Brick workouts: bike then run

A brick is a ride with a run straight after it, no rest in between. In a race the switch from bike to run takes a minute or two, and for the first kilometres your legs do not listen well. A brick gets you used to that feeling in advance.

Why it matters#

Research confirms that running straight after cycling is different from running on fresh legs, and that you can get used to the transition (Olcina and colleagues, 2019). How often and how long bricks should be, science does not say. So the numbers below are TriCoo rules, not a proven optimum.

How often and how long to run#

The table says when a brick can appear. It is not a promise of a brick exactly once a week.

The brick run is easy, in zone 2. The bike part is the long ride of that week. Its length grows from what you have already ridden. For a half and a full the bike part can include a tempo block.

Where there are no bricks#

There are no bricks in the base phase, in the first weeks of a plan, in a recovery week or in race week. A brick takes the place of the long ride and is not added on top. Weekly volume does not grow because of it.

The brick run can be shorter than in the table the first time. If you have not run that long for a while, TriCoo limits it based on your history.

Bricks in the taper#

In the first week of the taper there can be a familiar brick, if bricks were already in your plan. The run is then 60% of normal. There are no new bricks in the taper.

How to set a day for bricks#

For TriCoo to schedule a brick, one day in your schedule has to allow both cycling and running. Usually it is a weekend day with plenty of time. See how it looks in the sample weeks: sprint, Olympic, half, full.