The year that was

Training totals for 2008:

• Bike - 218h54m
• Core - 8h35m
• Plyometrics - 45m
• Run - 168h07m
• Swim - 105h34m

Total 501h55m (just shy of 1.4 hours per day).

Turtle tri pic

Great photo of me on the bike taken by Eugene at the Turtle tri 2008.

Swim drills / focus

Swim focus the next three weeks:

1. high catch arm
2. focus on not dropping elbow when stretching
3. stretch/extend when taking a breath, but too much so elbow drops
4. lifted elbow
5. align hand with shoulders
6. enter water halfway to full extension
7. keep elbow high through pull stroke

How not to run a marathon

So you are just improving and improving and then it all caves in. Well, that is what pretty much happened to me at this years Cayman marathon. I started with high expectations, but ended up walking for a fair amount of the way and with a time that was far off my goal time. My final time was the slowest to date and even slower than the marathon split in my recent Ironman. I ran the first quarter marathon in 43 minutes and the half in 1h33, but then it got ugly time-wise. What went wrong? I think it is a combination of different factors.

First, I haven't been feeling at the top of my game the whole week. On several occasions I have had fairly severe headaches and generally felt a bit miserable.

Second, and potentially related to the above, I never felt good at any point during the marathon, even from the outset my stomach was giving me trouble and felt slushy, i.e. the feeling you get when running with a stomach full of water. Although I had breakfast at 3am in good time for the 5am start it was as if none of that food had been digested. The result was that I hardly had any fluids (water or Gatorade) or gels on the first 21 km.

Third, I have been pushing my body to new limits the whole year, with a half Ironman in May, an Ironman in October, an Olympic distance triathlon two weeks ago. The accumulated fatigue from these events may have taken its toll.

Fourth, my peak event this year was the Ironman in October and I have been doing no long runs since finishing that event. While you can get away with shorter distance running for a half marathon, going the full distance requires the long 2.5 hr+ runs.

A fifth and final reason could be pacing, i.e. going out too hard. However, I doubt this was the case, since my training has for the past 4 months indicated I could run at the pace I was going. I had actually planned to run the first half just under 1h30m, but even that didn't happen.

If I was to pick the main one reason, I think it was my stomach and lack of fluid and energy that caused the grief. After the race my stomach was seriously upset and I ended up vomiting and doing other nasty things for about an hour before I felt any better and could sleep a bit. I would have loved to be at the awards ceremony, but I was simply too ill and tired to even consider it.

My race disaster aside, my training buddies all did very well, Scott and Marius setting new course records (full and half respectively) and Russ and Beth both setting PRs. So we must be doing something right. Anyways it is time to relax for the rest of the year, train very little (if any), drink some beers and have fun with family and friends.

The need for speed

Another 12 days till the Cayman marathon and this year will be over from a sporting perspective and what a year it has been.

Nearing my late thirties one would think that the window of my peak performance potential as an endurance athlete would begin to close. But I just can’t see it happen at the moment. This year I completed my first Ironman distance triathlon event. Simply completing the event was major highlight and accomplishment for me, but I was also able to pull off a finishing time of 10h17m43s, which exceeded my expectations. Last weekend I set a PB in the Olympic distance triathlon, clocking-in in a time of 2h11m23s beating my previous best from 2 years ago of 2h17m38s. And I think I can go faster in both events.

Past-prime athletes frequently report that their top-end speed is the first thing to go. During the Pirate’s week 10k a few weeks ago I ran a 39m34s. I decided to pace that race very carefully and aim for sub 40. I can honestly say it was not until about 3 km to go that I felt any real pressure and even during the last 3km I was not killing myself. It is difficult to explain how much of a high that is, to run at a speed that is close to the fastest I have ever run over the distance (my PB is 37m58s about 10 years ago). Next year I believe I can quite possibly beat my 10 km PB and that at an age of 37.

Looking to world class endurance athletes there are actually many over the age of 35 that are more competitive than ever these days. Haile Gebrselassie set a marathon world record in Berlin this year at 35. The winner of this year’s Olympic Women’s Marathon was 38.

I’m not expecting to slow down in 2009 – no way. 2008 was an incredible year, but 2009 will be even better!

IM in Compass

A nice article on my recent Ironman was in the Cayman Compass today:

As a relatively recent convert to triathlon, local athlete Jasper Mikkelsen recently underwent what for many is a rite of passage – his first Ironman–distance triathlon.

Yet his results belie the fact that this was his first stab at the distance, as Mikkelsen ripped up the course to finish eighth overall in the Great Floridian Triathlon, held in Clermont on 25 October.

Although he might have made it look easy, Mikkelsen is quick to point out that it was a long hard slog.

“People must understand that it’s a long day,” says Mikkelsen, whose time of 10 hours 17 minutes and 43 seconds meant that he spent a lot less time out on the course than those who were merely aiming to finish the event under the 17 hour event time limit.

The win was taken by Vladimir Figari from Peru who blazed through the 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike and 26.2 mile run in 9:19:25.

Mikkelsen’s good showing in the Florida half–Ironman earlier this year had given him some hope for the distance.

Months of training had gone into the event, including training with some of the best proponents of each of the sports that make up the triathlon.

Yet all the preparation on earth cannot prepare for the challenges that race day may come up with.

Even though Mikkelsen positioned himself close to the front of the field for the swim start, he still managed to get kicked in the face, which dislodged his swimming goggles.

Fortunately he managed to grab his goggles and get them back in place and was able to continue his swim without further incident. The swim included a quick run around a marker on the beach before a second swim lap, but Mikkelsen took the run in his stride, having done a number of such training sessions in Cayman.

Once he exited the water for the last time, Mikkelsen took it easy through the transition, preferring to put on cycling shorts and a cycling shirt rather than cycle in his trisuit.

Although this cost him some time in transition, the additional comfort certainly paid dividends on the bike.

The bike leg did not start off quite as smoothly as Mikkelsen would have liked, with a sudden sharp climb catching him off guard just as he left the transition area. Caught in too heavy a gear, Mikkelsen had no choice but to jump off the bike and run to the top of the little hill before remounting and getting his bike off to a proper start.

The bike ride was much hillier than the 36–year–old Dane had expected, and since hills are not something one can train for in Cayman he was somewhat concerned. However, all the training paid off as he settled into a comfortable pace.

“Although it was tough to eat, I religiously ate my Powerbars and gels by the clock, making sure I had around 300 calories per hour. I felt fairly well energized all the way through,” says Mikkelsen.

“On the bike I was pretty much alone most of the time. I was all by myself the last 80km.

“The mind can wander – you’ve got to keep the pace. It was beautiful countryside though and although I was cycling hard I did actually take a look around.”

The bike leg represented Mikkelsen’s strongest discipline but far from attacking it with all his might he aimed to keep something in reserve for the final leg of the triathlon, an energy–zapping full marathon run of 26.2 miles.

Although it was not as hot and humid as Mikkelsen had become used to training in Cayman, he took a cup of ice at each aid station and poured it down his trisuit in order to stay cooler, which helped him through the marathon.

“I thought the run went really well in retrospect. At the time it was really tough, but in retrospect it went a lot better than I had anticipated. I was thinking around four hours, and ended up 3:43, which is really great,” says the economist.

However, never content with good enough, he believes that he has a 3:30 Ironman marathon in him, which he hopes to unleash during his next Ironman race.

Even though the pain of his first race has not quite subsided yet, Mikkelsen has already entered for his next Ironman race, Ironman Louisville, which is set for 30 August 2009.

It is an official Ironman race, with slots available for the Ironman World Championship in Hawaii. This remains Mikkelsen’s long–term goal and one for which he is more than ready to sacrifice another year to the sport.

So is Mikkelsen planning to take some time off from training?

“Of course I will be taking time off. Just not yet,” he laughs.

With the Turtle Tri and the Cayman Marathon on the horizon there is still much to accomplish before Mikkelsen can get his well–deserved rest.

The article was written by Eugene Bonthuys, an accomplished triathlete in his own right with two IM's under his belt and lots of very interesting IM experience to share.

Race report: Great Floridian XVIII 2008 (IM-distance triathlon)

The Swim

The 3.8 km swim is two laps in Lake Minneola. Race morning a strong wind is blowing and the conditions are fairly choppy.

I place myself up front. The announcer starts to count down the race. At the gun I look at my watch and register the time 7:34 – 4 minutes late. Visibility is zero. I push fairly hard the first 2 minutes and then try to settle into a good pace, however, about 5 minutes into the swim a person from out of nowhere kicks me in the face. I hadn't seen that coming and I am doubly surprised when my goggles are kicked off too. Scrambling in the water I somehow manage to grab the goggles. That was close, had I lost the goggles it would have been a long and uncomfortable swim. I settle into my own rhythm again and give it an extra push. Very soon my heart rate is too high and the psychological claustrophobia of being locked in and committed to an entire day of non-stop exercise starts to play in my mind. To calm myself I take the "foot off the speeder" and try to swim easy and efficiently.

I feel like we have been swimming for about a kilometer and sure enough about 400 m ahead of us is the turnaround that will take us back to shore. Reaching the shore I look at my watch. 31-32 minutes for the first lap, not bad, just have to keep this up and I will finish in around an hour and 5 minutes which is good enough for me. I take it really easy during the beach turnaround keeping my heart rate under control. In Cayman I have trained the swim to run transitions on Seven Mile Beach with Johan Heath, Alex Harling, David Walker and others, so I am very familiar with the odd feeling of having to swim after a little run.

The second lap is pretty uneventful. I swim by myself all the way and basically cruise to the finish, hitting the beach, feeling good. Okay, now on to transition. There is still a long day ahead.

Race Status 1h05m23s
Overall 23/241
Age Group 7/48

T1

Coming out of the water there are people on hand to help us out of our wetsuits. I take off my watch to make sure it doesn't snag on my wetsuit and strip my upper body. I'm told to lie down and a twosome grabs my suit and strips it off me. I stand up and begin running towards the change tent while rolling up my wetsuit. A volunteer hands me my bike bag and points in the direction of the changing tent entrance. In the bike bag is another plastic bag – the wetsuit bag - for the wetsuit, goggles and cap. I fill the wetsuit bag and begin to fit on my bike shorts (for extra comfort), bike shirt, cycle helmet, glasses and Garmin, and with wetsuit bag in hand it's out to the bike racks. I drop the wetsuit bag outside the tent and start running towards my bike. Grabbing the bike I run out of transition passing the timing mat.

Transition time 4m36s
Age Group 10/48

The Bike

The 180 km course consists of one loop along rural country roads. No major elevation changes, but the first 60 km has numerous rolling hills and a steep but short climb up Sugarloaf Mountain. The last 30 km is also fairly hilly. Support/aid stations are located approximately 20 km apart.

I mount the bike and start pedaling. At this stage my feet are not in my shoes. After having built a little speed, I slip my feet into the shoes. Unfortunately I have not being paying attention to obstacles in front of me and suddenly find myself on a small but very steep hill. I panic and grab my gear shift, but shift up instead of down making it impossible to pedal up the hill. By this time I am half way up the hill and nearly at a standstill. The only option is to jump off the bike. Luckily I doesn't take me long to pull the bike up the last bit and I’m on my way. My Garmin has found all the satellites by now, so I start the timer - I guess about 4 minutes late out of transition. The first part of the course is on paths and roads and to my surprise extremely hilly. I certainly wasn't expecting this out of transition. In retrospect I should have done my homework and realized what was in store.

I am riding the course completely "blind", I have no idea what is in store. Small orange stenciled arrows on the road are provided as guides and larger arrow signs at key turns. There are a lot of turns, smaller hills and pathways on this first 5 km and in some parts the road surface is fairly rough. I fight the hills and wind and pass about 6 riders on the first 10 km.

By now my body has fully adjusted to the bike ride ahead and I settle into a nice pace. Half an hour into the ride I grab a power bar. My plan is to eat one of these every hour together with a gel. That will give me a little more than 300 calories per hour which is what is recommended for a person of my weight. I also have a bottle of Gatorade (around 200 calories) on my bike to top up with once in a while. At the first aid station I grab some water and fill up my front water bottle. This will be a ritual at nearly every aid station I pass for the rest of the ride.

With about 40 km into the ride we make a sharp left and then another straight after that. There in front of me is mighty Sugar Loaf Mountain, the highest point in Florida. Well there is no way back, will just have give it my best shot. It is a short, but steep climb. I put my bike in the third lowest gear, stand up in the saddle and start pedaling hard. It is tough, but actually feels nice to be out of the saddle pushing hard on the pedals. It seems to be getting steeper and steeper on the last bit before it finally starts to level out around the summit. There it’s done, my heart rate has risen at least 30 bpm.

The next 20 km consist of hills and rollers, some of which I am able to power over with hardly any loss of speed. I am generally careful not to push too hard on the descents. The wind gusts at times grip my bike (or my high profile wheels) making it very uncomfortable to ride any faster than 60 km/h.

Around 65 km into the ride, we reach the flats. At this stage I still have other riders around me. I settle into a nice grinding pace. I slow a little as I am trying to eat my power bar. A cyclist passes me. He doesn't get too far ahead. He seems to be going at a reasonable pace, so I decide to follow him staying around 20 m behind to avoid a drafting penalty. It is very comfortable just to let him lead. I stay behind him for the next 25 km. He starts to slow and I pull away. I pass another rider shortly thereafter wondering whether the 100 km mark is some sort of barrier for these riders. I certainly haven't increased the pace, but simply kept it going.

The next 50 km I am all by myself. I sometimes wonder whether I am going the right direction or have taken a wrong turn. With about 30 km left, we start sharing the course with those doing the half Ironman (IM). I start passing a lot of slower riders, clearly part of the half IM crowd. The ride will soon be over. For the past 40 km or so I have felt the need to stretch my back and lift myself out the saddle which is far from comfortable right now. I am really looking forward to getting off the bike. Up in front of me I spot a rider who seems to be travelling about the same speed as me. It must be a full IM rider. When we reach the lake, he is only 20 meters in front of me, but this time I am not worried about overtaking, rather I spin the pedals, stretch and focus on the run ahead. We reach the dismount area at the same time.

Below is a graphical presentation of my ride. On the y-axis is my speed measured in km/h and on the x-axis is the distance. From the graph you can clearly see the parts of the course that are hilly, i.e. where there is high variability in the speed. Bike Split: 5h20m04s
Overall: 7/241
Age Group 1/48

Race status: 2nd in age group, 8th overall.

T2

I hand off my bike to a volunteer and receive my T2 run bag. I rush into the change tent. I make a reasonably quick change, taking of bike jersey and helmet and putting on socks, running shoes and a cap. I also put some sports jelly beans in the back pockets of my tri suit. I ask a volunteer for sunscreen, but there is none left. I am already a bit sunburned on my arms and legs and it is not going get any better. Not much I can do about it now, so I head out of the tent and pass on my stuff to a volunteer. Then it occurs to me that I haven't taken off my bike shorts. I quickly take them off and put them in the bag the volunteer is holding, now on to the run. But no, I haven't put on my race belt either. I grab the bag from the volunteer and start rummaging through it to find the belt with number. There got it. I put it on and off I go. That was unexpected. I hope I am not confused from dehydration of something. Looking at the watch as I run out of transition I can see I need around a 3h30m marathon to put me in contention for a sub 10 hour time. I entertain the thought of trying a 3.30, but decide I will just run by feel to begin with and not look at my Garmin.

Transition time: 4m09s
Age group: 5/48

The Run

The 42.2 km course is criterion style with three laps around Lake Minneola. Each lap also has a 1 km flat out and back section on the South Lake Trail. Support/aid stations are located approximately 2 km apart. Each support station is equipped with water, thirst quencher, ice, sponges, cola (defizzed), fruit and assorted foods.

I feel pretty good. There is a slight tightness in the stomach, but not something to be worried about. I have tried much worse. The first few kilometers roll by, most of the people I pass are doing the half IM. I have no idea of my race position. My pace has decreased a little and my stomach is also tighter now. I don't like where this is heading. I have to rid myself of this stomach problem. About 7 km into the run I grab a banana from the aid station. This will be a first for me eating a banana on the run, but I am hoping it will calm my stomach. I walk for about 30 m while I have the banana and a healthy cup of water. About 3 km later I feel better. I look at my Garmin, I've run the first 10 km in around 51 minutes, wow, that is faster than I was expecting. More kilometers roll by and I've completed the first of three loops. Only one person has passed me and I'm clearly running better than most runners out there.

At the start of the second lap I start running with a guy doing the IM. He was ahead of me out of transition. It's nice to run with someone else. We don't exchange many words, but just get on with the running business. There are many more IM athletes on the course now, a lot are barely running. I hit the half marathon in around 1h50m. I have been slowing a bit lately and I seem to be slowing even further. The last kilometers have been tough and it is certainly not getting any easier. Looking at my watch I reckon my km splits have been between 5:30 - 5:20 for some time now. For the rest of the second lap, I more or less manage to keep the same running pace, but start to walk the aid stations to ensure hydration and energy. I also try and eat some of the sports beans I have brought with me, but just can't seem to stomach them. Each aid station adds about 20 seconds extra to my time but I'd rather be able to run later than blow up.

At the start of the last lap I lose my running buddy. My left thigh is tight. I am not worried about the thigh at this stage unless I gets worse. My strategy of asking (or should I say shouting) for a cup of ice at every aid station and pouring it down your trisuit to let it seep down to my crutch seems to have worked wonders. I have had no problems with heat so far although it is a fairly hot and fairly humid day. An IM runner passes me going around a 4:45 min/km pace I guess. I try to stick with him for a while, but it is tough going and I decide to stay true to my pacing strategy instead and loose sight of him after a while. I look at my Garmin and realize I only have about 10 km to go. I'm nearly there and feel good. I might as well try and increase the pace now. Even if I blow-up I'm still looking at a sub 11 hour finish which would be awesome. I look at my watch with about 5km to go. I'm running a sub 5 minute per km pace now. I'll break 10h30m! Closing in on the transition area I increase the pace even further. I hit the final steep hill just before the downhill to the finish. I push fairly hard up the hill and 20 m from the top I start sprinting. I'm nearly there now. I feel like I'm flying. A sharp left and I can see the finish line. I raise my arms as I cross the line.

Run Split: 3h43m28s
Overall: 10/241
Age group: 4/48

Final Race Time: 10h17m43s
Overall: 8/241
Age group: 2/48

Post race analysis

I have come a long way since I started to entertain an IM last year and the prospect of qualifying for Hawaii. It has taken a lot of training to get to the point where I am now, and I’m ecstatic that I have just managed to complete an IM.

For a first time go at the IM distance I don’t think I could have had a much better race. I was well prepared and used my experience gained during the Florida half earlier in the year to guide my training. Of special importance was the run training with Scott Brittain and Russel Coleman. I am certain that the sessions with them have helped to push my run endurance to new levels.

Key take-aways

• Keep goggle straps underneath swim cap.
• Have a pacing strategy, I felt I was holding back all day, finishing strong ensured a good time.
• Although it is tough to eat, have Power bars and gels by the clock.
• Only take a couple of bags of sports beans on the run.
• Grab a cup of ice at every aid station and pour down the trisuit.
• Try eating a banana to solve stomach issues.

For the next IM event, which hopefully will be a Hawaii qualifier, I will try to depart from my conservative racing strategy. I am not sure it is worth pushing much harder on the bike. But I certainly want to take some more risk on the run and try a sub 3:30 marathon.

However, the year is not over yet, there is still the Turtle Tri in about three weeks and the Cayman marathon two weeks later. I am looking forward to giving the Turtle Tri a good go. I expect I will be chasing the fast swimmers on the bike and running like crazy to keep some of them behind me on the run. For the Cayman marathon, I am not so sure I want to try and push the pace. I have been entertaining a 3 hour finish, but the IM has drained me of a lot of energy. Nonetheless I will certainly go for a 3:15 finish which is my Boston qualifying time in my age group.

Family Champions

This weekend Tobias participated in the 800 meter CUC sea swim. With Majken swimming beside him to make sure he didn’t have any problems, he managed a 22 minute swim, which was good enough for gold in the male 8 years and under age group. He was obviously very proud; as were his parents! He managed to swim freestyle pretty much all the way, with some occasional breaststroke. His only complaint during the swim was getting saltwater in his mouth and nose. Picture of the champ below.
Majken and I participated in the Cayman Island Time Trial Championships a week ago. Start is Paradise Bar and Grill on South Church Street not far from where we live. The race route is out and back. East along South Sound to just before Hurley's roundabout and back to the finish line at Paradise Bar and Grill. Majken finished as first female overall in a time of 26:11, while I finished second overall in a time 21:40 for the 10 mile (16 km) course. Results are available here. Majken and I both received coverage in the CayCompass, a blurb below:

...Dennis Brooks set the early pace at 24 minutes 50 seconds and held the best time for quite a while until he was toppled by Michael Stomps.

Unlike most of the other top competitors, two time Olympian Mitchell Smith raced on a standard road racing bicycle, without all the aerodynamic bells and whistles that characterise triathlon and time trial bicycles.

This did not seem to slow Smith down too much as he streaked to a time of 22:19 to knock Stomps off the top step of the podium. Steve Evans was the first cyclist to mount a serious challenge to Smith’s time, but fell a mere two seconds short with a time of 22:21.

Triathlete Jasper Mikkelsen turned in the surprise performance of the day as he knocked Smith off the top step with an amazing time of 21:40, only a couple of seconds short of the course record.

Mikkelsen is building up to an Ironman triathlon this weekend in Florida and if his speed over ten miles is anything to go on, he should be flying on his big day.

Unfortunately for Mikkelsen, Jerome Ameline, the undisputed king of time trialling in Cayman, was yet to cross the line.

When he did, he reclaimed his rightful place on the top step of the podium, setting a new course record in the process. His time of 21:19 for the 10–mile course translates to an average speed of 28.14 miles per hour.

...

In the women’s division, Majken Mikkelsen went one better than spouse Jasper by claiming the women’s overall title as well as the 30–39 age group in a time of 26:11. Her time means that she was faster than four of the male age group champions and finished in 16th position overall.

Article in the Compass

There is an article on me in the CayCompass today. Read it here, or below:

Triathletes are a special breed who belong in the upper echelons of sporting deity.

For their efforts they should be grouped alongside boxers, mixed martial arts fighters, American footballers and all extreme sports practioners for bravery and commitment – especially the top amateur triathletes who do it for the love of the sport.

One of those brave soles is Jasper Mikkelsen, a 36–year–old Dane who in the year he’s lived here has become a regular competitor on the triathlon scene.

The Florida Ironman is his next challenge. A mere 2.4 mile swim, 112 mile bike ride and full 26.2 mile marathon awaits Mikkelsen on November 1.

Surely he’s been out in the Cayman sun too long, you might ask. But no, he is a sensible man with a responsible job in high finance and two small children so the rational part of his brain is still intact.

Like anybody who does this sort of event, it is all about the challenge; wether mind and body can meet the demands. There’s not much of Mikkelsen but what he lacks in size he is certainly makes up for in heart.

With his designer specs and quiet demeanour, Mikkelsen seems more suited to attend an IT conference than one of the most demanding sporting events imaginable.

“I’m drawn to endurance sports and have always embraced the suffering required,” says Mikkelsen without a trace of irony. “Up until I was 13 or 14 I did a lot of different sports but excelled at cross country running and swimming.

“From then on I had a long period where I did little or no sports at all and when I did it was predominantly team sports, although I did have one year where I did a fair amount of cycling.

“I starting running a little again in my early twenties, but focused my efforts on karate until my late twenties. I also enjoy mountain biking. Triathlon is only something I started in late 2005.”

Who or what inspired you to race triathlons? “I was introduced to triathlons by our neighbours and good friends in Australia; Russ and Gale Rogers are both close to 60 and have completed numerous triathlons.

“They are incredibly fit for their age and are very inspirational and supportive. I thought, what the heck, if these people can do a triathlon so can I.

“One weekend they invited me along to a short distance triathlon event. At that time I didn’t even have a bike so I had to borrow one.

“I could not believe how tough it was to run after biking, but it was a great experience and I have been hooked ever since.”

A typical hard training week is nothing short of Full Body Torture. “A big week is around 18 hours of training: 4 hours swimming, 6.5 hours running and 7.5 hours biking. I might also do some core strength training.

“Since I started training seriously for the Ironman four months ago I have trained on average around 13 hours per week.”

He loves Cayman to train on. On Saturday he had just finished running for two and a half hours with Scott Brittain, last year’s Cayman Marathon winner.

“Training here is excellent,” smiles Mikkelsen. “The weather is typically good all year round, although summer can be a bit hot. The water conditions are simply world class. There is also a small but good community of athletes dedicated to triathlon.

“The swim scene here is surprisingly big relative to population size and I have benefited greatly from swimming with regular masters swimmers like Alex Harling and Johan Heath.

“On the cycling side the Cyling Association does an excellent job in organizing events and weekend rides. I think the smallest organized group is probably the runners, although there are plenty of people out both in early mornings and evenings along West Bay road and South Sound.

“I’ve been very lucky to have an opportunity to run with Russell Coleman and Scott. Both are excellent runners and I have benefitted greatly by running with them. Fellow triathlete Marius Acker has also provided lots of good advice.”

It may be mid–October but Mikkelsen has plenty to do before Christmas.

“Immediately after the Ironman I will be taking it a bit easy, but then I will be doing a lot of the upcoming events on island.

“Pirates Week is an opportunity to do swimming, running and cycling. Then we have the biggest triathlon event on island – the Turtle Tri.

“I am very excited with the participation of a few pros this year and some good age groupers. It should make for good competition for the local favourites Marius and Dave Walker.

“I’m hoping to do a lot better this year with a solid year of training behind me, but I won’t be able to compete with Dave and Marius who both have so much speed especially on the run. In December I will be doing the Cayman Marathon and then finally I will take the remaining three weeks off.”

Mikkelsen is a senior economist with Information & Communication Technology Authority. He rides a BMX to and from work most days.

“I get lots of looks because it’s such a small bike. Some people probably think I’m crazy, but I think it is in line with the island vibe and it stretches my legs.”

He came here with his wife and two boys, aged six and three, from Australia having left Denmark in 2002 to join an economic consultancy in Melbourne. After two years in Melbourne and some time in Brisbane they moved to Cayman.

“It can be tough fitting in training with the family around. I start very early in the morning so that I can be back in time to have breakfast with the kids.

“With the family around triathlon training becomes a bit of a juggling act. You have to decide how much time you are prepared to commit to training and discuss your plan with your family. This avoids a lot of problems down the line.”

So far there haven’t been any training injuries and he is fit and raring to go. He is financing the whole thing himself, costing around $1,000 and is open to offers from sponsors.

“The last couple of weeks have been quite tough. I probably maxed out at 18 hours. This last week was 16 and this week will be slightly less. By the time I hit the last week I’ll be down to about five hours. I’ll be tapering basically, preparing my body for the strain to do the Ironman.

Why the Ford Ironman Florida which starts from Panama City Beach? “This Ironman is close to Cayman, it’s a nice event and supposed to be a Florida classic.

“Where I expect to come all depends on the participation. I expect definitely to be in the top 100. We had the Ironman World Championships in Hawaii last weekend so many of the top pros are not going to be in Florida. That means many of us mortals will be there and it’ll be much easier for us to place highly.”

The winner will come in around nine hours and Mikkelsen hopes to get a sub–10 hour time. Ten hours of self–inflicted torture. No matter what his time is, this is an Ironman in anyone’s books.

Nice a article. Although the journo Ron somehow got the event mixed up with Florida Ironman 1 November, the one I’m doing is 25 October in Clermont Florida, also it is a long time goal of mine to do a sub 10, I don’t expect to do it this time.

Article in the Observer

So this Sunday I was in the Observer. Johann and I won the two person time trial over a week ago. To read the full article click here.
Some exerts:

One of the last teams to start was the potent combination of triathletes Johann Prinsloo and Jasper Mikkelsen. The reason for their starting position towards the end of the field was that Mikkelsen needed time earlier in the morning to complete a 12 mile training run before he could do the time trial.

I have started to run on Sunday mornings with a guy called Russel. He is a better runner than me, so it always makes for a good solid run. On the day of the time trial I did however, take it a little easier on the final kilometers to make sure my legs were not ruined before the ride. I have decided not to skip any runs. As I have written in a previous post it was my running that let me down in Florida for the half ironman and I don't want that to happen again.

Prinsloo readily admits that his partner in crime Mikkelsen had to do most of the work out on the course.

“Our TT race was more of a ‘Truck and Trailer’ than a Time Trial event. With Jasper being in peak condition leading up to his Ironman event and myself just having picked up the bike again after a two-month break following Florida Half Ironman, I found that I had to put in a lot of effort just to stay on his back wheel and only managed to slip to the front for a few short sections. It was a tough but fun and as always well organised event and I’ll be looking forward to the next one,” says Prinsloo.

Mikkelsen was delighted with the win, and very relieved that his legs could still put in a good time trial in spite of his training run.

“I wasn’t sure how my legs would react after the run, so Johan and I decided that it was probably best for him to lead the first mile. But already after the first minute I could feel my legs were fine, so I took the lead and let Johan know that I was good to go,” says Mikkelsen.

”I was a bit surprised that we could pull off a win, but we rode a good and strong race, keeping a consistent pace throughout the 10 miles. As a triathlete it is always a pleasure to beat the roadies on their own turf"

The last bit of the last quote is missing from the article.

I think Johann painted a picture that gives the impression that I controlled the whole ride. It is true that I probably dominated on the day, but Johann also did his part.

Florida 70.3 in CayCompass

Fellow triathlete and friend Marius Acker is interviewed in todays CayCompass, where he gives an account of the 70.3 race in Florida. Click here to read the article. I am briefly mentioned. His experience is similar to mine (see post below). A major difference between Marius and I is running ability. Even though he was slow relative to his own ambitions he still posted for me a quick run split.

I was disappointed with my run split in Florida and have devised a training plan for the next 3 months that is concentrated on running. The focus of the plan is speed work with one long run (>20 km) per week. Marius was kind enough to provide input to the plan and has also offered to include me in some of the speed sessions he has with the fastest runners on island. There is a saying that goes something like this: to become the best, you have to train with the best. We’ll see how it goes.

Race report from the 5th annual Ford Ironman 70.3 Florida Triathlon at Walt Disney World Resort 18 May

Awake @ 3:50 am, 10 minutes before the alarm. I eat my bowl of oats, drink a small cup of coffee and evacuate what I can from my body.

I am staying at the Disney World Resort French Quarter together with my old High School buddy from Denmark Mikkel Bondesen. By chance Mikkel saw I was participating in the 70.3 event half a year ago and decided he would give it go as well. Mikkel is one of most driven persons I know and he has spent nearly half a year training for the event, transforming himself from "couch potato" to a serious triathlete contender. He has averaged 18 hours of training a week and his physical appearance has changed considerably. In comparison I have averaged around 12 hours per week since around December last year, but with a base level of fitness.

At 4:30 am we leave for the race area in our respective rental car. Parking is at Magic Kingdom parking lot (Grumpy and Dopey sections) and buses provide transportation the rest of the way.

We set-up in transition and head down to the beach to see Pros start. This is no small event with around 2,000 competitors and with some decent Pro participation. The swim is 1.9 km and starts at Clementine Beach in Fort Wilderness and is pretty much out and back. It is a wave start with 3 minutes between each wave. There are 21 waves. The water is clear with a dark bottom giving it a tea like look. A bit depressing coming from Cayman with crystal clear waters. The 90 km bike course travels through western Orange County, with three aid stations spread fairly evenly on the course. There is local traffic sharing the roadway in few cases, but otherwise the course is well patrolled by local law enforcement. The 21.1 km run is a three-loop course on bike paths and grass trials (canal roads) of Fort Wilderness. Aid stations are provided approximately every mile. The total distance is covered is 70.3 miles (hence the name 70.3) or 113.1 km.

Being on US soil there are formalities to be observed before race start: a short prayer and of course the singing of the National Anthem. 6am, the cannon fires for the first time and the male Pros are off. 3 minutes later the women are in the water. After watching a few more waves Mikkel and I head away from the start and towards transition.

Mikkel wants to visit the port-a-john and we agree to meet in 20 minutes time. There is still an hour before my wave is scheduled to leave. I find fellow Cayman triathlete Marius Acker (in my age group) hanging around not far away. He is reluctant to get too close to the race start because of the onset of pre-race nerves. We talk a bit about the course and the day ahead. He encourages me to put the swim goggle strap under the swim cap, the idea obviously being to protect the goggles from being swept off by a stray hand. While it seems like the logical thing to do, I am not prepared to do it for this race. The cardinal rule of racing: never experiment on race day.

About 15 minutes before my wave start, final “good lucks” pass between Mikkel and I. Focusing on the day ahead I do some stretches before passing through the arches to the starting line. I see Simon Philips a fellow Cayman triathlete and we exchange a few words before it is time to get in line. Looking around I can’t see Marius, until out of the corner of my eye I catch him entering the start area. True to his word he has left his entry till the last minute. I ask him where he thinks a good spot for the start would be. He replies on the edge of the start area. I look around and decide on a place in the right hand section close to Marius. I give some thought to drafting Marius for the swim, but decide against it because he is a better swimmer and is easily going to drop me.

The Swim

The announcer gives us a 1 minute warning, 30 seconds, 10, and were off. I’m in the second line running behind this guy taking massive leaps in the water. He drives in and I do the same. Forgetting to close my mouth I swallow a mouthful of lake water, arghh…, I stand up again (it is still shallow), curse my stupidity for having an open mouth, take a few more steps and dive into the water again. This time my mouth is closed and I start swimming. I push pretty hard at the start, trying to stay on the tail of the swimmer in front of me. I feel uncomfortable, but this is expected, it usually takes me at least 10 minutes before I get into the rhythm. I negotiate my way round a few swimmers, and notably some that are already breast-stroking after less than 500m. About 800m into the swim I start running into some serious traffic. By this time I have already passed a lot of swimmers, but it just seems to get more and more congested. I’m nearing the first turnaround. We make the first 90 degree turn and head across the lake to the other side. Soon we will hit the second turn which will send us back towards the start. I’m loosing my patience with the swimmers in front of me and decide to take a more direct approach to overtaking. Anyone swimming slower is simply an obstacle to be avoided or negotiated as best as possible while continuing the forward momentum. Having tried to avoid swimmers by zig-zagging for most of the course, I now start to negotiate them more directly. It works. I am able to pass swimmers more easily. As a result I settle into a nice stroke which lasts until the end of the swim. My fingers hit the lake bottom and I stand up. The swim is over. I feel good. Visibility with my old Speedo goggles from Australia has been excellent all the way, no misting up at all.

Swim Time 33m39s
Overall 245/1995
Age Group 47/351

T1

Out of the water we’re running largely single profile towards our bikes. TJ Olivier a fellow triathlete from Cayman comes up beside me and we exchange a few words. I reach my bike fairly quickly. First thing I do is turn on my Garmin which is mounted on the bike. I put on my cycle jersey and load it with two small water bottles and put on a pair of cycle shorts. I have decided that I would rather have the comfort of cycle shorts than suffer any discomfort with my swimming shorts with limited padding. I fit my new aero helmet and start running out of transition towards the timing mat which will record my T1. As I approach the exit a line builds up and we end up walking single file. This is incredibly annoying and I consider running past those in front of me. As I contemplate this move, some guy speeds passed me on the inside knocking down the athlete two places in front of me. This causes the line come to a standstill while the idiot who caused the mess manages to get away. Probably a good idea I didn’t try anything foolish like him, but I am frustrated by time it is taking to get out of T1.

Transition Time 3m50s
Race Status 37m29s

The Bike

We mount the bikes and I manage to slot my feet into the shoes fairly quickly. We ride carefully through the narrow paths until we hit the road. I am feeling good and turn my left wrist to check my speed. I realize that my Garmin is still on the bike and that I haven’t put it on my wrist as planned. There is no way that I can put in on now, so I leave it as is. It is actually not too a bad disposition, the only thing is that the display is on its head, but that doesn’t really matter. I am going a comfortable 37 km/h. I take a few sips of my water bottle and gradually settle into the ride. I few guys fly past me and I consider increasing my speed, but decide against it. The swim was a little slower than intended, but is really not of much significance in the overall time and it is still early in the race so I think I am pretty well on track despite not going full throttle on the bike.

Before the race I had been reading about the optimal time trial pace. The general consensus centred on a negative split, i.e. to ride the last half of the course faster than the first. I still have plenty of time to increase my speed. My speed is pretty good about 5 km out of transition. I’m increasingly passing cyclists and also catch the guys who passed me at the start. Around the 20 km mark I pass a fellow Cayman triathlete Tony Watts waving my hand, he replies with encouragement ”Go Jasper”!

As I hit the fist aid station I dispense of an extra water bottle I have been carrying. The rules for the event are very clear with regard to littering and I don’t want to incur a penalty for throwing anything on the road outside the aid areas. I check my nutrition situation, I have two gels of about 100 calories each and a bottle with around 400 calories. By the 30 km mark I have probably consumed about 200 in the bottle. I decide to take a gel and make a mental note to consume the other one at the 60 km mark. I’ve taken some salt tablets with me on the bike just in case, but I don’t feel like I need them.

There is a rough patch on the road. I lose my yellow sponge plug in my aero bottle. Too bad, there is no way I am going back for it. It starts raining heavily now, but only for a couple of minutes and road doesn’t seem to be affected. I reach the second aid station feeling great. I have made sure that I wouldn’t need to take anything from the stations by carrying everything I need. Unfortunately I am caught up in the traffic of people slowing to grab nutrition and water from the station. I make a mental note to avoid similar incidents in other races. At this fairly late stage on the bike leg I have only been passed three times by athletes that I haven’t managed to catch later on. I am guessing one of them was the age grouper in 30-34 who managed to place 9th overall. Otherwise, I have consistently been overtaking others all the way. Hitting the 60 km mark according to my Garmin I consume the final gel. The gel is quickly absorbed by my body and it provides a real boost on the rolling hills.

Compared to the first part of the bike leg I have increased my speed and perceived effort now, but I am not sure I am doing the negative splits I had intended. Marius all of a sudden materialises in front of me. He has been riding fast. There is only about 5 km left of the bike course. I thought I would catch him about half way. I wave as I pass him and he acknowledges with encouraging words. Shortly after, I pass another Cayman triathlete Johan Heath. It cannot be many more minutes before we hit transition. My Garmin tells me there are only a couple of km to go. I start spinning a bit in anticipation. My Garmin now shows we have passed the 90 km mark. Is the course too long? About another km, I’m there… it’s done… over with. Now let’s see how the legs run.

Bike Time 02h24m26s
Overall 74/1995
Age Group 16/351
Race Time 03h01m55s

T2

The moment my feet hit the ground after dismounting the bike I feel something is not right. My stomach seems to seize up. I manage to run to the bike rack, dump the bike and immediately try to stretch my stomach muscles. It doesn’t seem to help, so I start changing for the run. I also spend time readjusting my Garmin for the run leg. The stomach still feels tight. I empty my blader in a bush next the bike rack hoping that might help. Still feel cramps, but there’s really not much I can do about it now, so suck it up and start running out of transition. I don’t get it. I had a fairly easy bike leg, no pain at all and I could have gone faster. I’ve run 10 km in 45 minutes in training sessions following a fairly tough 3 hour bike and felt good, and now this? Is it dehydration, the water I swallowed in the lake, a poor bike fit etc…don’t know, but I will have to work on it afterwards.

Transition time 3m16s
Race Time 03h05m11s

The Run

At the beginning of the run I am in some serious discomfort. I have to drag my legs along. I sight Johan just outside the transition area and decide then and there that I will try and keep him in my sights. The first 5 km are extremely uncomfortable. Johan is gradually pulling away from me, but I can still see him once in a while. After about 7 km which about the first lap of the course, my stomach cramps seem to ease. I begin the second of the three laps. Now there are more athletes pouring on to the course. With more people on the course the aid stations are becoming increasingly congested. A lot are walking or barely running. I start noticing how hot and humid it actually is. Just out of transition, there was a massive downpour of rain for about 5 minutes or so. The sun is now out and the water is evaporating. The humidity and heat is especially bad on the grass trails which comprises more than half of the course. Even though I have been training in the hot and humid climate of Cayman, these are extreme conditions. Good my race preparation was not in the Northern States or Canada.

Feeling better on the second lap I increase my pace and catch Johan with ease. I decide it is probably not a good idea to push my luck on the pace and decide to run with him side-by-side for a while. Nearing the end of the second lap I gradually pull away from Johan. Psychologically it is really tough with a third and final lap. I would have preferred two longer laps. By this stage I am tired. More than four and half hours of racing has taken its toll. So far I have managed to run through the aid stations pretty much every time as I know walking will kill my run splits by adding about 20 seconds to each kilometre, but at this stage I don’t really care anymore. I decide it better to ensure adequate hydration and energy for the last 7 km. The legs feel heavy and negotiating the grass trail becomes really tough. I manage to keep some sort of form together for the next 3-4 km, but my pace has dropped drastically. I am stopping at every aid station and take on board as much as I can. With only 2 km left I try to pick–up the pace. Looking at my watch I realise that I will finish close to the five hour mark. I will never forgive myself if I miss the opportunity for a sub five hour finish. The last km is a killer, but I am determined to finish within five hours. I cross the finish line boxing the air with my right arm (not caught on camera unfortunately).

Run Time 01h53m52s
Overall 327/1995
Age Group 58/351

Final Race Time 4h59m02s
Overall 171/1995
Age Group 38/351

Post-race

For a first time effort on the 70.3 distance, I am very satisfied with sub 5 hours, however, it also fair to say that 4h59m02s did not meet my time objective for the race, but on the day I gave it all I had and that was the time I was awarded. I probably lost around 10 minutes dealing with stomach cramps, and a little on the transitions. The bike leg was a moderate effort for me and I guess I could comfortably have ridden 5-10 minutes faster, but there is always the trade-off with the run. Would a faster bike pace have ruined my run even more? I don’t know. I might also have been able to swim a little faster without all the traffic. One thing is certain though, I need to improve my running. Good fitness and speed on the run is crucial for a fast finishing time. I also need to do more workouts at race intensity to figure out how I successfully manage the transition from riding to running without cramps.

UPDATE: Mikkel found out that he placed third in his Clydesdale division when he got a plaque in the mail. Great work Mikkel!!

DHL Duathlon

Below is a snapshot of an article in the Netnews here in Cayman (click on it to enlarge it). It is describes the 2008 DHL Duathlon held last week. As a member of the Committee of the Triathlon Association in Cayman, I assisted in organizing the event. You will see me at the start line (in the left hand side of the picture) and crossing the finish line (I was not being directed to the transition as stated).Majken and I participated as a team (the Great Danes). I did the 2x2 mile run and she the 20 mile bike ride. Overall we placed 3rd in a time of 56 minutes and 43 seconds. Majken had an amazing ride on the bike and managed to keep most of the chasing riders behind her.
You can see more pictures from the event here.

Giving 100%