It's just a brick!

 

All in all it's just another brick in the wall. -- Pink Floyd

 

As the song lyrics go, another brick in the wall. And the other day, I completed my FIRST Unintentional Brick of 2016. Unintentional, because it was not supposed to happen that way. Intentional because I learned from it.

And while, I have done dozens of bricks in training, none are ever easy. (Don't believe them, if they tell you they are. They lie). Bricks are their own challenge. Bricks are and can be, simply put, UGLY!

 

For those of you who are not familiar with the Tri-world verbiage, a brick is the practice of two back-to-back disciplines of the race, generally the bike to the run. The purpose can vary, but mostly it is to teach the triathlete how to find the running legs. It can be very challenging to step off the bike, and head off into the run. And NEVER, EVER believe the first mile of a brick. It lies.

 

 

Depending on who is coaching you or whose philosophy you buy into, your brick may be of a variety of distances. Personally, my coach (and my philosophy on bricks) is similar to Mark Allen's--- the brick is to teach you to find your running legs. The run portion of the brick should be under 20minutes. Anything longer than that, and learning had gone out the window. So, all of my run segments of the brick are about coming off the bike, and establishing race pace for the run.

 

Except for Tuesday......... I found myself having to do a longer run after participating in a Indoor Cycling class. A class that was not part of the original training plan, a class I needed to take for a potential job.

And the run hurt!

It was almost an hour after the bike, so it was not a true brick, but workout number two HURT.

 

Did I mention that it hurt?

 

But I got it done.

 

Currently, my training strategy is to not have one. My big upcoming goals include Outerbanks Half Mary in November, and StCroix-70.3 next May. In that, I am taking time to play. I am swimming, biking, running and rowing, while working on strength. I am having fun. I am staying active. In a month or two, the focus will begin to shift looking at the upcoming races. My purpose is to re-lay a foundation and enjoy the journey. And in the midst of it, this is my accomplishment.

 

 

 

Posted with Blogsy