The Run Leg - Getting Started

bricks, bricks, bricks

*points to Madcow*

What he said.

Bricks train the body to move blood to new areas where its needed.

As top triathlete Gordo Byrn says, hammering the bike will certainly take it all out of you on the run. Whatever gains you make by throttling your competition on the bike, you will give back as the hordes pass you on the final leg. The bricks will help. Practice them by going for a short run whenever you come off the bike. In a triathlon, you'll need to learn pacing, to learn how hard to go so that you still have something left for the run. The motivation you will get as you pass people running to the finish will more than gain back any losses you might have incurred on the bike.

I agree with Max. As well as not hammering on the bike, one thing I do is start spinning with about a 1/4 mile left on the bike leg. I get my rpm's up around 100 on a nice easy gear. That will help some, but "dead leg" will always be there.

I heard that standing up out of the saddle at low RPMs helps get the running muscles primed, but I've never tried it...does anyone know if it really works?

I find that pedaling at high RPMs while seated ("spinning") helps more than standing up. I'm all for standing up every now and then on the bike to give your legs a change of pace, use some different muscles, etc. But the last 1 or 2K of a bike leg I try to just spin. Could vary from person to person, of course.

The other thing I wanted to say is: CAUTION! I had also heard that it would take about a mile for your legs to feel "normal" again on the run, and so before my first tri all the bricks I ever did were a mile or two of running after biking. But on race day, it took THREE miles for my legs to get their act together, and I really wished I had done some longer bricks.

I try to do different types of bricks. Some days I will sprint for about 100-200 yds off of the bike. Other days I do about 1-2 miles. I think if you mix up your bricks you can't lose. If you could do some hill work after a ride I think you would benefit tremondously.

Mike

I'll back up the spinning idea for the last mile or so, it really does loosen up teh legs a bit, but no matter what, you are still going to have that "brick" feeling in your legs as soon as you start out. I just keep telling myself "just keep moving until you find your legs". Usually happens after about a mile or so. The trouble I have, is judging pace coming off the bike. I feel like my legs are barely moving, but by the time I hit the first mile, usually i've underestimated my pace by about a minute.

Chris

I did my first brick this fall....after about a 10 mile bike ride I ran 2 miles. Boy was that an awful feeling! I felt like I never ran before. Thankfully it was a trail run so no one saw how pathetic I looked. After doing a couple it definitely got easier, if not physically at least I knew what to expect. As they "Now you know, and knowing is half the battle" I think that was GI Joe's motto.

Definitely, bricks will prepare you for the transition between these two legs.  Do spin in a lower gear for the last quarter mile or so.  And stand up, lean forward and stretch out your legs as you near the transition area. 

Bricks are the way to go.  I think the help they provide is more noticeable in longer distance races.  A sprint tri that has a run of 2 or 3 miles means you're going to be feeling those legs for a good part of the run anyway.

I can only agree with those above. Enough said. Brick......and spin a bit before the end of the bike leg.....oh and don't forget to do train with bricks. ;-)