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Brick Sessions

Did my first brick session today. Bike (13 miles) to run (3 miles). To say it felt odd would be an understatment!

Is it normal for your legs to feel like someone has filled them with lead?

Is there any technique whilst coming to the end of the bike ride that can prepare my legs a bit more for running?

What brick sessions do you guys complete?

Comments

  • RobRob Posts: 209
    I'd say you were pretty normal feeling heavy legged, especially as it was you first brick. I sometimes have the opposite & my legs feel really light, I sometimes think I must look like a Thunderbirds puppet running along.



    You can try changing to a lower gear to get your legs spinning quicker for the last few hundred metres, that might help get your legs used to a higher turnover for running.
  • jazdogjazdog Posts: 223
    The only way to get used to the feeling is to do lots and lots of bricks. You get used to the feeling. I remember my first brick it was the wierdest feeling I have ever experienced. Now I barely notice it! You need to train your legs to get used to running with all the lactic floating about in your legs from the bike and direct the blood to your running muscles from your bike muscles!



    Welcome to the wierd and wonderful world of tri!

    jAZ
  • graham33graham33 Posts: 265
    I want to do brick seesions - is the gym any good. The thing I was thinking is that the seats are huge and i'm not they will give the same feeling.....



    How far/long do people do on each?



    One more thing - doing brick sessions does this make the jelly legs disappear or is it a case of getting used to the feeling?



    thanks
  • agent_tiagent_ti Posts: 306
    Its a mixture of both. Running with all your cycling muscles knackered recruits the muscles in slightly different ways and once you get used to this, is pretty OK. In terms of distance, it all depends what your goals are. If youre only doing sprints then a 30 minute cycle followed by a 15 min run should be fine. If youre doing an IM then you want to work up to a 6 hour bike followed by and hour run to get used to running long on empty legs.
  • THE YEOTHE YEO Posts: 20
    There are endless ways to do bricks - both short high intensity efforts through to race distance.



    Regarding the massive bike seats - i had a kind word with my gym and they allow me to take my turbo trainer in so that i can do rep brick efforts as well as swim, bike runs sessions once the season gets closer.



    if you don't ask - you won't get
  • treefrogtreefrog Posts: 1,242
    I used to do BIG bricks for IM, 120kM cycles followed by 10kM run and I never got used to them!

    I think do lots of small ones more so than a weekly biggie

  • BlinkybazBlinkybaz Posts: 1,144
    A brick is great and when the first couple are over it gets to feel right. I dont think you will ever completely loose the jelly/lead legs but you become conditioned to it. the more you do the less weird it is.



    Keep on Bricking it!!!!! LOL
  • i dont get jelly legs....just super high cadence legs!! Go off up road at record pace by drop dead before i've left my street.
  • BritspinBritspin Posts: 1,655
    I find squeezing my crossbar with my knees on the last km before transition wakes up a few 'sleeping' muscles..mostly the adductors/abductors since these do little on the bike, but control your hip joint on the run.
  • BopomofoBopomofo Posts: 980
    Can't find the old thread where we talked about this before. Higher cadence spinning is definitely good for freeing up the legs. I like the idea of britspin's thigh squeezes too. Oh, that didn't sound very good, did it?



    Anyway, just to add another one into the mix... towards the end of the bike I also like to go to a really big gear and stand up, just turning the legs over slowly. It feels good to kind of squeeze the muscles out, but most importantly helps get my back ready for being upright instead of hunched over. It might work for you.



    Personally I do both the high cadence spinning and some low cadence stretching. I'll try the squeeze technique too. I bet I still run like a penguin for the first k though. [:D]



    I'm firmly convinced that however many bricks you do it is always going to feel a bit weird. I can also remember my first tri, where I'd never even heard of bricks and never run off a bike before. I think I nearly died.
  • deeessdeeess Posts: 150
    graham33 wrote:


    I want to do brick seesions - is the gym any good. The thing I was thinking is that the seats are huge and i'm not they will give the same feeling.....







    bricks definitely work in the gym - gives other people on the treadmills a good laugh too
  • jacjac Posts: 452
    I'm quite lucky at my gym - there's an indoor track with spin bikes in the middle!

    The biggest problem is bricking from pool to bike..still haven't got a decent method going yet.

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