tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-202715632008-06-19T16:48:31.921+12:00scott molinanoreply@blogger.comBlogger53125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20271563.post-74779520848458471342008-06-17T02:26:00.003+12:002008-06-19T16:48:31.948+12:00

Epic Italy ’08 Epilogue I’m in Milan airport (Linate, not Malpensa!) as I finish this and feeling ready to go home. I’m pooped. The red wine and grappa flowed and Julie even brought out a big round of smelly cheese from Pienza that Erin had acquired the week before this camp began. It was smelling pretty ripe by now and was awfully delicious. It was a rather light meal and speeches were short

scott molinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20271563.post-16740641575941405442008-06-17T02:24:00.000+12:002008-06-17T02:25:36.398+12:00

Epic Italy ’08 Day 8 – Bolzano – Verona The bike paths on this trip have given me a big dose of “stupeffatto”. You don’t’ have to ride mountains if you want to ride in Italy. There is an amazing bike path system through all of the cities we went to and connecting them as well. Today we could have stayed on bike paths for all of the 170km from end to end today. You also get a different

scott molinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20271563.post-70365859148256949962008-06-15T19:04:00.000+12:002008-06-15T19:05:20.216+12:00

Epic Italy ’08 Day 7 – Stelvio Today started at 6:30am with a leisurely 50-minute run tour of the city of Bolzano. The Austrian influence here is clear – almost all signs are in both Italian and German (Austrian?). There is quite a lot of new architecture in the municipal buildings too which we haven’t seen too much of this trip so far. We took in some of the bike paths as well as the cobbled

scott molinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20271563.post-49398929268398976692008-06-15T08:21:00.000+12:002008-06-15T08:22:25.759+12:00

Epic Italy ’08 Day 6 As I’ve said many times over the years I write these blogs mostly for the campers as its hard to recall everything you did and the places you went afterwards. It all becomes a blur. I’m sort-of at that point now trying to recall the last few days. I’m only trying to recall yesterday now and even that is a bit fuzzy. It poured all night last night and we awoke to a cold,

scott molinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20271563.post-31556807405120171032008-06-14T18:39:00.000+12:002008-06-14T18:40:37.639+12:00

Epic Italy ’08 Day 4 We’re in Bolzano on Day 7 as I write this at 6am trying to get caught up. Doesn’t look like I will get there as its now 6am and we’ve got a run to do at 6:30 but I’ll get started……… Cortina would probably be my choice as a place to stay if I were to only choose one place n Italy to come to ride. There are a few other towns in the vicinity like Canazei and Arabba but they’

scott molinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20271563.post-66457661341252224792008-06-14T08:30:00.000+12:002008-06-14T08:31:03.017+12:00

Epic Italy Day 4 – Cortina We’re sleeping in Cortina for 3 nights, so we should get a few different routes in. Unfortunately the community pool here is under construction so we have to use a pool that’s in Brunico 55km away. So the plan is to ride there and back today with a little bit of tacking on in various directions – that’s up to each person to decide. The plan for today is up early to

scott molinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20271563.post-65739997617573531372008-06-14T07:25:00.001+12:002008-06-14T07:25:39.119+12:00

Epic Italy ’08 Day 3 Trento – Cortina Psa de Fedaia and Psa de Giau Yesterday upon our arrival in Trento Steve and Jo went for a 2:40 run. F…n impressive! By the end of the run we did this morning that’s approx. 40km since arriving 14 hours ago. Then Jo ran back from the pool after swimming! With a week to go that’s quite a bold move. We ran home from the pool. Not much to report there.

scott molinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20271563.post-42600761982067887782008-06-14T07:17:00.000+12:002008-06-14T07:18:38.763+12:00

Epic Italy ’08 Day 2 – In Trento Today we awoke in the city that’s home to Giro legend Gilberto Simoni. Its not hard to see why a kid could become a great cyclist very quickly here. The place is surrounded by steep mountains. The run - We had a nice easy run to the pool with a bit of it along the river. Nice big bike trail and a running trail along the river and we saw a few fast Africans (

scott molinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20271563.post-4725729368849883632008-06-10T06:47:00.000+12:002008-06-10T06:49:03.063+12:00

Epic Italy ’08 Day 1 – Verona – Trento One of the main goals of the camp is to challenge everyone to s/b/r every day so we’ve set up out camp points competition to reward those that manage to do that. Accomplishing that simple goal is not as easy as it sounds. Sleeping in gets more and more enticing as the camp progresses. So here we are in Verona. Last night Erin (my wife who is joining us

scott molinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20271563.post-68817754114586965842008-06-10T04:46:00.001+12:002008-06-10T04:46:58.200+12:00

Epic Italy ’08 Prologue We tried to run this camp last June but the impending birth of young Thomas Newsom and Gordo’s plan to prepare for IM Canada caused a re-think so here we are – finally – this year. If you’ve read any previous blogs/Epic updates then you are aware that we choose the locations and times for these camps based mostly on my whim. I’ve trained in many fabulous locations around

scott molinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20271563.post-21324226564239254292008-02-04T10:10:00.000+13:002008-02-04T10:21:15.281+13:00

Epic NZ ’08 Epilogue At the end of June Newsom and Beven are putting on a camp in the Pyrenees with our good friends Ian and Julie Wright (http://www.pyreneesmultisport.com/). That camp – the http://www.ironmantalk.com/ camp - is called Camp Kia Kaha for those of you who might want to do some great training in the Pyrenees. I fully appreciate that most of the people here do have to make some

scott molinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20271563.post-89879641222816998602008-02-04T10:08:00.000+13:002008-02-04T10:09:34.020+13:00

Epic NZ ’08 Day 8 – Coronet Peak Tri Not everyone rode up the mt. yesterday so they had that little surprise awaiting them this morning. The rest of us weren’t so lucky. But it did look to be quite a bit cooler this time up so that was something to be thankful for. We rolled out to the lake at 7:30am and Andrew and Tara got left behind and ended up going the long way to Lake Hayes. We had

scott molinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20271563.post-27816108579679227952008-02-02T20:06:00.000+13:002008-02-02T20:07:29.979+13:00

Epic NZ ’08 Day 7 – Queenstown I have so many memories of this place. This is a magical little part of the world. When I first met Erin she had a holiday house here in a suburb called Sunshine Bay with a glorious view of Lake Wakitipu. We spent a lot of time here during the NZ summers of ’88 – ’93 before our first child came along. The days are long and hot here and the desert lizard in me

scott molinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20271563.post-49985215508842309772008-02-01T19:34:00.000+13:002008-02-01T19:35:54.037+13:00

Epic NZ ’08 Stage 6 ( I mean ….err…. Day 6) Being on the South Island we were bound to get some real weather. Well today we got it. More on that later. The day started for most of us at 6am again with a 50-minute run to the pool. Some drove straight to the lake. The wind had been up all night so I was glad not to be headed there as it was going to be very chopped up. Most swam 3k and some

scott molinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20271563.post-6069542086759972472008-01-31T20:06:00.000+13:002008-01-31T20:09:32.563+13:00

Epic NZ ’08 Day 5 – Still in Wanaka For those following along from afar you may know some of the campers either in person or from their race results over the last few years. There’s no one here who wouldn’t be one of the strongest guys in their hometowns. Everyone here has ridden well under 5:30 in an IM and is as tough as hell. Yet after 4 days of smashing themselves to bits and being smashed

scott molinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20271563.post-55518027678642334432008-01-30T20:36:00.000+13:002008-01-30T20:38:15.393+13:00

Epic NZ ’08 Day 4 The last of the contenders for Yellow just walked in at 7:20pm after swimming and running in town as the rerst of us were just sitting down to eat dinner. Looks like at least 4-5 people are shooting for max points for the camp and perhaps some time in Yellow. G-Man says there’s quite a bit of Yellow fever going around and its fun to see so many people playing the game. Last

scott molinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20271563.post-24846181539276279412008-01-29T21:09:00.000+13:002008-01-29T21:41:35.505+13:00

Sorry if I've been a little "dry" in my updates thusfar. That won't change tonight! but perhaps tomorrow I can manage more than a blow-by-blow update. Tomorrow has an optional ride scheduled and perhaps it will be less than 6 hours so I may have some energy. After yesterday I was so worn out I really did start to re-think this whole idea of Epic Camp. This is how it went from my perspective.

scott molinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20271563.post-89617061121012981542008-01-29T16:58:00.001+13:002008-01-29T17:00:58.511+13:00

Epic NZ ’08 Day 2 It already seems like day 4-5 as I type this on the morning of day 3. Hard to believe we first started these camps 5 years ago, but it feels like I’m back into the camp grove now and there’s not much time or energy for anything other than eat, sleep and get through the sessions. Last night your Elliott from Reno, Super Dave (support crew Dave Dwan) did slip off for a quiet

scott molinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20271563.post-30967552553675437792008-01-27T21:13:00.000+13:002008-01-27T21:22:06.279+13:00

Epic NZ ’08 Day 1 – Akaroa When I arrived in Christchurch at the end of n ’88 with my hot babe girlfriend Erin Baker the ride to Akaroa and back was one of the main rides IM folks did to get ready for IM NZ. The race was held in Auckland back then. That course was a hell of a lot harder than the current one in Taupo so the Christchurch athletes spent a lot of time in the hills getting ready

scott molinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20271563.post-60700900798988588222008-01-25T15:58:00.000+13:002008-01-25T16:44:16.051+13:00

Often times when building up my training to get ready for these camps I have many brilliant ideas for my journal entries but forget about them by the time I get home. Sound familiar? This year I decided to try a little harder to improve on jotting down some notes as soon as I got home and even put a pen and pad in my cycling goodie bag to record thoughts on the fly. Hopefully these thoughts will

scott molinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20271563.post-1169524764956541602007-01-23T16:55:00.001+13:002007-01-24T08:29:25.370+13:00

The Tourmalet In 1910, the Tour riders rode a 289km stage from Perpignan to Luchon over the cols de Port, Portet d’Aspet, Ares, then a mammoth stage from Luchon to Bayonne of 326km. Crossing the Peyresourde, Aspin, Tourmalet, Soulor and Aubisque. On roads that are no better than tracks for donkeys and packhorses, worn by use, the surface strewn with stones and fallen rocks, perilous at every

scott molinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20271563.post-1169364386651133672007-01-21T20:23:00.000+13:002007-01-21T20:26:26.666+13:00

Epic NZ 2007 – Epilogue Saturday (January 20) had some of the crew taking part in Challenge Wanaka. Even Dwan and Micheala teamed up for a relay. David Craig, Brandon, Bevan and Mark P all had very decent swim/bike efforts and Johnno did every one proud by finishing 4th over-all and earning a nice check. He really hasn’t had a proper taper for this race. Far from it as he’s been looking

scott molinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20271563.post-1169261332454316062007-01-20T15:47:00.000+13:002007-01-20T15:48:52.473+13:00

Motivation If you’re reading this then its likely that we share a common trait amongst triathletes – we’re motivated to do better at our sport. The reasons why we are so afflicted probably vary a great deal though. I think it helps us in reaching our goals to identify the basic reasons for our motivation. I look at motivation as a 2-step process: 1) identify my goals 2) identify the

scott molinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20271563.post-1169261124273506712007-01-20T15:44:00.000+13:002007-01-20T15:45:24.276+13:00

Epic NZ 2007 Day 12 - ride 85km to Wanaka, run, swim We’ll have to ride up the other side of the Crown Range next year as well as Coronet Peak. We were a little short on mountains on this camp! The route for the ride today was a gentle 85 km to Cromwell and then along Lake Dunstan. We had a stiff headwind that slowed things down a lot and the ride took about 40 minutes longer than I

scott molinanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20271563.post-1169261020425814542007-01-20T15:42:00.000+13:002007-01-20T15:43:40.436+13:00

Epic NZ 2007 Day 11 – Activities Day! A bunch of silly ol’ buggers running around in lycra doin’ ridiculous stuff. That’s my summary of today and I hope it stays that way. We all need a little goofing off and R & R and since some people are gonna take part in the race this week-end and have pre-race stuff to do tomorrow, we decided today would be the best day to really chill out. In France we

scott molinanoreply@blogger.com