I’ve spent the last few days thinking about what to say in the wake of my second Ironman title, trying to recap the moments that unfolded throughout the very long day, but all that comes to mind is “thank you.” While attending the professional athlete press conference before the race in St. George this year, I was struck by something Chris McDonald said while describing what he thinks about when things inevitably get really tough in an Ironman. He said that he remembers all the people who have made sacrifices so he could be out there racing, and that comment was particularly poignant for me. After coming to St. George to train during spring break in college, logging a training camp before the inaugural race in 2010, and then competing there for each edition of the Ironman, I felt especially invested in this event. And when the going got tough for me this past weekend (which, by the way, was about 1500m into the swim), I called on all the people who have been a part of this incredible journey, dedicating sections of the race to each team or individual as I battled my demons, the weather and course, in what would be the hardest race of my career. Although I am the one who gets up to do the training each day, none of this would be possible without the support of so many people. From pushing me in a workout, to providing a place to live, sending a well-timed care package, a phone call, massage, supplying top-notch equipment, making me laugh, cooking me a meal, flying halfway across the country to see me (multiple times), or just telling me that it was possible, to continue dreaming…

Without further ado, a partial list of those people who won this race for me, whether they knew it or not. Undoubtedly, there will be some that I miss, but you know if you have played a role in my success, and I thank you:

David, Bethany, Lillian, Kana, Kelsey, Grandma, Elliot, Brian, Lynne, Bill, Donna, Ken, Wattie, Mallory, Tim, Jake, Dave, Brendan, Trace, Sara, Linsey, Bill, Jim, Chris, Geoff, Jesse, Jeff, Susie, John, Ben, Dave, Kevin, Paul, Joe, Myron, Tim, Alex, Vinu, Dylan, Greg, Brian, Eric, Owen, Paul, Maik, Steve, Pablo, Dan, Emily, Nick, Phil, Adam, Randy, Colleen, Molly, Pete, Aimee, Guillermo, Vanessa, Kristen, Kathryn, Jake, Sean, Kirk, Leanda, Bridget, TJ, Jon, Bryan, Jamie, Charisa, Pedro, Francisco, Scott, Stephanie….

As for my day on the course, I came prepared for a difficult Ironman, but had no idea what was in store. As soon as the sun rose, we were hit with gale force winds in the swim, and battled 3-4 foot chop that seemed to come from all angles at times. I laughed at the ridiculousness at first, but then became concerned for my safety, and especially that of the other racers. Exiting the swim though, I smiled again to be done, and knew that the day had just changed in a major way. With a quick transition, I came out in 3rd ahead of Maiki, and went to work battling the intense, gusting winds. By mile 35, it was clear that the ride would take at least 5 hours, and I settled in, monitoring my power and taking in extra calories to be ready for the run. When I sensed some weakness in Maiki around mile 70, I took over pace setting for the remainder of the ride, and broke away after mile 100. With a small gap into T2, I quickly got to work on the run and put distance between us that would only grow throughout the marathon. My darkest times were battling the surf, headwinds up to Gunlock and Veyo, and suffering through the final miles of the run, but I always had people nearby to encourage me onward, and I have never wanted a win as bad as this one. Hearing my name called out as the champion in the finish chute, I was overcome with emotion, but that was quickly replaced by celebration with family and friends… I can now stand as the perpetual defending champ at Ironman St. George!

Now it’s some downtime as I transition back to Boulder for another summer of training and racing. Can’t wait to get back and set up shop with everyone on the front range! Going to be a great year… THANK YOU!

I’m back in Tucson after a longer weekend trip to Oceanside for my 2012 North American season opener at Oceanside 70.3. First off, I’ve got to say a big thanks to everyone who made the week a success: Zoot for the autograph session and tour of the offices afterwards, and of course for awesome shoes and wetsuits that carried me through the day and all the training leading in. Specialized (Mal and Joe) for coming through huge with tech support and any other kind of assistance I needed. Volkswagen for making the roadtrip quick and enjoyable… Not saying we were speeding, but we were speeding. Wattie for organizing the interviews, photoshoots, etc. Tim Carlson for some great photos and tireless efforts to get it just right. Oceanside is always a great place for me to connect with my support team, and this year was the best I’ve ever had. Truly humbled by the backing of all these extraordinary people and products.

So a Wednesday afternoon departure put as at the gracious homestay of Charisa Wernick’s parents by around 10pm. I have done the drive before, but never in a brand new Touareg with a radar detector… Let’s just say it was a breeze! Thursday morning was some easy miles on the bike and an ocean swim down at the pier with Jesse and Linsey. Water was cold and punishing in the surf, and the weather was not perfect. After getting Spidermonkey to the once over on my bike we called it a day.

Friday was some more light training and a solid day at the expo with Zoot, Specialized, Triathlete magazine, LAVA, Fuelbelt, and the pro meeting. Definitely a lot more time on my feet than I would have liked, but great to see everyone and catch up a little before the big race. With an early dinner and gear packed up, I got some good rest before waking up with a 3 on the clock…

Race Day: With Specialized in town all weekend, the bike was dialed in, and Joe took care of tire pressure, etc. on race morning while I set up my transition and got ready. With limited time for a swim warm-up, I used stretch cords and got in the 58 degree water with the other pro males around 6:30. I felt under control as the cannon fired, but that was definitely one of the rougher swims I have experienced in a while. Lots of people convinced that they were going to lead the swim, but really only Potts could manage that. I got out clean, sat with a good group until about 1300 when there was some separation and we lost a few seconds coming in. Still, I had a good swim without too much effort, and was able to exit with Cunningham, Ambrose, and Reed all in sight.

Onto the bike, I worked with Reed to pull back our deficit to some of the other riders, and within 10 miles we were together. Looking back, I’m not sure if I was just a little numb because it was cold and wet, but around 30 miles, I thought, okay, now it’s time to pull away. So I hit it a little at the front to see who was game to go, but after about a mile of harder effort, I could tell it wasn’t actually my day on the bike. The move backfired as a group rode away in a counterattack, and I was left doing my best to stay in the game. It’s early in the year, but still disappointing to have the legs not operate like usual.

Onto the run I had a goal of showcasing my efforts over the winter, and I took it out quick ahead of Reed and a few others. Soon I was swallowed up by their pace, but I hung tough and clawed back some of the other racers in front of me. It wasn’t going to be a huge placement result for me, but I still wanted to test the run fitness and practice always staying in it. At the finishline, I was 8th, in a total time of 4:01:29. 6 minutes faster than last year in some tough conditions, with a solid swim and run. Of course I’m not satisfied with 8th place, but I am optimistic about where I am for early April. All systems go for Ironman St. George on May 5th… I have a feeling it’s going to be a good day.

Well, disaster might be a strong word. Truth is, I’m not really that concerned about the events that transpired over the weekend… In fact, given that the race is practically in my backyard right now, I think that the people who finished in front of me should be jealous that I got in some extra training miles!   Here is a quick recap of my second official race of the year over the weekend, the Desert Classic Duathlon in Phoenix, AZ.

After many consecutive years of bad weather during February, and conflicting dates with RAGNAR, the Desert Du was moved to March this year. I’ve thrown my hat in the ring over the past 4 years, and it’s always a good test of fitness and a hard workout before some of the more important events, so I made the trip again this year with my friend and fellow pro, Jesse Vondracek. Fellow Zoot athlete, Bryan Dunn and his wife Jamie were gracious hosts, and they live only minutes from the start in Fountain Hills, so we spent the evening having a fantastic dinner, watching Paris-Nice, and playing with their two golden retrievers. Oh, yeah, and Bryan gave me a tour of his Star Wars model collection… Legit! Race morning came quick, and we were up for some breakfast and coffee, and then out the door to the venue. I will say that I probably didn’t have the “killer instinct” at full force for this race (see: my unruly hair), but I do consider it a practice event, and don’t want to be at my best in early March. Fortunately, the race caters to this mindset, with a more relaxed Xterra-type atmosphere. After setting up the transition zone, I did a quick jog and toed the line with the formidable duathlon pros like Chris Foster and James Burns… Good thing I don’t race Du’s professionally, because these kids can run! On the first trail loop, I averaged ~5:15′s, which I was happy with considering my training and the terrain. Only problem was that the leaders were throwing down 5:02′s, so I started the bike a little ways back. Still, the idea was to empty the tank and get some top end speed, so I charged ahead on the bike and did what I could. I was able to ride hard with a smaller group through about 25 of the 31 miles before I slowed up a little in preparation for the second run, and I came off the bike in 6th. Nothing special.

Out onto the second run, I was catching Lewis Elliot quickly, passing him for 5th in the first mile. After about another mile or a little more of running, I was greeted by a very disappointed group of pro men doubling back on our route, led by a race crew member on a fourwheeler telling us we had made a wrong turn. I tried my best to stay in the game, but we were way out in the middle of nowhere, and the race was essentially over for us. Even so, I made my way back to the proper run course, which was now marked with some flagging and decided to finish the course as it was meant to be done. In the end, our lead group of 6 men all added about 4+ miles to the second run leg, and I finished about 30 minutes down  in 8th place. Ha! Good training day, if nothing else.

I know a lot of people were pretty upset with the race direction, etc., but my first reaction was that we are responsible for knowing the course. I will concede that this was a particularly labyrinthine grouping of trails, and no amount of course recon would have made much difference, especially since the course wasn’t well marked during or prior to the race. Additionally, there was a volunteer that was absent at the first of many questionable junctures, who appeared shortly after we passed, and the problem could have been solved with a little flour leading through each turn. These are the kinds of issues you see when a new company assumes the lead on a race and maybe does not have the same level of experience, but you have to remember that nobody WANTS a race to go poorly. Without any malicious intent, it’s just one that you have to chalk up to being a little disappointing, and move on with a little more experience for the next round. Hopefully everyone involved can learn a little to make a better race in the future, and to avoid going off course, since in the end, it’s our responsibility, even when things seem stacked against us.

So, with a solid training day logged, it was back in the car and on to Tucson where I will finish my Oceanside prep and continue building for St. George. Weather keeps getting better and better here, and I am looking forward to the next series of tests as my season progresses. And as for the Duathlon… I’ll be back for more next year!

The days are bleeding one into the next lately, but I am happy to report that training has picked up substantially, and the body is responding well to the increased load. With my sights set on racing Oceanside 70.3 in late March, and then tackling Ironman St. George in early May, it’s been important to ramp things up and get in good mileage. The beauty of training and racing at this stage in my life is that I come back each year with some benefit from the previous season, and the mind is more finely tuned with the accumulated experience. I will say that the volume of the training load has numbed my brain a little over the past month, but I’m finally coming up for air on an easier week and beginning to see some of the benefits from the miles I’ve logged.

Reflecting on the month of February, I can say without a doubt that I am ahead of where I was last year, and although I am not feeling particularly honed for racing just yet, I have been doing the necessary work from which I will gain that top end. The weather in Tucson has been absolute perfection this winter, with hardly any rain, and very few days below 65 degrees. I’ve had time to explore some new rides, including a favorite that made my list for three straight weeks. Arivaca is easily one of the best rides around, with gradual climbs and absolutely dead empty roads that cross the barren desert south of Tucson. It’s funny because every time I would come back into town from the 130 mile loop, I would start getting a little agro about traffic, but only because it seemed so intense after seeing just a handful of cars for the 4 hours prior. I also managed several assaults on Mt. Lemmon, including an epic day with The Cycling House crew where we tackled the backside: 102 miles round trip with somewhere near 8,000 feet of climbing and 30 miles of fairly rough dirt roads. Another highlight was a quick two day trip to Sierra Vista, where Brendan, Linsey, Drew, and I all rode through the higher elevation roads around Bisbee, Tombstone, and Sonoita. I’ll definitely look to get back there soon. Finally, SRAM had a dealer event here in Tucson, so I jumped in for a nice spin out west with the crew… Always great when the sponsors come to you!

But riding isn’t the only thing I’ve been up to. Running has been the area where I see the most potential for improvement right now, so I’ve been working hard on the new approach: speed differentiation and proper form for efficiency and injury prevention. Although I’ve got a long way to go, I can see the changes, and with an injection of new trails, plenty of laps on the Santa Cruz River path, and some video analysis, I’m getting faster all the time.

Finally, I’ve been hitting the pool hard, managing solid yards with the Ford Aquatics Masters group at U of A, smashing myself for long swims on Sunday afternoons with Dolphins of the Desert, doing stroke work with Sean in the evenings, and hitting the stretch cords and light weights at home. I’ve come a long way even from the end of last year, and things weren’t too shabby back then… Outlook is good!

After a slightly milder week, I’m back at it, upping the intensity some for Oceanside, but keeping my eye on the prize for St. George. Looking forward to the next big block, and the return to Boulder after the first two big races of the year. Full gas!

This is the latest update to my I Am Specialized Page, which you can view over at http://iamspecialized.com/triathlon/rider/ben-hoffman

They call me Hoff.

My life in triathlon began when I was a university student in Missoula, Montana, in the fall of 2003. Looking for a way to get some fitness back from the halcyon days of youth when I played soccer, basketball, golf, and rock climbed, I jumped in with the squad and began the arduous journey of learning to swim. Cycling came fairly easy from the days of riding tours with my parents across the American west, and I had run enough playing ball sports and two years of track in High School that I was able to get that back to a respectable level.  After a couple of seasons with decent results, and a trip to South America to study for 6 months, I returned to get serious about the sport in late 2005. 2006 was the Summer of Glory, in which I lived out of a car with my friend while racing across Canada and the Pacific Northwest, earning enough money to put gas in the vehicle and pay for food. Upon returning to Missoula that fall, I had spent all of my money in Europe during a month-long adventure by rail, and I took care of a cabin high in the woods for a month. During the weeks of simple living, and running in the snow, I had the time I needed to figure out what I wanted to do next.

And what to do next was move to Durango, Colorado, where I could commit to the pursuit of professional triathleticism, logging the miles at altitude and even scoring a 3^rd place at my first pro race at Wildflower in 2007.  After a few years of doing the part-time work gig, I bagged my other job and went all-in with racing and training, winning an Ironman and 70.3 in 2010, and spending winters in Tucson, AZ.  Feeling the need for a change of scenery and a boost to the training resources, I moved to Boulder in 2011, and have made it my summer base. I always told myself that I would only keep racing triathlon as long as it was fun, and so far I’m not too worried about that. The camaraderie amongst athletes, the challenge of training and competing, traveling to new places, helping develop the best equipment, and dedicating my days to health are all reasons why I have the best job around.

Here are some super interesting facts about me, and some not so interesting ones too, depending on your outlook!

Career Highlights:

Ironman Lake Placid Champion, 2010, 2^nd 2011, 2^nd Ironman St. George 2010, 1^st Branson 70.3 2010, 2011, 1^st Boise 70.3 2011, 2^nd 2010, 1^st Muncie 70.3 2011, 1^st Western Montucky BeerMile 2005

Favorite Rides:

Mt. Lemmon, Coalbank and Molas Passes, Engine Creek Trail, Lefthand Canyon

Favorite Races:

Grizzly Triathlon, Boise 70.3, Wildflower, Ironman Lake Placid, Ironman St. George

Favorite Foods/Beverages:

Good pizza, fish tacos, bacon, chocolate, bacon chocolate, COFFEE, Pellegrino, wine.

First Bike:

Huffy with tiger stripes, but I still consider my 2001 Specialized Allez Elite M4 (a.ka. The Green Machine) the first bike I really rode hard, touring Colorado and other places, racing my first triathlons, and then converting to a fixed gear that caused me to crash on my face once when I tried to answer a phone call from my mom while commuting to work.

Future Goals:

I would like to keep winning races, and then win some bigger ones, like World Championships. I like the half distance, but Ironman is where you always see the most potential for improvement, and the sport’s biggest stage, Kona. In the words of Ricky Bobby, “I wanna go fast!”

What I ride:

Shiv- Wicked fast, comfortable for the long distances, and damn sexy!

Tarmac SL4- My go to for long road bike training rides. Incredibly light and stiff, yet plush for the miles ahead.

Venge- With a name like Venge, you know it’s good! Fast, fast, faster.

S-Works Epic 29er- Best mountain bike. Ever. Lighter, stiffer, and rolls over anything. Love me some trail shreddin’!

Specialized saddles (Toupe, Phenom, Romin), Shoes (S-Works road, S-Works MTB, S-Works Tri), and Helmets (TT, Prevail).

Support Crew:

Specialized has the best support around for its athletes, and it’s only getting better. Big shout out to ace wrenches Joe and Jeff, Mal and Sean, and all my teammates.

Where to start with a recounting of one of my most enjoyable trips to date? Probably from the beginning…

After racing Ironman Pucon 70.3 in 2008, I had always wanted to make my way to the southern hemisphere again for a chance to soak in the beauty of northern Patagonia and give my body an early season fitness boost. So plans were laid starting almost a year ago, and I eagerly awaited my return to the paradise that is Pucon. I was lucky to have my father along, and his energy for the trip and being race support made everything more enjoyable. He even managed to track down contact cement and a brush for me at a local hardware store so I could replace a tubular, without much Spanish.  Add to it that a good high school friend, Luke Sorrick, was heading down from his home in Santiago to watch me compete, and I was in good company for the weekend.

Our travel down was almost completely without incident, and having slept somewhere close to 4 or 5 hours during the flights, I settled into the long daylight hours of the Araucania region. Having the added advantage of understanding and speaking the language, we made our way around without incident, preparing for the race and meeting the organizing crew.  Over the years, I have come to appreciate the ease of staying right near or at the host hotel, and this was no exception. The Gran Hotel Pucon provided a great base for all of our activities, and made race prep a breeze. One of the highlights for me was watching the kid’s race and then handing out their awards. Brilliant stuff.

It’s easy to say that you didn’t have high expectations after a race is over and you didn’t win or podium, but I was very realistic about where my fitness was and what my goals were for this race. I wanted to make this a true vacation event; giving my best effort for where I was on the day, and focusing on enjoying the travel and experience as a whole over any vision of being on the top step this early in the year. After taking significant time off of running after my injury, I was just happy to be in a position to complete the distance again and kickstart my real training for 2012.

The race doesn’t need much recounting, but as it is billed as being the most beautiful race in the world, it certainly deserves a little attention. The swim starts in beautiful lake Villarrica, and I was assured that the pristine waters could be consumed without ill effect if one so desired.  I got off to a great start, and at about 200 meters, I discovered the only real issue with the lake: a loose line hanging between the smaller buoys wrapped around my arm and I had to take a couple seconds to pull the loop from my arm. It happened two more times, and by the time I exited the water, I was down to the leaders by a bit over a minute. Onto the bike, a two-loop affair with a steady power climb and rollers out, I could tell instantly that my power wasn’t there. It’s hard to know in your mind where you have been in peak form and not be able to reproduce it, but I took time to enjoy the views of the smoking, snow-capped volcano, massive forests, and hundreds of fans lining the main street on each lap. It’s not to say that I didn’t try, but my best effort wasn’t enough to match the other athletes on the day. Still, I hung tough and came off the bike in the top ten. The run was a question mark, but after sitting on the shoulder of my friend Mario de Elias for the first loop, I settled into a good pace and kept clicking off miles. I was well clear of the pursuers, and Mario was in sight, but even as a dug deep at the end, I couldn’t quite pull back his small lead for fifth. The punishing three loop run course is one of the hardest around, in my opinion, and I was just content to keep things pretty even and come in with one of the better runs for the day. A long story shortened, I was happy with my effort, felt like I went hard all day, and I produced a respectable time and placing for such an early season race.

So, with the race in the bag, we rolled into the celebration phases of the trip, joining the race crew out for a good night of pisco sours, vino tinto, and cervezas. I called it a night long before the real partiers, but we still had fun exchanging stories from the race and getting to know each other better. The next day brought a wonderful asado at the lake house of Francisco and his family in Calafquen, complete with wakeboarding, jetskiing, and plenty of “recuperation” in the form of various Chilean adult beverages. Fortunately, my dad and I called it quits early enough that we could be ready to summit the volcano the next day… which we did. The climb isn’t particularly hard, and we lucked out by having our own small group for the ascent with our guide Nicolas and a pleasant day in terms of weather. After reaching the peak around noon, we had a little food, felt the instant panic that rises from breathing sulfur from the most active volcano in Chile, and then slid down snowfields to the bottom. Of course this was not the end, as the theme of warm hospitality carried on through our time there, and we were invited to spend an afternoon and evening at the lake house of the former race director, Pedro. Sitting on the dock of lake Colico in the breeze of a perfect summer day, I hope, will be a memory that never escapes me.

The end of our trip came as rapidly as the beginning, and now I am back in the familiar surroundings of my winter training grounds. I feel refreshed, more aware, and ready for the season ahead. A huge thanks to all my sponsors, my family, training partners, and the race crew in Chile. I have a feeling it’s going to be a good year…

Since I forgot how to cook for myself after being at The Cycling House over the past week, I thought I would use the time when I would normally be eating lunch to compose a quick roundup from my first annual Triathlon Camp here in Tucson. First off I just have to say that the camp went well beyond my expectations, and I had a ton of fun with our group. I’ve always known that Owen, Brendan, and the rest of the TCH crew put together a quality experience for their campers, but seeing it firsthand really brought it home. Every detail was looked after, yet the atmosphere remains casual and relaxed. Of course it didn’t hurt that the weather cooperated brilliantly and we had 6 days in a row with temperatures in the mid 70′s…

The first couple days were all about getting to know the crew and spinning out the cobwebs for the people who were coming from winter lands (see: Todd and Julie from northern Ontario). With a couple easier rides in the Oro Valley area, including a nice loop in the Saddlebooke development, we stockpiled plenty of  healthy calories from the kitchen of Fit Food by Jess and lounged around the palatial horse property. Well, not always. There were options for core workouts, a few trips to the nearby Oro Valley pool, and some nice evening runs in the sandy washes dotting the landscape. This was, after all, a triathlon camp, albeit it with a cycling focus.

After everyone started soaking up the nutritious meals and copious vitamin D, we hit it a little harder with solid rides out west to Gates Pass, and then everyone’s favorite day tackling Mt. Lemmon. Each rider made the summit, and as a bonus, my parents jumped in and joined our group for the day. We wrapped up a good week of miles with another classic out to San Manuel, and an easy splash in the sun (except for an underwater 50 that nearly caused me to black out).

As the camp wound down and the athletes departed, I was already thinking ahead to the next one. If you are looking for a chance to log some good miles in the middle of winter, be treated exceptionally well, and walk away with a little more fitness and a big grin, The Cycling House may be the right fit for you.

One week ago I rolled back into my winter training grounds in Tucson, Arizona. With the onset of colder temperatures and snow in Colorado, and Ironman Pucon 7o.3 looming just a few short weeks away, I packed up the Touareg and hit the road. A quick stopover in Grand Junction to see my family, and then a really long drive, and I was back in the Dirty T. It’s hard to leave Boulder, but it always feels good to get back here, this being the fourth straight year I’ve visited to escape the winter of Colorado. Tucson has been gaining a lot of press recently as a top training ground for pro athletes (and especially triathletes), and it’s well-deserved. With a huge variation of terrain and consistently warm and sunny weather, it’s the perfect spot to log the miles. Add to it that I’ve got a great network of friends built up over the years, and I really consider this my second home now.

The first week has been a good reintroduction, with rides out west to McCain, north to Avra Valley, and even a Shootout thrown in for good measure. I’ve jumped back in the pool with Ford Aquatics at the University of Arizona, and have logged some good runs in the downtown area. It’s all coming together nicely as I get ready for my “vacation race” in Chile in a few short weeks. And right before that will be my first training camp with the crew from The Cycling House from January 3-8. Happy holidays to all… Enjoy the final days of 2011.