Bricks are a triathlon staple — but many athletes either avoid them completely or overdo them until every weekend feels like a race simulation.
What A Brick Is Really Training
A brick isn’t just about tired legs. It’s about skill: learning how to pace the bike, how to transition smoothly, and how to find your run rhythm faster.
The Simple Brick Template
Most age-groupers thrive on one meaningful brick per week during build phases:
- Bike: 60–90 minutes with some work near race effort.
- Transition: Quick change, light fuel if needed.
- Run: 10–25 minutes, starting very easy and building toward race effort.
The run doesn’t need to be long to be valuable. The goal is to dial feeling and rhythm, not to “prove” you can run a half marathon off the bike in training.
When To Push, When To Back Off
Use tougher bricks sparingly in the 6–8 weeks before your race, then back them down again in the final taper.
If your mood, sleep, or motivation start sliding, pull back on brick intensity before you pull back easy aerobic time. You recover fitness on easy days, not by stacking more semi-hard bricks.
Done right, bricks build quiet confidence. You finish them knowing, “I can handle that.” Done wrong, they just leave you drained. Aim for the first outcome.