Brick

No, the title of today's blog does not refer to a Ben Folds song.  Bricks are a very important part of triathlon training and they are sometimes overlooked. Bricks refer to training two disciplines during the same workout, one after the other, with minimal or no interruption in between them.  This is an effort to ready your body for race day  (I am sure that many of you already know this). Usually when people talk about bricks they refer to a bike/run workout, but bricks could also refer to a swim/bike workout or to a run/bike workout (if you are training for a duathlon). These last two are often overlooked but still important to fit here and there in your training plan. 
So, why am I discussing bricks?  Yesterday I did my first brick of the triathlon season.  I attended 30 mins of an intense spin class.  Then, with quads burning and legs feeling heavy (like bricks--hence the name), I went straight to the treadmill to complete one mile in 8 minutes.  I may could have legged out another mile, but I wanted to do some lower body strength training too.  Finished my workout session with 2 sets of each of the following:  1).  lateral lunges holding a plate (25lbs)--see previous blog for video  2).  single-leg calf raises into pogo jumps  3).  step-ups with dumbells (explosive for speed training)--demo 4).  hamstring circuit--see previous blog for video  5).  burpee- box jumps--see previous blog for video  6).  deadlifts with dumbells
With the combination of the brick and strength training session, I imagine I will be feeling this workout for a couple of days.