We won!

Last night I was at the Grosvenor House Hotel on Park Lane where my team collected the award for the best corporate website at the CorpComms Awards! I knew we would. Really, I did. Because we've developed an awsome site. Of course, I had very little to do with it. All the hard work was put in by my team. I was presented with the fetching glass and chrome trophy by comedian Frankie Boyle. Photos and everything.

What a great night!

I do wonder how many people in the room realised how fundamentally the corporate communications profession is going to change over the next few years. We have Generation Y people coming into the workplace who will be their own communicators, and we have technology - like the technology I'm using for this blog - that removes the barrier to entry to communications. So people will be willing and able to do it themselves. Communicators really need to re-assess their role now that everyone has a radio tower. Carefully crafted messages and beautifully designed websites will be less relevant, and probably not timely.

Black tie

Off to the CorpComms Awards at the Grosvenor House tonight. Black tie and everyhing! We were narrowly pipped for the best corporate website last year, and we've been shortlisted again this year. Fingers crossed!!

I'm In!

I got my acceptance for the London Marathon in the post yesterday! Fantastic! I can't wait. I've also got a place in the Silverstone Half Marathon in March. That'll be part of my London preparation. My running distances are slowly increasing - see last post - and I've just 2 weeks left before I switch from cycling 4 days a week and running 2, to 3 days a week for each. I don't plan to do any more than that as my legs are too prone to injury. I've also modified my expectations and will be aiming to complete the London course in under 4 hours 30 minutes.

I plan to run in aid of the The Salvation Army Training Centre in Hadleigh which my sister, Shelley, manages. They do great work helping people with disabilities, or who have been long term unemployed, back into work.

Half Marathon time

Saturday's half marathon training run in the gym was pretty successful. I had the treadmill on an incline to try a simulate street running, and I varied the pace quite a bit. I was getting tired towards the end, but nevertheless completed the distance in 1 hour 57 minutes and 34 seconds. That's over 5 minutes better than my previous best. No injuries, or niggles, just the continued stiffness in my right achiles in the mornings and for the first 1k of any run. I had a couple of days rest from running, then today I did a fast-ish 8k - 40 minutes (that's fast for me). Next run is Sunday when I plan an easy 15k, before raising the distances again for the following weeks, with a 22k and a 24k planned.

Punctures

I cycle from the South East London/Kent borders to central London on average 3 days a week. I have a decent bike, made with decent components. Everything has been great and I really enjoy it. Except I've had 3 punctures in the space of 12 months. That's not normal! Yesterday morning was miserable. It was 6.30am, dark and wet and I was at the side of the road fitting a new inner tube. My conclusion is that the tyres are not up to the job, so I've changed them for a pair of Schwalbe Stelvio Plus tyres which I'm assured have very high puncture protection. We'll see! They're also slightly thinner, so I should be a few seconds faster next time.

Talk To Her

I watched the last of my Pedro Almodovar DVD box set last night. Talk To Her. Like the other Almodovar movies, this one deals with a difficult issue. It's the story of two men who love women who are in a coma. A compelling piece, powerfully acted, which certainly makes the viewer re-assess things. I recommend it to you - particularly if you're a fan of indie movies as a refreshing change from Hollywood gloss.

One of the great parts of the movie was the performance by Caetano Veloso singing at a party. I'd heard of this guy, but I don't think I'd ever really listened his work before. It was sublime. That's another CD on the way from Play.com!!

I'll be the England manager

I saw that Steve McLaren got a huge pay-off for failing as the England football coach. I've sent my application form in for the job as I reckon I could fail just as well as he did. Hopefully I'll get the same kind of pay-off.

I'll let you know how I get on!