A Brick…..HOUSE…..

The 1970’s had some great music.  Billy Joel and Elton John began to rise.  AC/DC and Led Zep rocked.  Queen.  RUSH.  Sabbath.  Skynyrd.  (OK – if you don’t understand these references, then GOOGLE is your friend – search each of them, pull down some music and prepare gain some wisdom.)

There was Earth, Wind & Fire (September is an awesome song)….

….and there were The Commodores.  Ah yes, The Commodores.  Lionel Richie’s smooth group, before that yo-yo started singing crap like “oh what a feeling, I’m dancing on the freakin’ceiling…”.  This group gave us a song that, to this day, once you hear it you cannot get it out of your head.

Here – watch this…..

For those of you who know The Commodores, all I have to say is…..

OH She’s a BRICK……HOUSE……

…..wait for it……

There.  I bet you did not just read those words – you sang them.  Wait an hour – guaranteed you’ll be singing that verse to yourself.  To those of you who were just affected by this test – I apologize.  I know how annoying it is NOT to be able to get a song out of your head.  Brick House has been in my head since Saturday morning.

Why?

Because on Saturday morning, I spent 3 hours completing something called a BRICK workout.   Some say this specific workout carries the name of a former triathlete from New Zealand.  Others believe that the workout was so-named from B(ike) R(un) ICK.  triathletes normally complete one BRICK workout a week, for a few solid reasons:

• It forces the athlete to practice his / her transition.  The clock never stops in a triathlon – so, when you hop off your bike, it pays to be extremely efficient during the transition to the run (otherwise referred to as “T2”).  It forces you to walk through the motions of changing your shoes, taking in fuel and hydrating, and getting out there and beginning your run while your legs are still stiff and burning from cycling.
• It also helps the athlete get used to the feeling of doing one exercise for a prolonged period of time, and then switching it up to continue exercising some the same muscle groups, but in a different way.  Trust me when I say that this transition off of a bike to running is NOT easy – it sometimes feels like you’ve been at sea for a month and you’ve just been tossed onto solid ground.  Trying to get your legs to “fire” – get going at your normal marathon pace – can, at times, feel virtually impossible.

I began my Saturday BRICK with an 8:15am spin class.  45 minutes at an 18-20 mile pace left my legs burnt to a crisp.  In order for a BRICK workout to provide the most help, it benefits the athlete to really work his / her legs hard toward the end of the cycling portion, so that the transition is difficult to the run.  This way, on race day, the athlete can feel some confidence in his / her ability to keep momentum going even after pushing hard on the bike.  After toasting my legs on the bike, I hopped down the stairs to the locker room and changed into my running shoes.  I took in some water and then headed to Central Park for my run.  Two loops and 12 miles later, I was finished.  Done.  Burnt.  And HUNGRY!

….and I sang, aloud, on the short walk home….OH SHE’S A BRICK….

…and a guy walking toward me simply shouted out “HOUSE!”

…aaaaand now I cannot get that song out of my head.

 

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Visits to Da Box over the weekend (otherwise known as self-inflicted penalties for eating oh-so-delicious-yet-big-time-no-no-sweets):

75 pushups and 300 leg lifts.

(Dammit, Mallomars!!!)