bike is MUCH different than running alone.
Finally, if you never do bricks, how will you know what its like to run after riding for upwards of several hours? The analog is people doing marathon long runs at 9 min per mile in long runs and expecting to run 7:30’s on race day.