The Latest.

I've taken a big break from posting, but my energy is back and I'll try to give an update more regularly now that the season is about to begin anew.

I took a good, long break after Ironman Arizona last fall, making sure to get a little skiing, hiking, and basic relaxation in my routine. I caught up on reading, wine tasting, and chased new sponsorship for 2009. Probably the three most important triathlon-related pieces of news are my committment to Sport Beans/NTTC triathlon team, a renewed relationship with Specialized for 2009, and my month-long trip in the warm American southwest during February.

I'm actually fresh back from a trip to Fairfield, California, for a team camp. It was a really good long weekend, with a tour of the Jelly Belly factory, a number of excellent dinners, and a trip to Napa for a couple of private wine tastings. I got to know the team during the various activities, and it looks like we are going to be a serious threat at some of the bigger events. Male pros include Daniel Bretscher, Brad Seng, Jeff Piland, and myself. Women pros are Jessica Jacobs, Leah Daugherty, Alexis Smith, and Lauren Jensen. For more on the team, check out websites at: www.nttcracing.com and www.sportbeans.com

I'm excited to be back with Specialized again, riding the Tarmac Pro as a training bike, and the S-Works Transition again for the TT bike. I'll be posting some photos of the new rig soon, as well as getting a Specialized Rider Profile up and running on the wesbsite.

The February trip was phenomenal training. I've never had the opportunity to take off during the winter for some quality riding, but I was able to secure some time off work this year. I hit the road with a local friend and professional cyclist, Ben Kneller, and we spent 2 weeks training in Tucson, Arizona. The riding was far better than I imagined, with plenty of variation in the terrain. We only had a couple of colder days during the two weeks, so it was bibs and jersey riding 90% of the time. I logged a ton of miles on the bike, got to ride Mt. Lemmon with Eneko Llanos, played a round of golf at Arizona National, got to swim at U of A (awesome outdoor pool), eat plenty of fresh citrus, and catch up on my vitamin D for the winter. Afterwards, we both raced Valley of the Sun cycling race (I went in tired and got waxed, he was second), and then headed out to Palm Springs, California. We spent a couple days riding around that area (check out the Palms to Pines highway), and then went further out to catch a couple stages of the Tour of California. We watched one road stage, and then spent the day in Solvang, watching the ProTour riders battle it out on a tough time trial course. It was super inspiring to watch some of the best riders in the world, and to be part of such a big crowd (see: Lance effect). From California, we inched our way through rush-hour traffic in L.A., and headed back to Arizona. I raced the Desert Classic Duathlon (again on tired legs) and got my early-season mistakes out of the way. Turns out I rode the course with my front wheel out of alignment and rubbing on the brake. Still, hats off to the competition, who crushed the runs and reminded me why I don't race ITU. We finished up the trip with a few more days north of Scottsdale, and then Flagstaff to reacclimate to altitude. I can say without a doubt that I will be entering this season with better fitness than ever before. I'm getting fired up to test the legs at New Orleans, where I'll be racing with my parents (first time they've attempted the distance).

I'll be checking back in with some more thoughts and pictures from the offseason soon. Until then, happy training.

Community

Just days after adding a Community page to my website, Rick Crawford follows suit with a very good nod to the same in his Velonews article:

http://velonews.com/article/86494/training-with-rick-crawford

Although I train on my own a lot, I owe a serious debt to those people who have pushed me to another level in my training and racing here in Durango.

Angel, Benzilla, Mexico?

In the spirit of the offseason, which for me involves a fair amount of cross/fun training, including my foray into ice climbing, I thought I would present viewers with some original images from my good friend, "Downtown" Joel Brown. Joel and I attended school together at the University of Montana, and were both members of the triathlon club team. I had intended to develop my website with him, starting late in 2006, but after I moved from Montana to Colorado, plans changed. Even so, he had begun to develop some images and had landed on the name for my website. Without further ado:

Angel from Wildflower

and Benzilla

In other arenas, consistent training has started again for 2009, and although I'm not much for obeying the standard (and arbitrary) practice of feigning serious introspection because a new calendar year has arrived, I do have some reflections and future ideas. This past season was full of quality memories, ranging from my first race in Pucon last January, all the way to my first Ironman in Arizona. In my second season as a pro, I learned many lessons about race preparation, mental toughness, and execution. I also learned how to push my pain threshold to a new high, suffering through my key workouts and first marathon with considerable distress. It was a year of growing stronger, and more conscious of my own goals within the sport. A new direction was forged with my qualification for Kona, and I will be working even harder this season to accomplish the goals I have set, and to continue my improvement as an athlete. It's been a great ride so far, and I'm looking forward to my first races of 2009 with considerable drive.

Finally, look for me to appear at random in the American southwest (or Mexican northwest) during the month of February, possibly living vagabond warrior style in a late 70s 5th wheel trailer with shag carpet. Seriously.

Slowtwitch

The interview is up at:

http://www.slowtwitch.com/Interview/Ben_Hoffman_gets_slowtwitched_644.html

Winter Update

Just wanted to take a minute and give everyone a little update from the middle of my offseason. I've been taking time off from any structured workouts, and it's been good to get out for some hikes that were neglected during my season. The Colorado winter is finally settling into the Durango area, with considerable snowfall in the last week. Last year we were already buried in snow at this time, and it turned into one of the more epic winters in recent history with over 100 inches in town. It's a beautiful monochrome time of year, and I plan to spend some quality time outdoors, skiing, hiking, and shoveling. There are a few things worth noting since my Ironman debut almost a month ago, so I'll list them below:

-It's sponsorship season, and as a relatively new pro, I'm working on developing some lasting relationships with companies I believe in. Right now I have committed to joining the Sport Beans/NTTC squad for 2009, so I will wearing their kits and using affiliated sponsors equipment at my races. Check out the team site at http://www.nttcracing.com/ I'll keep everyone up to speed on any new developments.

-My website photo gallery has also been updated with some pictures that were taken earlier this summer, so make sure to check them out. http://www.benhoffmanracing.com/gallery.html

-I expect that my Slowtwitch interview should be up sometime next week, so watch for it at http://www.slowtwitch.com/

-My dog Ollie was hit by a car almost a week ago, so I thought it would be appropriate to pay tribute to a great companion with a photo. He really had an amazing temperament, and will be missed.

I'll keep you updated with any news from the offseason, including training plans for 2009, new sponsors, and hopefully some big powder ski days.

6th Place Ironman Arizona

The final days leading to Ironman were essentially a blur when I look back. I had prepared mentally and physically for nearly 4 months after deciding to try the distance after Lake Stevens 70.3, but as the day drew near and I was surrounded by my family and friends, the days bled together until I was being corralled by race officials across the timing mats and into the water at 6:35 in the morning on Sunday. I had managed to stay healthy all the way through my taper, and I knew I was ready physically after logging countless hours on the bike, in the pool, and on mountain trails in Durango. Mentally, I had convinced myself that if I nailed my nutrition, the weather cooperated, and raced my race, it would be possible to go 8:30. This was my Ironman debut, so there were definitely some huge unknowns, and when I tore a ten inch gash in the left shoulder of my wetsuit putting it on right before the start, it took all my mental faculties to relax and remember that the swim would only be a short part of the day. I warmed up a little with the torn wetsuit, and it immediately filled my upper body with water. It felt like I was swimming in a XL t-shirt, and every stroke was like lifting weights as the sleeves were also full of water. On a positive note, I didn't come close to overheating during the swim, which has been an issue for me at times, but probably wouldn't have mattered since the water was a brisk 63 degrees on race morning. Because Tempe town lake has some curve to it, pros were spread out at the line, some choosing to track the buoy line, and others opting to swim the tangent and try to cut the distance a little. I just did my best to settle in with a group that felt comfortably hard, knowing that my suit was causing drag, but that I had to just get through it and then go to work on the bike. Looking back, the swim was probably a touch short, and I covered the distance in 52:53. Coming out of the water well behind people I normally swim with/outswim was difficult, and I had a slow transition as I struggled with the wetsuit, but I got on my bike and felt good (always nice to come from 6500 ft. above sea level down to 1140). My plan from the beginning was to ride strong until I made contact with the leaders, and after my swim, I was chasing hard through the first loop of the bike. I passed several guys, focusing hard on staying LOW and out of the wind as we headed out on the Beeline highway into a headwind. At the turnaround, Jozsef Major and I were already making up good time on a larger group up front, and by the turnaround on lap one, I moved into the lead of a group that would stay largely intact for the remainder of the day. My biggest fear entering Ironman was that I would have trouble eating enough calories during the bike leg, so I set a ten minute timer on my watch and ate and drank religiously, only missing two of the eventual 27 feed reminders. On the second and third lap, I traded places near the front of the larger group with Frederik Van Lierde, Major, Brandon Marsh, and Chris McDonald. Race officials were following our pack to ensure proper spacing, but I took no risks and stayed near the front. Finally on our last trip out of town we caught some of the other guys who swam and biked strong, including Mark Van Akkeren, who led the group back into town until I passed him before transition. I had heard from a number of Ironman athletes that the race really begins at mile 90 on the bike, and despite feeling fatigued near that point, I had stuck to my plan and my legs felt good as we headed for the change tents. My bike split was 4:30:30, and was good enough for 4th fastest on the day behind Chris Lieto, Jordan Rapp, and Kieran Doe.

My transition was pretty solid given that I took the extra time to put on my compression socks, and I ran out on the course feeling confident that I could put together a solid marathon. I immediately got away from some of the other guys who came in with me on the bike, and since the GPS watch I planned to use for help in pacing had died during the bike leg, I relied on my other watch for mile splits. My goal for the marathon from the outset of training had been a generic "break three hours," and as race day drew closer, I had honed that down to an ideal day 2:54 high, averaging approximately 6:40's. I went through the first mile feeling great, but I clocked a 6:10 and knew I had to slow down and be patient. So, I backed off the gas a little and waited for mile 2 to come. Unfortunately, as I neared the marker, I looked at my watch and realized that I hadn't slowed at all, posting 12:20 for 2 miles. Fortunately for my pacing plan, eventual winner Andreas Raelert passed me about 2 1/2 miles in looking like he was running a 10k. This helped sober me a little and I settled into something much closer to my goal, and my first 3 1/2 miles were covered in 6:26 pace. I stayed steady for the next 8 miles, averaging 6:35s, but I was battling the onset of gas and serious discomfort, stopping at port-o-lets near miles 12 and 14. My Dad was hanging out on the lonelier side of Tempe town lake, and he relayed a message via phone from my coach, saying "the guys who win these know how to eat." I kept on trying to get food down for the next 6 miles, but the two stops and pain from gas slowed my pace dramatically, as I covered those miles in an average of 7:11. It was during this stretch that I was repassed by Major, who had apparently dealt with his demons and was now cruising again towards the leaders. A few minutes later, near mile 20, I was passed by Ironman Florida champ Jan Raphael, and I was struggling to keep a positive outlook. This was my crux moment, the deepest valley I had encountered all day, but when a spectator giving splits warned me of Paul Amey's oncoming, I found new strength and told myself I would not be denied my 6th place. I ran as efficiently as I could, still trying to get calories and fluids down, but losing most of them as my stomach decided it was done for the day. I focused as hard as I could on making my legs imitate the motion I hammered into them at the track so many times, and fed ravenously on the energy from my support crew and the growing crowd. As I headed back towards transition and the finish line, I poured everything I had into my legs, closing the last 6 miles in 6:20 pace and holding off Amey by 3 minutes. Instead of elation at the line, I talked for a few seconds with Chris Lieto, and then I was wheeled to the med tent for 3 bags of saline. Total marathon time was 2:56:12, and I think that could have easily been a minute faster without the stomach problems and two stops. Total time was even better than my best projection, at 8:24:13.


Just as I suspected, Ironman is a brand new animal, and despite feeling good about my result and securing a spot for Ironman Hawaii next fall, there are countless things which I feel I could improve. Still, this is the time for rest and relaxation. I will now take significant time off structured training, and enjoy some wonderful holiday time with family and friends. Thanks to everyone who made this possible, including my wonderful parents, sister, family, girlfriend, supporting friends from Durango, Santa Fe, and Flagstaff, coach Elliot Bassett, the masters swim team, all my sponsors, my website guru Dave, and anyone who sent me a card and watched the live updates. I am deeply thankful for all you have done and recognize how important this support network is for accomplishing my goals. I'll be posting again when the spirit moves me. Until then, enjoy your winter plans, and look for me to make another trip to Pucon in January for a little summer in the middle of the Colorado cold for the Cristal Ironman Pucon 70.3.

Breakthrough

It's funny how you can spend so much time doing one thing, and then one day you realize something much larger that lends itself to a deeper understanding of your chosen task. Most people call these realizations epiphanies, but I'll just call mine a breakthrough because I prefer the imagery behind that wording.

I've been racing triathlon for almost 4 full seasons now. I started as a member of the University of Montana triathlon club team in 2004, and I took one year off to pursue goals of learning spanish and traveling in South America in 2005. Otherwise, I've had consistent training in the three disciplines since the fall of 2005, taking the necessary breaks each year to restore psyche and let my body recover from the physical stress of each racing season. I've seen steady progress in the sport from the very beginning, and I can only think of a couple times when I felt like I didn't improve with each race. Usually those were due to some kind of small injury or mistake made through lack of experience (which in itself is learning, and hence, improving). In fact, it's been one of the hallmarks of my career thus far that I've finished all but one race I've entered, and never truly had a disastrous result. However, it was while I stood on the track last Thursday during a particularly nice fall day that I realized how far I had come, and just how much I have matured in the second half of this year. It's hard not to plateau in most any pursuit, and my case was no different with the first part of the racing calendar in 2008. I felt like my debut year as a pro in 2007 was (in the words of a University of Montana triathlon team alum) strong to quite strong. I was in the mix in most races despite my less than perfect swim, and I was knocking on the door for the majority of the prize purses, taking home enough money to convince me that pursuing this sport as a career was a legitimate goal. And whether it was the increasing depth and skill of the professional fields at major races, or just the fact that my improvement wasn't keeping up with everyone else's, I found myself in a similar situation throughout the early part of this year; several close calls, finishing in the top ten, but not always in the money. So fast forward to this fall when I'm standing on the high school track and the thin mountain air is just the right temperature for a brutal 10x 1mile at 5:40 on the 7 minute only days after my hardest effort and best time for a half ironman in Tempe, Arizona. I'm 4 miles into this workout, doing my best to ignore the obnoxious taunts of some clever sophomore in the stands, and it hits me during my 1 minute and 20 seconds of rest: This is what I am MADE to do. I'm an athlete through and through, and I'm so far into this Ironman training that it actually feels BETTER to be running fast miles than jogging and waiting for the next one. My body has learned what it's designed to do, and it's given up the fight to be lazy and resist my efforts to transform it. These are the moments that define my transmutation in triathlon, from level to level, from mindset to mindset, from average to best.