We should all do bricks. Bricks are great. Triathlon training has bricks. Why? What is the physical mechanism that makes bricks so great?
Given a fixed amount of time, why is a brick superior to just riding the whole time or riding now and running later when more fresh? It seems to me that your overall training load is increased by having 2 fresh workouts vs 1 workout where your legs are tired when you hit the run. Isn’t the extra 45 minutes or so used transitioning to and then doing the brick at the end of a ride better used on the ride itself? Or on the ride now and the run at some other time? Simply, aren’t you increasing your total training load by going a bit harder on the bike now and a bit harder on the run later (and recovering/rebuilding, at least somewhat, in between) than backing off both and doing them together?
I see the value of the occasional brick so you know what it feels like, but isn’t this more training the mental than the physical? Isn’t running on beat up legs a pretty inefficient use of your time?
Sure, adding a run at the end of the ride in addition to the fixed time is better within reason - more training load - but more training load is more training load, so…duh.
It seems to me that bricks are built into triathlon lore and aren’t nearly as useful as people claim they are and that there are more efficient ways of training with the same amount of time.
I tend to agree with you…I think bricks are more mental than physical. Getting your mind used to that noodle feeling of jumping off the bike and running.
I do maybe 1-2 per week to get used to that feeling. I’m certainly no expert though, thats just how I’ve done it in the past and will continue until someone proves (or at least shows me a good theory) otherwise. I’m happy to change my regimine, but not for the sake of change…
So don’t do them. I rarely do them except when I am testing a new bike position or experimenting with gear so that I know how the bike/run relationship is working. I’ve done races of all lengths before without ever “bricking” beforehand. Now if I was ever to try and IM then I might try a long brick just to see how it felt, but otherwise I have not felt the lack in my training.
Chad
if you never know the feeling of having to run off a 3 hour bike how well could you possibly do in a race? learning to switch the stress from your legs to your cardiovascualr system coming from bike to run is an important aspect of training. on top of that they are fun, and they are a great confidence builder. its learning to push past that first 15 minutes to get your running legs back. i always run off bike rides over 2 hours just to get used to the feeling.
My neighbors think I’m nuts when I come home from a 2-3 hour ride, disappear in the house for a few seconds then come out the front door and run around the block a few times. Of course I think they’re nuts for mowing their lawns fifteen times a week.
But I do like doing short 10-15 minute runs especially after a long bike because the first 3-5 minutes I’m always thinking there’s no freakin way I can run and then by 10 minutes the dead leg feeling has passed and I’m not feelin too bad.
“It seems to me that bricks are built into triathlon lore and aren’t nearly as useful as people claim they are and that there are more efficient ways of training with the same amount of time.”
There is often a point in a race where you are forced to either dig deep or wilt. When I hit that point, I remember the bricks I did and draw strength from it. But what works for me may not be what works for you and vice versa. If you feel you are a better triathlete for not doing bricks, then by all means, don’t do them.
“there are more efficient ways of training with the same amount of time.”
Agreed.
However, at the end of the day its really going to come down to specifics and something that is very specific to triathlon and very often does settle who finishes where, is how well you run off the bike!! So, how ever you decide to do this, you need to be able to run well and strongly off the bike. One way and the most specific way is to bike at similar to race intensities and then run immediately after that - aka a brick. If done right and implemented right in your training it can be a very effective work out! I know of no top triathlete who does not do them.
Bricks are good because you have to run tired. It’s good cross training, because if most of us ran long enough to be that tired on a regular basis it would be very stressful on the feet and knees and we might not have enough time to do the bike training we need. So you do both in one shot.
Another workout that hurts is running long (60-90 minutes) at the end of a hard track or tempo run.
Swim-bike is functional as well, and for the same reasons. I find that after swimming for 10K, I have a hard time finding any speed on the bike. Biggest difference is that you can get the same feeling by just riding a double century and it’s no great stress on anything other than your butt.
There is a definite physical benefit. It’s like doing a really long run, without all the abuse to your body… plus it’s a bike ride, and who doesn’t like to ride their bike?
I think when in the pre-competive phase of a training plan. Where the need to start working on the specific skills involved in triathlon; bricks with race paced efforts are very useful. S/B, B/R and for sprint/olympic… s/b/r/s/b/r…
"There is a definite physical benefit. It’s like doing a really long run, without all the abuse to your body… plus it’s a bike ride, and who doesn’t like to ride their bike? "
Agreed. Like I said, I do them, they give me confidence. If they work or not, who cares really? I do them. They hurt for a few minutes, then I feel great. I don’t plan on stopping either way!
I also to swim-bike bricks, not because I have trouble gaining speed on the bike, but because I am always a little dizzy going from a hard swim (horizontal) to a run to T1 (vertical), then back to semi-vertical on the bike. Doing the swim-bike bricks has helped a ton in getting rid of dizziness etc from T1.
Perception. Now matter how hard I run off the bike it always FEELS slow because the ground is moving a lot slower than what I’ve been seeing for the last few hours on the bike.
Frequency. Your key run workouts shouldn’t be off the bike, but 20-30-40 minute filler runs on a bike day keep you running more often and add to volume.
Specificity. You have to run off the bike in a race and the best way to put your body into the state it’s going to be in when you get off the bike… is to bike.
Race prep. If you can put yourself into a comfortable pacing place within 20 minutes off the bike then you probably have an adequate pacing/nutrition plan on the bike.
Probably others but these are pretty good reasons to work bricks into your plan, in my opinion.
