Author: nhoffman1989

This evening I went to Bonnie Raitt at Red Butte Garden in Salt Lake City with my sister and Toni and Greg Adams.

Red Butte is a beautiful place to see a concert.

Bonnie Raitt was fantastic. I know her music well and really enjoyed the concert.

And the mountains around Salt Lake are gorgeous.

And there was a beautiful sunset during the show.

Here’s a little video from the concert.

 

 

On Saturday, I joined the National Elite Training Group camp that was happening here in Park City for a classic sprint race on the roller ski track at Soldier Hollow, the 2002 Olympic Venue for cross country. The race was run just like a race in the winter with one individual start preliminary round followed by heats (where 6 skiers start together): a quarter final, a semifinal, and a final. In order for everyone to gain experience, no skiers got eliminated as the rounds went on. However, after each round, the slowest skier in the A heat was moved to the B heat, and the fastest skier in the B heat was moved to the A heat.

I explained why results from races in the summer don’t mean very much in my post about our race in the Oberhof ski tunnel. Roller ski races mean even less. Not only are no two pairs of roller skis the same speed, but everybody is on a different brand of skis. Ski speeds can vary by minutes in a ten minute race. Even the same pair of skis changes speeds based on the temperature and humidity and will speed up or slow down over time.

That being said, the race on Saturday was a good chance for me to go fast against some great skiers from around the country. Sprinting is not my strong point, and any practice I get is a great opportunity to learn. For instance, in the preliminary round I double poled (a technique without kicking with my legs) all but one short steep climb. Then in the heats, I found it was faster to kick double pole or stride in several places. There is also a large draft effect on a long downhill right before the finish. The race can be won or lost by using or not using the draft.

Here is some video from the U.S. Ski Team coaches of the race:

And here are the results from the race. Again, comparing skier to skier is meaningless. What you can look at (with a grain of salt) are how a skier speeds up or slows down over the course of the race (but roller skis were getting faster as it warmed up) and how two skiers did against each other compared to the other heats.

NTG CL RS Sprint

Soldier Hollow | 1.3km women, 1.5km men

Saturday, August 25, 2012

 

Men’s Qualifying

1 Ryan Scott 03:48.7

2 Tad Elliott 03:56.6

3 Noah Hoffman 03:58.6

4 Eli Hoenig 04:08.8

5 Will Wicherski 04:13.4

6 Cal Deline 04:13.6

7 Adam Martin 04:14.5

8 Max Scrimgeour 04:20.1

9 Paddy Caldwell 04:25.4

 

Women’s Qualifying

1 Becca Rorabaugh 03:15.7

2 Emily Hannah 03:22.0

3 Jessie Knori 03:27.2

4 Heidi Halverson 03:28.5

5 Mary O’Connell 03:28.8

6 Marion Woods 03:38.4

 

Men’s Quarter 1

1 Ryan Scott 03:52.0

2 Tad Elliott 03:52.3

3 Noah Hoffman 03:53.5

4 Eli Hoenig 04:04.7

5 Will Wicherski 04:06.6

 

Men’s Quarter 2

1 Adam Martin 04:15.7

2 Max Scrimgeour 04:17.0

3 Paddy Caldwell 04:18.9

4 Cal Deline 04:19.3

 

Women’s Quarter 1

1 Becca Rorabaugh 03:16.2

2 Emily Hannah 03:20.4

3 Jessie Knori 03:26.8

 

Women’s Quarter 2

1 Heidi Halverson 03:25.5

2 Mary O’Connell 03:30.6

3 Marion Woods 03:43.1

 

Men’s Semi 1

1 Ryan Scott 03:52.6

2 Noah Hoffman 03:53.2

3 Tad Elliott 03:54.5

4 Adam Martin 04:06.8

5 Eli Hoenig 04:07.4

 

Men’s Semi 2

1 Will Wicherski 04:13.3

2 Cal Deline 04:14.5

3 Max Scrimgeour 04:21.6

4 Paddy Caldwell 04:22.4

 

Women’s Semi 1

1 Becca Rorabaugh 03:15.3

2 Emily Hannah 03:16.0

3 Heidi Halverson 03:35.9

 

Women’s Semi 2

1 Jessie Knori 03:24.8

2 Mary O’Connell 03:32.4

3 Marion Woods 03:39.8

 

Men’s Final 1

1 Ryan Scott 03:54.5

2 Tad Elliott 03:54.7

3 Noah Hoffman 03:55.4

4 Adam Martin 04:06.0

5 Will Wicherski 04:08.4

 

Men’s Final 2

1 Eli Hoenig 04:15.3

2 Max Scrimgeour 04:19.6

3 Paddy Caldwell 04:20.2

4 Cal Deline 04:20.3

 

Women’s Final 1

1 Becca Rorabaugh 03:13.4

2 Emily Hannah 03:21.2

3 Jessie Knori 03:28.9

 

Women’s Final 2

1 Heidi Halverson 03:23.3

2 Mary O’Connell 03:35.5

3 Marion Woods 03:38.9

Today was supposed to be a recovery day, but I’m not sure it counts because I had so much going on. I’m looking forward to New Zealand where there is nothing to do but eat, sleep, and ski. I started early this morning with an hour of hitting tennis balls on the ball machine with my strength coach Alex Moore. After I went for a fun mountain bike ride with my friend from Aspen and U.S. Ski Team alpine skier Wiley Maple.

Then this afternoon we went to the Canyons to play disc golf.

In the picture above, from left to right: my sister Maggie Hoffman, her boyfriend Nick Blatz, Graham  Watanabe, and Nolan Kasper throwing (if you look closely you can see his disc.)

One of Nolan’s discs came perilously close to this hornet’s nest.

This evening we had a great make-it-yourself sushi dinner party.

In the picture above, from left to right, Toni Adams (looking away), Greg Adams, Graham, Luke Adams (looking down), Lindsey Adams, Liz Stephen, Matt Whitcomb (standing), Maggie, and Nick.

After dinner we did cupcakes. We all helped blow out the candle, just because.

This morning I raced in a roller ski classic sprint race with the National Training Group that is in town this week. I’ll post more on that tomorrow. Hopefully I will have the video by then.

After the race, Toni Adams (the mother of my host family) and I drove down to Salt Lake to pick up my sister. I haven’t seen my sister since a brief visit in late May during a five hour layover in San Francisco. It is great to see her and have her in town! This afternoon she joined me on my workout: an hour mountain bike ride followed by core strength at the U.S. Ski Team Center of Excellence. She pointed out while we were riding that “we haven’t done any physical activity together since (I) was fourteen.” I generally don’t like to train slow enough for her to keep up, but it was a fun easy workout today. I’ve gotten more laid back about my training.

This evening, we had a fantastic dinner at Liz Stephen, Tad Elliott, and Simi Hamilton’s house.

Above from left to right: My sister’s boyfriend Nick Blatz, former teammate and good friend Morgan Arritola, my sister Maggie Hoffman, and Liz.

After dinner, Nick, my sister and I played tennis under the lights.

Here is the video (courtesy of U.S. Ski Team coach Jason Cork) of my bounding session yesterday:

The session was a 25 minute running warm-up, then one hour of bounding the uphills and running the downhills around a twelve minute loop. The focus of the bounding is to imitate classic striding. I am focusing on transferring some of the work load from my legs to my arms. I am also thinking about “gliding” even though you can’t glide in running shoes. This allows me to have a low, long stride. I then run 20 minutes for a cool-down.

Two years ago, my strength coach Alex Moore and family gave me a tennis lesson for my birthday. Today, Alex and I finally got around to using it. It was really fun and good for my tennis game. It was also much more tiring then just playing tennis against Alex (because we hit so many more balls.) I can’t do this too often because it wasn’t great recovery between a 2.5 hour double pole this morning, shoulder PT, and a two hour run.

The picture above is of Alex getting ready to take some serves with our pro watching. I probably need to take a lesson without Alex, since he has beaten me every time we’ve played (which is probably upwards of 100 times.) It doesn’t do me any good if we both get better. Here I am serving, tongue out and all:

This evening I had dinner at Alex’s house. We were having a discussion about body-weight strength. I decided to test out benching my teammate Liz Stephen:

It was a tiring day.

I had a good day off of training today. After a totally relaxing morning I headed to Solitude Ski Area to play a new disc golf course. On the hike in we saw a couple of moose.

It is not unusual to see moose in the Park City area (or Colorado), but it’s still fun to get up close to them. (We were on a raised wooden bridge when we saw them today, so it was no problem. Sometimes, when you meet them in the woods and they’re in your way, it can be a different story.)

The Solitude Disc Golf course was extremely difficult. There are lots of steep uphills and downhills and narrow fairways. I had a great time playing it, but it was tough and frustrating at times. As always, my friend Graham Watanabe makes it look easy:

This evening, Mike Engel, a friend and supporter of the U.S. Ski Team, had Liz Stephen, Tad Elliott, Simi Hamilton, some of our coaches and wax techs, and myself over for dinner. It was an incredible evening with incredible food. Thanks to mike for the great meal and support!

I had a tough workout this morning; I skate roller skied for four and a half hours by myself. U.S. Ski Team coach Jason Cork dropped me off down by Heber City, Utah. I then met him after three hours in Kamas to refill my drink. Then he picked me up at the end of the session in Browns Canyon. I skied 50.5 miles.

This afternoon I played tennis with my strength coach, Alex Moore again. We both played pretty well, but I got crushed 6-2, 6-2. I have never beaten him. We have probably played more than 100 times. It is still fun though.

I had a good talk about long-term goals with my coach, Zach Caldwell today. We talked about the difference between “making it” and “making it look easy.” To me, “making it look easy” is the person who has always been good and was always going to be great. They tend to be really good at a really young age. People who fall into this category are Michael Phelps, Missy Franklin, Petter Northug, long-haired Andre Agassi, Bode Miller, Lindsey Vonn, and Mikaela Shiffrin. This is not to say these people don’t try just as hard or harder than everybody else. They also care just as much. They just figure it out from the beginning. They “make it look easy.” I don’t fall into this category.

My goal is to “make it.” It’s going to look and be hard to succeed. I have no problem with that. People who fall into this category are bald Andre Agassi, Pietro Piller Cottrer (as far as his relay gold medal), and, to an extent, Bjorn Daehlie.

I didn’t take any pictures today, but here’s a picture of the World Cup Venue in Nove Mesto, Czech Republic on relay race day from February of last year.

I’m psyched for the race season!

My good friend Zeke Tiernan took second place on Saturday in the Leadville Trail 100 Mile Running Race. I ran with Zeke last Monday. I am super impressed and excited for him. The three times he has run the race, he has finished third once and second twice. On Saturday he ran more than an hour and a half faster than his previous best time. Oh yeah, and it was the fourth fastest time ever run on the course!

Two years ago when he ran the race, I got to be one of his pacers. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to be there this year, but it was fun to follow his splits on the internet. I talked to Zeke today and got the low down on how the race played out. Talking to him about the race makes me more excited for my race season coming up. Here is a picture of Zeke (leading his pacer) during the race (I stole it from the internet.)

His accomplishments are even more impressive because he is far from a single-minded professional; he is a 6th, 7th, and 8th grade history teacher and a father.

Last night, after arriving back in Park City and going for a mountain bike ride, I headed down to Salt Lake to see the new Bourne movie with my friend Graham Watanabe and a couple of his friends. We went to the drive-in.

I’m not sure I’ve ever been to a drive-in, certainly not for a long time. It was really fun, although the movie (Bourne Legacy) was my least favorite of the Bourne series.

We were the least prepared of anybody at the movie. We should have brought more chairs, blankets, food, and drink.

After the movie I spent the night at Graham’s new place in Salt Lake. This morning I went for a three hour run on the Bonneville Shoreline Trail. Then Graham and I played disc golf on the Creekside course in Murray.

Graham is very good; he shot five over par. I am not; I shot twenty over par (for twenty holes, bogey golf.)

After playing disc I headed back to Park City to play tennis with one of my strength coaches, Alex Moore. He crushed me 6-3 6-2.

Then I went for an hour and a half classic roller ski. It was a busy day.

This evening I made spaghetti with Toni and Greg Adams, my hosts here in Park City. Toni and Greg just got back from Colorado today. I hadn’t seen them in a month since before I left for Vermont. It was a fun night.

Tad Elliott and I packed up the car this morning to head back to Park City. It was a tight fit.

We were planning on stopping in Vernal, Utah to go mountain biking. Neither one of us has ever ridden there, and we wanted to check it out. After stopping at a bike shop in Vernal to get directions and a trail map, we arrived at the trailhead and started assembling bikes, only to realize Tad had left his quick release (to hold the wheel onto the bike) in Vail. We didn’t get our ride in.

Three miles before arriving home we passed a brush fire right next to the road (US40). It started today.

There was already tons of emergency personnel working to contain it.

It was an amazing scene. There are lots of homes threatened next to Jordanelle Reservoir. It’s not very far from Park City or Heber City. It may make training difficult this week.

When I got home I went for the ride I missed out on earlier.

 

Tad Elliott fell asleep lying on a floating bed in Cal Deline’s pool. He got sun burnt.

We took several photos of it.

My friend and supporter Jon Schafer, otherwise known as Fast Big Dog, bought a new pair of Oakley glasses today.

Then he bought another pair.

This evening we went to dinner at Cal’s parent’s house.

It’s got a golf simulator. You actually hit the balls, as hard as you can. Here is cal demonstrating:

It’s also got a shuffle board, Foosball table, ping pong table and pool table.

And a weight room, complete with dummy to box against.

Oh, and it looks beautiful.

Cal’s room has a bookshelf.

It doubles as a secret room.

It was one of the most amazing houses I have ever seen.

I had a great two and a half hour run this morning with a big crew from Ski and Snowboard Club Vail (SSCV). This afternoon, Ryan Scott and I did a two hour double pole with Eric Pepper supporting us on a road bike. It was another good session. This evening a friend and supporter of mine, Jon Schafer, otherwise known as Fast Big Dog, arrived in town. Schafer is going to train with us tomorrow morning.

This photo is from our walk to dinner tonight. From left to right, Jon Schafer, Eric Pepper, Tad Elliott, and Dan Weiland.

I learned a lot about SSCV today. It is an amazing ski club. Besides the huge number of National Team skiers I mentioned in yesterday’s post, SSCV has possibly the best development system in the country, if not the world. Recently, they opened the new Vail Ski and Snowboard Academy. It is a public school, part of the Eagle County School District. It is free. Every student at the school is a member of SSCV. The school calendar and schedule are tailored to athlete’s training needs. Every class is integrated with online work, ideal for kids who miss a lot of school. There are world class Nordic trails right out the door. Next year it will have a brand new strength and conditioning building. In two years there will be dormitories and a dining hall. The Nordic coaches, Dan and Eric, run up to twelve training sessions a week for the athletes.

If I were in high school and wanted to compete in Nordic skiing at a high level, this is where I’d want to be. The vision, commitment to success, and ability to turn dreams into reality of SSCV is outstanding.

Early this morning I drove to Vail for a three day training camp with my Team Homegrown/Ski and Snowboard Club Vail (SSCV) Team. It’s great to be here with a bunch of great up-and-coming athletes. This morning we did 4 by 12 minutes classic threshold (a pace you can sustain for at least an hour) intervals. Then my teammate Tad Elliott and coach Dan Weiland got some good screen-time in the middle of the day (I did too.)

In the afternoon we trained at the aptly named SSCV strength room:

It was fun to have a big group of motivated skiers training together.

On the front of the strength building, SSCV has life-size cutouts of all their athletes on the USST.

There are a lot.

And a few more.

This is one of the greatest ski clubs in the country and I’m honored to be apart of it.

I went on a fun 3.5 hour mountain bike ride this morning with Keegan Swirbul. Keegan is a young Nordic skier and mountain bike racer from Aspen. He’s had some great junior results on the national level, and I’m looking forward to watching him progress. He made me suffer on the bike today. Here Keegan is early in our ride:

This afternoon I got invited onto one of Aspen’s great local TV shows called The Local’s Show. The host of the show is a friend of mine Erik Skarvan. It was fun and a great experience for me.

You can watch the show we filmed today on the internet at http://vod.grassrootstv.org/vodcontent/11063.wmv

I went for a run this morning with my friend Zeke Tiernan. Zeke is an ultra-marathoner. On Saturday he is running the Leadville Trail 100. Today was his last real training run, and he wanted to get up high in preparation for this weekend. I don’t generally mind the altitude, but after living below 4000′ for the last three weeks, I was feeling it today. We were running at 12,500′ (3800 meters).

Zeke has a chance to win the race this weekend (he has been 2nd and 3rd in his two previous attempts.) I am excited to follow his progress on the internet (since I am unable to be there in person.) Here I am on the ridge above the ghost town of Independence on our run today:

This afternoon my mom and I went to a presentation by the Aspen Institute of a conversation with former Utah Governor Jon Huntsman, Jr. Governor Huntsman is well spoken and has very moderate views. I thoroughly enjoyed the presentation and would like to attend more of these types of events in the future. Here is Governor Huntsman (left) onstage with moderator Norman Ornstein:

After the presentation I spoke with Governor Huntsman. Utah has been very supportive of the Olympic movement and winter sports. I thanked him for his support.

For the first time in awhile, I got to spend the day with my parents.

We went hiking up to American Lake, just outside of Aspen.

It was really nice for the three of us to spend some quality time together. It is too bad my sister wasn’t here with us.

It was fantastic to wake up in beautiful Aspen, Colorado yesterday.

Tad Elliott and I went for a fun two hour mountain bike ride in the Smuggler/Hunter Creek/Sunnyside area.

It was really fun for us to be back on the bike after more than two weeks of skiing on snow.

In the afternoon we drove to Vail for our friend and teammate (on Ski and Snowbaord Club Vail/Team Homegrown), Sylvan Ellefson’s wedding. It was fantastic to be there to watch him get married to Sarah Wright Ellefson.

The wedding was held at beautiful Piney Lake.

A little rainstorm during the ceremony didn’t deter spirits.

The ceremony just moved under the awning.

I am thrilled for Sylvan and his beautiful bride.

Tad Elliott and I traveled together yesterday from Munich to Aspen. It didn’t all go smoothly, but at least we got to start with the fantastic breakfast at the Movenpick Hotel.

We always try to fast for a couple of meals beforehand so we can eat as much breakfast as possible.

For the Atlantic crossing we flew from Munich to Toronto. I had a pretty nice setup with a window seat and great entertainment. Tad on the other hand was in a middle seat of the middle section and his entertainment was broken. He wasn’t too pleased with Air Canada.

The international to U.S. customs transfer at the Toronto airport was awful, long lines, little organization, and no space. I was unimpressed.

We got delayed and rerouted out of Toronto due to bad weather in the Chicago area. Luckily we still made it home last night, albeit several hours late.

One of my favorite things about being back in the U.S. is the abundance of drinking fountains (and complimentary water at restaurants, delis, and cafes.) I extremely dislike paying for (or more often being unable to get) a glass of tap water. I was psyched to see this as soon as I stepped off the plane in Denver: