Intensity Training is Vital: 3 Bridges Run in Linz

Seriously studying for the certification as Ironman Coach I have read a lot in the last two months and one of the best authors in the field is, no doubts, Joe Friel. 

Beside his very well known Triathlete's Bible Friel wrote many other very interesting books and the last one I started about one week ago is Fast After 50 - How To Race Strong for The Rest of Your Life.

This book is very well documented - like all others - and the arguments inside will convince you about two issues, depending in what situation you are:

1. to start NOW to change your life and to TRAIN in a seriously way, if you want to stay well and healthy;

2. if you already do some or a lot of sport: to understand, accept and make some changes in your way of approach your sessions and performances, even the recovery sessions which change a lot around the age of 50 and later, of course.

Getting older doesn't have to mean getting slower! if ....

Intensity is the key to maintaining performance with aging.

Do not go long and slow, but shorter and more intensive!

High-intensity exercise has a purpose beyond health. It improves endurance performance. You will race faster when you include intensity in your training.

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Our Academy 

invited us to run for free to this running event in Linz, so a good opportunity for me to taste the city and the new approach of training.
It is a 6-km race 

Linz is the third-largest city of Austria and capital of the state of Upper Austria (German: Oberösterreich). It is located in the north centre of Austria, approximately 30 kilometres (19 miles) south of the Czech border, on both sides of the River Danube. The population of the city is 193,814, and that of the Greater Linz conurbation is about 271,000. In 2009 Linz, together with the Lithuanian capital Vilnius, was chosen as the European Capital of Culture. 

Since December 1, 2014 Linz is a member of the UNESCO Creative Cities (UCCN) network as a City of Media Arts. Cities receive this title for enriching the urban lifestyle through the sponsorship and successful integration of media art and involving society in these electronic art forms. Linz is well known for the Linzer torte, which is said to be the oldest cake in the world, with its first recipe dating from 1653.

I was in Linz last June as Technical Official by Linz Triathlon but I had absolutely no time to see anything from the city, just a general idea.

The Programm was established and communicated by e-mail about ten days in advance. At 1 p.m. all of us who registered had to be on the spot by Schiller Park for a large group foto. 

From our class we were only five people, but the Academy was represented by 140 people from all classes.

The start was 3 p.m., so after the group photo we took our things and slowly went through the city to the event spot along the Danube. Wonderful panorama and the weather was absolutely amazing!

Still about two hours until the start .... what to do? We found a cosy place in the grass

Half an hour before the start I went for a warm up. I cannot start a race without any previous warm up, personally I need 1-2 km run or 10-20 minutes any other form of movement. This is new for me too, but as I explained already at the beginning of this topic, changes come along the time is gone and we become older. 

Too warm actually, almost hot day and the Danube ..... I surprise myself often about how my approach over the large waters has changed.

Peaceful, all over the place people running or riding, no disturbing music, no ugly talks. Just peaceful, colorful, full of life atmosphere.

I returned to the start place. After so long time .... starting again, being again behind a start line ... and somehow emotionsless..... I cannot explain, but something is not clear. Not yet. 

Of course I enjoyed all around me, but in a different way as I was used to do it. Life feeling is missing. But let's drop the subject, right?

I had on my watch already 2,7 km run from the warm up session and I decided not to start a new course and to resume the run. The official time will be anyway registered.

I saw one of the pace-makers and I thought I could try to follow him for reaching a time under 36 minutes :-)

But I was faster and I was long ahead of him as I could remark during the race immediatly after the start. 

The race became for me a very intensive training session having a pace of about 5:20 at the end. I am very satisfied with it and it's also a good reason to continue doing what and how I just restarted to do :-) after almost one year of struggeling, sickness and troubles.

The after-race care was exemplary, beer and very good food for both options (vegan and no-vegan) in an interesting location, the former tabacco fabric.

Our group had a nice chat time together and I finally realized I have to catch my train at 18:01. I had no idea where in the city of Linz I was, but the train station was definetely not nearby, but about 4 km away. 

With my camelbag and the big plastic bag I run and run and run hopping to catch that train. 
Still 11 minutes and I just reached the main square, my God! Still about 2 km! I will not catch the train, I will lose it for maybe one minute and then I have to wait another hour!! No, please noooo .... And run and run and run .... at the moment the train entered the train station I was on the stairs of my train platform number 7!!! 
I have never run in such a way to catch a train in my life!!! I was out of breath, but I could sit in the train going back home :-) So I completed my intensity training for today with a new personal record getting a pace of 5:08''.

Place 139 from 500 ladies.

Place 21 from 112 ladies in my age category.

31min52sec netto running time.

First lady: under 23 minutes

First man: under 19 minutes

But the most important acchievment of the day beside socialising was the quality and the value of this run!

Alone I do not reach this kind of intensity and consistency!
A lot of pictures here, enjoy it :-)