Cassidy Lady Godiva Half Marathon 2008 Race Results

Congratulations to everybody who ran in the Cassidy Lady Godiva Coventry Half Marathon today, there were over 1500 runners. Well done!

Make sure you take some recovery time and relax this evening. It's inspiring to see so many people who have achieved their personal goals.

Enjoy the feeling of being a half marathon runner, be proud of yourself for completing the distance; the Cassidy Lady Godiva Coventry Half Marathon is a tough route, I have spoken to lots of other runners who have ran half marathon races all over the world and they agree that the Coventry route is very challenging.

It is good to set and achieve goals; if you have enjoyed running this race there a plenty of other runs locally. The next step for many half marathon runners is to imrove on their time, I have already had my wife tell me that she is going for under 2hrs next year (she knocked 15 minutes of her previous personal best today and wants to do the same again); set your goals and go for them, they keep you moving.

Many half marathon runners also decide to go for the full marathon next, if this is the journey you want to take next, let me know, I may publish a weekley online training programme for the full marathon in the New Year to work towards the London Marathon 2009.

Again well done for achieveing your half marathon goal today. Here are the Cassidy Lady Godiva Half Marathon 2008 Race Results for some of the runners using this programme.

Fran 2:14.33
Darren 2:14.33
Bali 2:30.37
Colin 1:42.46
Heidi 2:24.05
Keiron 2:31.24
Kannahi 2:07.38
Hayley 2:16.45
Steve 2:16.44
Donna 2:13.46

Clare 2:22.30

Darren

Helping you Achieve

PS I would also like to say get well soon to Janet Asbridge who wanted to be running today but has had to spend some time in hospital.

Birmingham Children's Hospital

I convinced one of my family to follow this training programme and join us on the Coventry Cassidy Lady Godiva Half Marathon 2008. She is raising money for Birmingham Children's Hospital, if you have found this training programme useful on your quest to complete the Half Marathon please donate kindly. I'll let her explain more.

One of my mottos in life has long been 'I don't do running'. However, several of my friends run and have completed the Coventry Half Marathon for the last 3 years, and 10 weeks ago they convinced me to take part in this year's event. On the 10th August I began my training with a run of 2 whole miles, my furthest run previously being a distance of 'to the car' and even then only if it was raining and I'd just had my hair done. I decided that in order to spur me on on the day I would raise funds for a worthy cause. It was not difficult to pick Birmingham Children's Hospital as it is a cause which is close to the hearts of all of my family. My cousin Katie was born with one unformed kidney and the other only partially working and was on the waiting list for a transplant from birth. Throughout her early years she spent a lot of time at the Children's Hospital for various check-ups and finally underwent a kidney transplant at the age of 6. She continued to attend the hospital for regular check-ups throughout her childhood and then for dialysis as a teenager when her 'new' kidney began to fail. Katie is still on dialysis and waiting for another transplant. Throughout all of this, Katie has always been bubbly, full of life and laughs and doesn't let things get her down. BCH are currently trying to raise £1.5 million for a new kidney unit to provide better facilities for its patients. Katie feels a new facility is badly needed, particularly for dialysis patients as the current unit doesn't even have any natural daylight - not a fun place to spend 4hrs twice a week hooked up to dialysis machines.
Please, please give whatever you can to help raise funds for this worthy cause to help me and my family to begin to say 'thank you' for the fantastic care that Katie has received from the staff at BCH.
Click here to visit my fund raising page.
Donating through Justgiving is quick, easy and totally secure. It’s also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Birmingham Children's Hospital Charities gets your money faster and, if you’re a UK taxpayer, Justgiving makes sure 25% in Gift Aid, plus a 3% supplement, are added to your donation.

So please sponsor me now!

Hayley Shortt

Coventry Cassidy Lady Godiva Half Marathon 2008 Race Day Preparation

Only 4 days to go. Take it really easy on your run tomorrow; it’s only to keep your legs moving and fresh for Sunday.

You should have received your race pack through this week, if not contact the race organisers, details on the website. It includes your race handbook detailing the order of events for the day, make sure you allow yourself plenty of time to get to the start, you may be nervous on the morning and you don’t want to increase your stress by rushing around trying to find parking or even the start line. I have been in this situation a few times and it makes the race less enjoyable.

Don’t change any of your normal running routine on race day; have the same breakfast and fluids you would normally have before your long run. Layout your running gear the night before; including any accessories (heart rate monitor, hydration pack, gps, phone holder etc) you normally use, again you want race morning to be relaxing not spent rushing around trying to find things. Also write your details on your race number the day before and attached to your t-shirt.

Take a small amount of cash with you for parking etc. Take a small bottle of water with you to drink at the start, but make sure you allow time to use the toilets before the race starts. If it is cold or raining on race morning take some disposable clothing with you, which will keep you warm and dry but you don’t mind putting in the bin just before the race starts, it makes the wait much more comfortable.

If you have any questions or would like to meet up with the group I’m running with email me darren@achieve.me.uk

Darren
Helping you Achieve

PS One of the readers of this blog is running the race for charity. Here are the details if you would like to sponsor her:

My team and I are taking part in the Cassidy Lady Godiva Marathon on 19th October on behalf of CLICSargeant.

CLIC stands for Cancer and Leukaemia in Childhood. Sargeant is another cancer charity and the two merged together to form CLICSargeant. It is the UK's leading cancer charity. It treats and supports children with cancer and leukaemia and helps their families as well. The charity is a great organisation and is with the children and their families every step of the way. With 10 children being diagnosed with cancer every 24 hours, this charity plays a vital role in society. There is more information about CLICSargeant on www.clicsargeant.org.uk
My team target is £2,000 and we more than half way there. We warmly welcome every support people can give as every contribution helps. It is quick, efficient and easy to sponsor me online via my fundraising webpage www.justgiving.com/kannahimuthalagappan.

Many thanks
Kannahi

Coventry Cassidy Lady Godiva Half Marathon 2008 Training Week 10

Only one week to go; how do you feel? Excited, nervous, apprehensive or raring to go; let me know. If you have followed this programme you can be confident that you have prepared your body to complete the Coventry Cassidy Lady Godiva Half Marathon 2008.

In this weeks programme, we are lowering the mileage to give your legs some recovery before the race day on Sunday; you may have heard this called tapering. I want you to focus on self myofascial release, try to roll your legs every day this week.

Make sure you stay hydrated all week, refer to the hydration and running performance post to calculate your minimum fluid intake.

Relax into your runs this week and reward yourself for how far you have come in such a short time; I have spoken to some of you who had never ran outside before starting this programme. Well done, next week you will be classed as a half-marathon runner.

Monday 13th October 2008
Recovery & Light Resistance Day
Light cross training RPE 4-5
Resistance Circuit x 2

Tuesday 14th October 2008
3-4 mile run - RPE 5-7
Focus on running technique

Wednesday 15th October 2008
Resistance Circuit x 2

Thursday 16th October 2008
3-4 mile run - RPE 5-7
Nice and steady

Friday 17th October 2008
Total Rest Day

Saturday 18th October 2008
Total Rest Day

Sunday 19th October 2008
Race Day
Run your own race, relax and enjoy it
I will post some information later this week on what to do on race day.

Darren
Helping you Achieve

Coventry Cassidy Lady Godiva Half Marathon 2008 Training Week 9

Have you signed up yet? Today’s the last day to sign up for the Coventry Cassidy Lady Godiva Half Marathon 2008, click here to go to the page. Did you watch the Great North Run this morning, I’ve ran it twice and it’s a fantastic run, the most runners for any half marathon in the world, 50,000. It’s inspiring to watch the event on TV seeing so many different reasons to run and hearing their stories.

In only 2 weeks, you’ll be classed as a half-marathon runner; it feels good. Today’s run has set you up to complete the distance, this week we drop the distance for your long run back to only 10 miles, but run alternate miles at a higher intensity.

As the race day gets closer I have had many people ask me how long it should take; there is no set time to aim for, you should just aim to get round the course and enjoy it. Try not to put pressure on yourself and aim for a quick time or try to keep up with friends if you feel uncomfortable; run your own race.

Make sure you are staying hydrated on your long runs and drinking plenty of good quality water following your runs. Again, spend plenty of time stretching and performing Self Myofascial Release; allow time for relaxation following your runs.

Monday 6th October 2008
Recovery & Light Resistance Day
Light cross training RPE 4-5
Resistance Circuit x 2

Tuesday 7th October 2008
4 mile run - RPE 6-8
Hilly Route.

Wednesday 8th October 2008
Resistance Circuit x 2

Thursday 9th October 2008
6 mile run - RPE 6-8
Hilly Route

Friday 10th October 2008
Non-running Cardio Training and Resistance Day
30 minutes - RPE 5-7
Resistance Circuit x 2

Saturday 11th October 2008
Total Rest Day

Sunday 12th October 2008
10 miles
1m (5-6)
1m (7-9)
x 5

Darren
Helping you Achieve