Vanhoenacker – a confident man
Once Marino Vanhoenacker was known as the man who could set blazing times at Ironman Austria but would not, could not fulfill his vast potential at Kona. Last year all that changed as he set one of the sport's best Ironman times winning at Austria and followed that up with a stirring third place finish at Kona. With that performance, Vanhoenacker erased all the doubts and critics that labeled him soft on the Queen K.
But before the 35-year-old Belgian Commerzbank star was through with his 2011 run-up to Kona, Vanhoenacker's peformances vaulted him from contender for the podium to the race favorite for the Ironman World Championship by many experts. In March, coming off an injury, he took a close second to fellow Belgian Frederik Van Lierde at Abu Dhabi. Then in July, he blazed to a 7:45 win at Ironman Austria that broke the 14-year-old Ironman distance best set by fellow Belgian Luc Van Lierde.
While Andreas Raelert took that record away just a week later with his 7:41 performance at Challenge Roth, Vanhoenacker remains armed with his hard won confidence – a man comfortable with a target on his back going into the biggest race of his sport.
Slowtwitch: What was your strategy going into your amazing race at Karnten Austria?
Marino Vanhoenacker It was a similar race as always. I come out of the water in the first pack and hammer on the bike for the first hour and then I am on my own and can do my thing. That is when I get fast. Especially against the clock.
ST: Is it hard for you to keep the record pace running by yourself?
Marino: I think if you race against the clock, it is better if you do it yourself. Because there are spots on the course you like better than the other guy. So he might kill you in his spots but in your he will get in your way. Also if you work together toward some sort of goal, at some point in the race, one of the two is going to start thinking OK. we can beat the time but I would like to win and then that is when he is going to stop working 100 percent for that time.
ST: That can interrupt your rhythm?
Marino: I think so.
ST: You had a big disappointment in 2008 at Kona where you were among the race favorites but faded to 22nd. Did that leave any scars – or teach any lessons?
Marino I think my fitness wasn't good enough to do what I wanted to do. It just wasn't in there and I tried to get it out anyways. But that just isn't the way to do it.
ST: What happened last year where you seemed to find the key to doing well at Kona?
Marino: I think the big thing last year was the food plan really worked well. We just measured my intake a little bit more.
ST: What spoecifically?
Marino We did a test in a climate chamber in Leuven near Brussels That told us a lot about how much I sweat. I knew I was sweating a lot in the heat. But there we saw it was abnormal.
ST: Scott Molina, Mark Allen and many others wrestled with a similar problem for years.
Marino: It can be big part of the solution, for sure.
ST: How much did it do for your confidence last year to race so well at Austria? How much did that help when you were dueling with the master gamesman, Chris McCormack?
Marino: I think Macca talked a lot before the race to get ride of Craig Alexander. But based on the last 15 years , I've proved that if I can make a break on the bike I will. So yeah, I broke a little earlier than all the other guys. I was on my own on the Queen K coming back from Hawi. And that is where I get dangerous.
ST: Was there some back and forth on the run between you, Macca and Raelert?
Marino: No Macca was flying by on Alii like he always does. But I was absolutely convinced that I have the pace. I proved in Austria that I can bike hard and run fast afterwards. So I kept my pace the whole way to the Energy Lab. And after Energy Lab, the race will start. I believed that is where Macca will fade because of his fast start. [To some degree] it happened, because at one stage early on the run, I was two and a half minutes down. But in the Energy Lab the first three guys got between 40 seconds of each other. That is where I thought 'You see, I am right.' Macca was leading, Raelert was right in between, about 20 seconds back and I was another 20 seconds back of him. At one point we could almost touch each.
ST: What were you thinking then?
Marino: At that point I was thinking, ''OK this is perfect today.' Coming out of the Energy Lab, that is where it should have happened. But I couldn’t accelerate any more. The best I could do was keep the same pace.
ST: You were telling your body to shift to another gear but your body was saying: No more?
Marino: Yeah there was no more. You go hard and you pace it and you believe there is still something left. At that moment you say 'OK when I get out of Energy Lab there will be something left.' But was not enough to make a move.
ST: Did that show you that you can win Kona?
Marino: I was really motivated in the winter and I trained like an animal. For the first time in my career I really felt 'OK you can win this race. You always thought you could do it. But now you are sure you can.' And I trained berserk. because going into the season I thought 'OK! I am going to win every race.'
ST: You did pretty well in Abu Dhabi?
Marino: Yeah but I did it with a broken rib. The week before I had a swim accident. Someone jumped into my rib cage and broke a rib.
ST: It was a good performance for having a cracked rib?
Marino: Yeah I got confidence and I kept training for Ironman South Africa. That was very, very wrong. The rib was still not healed and halfway through the marathon it said 'That's it for me.'
ST: Then you said OK. Now I recover and prepare for Austria?
Marino: I still had to do Austria for sure. I needed to finish an Ironman to validate my qualification for Kona. But mentally, I totally lost it after South Africa and things were below zero. It was really hard, especially to get mentally back on track. Up to a certain date that we set, it was getting tricky to be getting good for Austria. I think I started with 50 days.
ST: You want to be ready but not peaking at your absolute best to race Austria and save something for Kona?
Marino: We have to see how it turns out on Saturday. But yeah, I had a good day at Austria without being at my absolute best.
ST: It's pretty funny that you planned to not be at your best and you broke a 14-year-old record at Austria. That race had to be a big confidence boost once again?
Marino Sure . It was again something similar to Hawaii last year. Or even bigger. I had a big kick at the finish line. It was just amazing.
ST: Is Andreas Raelert as good for Kona as his record 7:41 time in Roth?
Marino: We have to see. The last time I spoke to him or met him in person was ah I think at Fuerteventura. Apart from that, kit was eight months ago.
ST: He was required to do a WTC Ironman and he walked through Ironman Regensburg and finished 10th a week after his record setting day at Roth. Was that significant?
Marino: I don't read anything into that. He was already planning that in January. So if it is in the plan, it might be OK. I wouldn’t do it. That is his plan. He has to decide if it was a good idea.
ST: Will the race dynamic be different and perhaps less contentious without Macca and his chatter?
Marino: It might be a little quieter on the course. But I don't think it's going to be that much of a factor. Because last year nobody really thought Macca was going to make the podium. Yeah his last race coming into that was not impressive. So that is the first time in my career that someone completely surprised me. Before a big Ironman, you always have like five names and one of them is wrong and somebody else comes in. Macca wasn't even close in my thinking.
ST: What do you think about your fellow Belgian Frederik van Lierde?
Marino: He is that tough. He won Abu Dhabi against me. He smoked [multiple Nice winner] Zamara's ass at Nice. So that means he made a huge step forward.
ST: He is three years younger than you (32 to 35). Is that an advantage?
Marino: Yes he is getting there sure. I think he might be in the picture there for awhile.
ST: One last hurrah for Commerzbank?
Marino: They have been a very, very good sponsors. It was the best four years of my life. It was the best choice I could have made. I am really grateful. It's a shame it's over now.
