Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Team Flexifitness Ranjith W Slashes 32 min in Gold Coast Half-Marathon 2013

Note:

If you are keen and have queries, please contact Coach Rameshon at 9100 4369 or you can email him at m.rameshon@gmail.com or swift.rameshon@gmail.com. Please refer to website http://flexifitness.com.sg (for more information on him and his programmes)

By Rameshon
Bsc (Hons) Degree in Physical Education, Loughborough University (1992-1994)
Masters in Education (University of Western Australia, 2005-2008)

Ranjith W- Teaches us to Think Big 
Picture 1 - Coach Rameshon, Lim Thow Wee, Ashley Liew, Coach Noorshidah Ibrahim and Ranjith W



Ranjith W, 52 years of age, came to me a year back. He had a personal best time of 2hr 33min in the past for the half-marathon. He was introduced to me by my school - mate by the name of Edgar. 

Ranjith e-mailed and told me that he is a triathlete and he would like to improve in the running portion of the race. I told him that he can join us in Team Flexifitness under Weight Management section. 

He was in the very slow group and overtime brought the cycle of rest from very long to a short rest. I had to fine-tune the rest period. He made the slowest and the greatest progress over time.

In Gold Coast Marathon, we sat down and targeted a time of 2hr 11min to 2hr 16min. Eventually, he did a time of 2hr 00min 56sec. He created a miracle in Flexifitness and I feel that this form of achievement can even apply to the top runners, to improve by 30min in running. It is just that at the top the improvement is very hard. 

Hence, I feel that this miracle man of Flexifitness, Ranjith could share with us his interview story on how he ran the race so that many can benefit from this.

Take note that next week, Ranjith is going to France for the Tour de France competition

An Interview With Ranjith W

What was your plan before the race?

Well, plan A was to have fun and plan B was to see how I would fare in my first real run since joining Flexifitness at the end of last year.


Did you do any form of mental training for this race?

I am certainly not at this nirvana stage yet but just glad I did not go mental doing the 30-lap intervals around the CCAB track J


What was the time that you were able to achieve?

I did the half marathon and clocked 2hr 00min 56secs. Yeah, I know if I had only gone 57 secs faster – sigh!


Can you give us more details of your splits during your race?

I was lucky to be seated next to coach Rameshon for our flight over to Gold Coast where I could tap on his expertise. He told me to stay at a comfortable pace for the first 10 to 11km and then to push if I was still feeling good at that point. From my training runs, he estimated that I would be coming home anywhere between 2hr 10mins and 2 hr 16mins.


Well the race started and I just went with the flow, doing a comfortable 5min 50sec pace. I was just following a runner ahead until she picked up the pace at the 7km mark and though I was tempted to follow her, I stuck with the coach’s advice and kept the 5’ 50” pace. At the 10km mark, the 2:00 hr pacer dressed up as a bumblebee, with wings and all, passed by and as I was still feeling good, I slipped into her 5’ 43” pace and after about 5km I knew I could follow this bee all the way to the honey.


How was the route of the race?

The race route was relatively flat and wide. We passed many residential areas where people came out in their pyjamas to lend their support. It was a great experience and lifted your spirits


How do you find the organising of the race?

The race itself was well organized and I could not find any faults except maybe the distance markers were not very obvious but I had a GPS so no problems for me. Getting there and back, Scenic Travel did a splendid job in taking care of all the logistics and really, all you had to do was to show up at the airport.


How do you find the weather?

I loved it. Though it was chilly at the 6am race start for the half marathoners, it got nicer when the sun came up.


Are you happy with your time?

My previous best was a 2hr 33min so taking off 32 mins was a massive chunk of time and I am really pleased. I think the secret was staying injury-free during my entire time with FlexiFitness. I was put on slow runs at the start before gradually and carefully picking up the pace so that my muscles and joints could be conditioned to take the increasing workload. Also, the time invested in stretching helped a great deal. It was time well spent. By staying injury-free, I managed to stay consistent with the training.



What is your next goal?
Well, this week I head off to France to ride the final stages of the Tour de France. It will include some monster climbs like the iconic Alpe d’Huez and the much-feared Mont Ventoux. I have put in many cycling hours preparing for this by heading off to climb at places like Genting Highlands and Fraser’s Hills. When I get back, my immediate goal will be to catch my favourite running buddy Yogaraj, who is getting stronger and pulling away by the week  Watch out, pal! I am also thinking of another half marathon towards the end of the year, either Singapore Standard Chartered or Chiang Mai.


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Note:

By Narayanan

Rameshon has taught in Hwa Chong Institution, plus several schools, and Republic Polytechnic as well. He has won many accolades and he was awarded Merit Award for 1991 marathon performance in breaking the national record of Singapore, at that time. He has made 22 male athletes do a marathon in sub-3hrs. He has made 7 female runners do sub-4 hours for the marathon, as well. He was inducted to the ‘Roll of Honour’  by the then College of Physical Education, organised by Singapore Olympic Academy, in 1998, for breaking the National record repeatedly 4 times, till he did 2hr 24min 22sec).

He also has a Coaching group and he trains them on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 7pm at Botanic Gardens. Those interested can call him at 91004369 for coaching assistance, to improve performance. There is also personal training that he does for many in a week. You can e-mail him at swift.rameshon@gmail.com.