A Blog about Technology, Media, Triathlon.
Emma Davis Finishes 37th in the Women’s Triathlon at the 2008 Olympics. Well done to Emma, our first ever Olympic Triathlete! Update: There’s a very good report on the Triathlon Ireland website of Emma’s race.
Set your alarm clocks now! At 3am Irish time tomorrow, Emma Davis will become Ireland’s first Olympic Triathlete as she competes in the Beijing 2008 games. The race is taking place at the Ming Tomb Reservoir…great name. We haven’t been so lucky on the track or in the pool so far, so let’s hope Emma does herself proud and kicks some ass.
If you’ve haven’t managed to catch an Olympic triathlon on TV before make sure you check it out; it is incredibly exciting to watch! I am flying to the UK for work tonight, so I will probably not get to see the race….if any kind soul out there wants to DivX the race and make it available through some sort of filesharing application, that would be sweet.
Version 0.2 - Updated 09.07.08
This is a quick, hopefully useful Beginner’s Guide to Triathlon. I’ve been competing in the sport for a couple of years and I wanted to put down a few hints and tips to help anybody thinking of giving Triathlon a try. The sport has had a very positive impact on my life, it’s hugely popular, great fun and very achievable; regardless of whether or not you have a sporting background. You will also get to meet some amazing people if you decide to give it a go. I’ve written this guide from my own perspective; so it’s more appropriate for people coming from a non-sporting background, as I was when I started. Enjoy.
I made it! Escape from Alcatraz was everything I hoped it would be; tough, fast, exciting. Hotter than I would have liked, but an absolutely great race. This is my full report of the lead up to the race, the race itself and the journey home. Read the rest of this entry »
In most surveys of fears and phobias, public speaking comes close to the top. There is rarely a week where I don’t have to stand in front of a group to present a concept, a proposal, or a piece of work. It’s a skill I’ve had to learn and think about more and more as time goes by, and I still get it spectacularly wrong on occasion, but less than I used to.
In this article I wanted to write down a few of the points I’ve noted while giving talks, a few I’ve noted while watching others, and offer some basic advice to anybody interested in getting better at presenting their work or ideas.
Two weeks to go.
Belfast is going well; work is cool, life is good. I’ve joined a new triathlon club, but I’ve really been slacking off. Tonight, instead of going swimming I’m having a cup of tea, and eating biscuits. Where is all the motivation gone….hmmm….
Unfortunately I’ve had to miss my last two races (Blessington and Lough Neagh) of the Triathlon season because of the move to Belfast. I’m just really up to my ears moving gear up to Belfast, and getting the kit together to do races and travel up and down at weekends just isn’t practical.
It’s been a good season; I’ve done a couple of sprints and a couple of Olympic distance races; and I’ve been happy with my times in all. It’s not the 6 races that I had planned to do, but the cycle across Spain in September will be a good challenge before we head into the deep dark winter.
Belfast is going well; the house is great and work is nice and challenging (in a good way). We’re pitching for some great work, so fingers crossed.
London lived up to the hype; it was a great race with over 9000 people competing over the two days of the race - officially the largest race in the world. Like Dublin, the weather in London has been dreadful this summer - except for this weekend when temperatures hit 30 degrees during the race. Luckily I was in the 7am wave, so I was out of the heat before it got too grim.
My race went pretty well - I was really happy with my time of 2.31.33, but the swim was a bit ruined when some fool pulled my goggles off. I swam 1200m in horrible water with no goggles and was pretty pissed off until well into the cycle (angry cycling). The cycle itself was fine - closed roads all the way through central London with some very fast sections through tunnels along the Thames. The turn on the bike was just at Big Ben, opposite the London Eye and the scenery was a real bonus (even though I didn’t pay too much attention to be honest). The run was warm and pretty uneventful, just a two-lap grind around Victoria dock - then into the Excel centre to cross the finish line with cameras flashing and a great atmosphere all round. All the Piranhas did really well, I’m sure they’ll be posting their own reports on the Piranha Site. Special thanks to Cliona for the support and for helping me lug my bag and bike around London for the weekend.
In 5 hours I’m moving to Belfast - how did that happen? :)
We’ve arrived in London, and the buzz before tomorrow’s race is great. The sprints are on today and then we go tomorrow - the weather is shaping up to be great (London has been plagued by bad weather too in the last month). Bit worried about the water quality - but that’s life for you. I’ll write a proper update afer the race with some photos.