Last Friday I did my first outdoor cycle/run brick. I rode 35 miles in the hills with 1800 feet of elevation gain, and ran 5.4 miles afterwards. It turned out to be a 3 hour workout, which is supposed to prepare me for the real thing. I felt pretty good throughout the ride, but when I got to the run my quads started cramping up. I walked from time to time and still averaged a 9:45 mile pace, which was very surprising to me. I thought I was going a lot slower. This is my biggest milestone during my triathlon training, and there are a few things that I learned from this workout.
The most important thing I learned is the cramping tells me that I need to re-evaluate my nutrition prior to my brick workouts, and on the bike. I think I need to take in more sodium and gels, which leads me to my biggest worry. Taking in too much fluids. It makes my stomach feel bloated and full, and that's not a good thing for the run! I have to figure out a way to take in enough sports drinks, water, and gels without my stomach feeling full. Nutrition is very important to me, I don't want to bonk, and I want to finish strong.
I also learned how to deal with cramping (where I've never cramped before). I just kept moving whether it was walking or running. I have a feeling that I might be dealing with this during my race. Stretching only seemed to give me cramps in other parts of my legs. Message worked a little better. Also, Shot Blocs worked really well, until I ran out. I'll have to remember to carry more with me for my run. I also ran out of Powerade and water about a mile and a half from home. Not good!!
Lastly, this workout took a lot out of me. I took Saturday off because I was really sore and tired. I swam 3300 yards Sunday, which was thoroughly exhausting, and not at the pace I was required to swim. Which means I have yet to recover from the brick, so I took today off too. I'm still a little sore and my heart rate was higher than normal. Both signs of not being fully recovered. (Side note: I read an article about an athlete that only trains 12 hours a week and won his age group in Kona and Vegas last year. His workouts are extremely intense, so he uses an Internet program, RestWise.com, to help him decide whether or not train the next day. I haven't tried it yet, but I'm seriously thinking about it.) So I took today off too, except for riding around town because my car is in the shop. Nothing intense or formal. Hopefully I'll feel better tomorrow.
Here are the details to my brick workout: http://tpks.ws/WhrW.
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