I do a good mix of both. I love group rides and run with friends fairly often. Also, I do a few swims a week with a Masters squad, so it's somewhat social. I also do a lot of stuff on my own, as it's often easier to concentrate on specific work when I'm solo, and I can just up and go when I am ready, whether it's 9:00, or 9:07, or 9:43 in the morning. I think it's really important to share work with others, as it can make certain workouts feel easier, and it's always fun to discuss and compare after.

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http://www.benhoffmanracing.com

Yep, I use TrainingPeaks with my coach, Ryan Bolton. I leave the harder data crunching up to him, but I do love to look at the files on most of my workouts and see what I can learn. I also have a sponsor (Cercacor) that provides important physiological data that I track throughout the season. My coach also has a dashboard where he can view this and help keep an eye on changes. Other than that, I like to keep some notes on how I am feeling to better track and compare. It's pretty easy to forget how you actually felt, even just a year on sometimes.

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http://www.benhoffmanracing.com

Very cool story, so in essence you had the typical runner/cyclist experience when starting swimming as an adult. Great work on your part to grind all the way from struggling through one 25 to swimming that 18:55 1650. Cheers, Eric.

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"Anyone can be who they want to be IF they have the HUNGER and the DRIVE."

Hi Ben,

I've always wondered how many calories a day can a pro eat. In some other answers you've talked about a little about your diet (or lack of a specific diet), but do you have an estimation of your average daily calorie intake?

In my case, training way less hours than you (but respectable hours in the amateur world), I find hard to maintain my weight. I don't count calories but it seems I have to eat for 3 or 4 guys to not lose weight so if I had to train 50% more hours, I'd have to feed while I'm sleeping.

Training your hours while having to eat 5-6k kcal every day... it's harder than people think

Just want to thank you for all these responses. Great to get your perspectives. Wishing you continued health and success.

Just want to be another to say thanks again thanks for taking the time with us. Sign me up for a "Hoff Coffee" Mug.

Im struck by two observations in watching you race and responses here:

1. That's some fast/long run training compared to us POS AG'ers. Do you attribute anything in particular to allow such run volume and avoid injury? Any specific pre-habing routine, weights? Any routines you found helpful to keep the knees/ankles healthy?

2. Im really impressed how you meter your effort on the bike, particularly the end. You really seem to "bike to set up the run," much better than anyone in recent memory. I always find it seductive to chase down someone at the end of the bike, especially if I am feeling good. Thanks for your tips about that earlier in the thread about overbiking. I suppose I don't really have a question, more of a 'thanks' but if you have any other tips that helped you with that mental part of the sport, feel free to share.

Cheers and best of luck into the 2020 season.

I can only estimate for you, as I don't track down to the calorie, and it definitely varies from day to day, but I would say I consistently eat 5,000 calories a day in harder Ironman training, sometimes as high as 7,000 on really big ride days. I have always been wary of going too far down the diet/calorie-counting rabbithole, as I see far too many people in endurance sport becoming unhealthy and controlled by a desire to be skinnier. I know we need to be lean to compete, but I try to focus on the training required to be my best, and then fueling with good food and satisfying my hunger. In most cases when I am training at full-capacity, it almost becomes tiresome to keep up with proper intake, so the gradual leaning happens naturally. Fortunately my wife Kelsey does an amazing job cooking and fueling me from sunup to sundown, and usually I just have to sit down and put whatever she has prepared down the gullet.

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http://www.benhoffmanracing.com

1. As I have mentioned at other points on the thread, I think that strength training has played a big role, specifically the heavier lifting I do with my PT, Sam Rauchwarter. It has made my hips and glutes much stronger. Squats, deadlifts, and lots of single-leg focus has helped me be more resilient. I also do a ton of self-care at home, and have every tool under the sun, from foam roller to graston tools, to Theragun and moxibustion cups. I also get routine massage and do a bit of yoga most days before bed.

2. No real epiphanies here, except a continued development of self-belief. Having confidence in what I can do, and then concentrating on optimizing it in the race. After so many hours of training, most of us have a good idea in the moment whether something is sustainable or not, so listening to yourself and trusting is essential. The risk and exploration can come closer to the end once you've exercised discipline in the earlier stages.

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http://www.benhoffmanracing.com

Boxers or Briefs?
Paper or plastic?
Bert or Ernie?
Franks or beans?
Lefty or righty...when shaving?
Chocolate or vanilla?
Peanut butter or jelly?
Chucky or Jason?

You know, questions that need to be answered.

Paper or plastic? Neither. We have ONE MILLION reusable bags...
Bert or Ernie? Ernie
Franks or beans? Tender Belly franks
Lefty or righty...when shaving? Righty
Chocolate or vanilla? Chocolate for almost everything, except Clif gels in Vanilla
Peanut butter or jelly? Peanut butter.... and jelly, duh!
Chucky or Jason? Jason

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http://www.benhoffmanracing.com

Hello Ben

congrats for your recent results, and thanks for being here, and answering a lot of questions. Really interesting answers.

On your bike position :
What is your drop "saddle to pad" ?
Your position seems intermediate, not too high, not too low. Is it a choice based on bike efficiency, or run efficiency ?
We saw some others pro going "higher" recently, such as Cam Wurf and Josh Amberger, adding 3cm of spacers to get in a position for me similar to your position. Some recognition it help the run after the bike ?

i've enjoyed reading through all 8 pages so far and thanks for giving us the time of day. hopefully it's not a repeat, but with Triathlon starting to pickup their YouTube game, any plans of a YouTube channel? it would be cool to see you with TO and Rinny or maybe with LS in Tucson doing some collabs. you've been an awesome inspiration to all of us and keep up the good work - you're Kona finish had me watching until the last minute.

Tender belly franks?

Do you have plans to do Ironman Philippines next year?

The aid stations on the bike are as follows:

Spam Musubi, Peanut butter sandwiches, snickers and....Vienna sausages.

Maurice

Thanks for taking the time to be here and answer our questions... You also gained a fan in my wife at the end of IM FL after your fist bump with your little one after the finish line! (we just caught the last few kms of the live stream)

From all the tools, what do you feel works best or is your go to either pre or post workout? It's hard to see the wood from the trees with so many options out there, each one claiming to be the best!

Hello Ben,

Congratulations for an impressive Kona/Florida combo and a very inspiring career!

To reach for the next step, will you keep trying doing the same "things" (training/coaching/nutrition/pacing...) aiming for a bit better and incremental gains or would you risk losing "everything" with one/several bigger change(s) looking for a potential more drastic improvement?

You wrote "ask me almost anything" so I won't dare asking you what would be a next level strategy worth trying... ;)

Enjoy your recovery and thank you for your spirit and values in the sport,

Antony

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- Antony Costes -
PhD in Biomechanics / Professional Triathlete (9 pro wins)

"If you cannot measure it, you cannot improve it."
Lord Kelvin

Hello, I have worked extensively over the years with Ivan O'Gorman, and we always take a fresh look at the fit before the season starts, and sometimes a second time if necessary. I do find that with bike fit, there needs to be constant reevaluation, as our bodies do change over time, and certain limiters may emerge or disappear depending on a variety of factors.

Drop is 158mm
I think the fit is intermediate, and certainly not as aggressive as it has been in the past, or could be potentially. This is done with both comfort on the bike and run performance in mind. I will have more to report next year when I visit the wind tunnel with Cervelo, but initial testing and feedback seems to indicate less of an aero penalty than most might think, but clear benefits from the comfort and run performance side. I still think there is plenty of room for improvement, and will continue to work towards my best, every year.

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http://www.benhoffmanracing.com

Thanks for doing all of these. I enjoyed reading all of the responses. You seem awfully detail oriented. Looking forward to meeting you in Rockford in a couple of weeks.

Great question, and not an easy answer. I think that triathletes in general can get so gear obsessed that they may forget to focus on important things like RPE, and they have so many tools that they don't even use the ones they have! But overall, the best tools are the ones you use consistently. I have compression boots (sponsored by Rapid Reboot) I use most days after heavy training. I have a Theragun that I use almost daily, especially on my feet and lower legs before bed and early in the morning. Finally, a simple golf ball on the floor for rolling the feet is key.

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http://www.benhoffmanracing.com

It will always be a fine line between experimenting enough and changing enough to encourage performance gains, but not so much as to go backwards. I do think constant new stimulus is required for improvement, but I also know that my success is built on a foundation of doing very similar things again and again over many years. One thing I will say is that I feel more liberated to go all-in for the win than ever before. My window for being competitive at the highest level of Ironman is closing, and I only have maybe 3-4 good to great years left, assuming history as a guide. I don't feel the same pressure to "prove" myself anymore; I know I am one of the best in the world when I race to my potential. The key is being the very best of all on one day in October.

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http://www.benhoffmanracing.com

whats the objective of rolling feet? Is that also muscle triggerpoints but smaller?

Great race in Kona and Panama City. I met you at the Zoot gathering in Kona and appreciate the time you spent talking to me. I was the guy you blew past on the the Queen K earlier that morning. What shoe did you race in before the Vaporfly and how much faster secs/mi at marathon pace is the VF.

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Let food be thy medicine...

Partially, yes. It is meant to help release the fascia and lengthen and loosen the muscles and tendons in the feet so they are more pliable. To stimulate blood flow and keep the tissue healthy.

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http://www.benhoffmanracing.com

The last race I did that wasn't in the NEXT% was Ironman South Africa in the Zoom Pegasus Turbo (version 1). I ran a 2:39 marathon there, so as much as I believe that the shoes help, I definitely don't think that it's as much as people may want to believe. I understand the tendency to want to explain big performances through something easy like a shoe or aero wheel, or new skinsuit, but ultimately fitness and execution are the bigger factors at play here. I am also not an expert on the technology that goes into these shoes, but my feeling is that the foam is more important than the carbon plate, as the energy return and cushioning effect that minimizes the impact seem to be what makes the shoe special.

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http://www.benhoffmanracing.com