I'm training for my first Olympic distance triathlon and the run off the bike is destroying me. My standalone 10K pace is 4:45/km but off the bike I'm struggling to hold 5:30/km.
Current training:
Any experienced triathletes have tips for improving the bike-to-run transition? And how often should I actually practice bricks?
Welcome to triathlon! The brick struggle is real — your legs feel like concrete blocks for the first 1-2km off the bike.
Tips that helped me:
Spin easy for the last 5 min of the bike — drop to 80-90W and spin at 95+ rpm. This flushes some lactate and pre-activates the running muscles.
Practice bricks weekly — But they don't need to be race distance. Even 30min bike → 15min run teaches your body the transition. I do one brick per week.
Don't start the run too fast — Your HR is already elevated from the bike. If you go out at your standalone 10K pace, you'll blow up by km 3. Start 15-20 seconds slower per km and settle in.
High cadence on the bike helps the run — Riding at 90-95rpm instead of 80rpm keeps your legs turning over faster, making the transition to running stride rate less jarring.
Run off the trainer — You can do indoor brick sessions too. Hop off the KICKR and head straight out the door. Great for winter training.
The good news: your body adapts. After 4-6 weeks of weekly bricks, that concrete-legs feeling diminishes significantly.
One thing Ana didn't mention: nutrition on the bike matters hugely for the run.
If you under-fuel on the bike leg, you'll bonk on the run. For an Olympic distance (40km bike), aim for 60-80g carbs/hour on the bike. This means starting your nutrition strategy from km 5 of the bike, not waiting until you feel hungry.
I use SiS gels every 20 min on the bike and then one more in T2. Makes a massive difference to run leg performance.
This is all gold, thank you! Going to add a weekly brick session starting this week.
Question on the trainer brick sessions — do you do a full structured bike workout first, or just an easy 30-min spin before the run? I don't want the bike portion to be so hard that the run is pointless quality-wise.
@Mia — For brick-specific sessions, I do one of two types:
Race simulation brick (monthly): Full race-effort bike workout (e.g., 40km TT effort) → immediate 3-4km run at target race pace. This is for race-day rehearsal.
Transition brick (weekly): Easy-moderate 45min bike → 20min run at easy-moderate pace. This is just teaching your body the transition without burying yourself.
Don't overthink it — the weekly easy brick does most of the adaptation work. Save the hard brick simulations for once or twice a month.
Sign in to join the discussion.