First Brick!

A brick (in triathlon training, not architecture) is when you run immediately after your ride to get your legs used to running on tired legs. Today I did my first brick of the season. My training plan said:

B: 3 hour long ride.
R: 30 min very easy run at RPE2 after the bike

But for tomorrow, it has me doing:

S: 30min continuous. Long gliding, focus on form not speed.
R: 45min with strides.

Since I don't workout on Sundays, I decided to combine the two days and do the 45 minutes with strides after my ride today.

It was such a beautiful day today! I just wore a thermal, long-sleeved jersey and fingerless gloves, and I was plenty warm! I went up to Bountiful again, but this time I didn't go all the way up the freaky hills. I went up to Davis Boulevard instead of Bountiful Boulevard, and I really enjoyed it. I had a 2-hour bottle of Perpetuem and a bottle of water that I switched off drinking every 10 minutes (I have a little timer on my bike computer that beeps every 10 minutes), and I took a Hammer Gel before I left, and at the half-way point. 

When I was getting close to my 1:30 turn around time, I saw that the streets were in the South numbers again so I was trying to remember what town is after Centerville, when I saw Lagoon! I looked closer to the street signs, and I was in Farmington! This was just so exciting because I made it into a new town, and Lagoon always seemed so far away. 

I road in 5 towns total: 

1. Salt Lake City
   
2. North Salt Lake (yes, that is an actual city)
   
3. Bountiful
   
4. Centerville
   
5. Farmington
   

Yeah!  I really liked riding in Farmington too. I saw a lot of other cyclists, looking all cool in their flashy jerseys, and they would wave to me like I'm one of them. This just always makes me feel so good! One of the great things about cycling, and triathlons, is that there's this cool sense of camaraderie that you get. It's like being part of a club, and people just automatically like you when they see you out there riding. I don't get this much around my neighborhood, people usually just stare at me, and maybe smile if I say hi to them. 

The way home was fun and fast, and I got back just 5 minutes short of 3 hours. I did 37.6 miles which is 12.53 miles per hour - a lot slower than I want to be. If I do the 112 miles that slow, it will take me 8.94 hours to finish the bike. That's about how long it takes the pros to do the whole race! I would probably not make the cut-off if I go that slow either. I guess I wasn't really going as fast as I could go. I was taking it pretty easy. This is a good eye-opener that shows me I really need to try to go faster. Maybe I enjoyed it too much.

When I got home, I stopped in to go to the bathroom (I know it sounds weird, but this is a good thing to practice since it definitely plays into your race) and get my shoes, ipod and hat. Then I hurried out to do my run. When I first started, my legs were feeling really tired. I was thinking, "Maybe I won't do the strides," or "Maybe I'll just do 30 minutes with strides." But, after about 20 minutes, I was feeling pretty good, and I was able to do all the strides. I probably did about 4 miles. That's not to say I'm not tired, though. 

When I got home, my dad and his girlfriend were there with the kids, and Pete was home with his friend from his conference. I stretched really good while drinking a bottle of Recoverite, then took a bath and drank a delicious protein shake called Odwalla Chocolate Protein. I saw an add for this stuff in a magazine and wanted to try it. If you're looking for a protein drink, you should try it. Pete's response to his taste was, "This is awesome!" It's like a really good chocolate milk. 

While I showered, Pete and his friend put the kids to bed and got take-out from The Red Iguana. Yum! I'd say I've made up for at least most of the calories I burned on that ride. I'm very glad I've already got my lesson for church tomorrow ready. I just want to relax!