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.

I’ve been horribly remiss in posting lately, but I plan to remedy that with some updates from the past several weeks. It’s been well over a month now that I raced Ironman Hawaii for my third time, and despite the adage, it was not a charm, or even remotely charming. Of course I love visiting the islands, and there were many good lessons learned, but it’s never fun to have performances that do not reach your expectations.

Now that the day has come (and long since passed), I can be candid with the full story. 2011 has been one of my best seasons to date, with multiple wins and top finishes. I really don’t feel like I had a poor race, with the exception of Oceanside, where I entered with sub-optimal prep and a sinus infection. Otherwise, I felt like I put together my best performances in my racing career. Not only did I win races, but I also improved my times on courses, and enjoyed the competitions immensely. Kona came as an afterthought, as I really had not planned on racing it until I opted in at the last moment during the first selection. This is probably the biggest lesson I have learned from this year: no matter how fit you are, Kona must be the goal from the outset if you want to be fresh and ready on the day. Despite that fact, I put my head down and started getting the work done. I upped my run mileage significantly during the build, and it caused an injury. Even in Branson, I was unsure of my ability to run well, but everything went okay on race day, so I carried on. I was receiving some treatment for the calf muscle and tendon, but in hindsight it probably wasn’t enough, and I should have toned down some of the run training.

The race doesn’t require a novel to recount, but it’s worth talking about briefly. I had another great swim at a World Championships on a day when the currents played a bigger role and it was the roughest swim I’ve been in before. This gives me great hope for the future, since being near the front from the beginning is paramount to success in Kona. I biked well for most of the race and followed my plan. People were on the gas from the beginning, and I hung tough until Hawi where it became apparent that I was not going to do battle with some of the bigger bike guns. I was able to hit nutrition well for the first time in Hawaii, and felt good coming off the bike. I felt that I had the fuel to undertake the marathon and hydration/salt balance within acceptable parameters as well. The run went well for about three miles, and then I began limping. Another 6 miles of that to get back to town was enough, and I called it a day at the base of Palani. Although it’s never easy to call it a day that way, I knew it was the right call, and I was in considerable pain.

After a fair bit of downtime, I’m finally getting back to some more consistent, structured training. The body is rested, the mind is keen, and I am gearing up for some exciting early season adventures. First up is a camp with The Cycling House in Tucson (January 3-8th), and then a vacation race in Pucon (January 15th). More posts on the last few weeks of offseason and travel to come… Happy holidays to all.

Kona, Hawaii, October 5, 2011  ̶ Volkswagen of America, Inc. (VWoA) today announced an exclusive sponsorship of two-time USA Triathlon National Champion and Ironman National Champion, 28 year-old Ben Hoffman. Already a long-time advocate and supporter of running and cycling events, this sponsorship marks the kick off of the partnership between Volkswagen and the triathlon community.

Hoffman, who lives and trains in Boulder, Colo., makes his official debut as a Volkswagen-sponsored athlete on October 8, when he will push his physical strength and endurance to new limits—while sporting a Volkswagen-branded uniform—at the 2011 world championship in Kona, Hawaii.

“I am looking forward to the competition in Kona and am honored to be racing against the greatest athletes in the world,” said Hoffman. “I am also grateful to have a performance-driven supporter like Volkswagen, which not only has deep roots in the athletic world, but understands what it takes to be the best at its craft.”

While still in college, Hoffman won the 2006 USA Triathlon Collegiate National Championship, and upon turning professional in 2007, he enjoyed early success winning the 2007 USA Triathlon Elite Long Course National Championship. In addition to owning the title of Ironman National Champion, Hoffman has multiple Ironman 70.3 wins.

“Ben is one of the most sophisticated and performance-oriented triathletes out there today, and is someone that the Volkswagen brand can relate to,” said Tim Mahoney, executive vice president and chief product and marketing officer, Volkswagen of America, Inc. “Our highly-engineered vehicles speak to the quality and performance of our brand and Hoffman’s drive to become the top-performing athlete embodies the Volkswagen ethos.”

As part of his endorsement, Hoffman will promote the partnership with Volkswagen on his personal social networks and website, and will be outfitted in performance uniforms that carry Volkswagen branding. He’ll also be featured in select advertising and collateral, and will make appearances at events related to and outside of the triathlon community on behalf of Volkswagen.

In building its efforts to engage the triathlon space, Volkswagen is also launching an ambassador program with Active.com®, a media property of The Active Network, Inc. (NYSE: ACTV), and the leading online community that connects people with the activities they love to do. Volkswagen has already recruited 50 Volkswagen owners to become brand ambassadors and have their stories featured online and through Active.com. Hoffman will be serving as lead ambassador.

About Volkswagen of America, Inc.

Founded in 1955, Volkswagen of America, Inc. is headquartered in Herndon, Virginia. It is a subsidiary of Volkswagen AG, headquartered in Wolfsburg, Germany. Volkswagen is one of the world’s largest producers of passenger cars and Europe’s largest automaker. Volkswagen sells the Beetle, Eos, Golf, GTI, Jetta, Jetta SportWagen, Passat, CC, Tiguan, Touareg and Routan vehicles through approximately 600 independent U.S. dealers. All 2012 Volkswagen models come standard-equipped with Electronic Stability Control. This is important because the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has called ESC the most effective new vehicle safety technology since the safety belt. Visit Volkswagen of America online at www.vw.com or media.vw.com to learn more.

This past weekend marked a return to Branson, Missouri, for the second annual Ironman Branson 70.3.   Last year I notched my first ever win on the Ironman 70.3 circuit, so I really wanted to come back and defend the title, support the race, and give a hard effort on an honest course before racing Kona in 3 weeks time.

Branson is an unusual place, and the weather was more the topic of discussion than any of the thousand trinket shops or shows playing daily.  A particularly strong storm front had moved into the area, and was drenching everything in sight. Lightning, thunder, deluge. But, after a smooth travel day and some easier workouts, I was set to defend the title. Plus, I got to hang out with the race carnies and watch a Journey cover band shred it up on Friday night. Things were coming together nicely I would say…

Saturday was more rain, and not much else. Craig at Downhill Bikes bailed us out and let us rock some trainers in his store, and we jumped in the lake for a short swim before lightning scared us back to the beach.

Race day was up early to temporarily clear skies, an activation run, and then a breakfast while I honed the mental game one more time. We opted to leave our car at the Chateau so we didn’t have to ride the duck boats in the cooler morning air, and after a few minutes prepping T1, it was game time.

With such a small men’s pro field and all the work I have been doing lately, I felt good about my chances of exiting near the lead. Still, Guy Crawford snuck well left and was off clear with the sound of the cannon. I dug as deep as I could to claw my way back onto his feet, and after about 300m of swimming, I could finally taste the sweet, sweet nectar of Guy’s feet.  But the struggle wasn’t over, and as we recounted later over a beer that night, he put in another hard effort at the first turn buoy, causing significant distress as I chased his bubbles once more and held on for dear life. On the home straight, I just stayed calm and planned for the bike ride ahead.

But planning wasn’t enough to keep me from crashing  and pissing away my 1 minute or so lead on Matt Lieto around mile 16 of the bike. Being the first person through a particularly slick section meant I went sliding along with my bike into a concrete curb. I have been practicing my “zen” in these circumstances as of late, and after taking stock and realizing that I had only minor raspberries on both hips, I grabbed my nutrition, put the chain back on, and got rolling.  A big shout out to Matty for asking if I needed anything as he assumed the lead. Class.

Most of the rest of the bike was spent going back and forth with Matt, and near the end I started pushing harder to get a gap before T2. The legs came good, and despite the crash and punishing hills of the Branson course, I felt pretty light as I approached the Landing.  We had built a good lead over the other pros.

Having just knocked out one the best long runs in my training history less than a week before the race, I felt good about things as I took off running. Crowd support was strong for the early sections, and I fed off the energy as I looked to extend my lead over the chasers. By the halfway point, I could sense that the victory was mine, but kept things clicking over to get the most out of my last “training race” before Kona.

Hitting the line for my second win in Branson was definitely special, as a title defense at a race of this caliber is a first for me. I must thank all my sponsors, family, friends, training partners, coach, and Ryan Robinson’s race crew for making this possible.  I will take all the lessons from my season and focus in now for the final push before Hawaii. Aloha in a couple weeks!

I went back to the Adirondacks this past weekend in search of my second Ironman title, and defense of my win from 2010. Lake Placid holds a special place in my heart, as it really solidified my place in the pro ranks last year, and helped me believe in my abilities at the top level of our sport. Lake Placid is just the quintessential summer getaway town, with people lounging lakeside every day, plenty of little shops and restaurants lining the main street.

This year I brought