Running Off the Bike Without Jelly Legs

A brick session simply means doing two disciplines back-to-back, most commonly a bike ride followed immediately by a short run. You do not need to make every brick session long or hard. For a beginner, even 10–15 minutes of easy running after a bike ride can be enough to teach your legs what to expect.

The first few minutes should feel controlled, not desperate. Resist the temptation to sprint out of transition just because the crowd is cheering and other athletes are running quickly.

For most beginners, aim for around 5–6 out of 10 effort at the start of the run. Your breathing should be under control and you should feel that you could maintain the pace for some time.

Your legs may feel slow even when you are actually running faster than you think, so avoid judging your pace purely by feel in the first kilometre.

After around 5–10 minutes, your legs will usually begin to settle. If you feel good, gradually increase the effort.

Build brick sessions gradually rather than making them hard from the beginning.

• Stage 1: 30–40 minute easy bike followed by a 5–10 minute easy run.
• Stage 2: 45–60 minute steady bike followed by a 10–15 minute easy run.
• Stage 3: 60–75 minute bike at your planned race effort followed by a 15–20 minute controlled run.
• Stage 4: Practise a race-specific brick every couple of weeks, including your planned transition, bike pacing and the first part of your run.

For a Sprint triathlon, you do not need to run the full 5km after every bike session. For Olympic-distance training, you may occasionally extend the brick run, but most sessions should still remain controlled.

Brick training should teach you two things: how your legs feel after cycling and whether you paced the bike correctly. If every brick run feels awful, you may be riding too hard.

The goal is not to eliminate jelly legs completely. It is to recognise the feeling, stay calm and know that it usually passes.