Race Recap: Thomas’ 1:16 in Berlin

Thomas is an Irish triathlete, who’s spending 2023 focusing more on running. He recently PB’d at the Berlin Half Marathon with a 1:16:06, having trained with Kaizen. We hear from him about his experience.

Why do you run?

It took me 40 years to find running, now I wonder what took me so long! I’ve always loved sports and the outdoors. But I love the camaraderie and solidarity between runners in general and among our group the Berlin Harriers, in particular. I also love the simplicity of running and how it lets me get out into nature. It has become a form of meditation for me.

How did you get into running?

When I was young I never thought Id end up running. When I started triathlon five years ago I had never even run 5km. Swimming and cycling were my sports, and I had to learn running from scratch. It was my weak point so I started training it more. At first it was the part of a triathlon where I lost ground. I was lucky to meet a strong and dedicated bunch of runners in Berlin who drove me on and I started increasing mileage. We have since formed a group called the Berlin Harriers. Together with Kaizen, my running has been transformed so that it was not only the strongest part of my triathlon, but I found myself frustrated at having to run “tired” after a long bike ride. I have decided to focus exclusively on running in 2023 to find the limits of my potential.

How was your race at the Berlin Half Marathon?

The 2023 Berlin Half was probably my best race ever in terms of preparation and execution. I took a break in November and then started a solid, uninterrupted training block working mostly on steady mileage and a couple of track sessions a week. With no swimming or cycling to do, I was able to do some double run days and really fill that Kaizen doughnut.

The conditions for the half were perfect. Dry, cool, light breeze. It got a big windier at times so I spent most of the first half of the race sitting off the back of groups. This meant at times I was going faster than goal pace: the hardest part was holding back. Berlin races have such a great atmosphere and there were so many strong runners around me it was hard not to get excited. I felt really strong around 15km but slowed a little towards the end: legs just got a bit sore and it was hard to maintain form. I feel I still need more time on my legs to be able to finish strong. It just felt so good to be running fast and strong and being able to comfortably hold that for an hour. The last 16 minutes were a bit less comfortable but thats also part of the fun! I was really happy that I maintained fairly good form and pace at the end, that was where I was losing most time in other races until now.

I set myself a very ambitious target of 1:15 for the half. This was a bit crazy given that at the start of the pandemic getting under 1:20 felt like a big challenge. I still cannot explain this progress, other than the fact that I just focused on consistent steady training and was inspired by my clubmates Andy, Christophe, Evan, Josh, Moritz, Rohit and others. I’m very grateful to them all.

How does Kaizen influence your training?

Kaizen keeps me consistent and zen about my training. Having seen the progress I made with consistent regular training I now totally trust the process. I just fill my donuts, enjoy my running and let the rest take care of itself. While I do track sessions, I dont rely on big “hero workouts” to make big jumps. Kaizen provides a structure for consistent proess, but also helps me to take intrinsic pleasure from running, not just chasing PBs (although they are nice too!). Its the link between today’s run and the far-off race goal.

Next marathon and goal?

Once, just once, I would like to run a negative split! Over any distance ;)

I’m kind of glad i didn’t get to 1:15 at the first attempt, as Im really looking forward to training for next year’s Berlin Half and going for it again. (This was already a two minute PB and like five minutes more than my pre-lockdown PB!).

Before that though,I have to get a good marathon under my belt, at the Berlin Marathon in September 2023. I have run two so far and both times narrowly missed three hours on hot days. But I think this was also a matter of not having marathon-specific training because I was also spending a lot of time cycling and swimming: I had the aerobic fitness but not the leg strength. I am really looking forward to a summer full of long forest runs: chasing bigger and bigger doughnuts to fill! I don’t know yet whether I will focus on going sub-3 or something more ambitious. I will see what Kaizen predicts at the end of the summer. For now my focus is on enjoying the process.