Rasmus Henning is calm, confident
KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii — As usual, there is no Hamlet in this triathlon prince of Denmark. No to be or not to be hesitation for the winner of the first two $200,000 top prizes at the Hy-Vee World Cups, the man who calmly dominated the classic Iron-distance Challenge Roth this year, the Olympian.
For Henning, there is no haunting thoughts of his broken hand three weeks before Ironman Hawaii 2009. A little inconvenience that dropped him to 5th in his Kona debut.
As Scarlett O'Hara said in Gone With the Wind, Tomorrow is another Day and Tomorrow is here.
Henning shared his optimism in an interview Thursday at the King Kamehameha Resort Hotel.
Slowtwitch: How did you feel after finishing 5th here last year? In pain? Disappointed? Eager to avenge that finish this year?
Rasmus Henning: After the race I was mainly stoked that I got through it and did that well after all. It was also a huge carrot for me to go out and say 'Hey, I want to show these guys what I'm up to when I don’t have a broken bone. I guess that's some inspiration now.
ST: What did you learn?
Rasmus: I got a lot out of being here last year. I learned a lot from the experience. All the same things basically that Andreas [Raelert] went through as a rookie. I think we both are much better prepared to go the whole way. I am really anxious to get going. I wish we could go out and start now. But we will have to hold off another few days. I am definitely keen on having a big race. I look forward to it.
ST: Why do you think you can win this race on your second try? The last few times Chris McCormack and Craig Alexander have won, the average winner's splits have been roughly a 50:45 swim, a 4:38 bike and a 2:42 to 2:48 run.
Rasmus: If you look at what previous winners have been made of, and what they have been up to on the race day, I believe I can do all that. But you never know exactly how your body will react on race day. I am confident that I have prepared well and I know the set up. I know how I need to prepare the last few days and during the race not to be there cramping or throwing up.
ST: The field is deeper and everyone looks better this year.
Rasmus: But then again you can never control what your competition is doing. Some of them might have improved their game a whole lot. You never know. I mean, I'm up for it.
ST: Are you calm excited, or nervous excited?
Rasmus: I'm calm excited actually. I am going to try to remain in the state that I was in Roth. I was really good then. [Where he swam 47 minutes, biked 4:23:54 and ram 2:39] Then I was calm and relaxed about it. But I am still anxious to get going though.
ST: You have an analytical mind about that race as it applies to Hawaii. Roth is cooler. To what degree did your performance in Roth underline your confidence here? And what do you draw upon to feel confident about your ability to deal with the heat humidity and winds of Kona?
Rasmus: My result in Roth mainly boosted my confidence by the fact that I ran so freaking fast [2:39] I mean that combined with the fact that I have had almost exclusively good experiences racing in the heat leads me to believe that I should be one of the guys who can race fast in the heat. That is just basically adding two and two together. Apart from that, I know from experience when I have my one and a half to two months of very stable training I do well. For Kona I spent a couple of weeks in the Canary Islands, the rest at home, and two weeks here. When I have that time uninterrupted by any major races — in this case no races at all – I am at my best. Before Roth I just did a couple of short Danish races. And when I have my physio[therapist] , Bjorn Andersen with me, (not Bjorn Andersson the triathlete), we have a really good track record together.
ST: What is your record with Andersen in your camp?
Rasmus: He was with me twice at Hy-Vee, at Roth and at Kona last year. I mean the only two times I haven't won when he was around was at the Beijing Olympics. Obviously the competition there was very hard and also I had a bit of an infection the last couple of days. And last year at Kona with a broken hand. Other than that, I've won every race he has been with me. In that sense he is my good luck charm.
ST: What does he do for you?
Rasmus: He gets my body ready. He balances everything. He makes sure my energy is really optimal in every muscle, every nerve.
ST: I am curious if you have any insecurity coming into Kona?
Rasmus: I don’t have any insecurities. I have a few Ironman races to my resume now. I have done a lot of training for many years. I have done more of it these past months than I have done in the past. Without injuries, without illness. Usually when I have that kind of preparation it doesn’t go wrong. Whether it is enough to win I don’t know. But I am pretty sure I will be up there and it will be fun.
ST: How will your training partner and protege Martin Jensen do?
Rasmus: Martin will be up there off the bike. Hopefully he will be around me. It is always nice to have people around you know well, that you feel some sort of loyalty to. The same with Dirk Bockel. We know each other so well. I like seeing those guys so well. I am sure that Martin is capable of swimming and biking at the same level as me. He might have even bigger capability on the bike. I suspect he will hold back a little in his first attempt because he would like to run respectably as well. And he is not as bad runner. He still ran 3:01 in Louisville [to finish 2nd] in similar conditions. On a good day he gets top 10. On an average day he will be between. he has more to come in his future for sure.
ST: Any thoughts on the women's race? Can anyone challenge Wellington?
Rasmus: It would have to be Julie [Dibens]. Julie has the potential to be with Chrissie off the bike. She won’t run with her. That is only in utopia. She is the woman who has the shot of being within a single digit in minutes behind her.
