BRICK

(Part 7 of my escapades in triathlon training)

Ok, people, it's getting serious now.

The triathlon is on April 26th, and although I have not registered yet, I am training like weird people I typically mock a wannabe triathlete.

For quite some time, I believed training involved swimming OR biking OR running.  Sure, on triathlon day you do all three, but it didn't really occur to me that you might train by doing two or three of those activities in one work out session.  Sure, I thought you might go for a swim, eat a cheeseburger, and then go on a bike ride, but I never really considered doing those things without taking a lunch break or a nap in between.  I did mention that this is my first triathlon and I'm an idiot, right?

I recently learned a new word associated with triathlon training.  It's called the BRICK.  It may be an acronym for something, but basically it's just another way to make your legs feel awful.

Here's how a BRICK works:
Bike hard for about an hour or until sweat drips from pores you didn't know you had.  Just before your thighs literally burst into flames, jump off your bike and immediately run 2-3 miles.  The odd sensation in your legs while running is how the training exercise got it's name.  Your legs feel as if they have been deboned and then filled with bricks.

As you might imagine, this is a delightful experience which makes you beg for death about 10 seconds into the run.

I imagine BRICK is an acronym for the following:
B:  Bike (until your legs disconnect from your hip sockets)
R: Run (because who doesn't love a good trot after a long bike ride?)
I:  Interval (there is just the tiniest of pauses while you transition from your bike to your run)
C:  Cry (for your mommy)
K:  Kickass (After biking until your legs nearly explode, you do feel a perverse sense of pride in your ability to run on two seemingly boneless legs)

All of this to say, I did it.
I did a BRICK.
I survived.

I was particularly good at the "C" part.