Author: nhoffman1989

After one last dizzying 2.5 hour ski in the tunnel this morning, we packed everything up in Oberhof and drove the 3.5 hours down to Munich. Andy Newell and Eric Packer stayed behind in Oberhof. They are going to train there for five more days and do some workouts with the Norwegian National Team. In Munich, we checked into the Movenpick Hotel (the airport hotel we often stay at while travelling). We arrived around 5P.M. and still had a strength workout to do. Trying to follow directions in German to a gym, we drove through some serious farm country around the Munich airport.

Once we found it, the gym turned out to be one of the nicest and biggest we’ve seen in Europe.

Simi Hamilton still had to be creative to raise a bench up high enough to do bench row.

We went to dinner tonight at a great Italian place within walking distance of the Movenpick. On the way out we found this cool spider.

Long travel day tomorrow home to Aspen.

We had a really productive classic workout this morning. We warmed-up skiing easy for 30 minutes, then we did three intervals of 20 minutes each at threshold (a pace you can sustain for at least an hour). In each interval, we had two sprint bonuses. A sprint bonus is a “finish line” in the middle of a race where world cup points or cash are awarded to the first person or people across the line. They are a staple in every world cup mass start. Today’s workout was a great way to practice without having a full race. Tad Elliott dressed up old school with knickers and long socks for the workout:

On the cool-down, Eric Packer took this cool picture of me in the tunnel.

This afternoon we went for an easy hour and a half run as a group and started getting our stuff together. Tomorrow morning we have one last ski in the tunnel. Then we drive to Munich and do strength there. On Friday we fly back to the U.S.

This morning we did two hours of classic distance in the tunnel. At six to seven minutes per lap, you get a little dizzy skiing around in there. As Eric Packer said, “It sucks not having any intensity to do in the tunnel to break the workout up.”

This afternoon we did strength in another new gym.

We had to be inventive again to get our exercises in, including using an extension cord as a jump rope:

However, it was great because the floor made a perfect speed ladder:

And there were some nice motivational pictures on the wall.

Tad Elliott got some heavy lifting in.

I went out to dinner with German skiers Monique Siegel and Thomas Wick. We had some delicious food.

Lastly, I was walking around Oberhof after dinner and saw a picture of U.S. Nordic Combined Athlete Johnny Spilane in front of the local sports store. Crazy to be in the middle of Germany and see a poster of a friend and teammate.

We did an individual start skate race in the tunnel this morning. We did 6 laps of the loop here, which comes to about 11 kilometers. Although summer races don’t mean very much because everybody is in different stages of their training and there is a lot of time before the race season, it was a great opportunity for me to test some of the technique changes I’ve been working on this summer. The conditions made for a great test because they were icy and fast, conditions that have been tough for me in the past. Chris Grover took some great video of the race.

I was really pleased with how things went. The best sign for me was my ability to elevate my lactate and heart rate (to 7.0mmol and 173bpm.) This shows that I was able to use my aerobic system and wasn’t being held back by the pace. I felt relaxed and controlled.

Unfortunately Andy Newell wasn’t able to compete because of stomach issues. Here are the results, which again don’t mean a whole lot.

Yesterday morning we did skate sprint intensity in the tunnel. The workout was three sets of eight repetitions of 30 second intervals at sprint race pace. (A sprint race in cross country skiing is anywhere between 1200 meters and 1800 meters and generally takes between three and three and a half minutes.) The first set of intervals we did on terrain that  went down then up then around a 180 degree corner and back down and back up. The second set we did straight uphill. The third set we did from a standing start on flats with another 180 degree corner. Here’s some good video from Jason Cork of the session.

This morning we classic skied in the tunnel. Here’s a cool picture Eric Packer took.

It was great skiing because we had the right kick wax on our skis thanks to the Canadian junior team telling us what to use. They’ve been here for more than a week. We were skiing on blue klister covered with VR50 hard wax. Here are Cork and Tad Elliott waxing skis in a hazy tunnel (because of the snowmaking machines.)

The workout this morning included more fast skiing. It was a two hour distance session with 16 ten-second speeds. Cork took some more good video from this morning:

This afternoon we did an easy hour and a half skate roller ski. We took some time to do another synchronized skiing photo shoot.

The rollerskiing is great here in Oberhof. Some of the paved trails are on the same course I hope to race this winter for the first two stages of the Tour de Ski. It is a great opportunity to see the trails. Here are (from left to right) Eric Packer, me, Tad, and Simi Hamilton skiing under one of the ski bridges here in Oberhof. Cork is standing on the bridge. Coach Chris Grover took the photo.

And here’s a picture, also by Grover, of me leading Simi up one of the hills.

I was super impressed and inspired watching the Olympic Track and Field 10000 meter race this evening. Mo Farrah of Great Britain won and Galen Rupp of the USA was second. This past Spring I got to run with Mo, Galen, and Dathan Ritzenhein (who finished 13th in the 10000 this evening, also of the U.S.) when they were in Park City training. They were great guys and incredible athletes. Here is a picture with the runners and my teammates.

I am in blue on the top row, third from left. Dathan is in black next to me. Galen is in black, second from right on the top row (next to my teammate and overall World Cup Sprint Champion Kikkan Randall). Mo is kneeling in the center.

As Andy Newell said this morning, “Skiing in a tunnel is like skiing in a refrigerator.” That wraps up what it feels like pretty well.

The Oberhof tunnel has 1.2km of skiing. It is much newer and nicer than the other tunnel I’ve been to in Torsby, Sweden. We were in Torsby last November and the snow was soft and sugary. Here in Oberhof it is great, very close to what we race on in the winter.

Plus they have windows here in Oberhof. They were making snow in the tunnel today so it was a little hazy and slow in that area of the tunnel.

They were taking a bunch of old snow out of the tunnel today. It is tough having them run trucks in the tunnel. You smell the fumes when you’re skiing. It can’t be healthy.

Here’s the snow-making operation:

It’s always strange to me when the garage door is open because you’re looking out at green grass.

Here’s what the tunnel looks like from the outside:

On a different note, the hotel we’re staying in serves us 3 meals a day plus apple pie, ice cream and coffee at 3P.M. It’s fantastic, but it can make afternoon training a little tough. Here’s Andy with his pie:

We made it to Oberhof, Germany after a 6 hour drive from Ramsau. This is my first time here. It was a long travel day made longer by construction and traffic, but it’s good to be here. I am particularly excited to be here, not just because there is a ski tunnel and great training opportunities. Oberhof will be the venue for the first two stages of the Tour de Ski, on December 29th and 30th, 2012. The Tour de Ski is a series of World Cup races (7 races in 9 days for the 2012-13 season) modeled after the Tour de France. It is one of the biggest events in the world for cross country skiing. I hope to compete in the Tour for the first time this coming season.

Also, we were told before we arrived that the weather is always bad in Oberhof. We were pleasantly surprised to see the sun today. Here is Andy Newell in front of our great hotel, the Waldgasthof.

The rooms are nice, especially because I got the single this time.

The hotel provided us with a cooler full of drinks.

And a basket full of candy in our rooms.

And they provided us a great wax room.

And a barbecue for dinner, with burgers, grilled pork and wieners. Simi was especially excited:

I can see the ski jumps from my balcony.

Also, here’s some video from our ski on the glacier yesterday. I was doing 2 hours double pole only. It looks incredibly slow in the video and it was, but it was hard.

I had a fun last night in Ramsau. Monique and I went to the spectacular home of Ronnie and Astrid Wolf. Their primary residence is in Bergstrasse, Germany, but their home in Ramsau is located on a gorgeous lot with great views of Schladming.

They also have a workout room that is better stocked than most public facilities I’ve visited.

And their hot tub was nice.

I got to ride their sweet Can-Am 4-Wheeler.

It was really powerful and fun.

Ronnie also showed me his impressive shotgun collection.

After dinner, we went to a party under the full moon and around the fire at Trond’s house.

Today was our last day in Ramsau. Tomorrow we drive to Oberhof, Germany for 6 days of skiing in the tunnel.

This morning I did two hours of double pole only on the glacier. It was a tough workout and my abdominal muscles were a bit tired at the end. I don’t have any photos from this morning.

This afternoon I had an hour run then strength. Doing strength in different gyms can be challenging because they don’t always have the equipment I need to do my program. Today I had to make my own speed ladder:

And here I am using it:

Lastly, here’s some video from the bounding workout yesterday.

We had an hour and forty five minute skate ski on the glacier this morning. It was another gorgeous day. After the ski we did a little photo shoot. We all tried to ski in synch. It took a couple of tries but we finally got it.

From front to back: Andy Newell, Noah Hoffman, Tad Elliott, Eric Packer, and Simi Hamilton.

This afternoon we did a hard bounding (skiing imitation, more or less running with poles) workout. We had a 6 minute loop with three hills. The first hill is 1:40, the second hill is 35 seconds, and the last hill takes 45 seconds. We bound the hills and run the flats and downs. We did 10 laps.

It was great to have the whole team doing intensity together with me (in white), Eric (next to me), Newell (next to Eric), Tad (in blue), and Simi.

Here is Sim bounding:

This camp has been the best we’ve ever done in training together as a group. It’s been great and I think it’s really beneficial.

Also, today, August 1st, is my 23rd birthday. Monique made me an incredible Oreo cake.

And the restaurant here at the Kobaldhof made me a huge chocolate cake.

U.S. Ski Team coach Jason Cork (left) and Simi were impressed with the cake and the sparkler on top.

Thanks to my teammates and friends for making it a great birthday!

Eric Packer took this really nice picture of me on the glacier today:

The hotel we are staying at this camp is incredible. It makes our lives fun and easy, and it allows us to focus on training.

Tad Elliott and I are staying in a comfortable room with a bed and living area.

Simi Hamilton and Eric chose to separate their beds because they didn’t want to sleep next to each other.

There are some great views from our deck.

And in the other direction:

And the 10 holes of golf make for a great middle-of-the-day activity.

Foggy day on the glacier. There was maybe 15 or 20 feet of visibility for the whole ski. Simi, Tad, and I skied together for a 2 hour skate.

Here is Simi getting a lactate test in the middle of the ski. For distance sessions, we like our lactates to be around 1mmol. However, it’s hard to keep it that low on the glacier. Yesterday I was at 1.8mmol and today I was at 1.1mmol.

We took a grocery run to town in the middle of the day and saw this sweet BMW. The body was 100% carbon fiber:

My U.S. Ski Team teammate Andy Newell arrived today. Here is Newell during our afternoon strength session doing a little max bench press, being spotted by Eric Packer (He had more than just the 25kg plates on the bar):

And here I am doing a much less impressive glute exercise:

Some of my U.S. Ski Team (USST) teammates, Tad Elliott and Simi Hamilton arrived here in Ramsau yesterday afternoon. Also here are Stratton Mountain School skier Eric Packer and USST coaches Chris Grover and Jason Cork. It’s good to have everybody here.

Packer is psyched to be here!

And Tad is as well.

Cool light on the glacier today with all sorts of different weather during our ski.

This afternoon we played a little golf here at our hotel.

Tad plays quite a bit and is pretty good.

Simi, Monique and I need a little more practice. Luckily, we played best ball so it didn’t take us all day to make it around the course.

Here’s one more cool shot of the mountains around Ramsau:

Lastly, Jason took some video of the skiing this morning.

Off day here in Ramsau. We took advantage of the nice weather this morning and illegally went swimming in a snow making pond at the World Championship trails.

Also did a little rock skipping, although flat rocks were hard to come by.

Monique’s car was making a funny noise this morning. We had no idea what the problem was until she looked under it.

This afternoon we wanted to go steel rope climbing, but the weather turned on us.

I’m not exactly sure what steel rope climbing is, but apparently it’s the thing to do in Ramsau so hopefully I’ll get to go later this week.

Lastly, I was in Salzburg yesterday evening. Monique and I had dinner with Denise Herrmann and Daniel Heun, two members of the German National Ski Team. I believe it was the first time I’d seen this particular American chain in Europe:

Today was a gorgeous day on the glacier, not a cloud in the sky.

I feel lucky to be here on a day like today.

It was crowded with tourists, climbers/hikers, skiers, and employees. When I got down, the line to go up looked to include 4 or 5 tram’s worth of people. It would have been a long wait since a tram only departs every 15 or 20 minutes.

The snow got a little soft and wet in the sun. More and more of the glacial ice is melting through.

Apparently there are two areas they can groom Nordic trails on the glacier. Right now, the right side is groomed. I hear that the left side has more kilometers of trail with more terrain changes. I’m hoping, as the right side melts, that they’ll start grooming the left side.

It would be nice to get some new switchbacks to ski on at some point this week.

Most importantly, I hope this weather lasts!

I woke up to rain and wind here in Ramsau.

I was totally prepared to head up to the glacier, but Trond had something to say about that. He said, “I’ve lived here a long time, and it would be stupid to go up there today. If you want to go up because of the novelty of bad weather and to prove your tough that’s fine. But if you want to become a better ski racer you should do something down here. It would be just as productive to go up as it would be to go to Southern Spain and sit on the beach.” So, I went for a two and a half hour run instead. I don’t change my workouts very often, but I felt today was a good day to heed the advice.

In the afternoon the weather cleared up, so we went down to Schladming, a town just down the hill from Ramsau.

I am a huge fan of sports. I enjoy watching the best athletes in the World compete in basically any sport. On that note, I enjoy going to big sporting venues, even when there are no competitions going on. When I was in New York last year, I made a point of walking around the Billy Jean King National Tennis Center and the new Mets stadium.

For that reason, I love being here in the Ramsau/Schladming area. Ramsau was the site of the 1999 Nordic World Ski Championships.

Here I am at the World Championship finish line:

And Schladming will be, this coming winter, the host of the Alpine World Ski Championships.

Last season, my teammates and I were training in Ramsau during a World Cup Night Slalom in Schladming. We went down to watch because we knew several of the athletes competing. It was an incredible event, with tens of thousands of spectators. Here is a picture taken that night.

Today, I took a picture from roughly the same location. It looks a little different in the summer:

Lastly, I was impressed with how many signs were up advertising the upcoming World Championships in Schladming. It is going to be an incredible event.

This afternoon I went for a roller ski on the Ramsau Roller Ski Track. It’s always fun being in Europe because there are so many roller ski tracks. Roller skiing is more fun when you’re doing it on a course with terrain changes that feels like a ski trail than it is on a highway with lots of cars and a constant grade. I always love checking out new roller ski tracks. Ramsau’s track was really fun with steep uphills, fast downhills, and lots of turns.

Yesterday was my first time skiing on a true glacier, although it seems to be very similar to all the skiing I’ve done on summer snow fields. (The difference between a snow field and a glacier is that snow fields melt completely every year.)

The Dachstein glacier is gorgeous, especially the tram ride up to it.

The tram is incredibly steep. It seems like you are being lifted straight up.

The ski trails are not too exciting. 4 kilometers of trail, all within an area the size of three football fields.

It isn’t freezing at night, so the snow is very soft. I got rained on a little bit today. The grooming is fine, but unfortunately they don’t salt the trail, which would help it firm up.

Also, the lift from the Nordic trails back up to the top of the tram isn’t running, so it’s a bit of a walk at the end of each workout.

The picture above is of the top of the tram from the Nordic trails. My overall impression is that this place is beautiful but a poor on-snow training venue compared to New Zealand because you can only ski once a day, it’s a bit of a commute to snow, the snow is extremely soft, there aren’t very many kilometers of trail, and there aren’t too many variances in terrain on the trails. The Sognefjell snow field in Norway, where I skied in June and has since lost all of its snow for the year, was better training because they salted the trails, the skiing was right out the door, and they had 10 kilometers groomed.

I’m still enjoying being here; it’s fun to be on snow in late July, and I’m looking forward to skiing in Oberhof, Germany on August 4th and New Zealand on August 31st.

I feel that I always have someone to thank. It always seems that people are way more generous to me than I deserve and more generous than I am able to be to others. I am very grateful to my current hosts Trond and Claudia Nystad. They own a beautiful home here in Ramsau, Austria.

Trond built it in 2008. I am staying here for the 5 days before my team shows up for the U.S. Ski Team camp.

I first got to know Trond last month on the snow field in Sognefjell, Norway. He is the head coach of the Norwegian men’s cross country ski team and formerly the head coach of the U.S. cross country ski team. He was incredibly generous to my teammate Kris Freeman and I in Norway, giving us video, waxing, and lactate support along with technique advice and letting us jump into his team’s workouts. I was very grateful and impressed.

Trond is here working on a new garage.

He and some friends only started work on the garage 3 weeks ago. I’m really impressed with how much they’ve gotten done.

They’ve been working hard! Unfortunately Claudia is studying in Germany. I look forward to meeting her someday.

After my two training sessions and Trond’s full day of work on the garage, we hung out by the fire with some other friends.

I also got to go skiing today! Unfortunately, my camera died right as I was boarding the tram. I’ll get a post up on that tomorrow. Here’s the one picture I did get of the top of the tram from the bottom:

I made it to Ramsau, Austria after a super easy 16 hours of travel door to door. I only had one connection, through Washington Dulles, which is one of my favorite airports in the U.S. Every time I go through Dulles I walk to gate C1 to go to Potbelly’s Sandwich Shop. It is a fantastic D.C. chain. However, it couldn’t have been any further from my arrival and departure gates. After walking across the airport for a sandwich and back across the airport to my departure gate, I found another Potbelly’s in the international terminal, directly across from my departure gate.

When I arrived in Munich, my friend Monique Siegel, a skier on the German National Cross Country Ski Team, picked me up and we drove to Ramsau. The drive has some amazing views.

I’ve been to Ramsau several times in the winter, but this is my first trip in the summer.

My first impression is that this place is even more amazing in the summer than it is in the winter.

On the way from Munich to Ramsau, you pass the Atomic Factory. Pretty cool to glance off the road and see the factory of one of the major ski manufacturers.

I’ve heard people say they could live here in Ramsau, I’m starting to believe it.

I’m looking forward to going up on the Dachstein Glacier for the first time tomorrow and getting back on snow.