My parents are visiting this weekend from Seattle. They are supposed to arrive today (Saturday) around 11am. I wasn’t sure how much time I’d have to get stuff done before they arrived, but Michael and I strangely awoke at 6:30am. We decided to go for a short bike ride! I hadn’t been on the bike since Reach the Beach. I wasn’t sure what to expect…it’s just like riding a bike, right?
I tried my new Sugoi bike shorts that a rep sent me last month. First, they fit much better than my Pearl Izumi shorts. However they are a size larger than what I have.
Sugoi Bike Shorts
Second, I like that they are a tad longer than my other shorts too. They also have a special “sticky” like tab along the seem to keep the bike shorts comfortably in place. The only con that I see is that the padding is NOT quite as thick as my Pearl Izumi shorts.
Sugoi Shorts
More padding is desired for longer bike rides but they were fine for the short ride we did this morning. It was that weird in-between temperature but the sun was out. I chose to put my Sugoi tights on over the shorts and I wore a jacket. We did about 10 miles on the bike. We ended up riding Michael’s commute to work and back, plus a bunch of MONSTER hills mixed in. It was quite the experience being back on the bike.
When I hit the first monster hill, I struggled. I thought, “So taking a month off from riding means I lost everything”. I was pretty bummed out. I also noticed that my recovery time after the big hills was not great. Not like it used to be. 😦 I was more hesitant on the bike than I used to be, and I was also back to being fearful of going super fast down big hills.
The good news is that my bike did great. After the Reach the Beach debacle, I’d gotten the bike serviced and the guy put on a $10 plastic widget that will prevent me from throwing my chain. I tried out my left gears (the culprit of bike woes) and they did great! I was really happy that I could now successfully use the left gears without my chain falling off or locking up. That’s great news.
We got back to the house in about an hour and I chained into running shorts and my Brooks shoes and headed to the track next to our house. I wanted to attempt a Brick Workout.
My First Brick Workout
A Brick workout is essentially training for a triathlon where you do two activities one right after another. I got off the bike, changed in about 7 minutes (need to get better at that transition) and ran the 1/4 mile to the track. I decided since it was my first time attempting this, I’d just run 1 mile. I ran down the stairs and started running the track.
It was a weird sensation immediately. I felt like I was running soooo slowly! My legs felt okay but it was the sensation of running in quicksand. I also felt like the world around me was moving in slow motion. How weird is that? At around the 1/2 mile mark my legs seemed to wake up and I was beginning to feel more like a runner.
Of course, the running really improved when I was almost done with the mile!
I ran up the stairs:
Today’s Stats:
Time: 1:33
Biking: 10 miles
Running: 1.5 miles
Calories Burned: 745
110 Pounds and Counting Blog 
Wow – that would be a challenge, for sure. Sometimes I have a hard time just walking after a run, let alone running after a bike ride.
Great job today! Two workouts back to back is tough. I typically swim then Spin. That’s not too bad, but have not tried biking then running. Keep it up lady!
I am supposed to start training for a tri soon with some friends. I have not done a brick workout yet, but I heard they are tough. I am impressed!
I’m going to start training too. Don’t know when yet!
Girl – what a great workout! haha yeah your legs always feel strange in a brick workout – funny thing is that although you feel like you are running slow – you are generally not!
That first half mile is a killer on the calf muscles too! 10 miles bike and 1 mile run is a LOT for a first brick, good job!
I normally do two or three sets of 200m swim / 7.5 mile bike / 2mile run. Sometimes I leave out the swim depending on how I am feeling.
My first triathlon is in two weeks! Woot!
*** Warning ***, Triathlon training is addictive! LOL!!
Good luck on your tri!!
Thanks! Have you looked in your area for any Tri events yet?
Not yet. I think that will be next year’s goal. My current goal is focusing on the Hood to Coast relay race in August!
Sorry for the double post. Wanted to share my Tri-Training schedule for my last two weeks before race day. Seems to be a lot of interest here in Triathlons!
http://www.goingfitness.com/my-final-training-schedule-up-to-race-day.html