Vegan Kenny Lee - Surprises everyone with his 1hr 29min 22sec time for his first time 2014 Army Half-Marathon race. (Part 2)

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)

Kenny Lee - Carrying the flag for Vegans in Singapore. 

Kenny Lee ran the Army Half Marathon with a Team V t-shirt. His message is for Singaporeans to consider being compassionate towards the animals before you eat. His message is that there are plant-based products we can eat that could, in fact, prevent one from diseases like cancer and other diseases.

Yesterday, Team V captain Kenny Lee did a 1hr 29min 22sec for the Army Half Marathon and did this remarkable time first half- marathon. His training was not suited for the 21km but for 5km/10km; he was focused on bringing his time down for 5km; which would bring his marathon time down in the long run. 

Interview with Kenny Lee

What was the recent race you did?

 SAFRA half marathon.

Why did you choose this race?

It is a popular event and there are many good quality competitors coming from the NSF.

The event time also coincides well with the 'halfway' mark of my training program for the SCMS 2014 under coach Rameshon. It was a good chance to test my fitness and preparedness for the marathon. 

What was your timing?

1:29 unofficial.

 Are you happy with it?
Satisfied, but I know it could have been better if I pushed myself. However, I chose not to stress my body out too much, knowing that there would be a 10k race in 2 weeks and many more gruelling months of training to come before I'm marathon ready. 

How was the route and organisation of the Race?
The route was enjoyable. Water and isotonic points were evenly spaced and well-stocked. However, I thought that the organizers could have arranged a pen system so the more experienced runners can have a better chance at their PB.

What is your next race? 
POSB 10k run with flexifitness team!




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.

Vegan Kenny Lee - Surprises everyone with his 1hr 29min 22sec time for his first time 2014 Army Half-Marathon race.

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 Marcel Sng

Vegan Kenny Lee - Hoping to bring cheers to the vegan community

Picture 1- Picture was taken in Loving Hut at Joo Chiat

He has done 3 sub-19min timing in 3 months. The timings were all consistent. He did 5km in 18min 38sec with 2 1/2 months of Flexifitness training. In the past, he did not have any personal best time for 5km. At first, with one-month training, he did 19min 40sec and 19min 41sec for the subsequent week. 

Today, he ran with confidence and aimed to do a sub-1hr and 30min as it was his first half - marathon race that he was taking part in. However, he was unsure of how to run it. He followed Coach Rameshon' s advice of running the first few kilometres easy and then ramp the speed up by running a steady pace and kick at the last part. Towards the end, I saw him giving his best shot by sprinting towards the last few hundred metres. While the clock was ticking, Coach Rameshon was excited whether Kenny will hit the sub- 1hr 30min target. We were all anxious. Seconds were just passing by and I was looking for Kenny and started yelling as soon as I saw him. Kenny gestured to me by raising his hand in triumphant victory and went for it at the homestretch. His challenge was with himself. 

Hence, in such a short span, he has done a sub- 1hr 30min for his first run and right now aiming to do a sub-3hours in this Standard Chartered marathon, either this year or the next, I was thinking of interviewing him on his achievement.

So, first-timers out there, watch out for this interview. I hope that you perk up your confidence and train for races. I hope that you can do a sub - 2 hours for your first half-marathon by following Kenny's example if you keep training consistently.  

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.

Army Half Marathon 2014

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 Marcel Sng

Singapore Bay Run 2014

Coach Rameshon and I were at the start line before the race. There were pacers in front of the runners and seeded runners from Army right in front of the pacers, It would have been better if the race pacers are placed in different pens spread out from the front to the back of the race, as in international races. Pacers also could have stood 20 metres away apart with a balloon or something for that allows for higher visibility for people to run with so that they can attain the time they want. The MC informed the public to look out for people with orange singlet for visibility. This is actually disadvantageous as it defeats the purpose of running with the pacers. 

Our runner, Lim Thow Wee came early and sat right in front. Thow Wee had a time of 2hr 48min 49sec for Paris Marathon in April this year. He ended up being blocked by about 100 runners right in front of him even though he was about 10 meters behind the start line. I hope the organisers can do something about this; it is about time to come up with a 'pen', where runners are placed according to the timing. This is standard practice worldwide and runners can, in fact, get good timing by the organisers doing this. 

Anyway, our runners did fairly well in the race as all did a time of sub-2hrs. This is a good sign for us as it also involves women as well. The timings are unofficial and are given below, according to our watch. 

1hr 23min 30sec Lim Thow Wee 

1hr 28min 50sec Colin Chua

1hr 29min 17sec Kenny

1hr 34min 30sec Jensen

1hr 35min 00sec Jonathan 

1hr 51min 00sec Wang Yan

1hr 51min 50sec Szerk 

1hr 59min 22sec Jennifer Q. 

Coach Rameshon has already told the group that even if they improve the half-marathon time, it is not going to improve their half marathon timing as significantly as compared to the 5km time trials. Overall, the runners have improved in 5km and not the half-marathon and marathon timing. 

Wang Yan and Kenny, however, did a personal best time in their first Army Half Marathon run. They ran the race very well. Kenny and Wang were able to sprint past many runners, the home stretch. Kenny has shown that as a Vegan he can still run competitively. 

Other Flexifitness athletes have also run the race, we will put it up soon. But first, we want to interview Kenny and Wang Yan for their great performance. 

We saw the first runner and believed him to be an African runner, maybe a Kenyan runner running with a time of about 1hr 05min. 

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.

Coffee - Good for performance or not - My Experience (Part 7/8)

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)

Coffee - Injury and Weight Loss and Performance

The knowledge of Physiology is very important for a coach and athlete to excel in running. In a number of researchers, tea and coffee are mentioned as an ergogenic aid to performance. I like topics on Biochemistry as they are interesting to read. There are many researchers done on caffeine, not just coffee, but red bull, tea, chocolate and coca-cola as well. Let me talk about how caffeine can cause injury, and weight loss as well. Performance will also be discussed. 

Injury 

When we ingest fluid that has caffeine, I believe that the sympathetic nerve becomes activated such that the heart rate elevates. Heat increases when one drink caffeinated drink. Another thing that happens when one drink caffeinated drink is that there is the dehydrating effect of the body. My frank believe is that there is this diuretic effect, which is the cause. One will tend to go to the toilet more often and this is how dehydration takes place. Hence, one needs to drink water frequently in order to counter the heat increase in the body. Dehydration disappears. 

The elevated heart rate goes down. If one does not ingest water, because of going to the toilet to pass motion, the blood volume in one's body reduces. It affects performance, hence, The muscle, tendon, ligament and bone will lack water. They are made up of water as well. Rheumatism may set in. It is supposed that by stopping the caffeine drink for some time, one will enable the body to be well hydrated, and by drinking water, one expedites the cure for the injury. In the past, I believe that most of the injuries are caused, I believe, is due to not hydrating oneself properly. 

Weight Loss

It is believed in studies that there will be weight loss in a person when they use caffeine. One will feel the 'not hungry' effect. For me, it has worked at times. 

At certain times, it has not worked. Maybe the cause for this could be because of the inclusion of sugar which prevents fat oxidation. If you drink a more sugary coffee drink, fats are prevented to be oxidised. There is a high in a person at first and then there this feeling of low later on during the day. Some products like the Hydroxycut, which has been banned now, has been used to lose weight. Hydroxycut has this 'I am not hungry' feeling and this may enable one to lose weight. However, this process makes the liver to work very hard and it is not good. Hydroxycut is now banned in the market. 

Performance - Timing and Concentration of coffee content are important. 

There are many researchers done on when is the right time to take and on the concentration of caffeine is of utmost importance to do well in running. The timing of coffee taking varies differently between individuals. If one has not taken coffee in the past, it is advisable for one not to drink for the race as a tryout. Research shows that people must get used to coffee if they want to do well. People who are not used to coffee may get over-anxious if they take all of a sudden. 

I learned from  George Gandy, our Athletics Lecturer, Loughborough University, that the coach's job is to find out from Biochemistry research and Physiological studies and interpret to their athletes and work on their athletes on things that one will enhance one's performance so that he/she will excel in running.

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.

Some Benefits Of A Vegetarian Diet

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)

Vegetarian -Benefits Are Numerous

A plant-based diet is really what is needed for a healthy body. Research has shown that it can reverse chronic conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure and prevent top killers such as cancer and heart disease. A rosy complexion, stronger immunity, higher levels of energy are also amongst the long list of benefits (hppt:www.vegsource.com).

Benefits of a vegetarian diet are enumerated below

* Lowers blood pressure
* Lowers cholesterol levels
* Reduces Type 2 diabetes
* Prevents stroke conditions 
* Reverses atherosclerosis
* Reduces heart disease risk 50%
* Reduces heart surgery risk 80%
* Prevents many forms of cancer 
* Prevents obesity
* Reduces asthma and allergy risks
* Reduces infertility risk
* Stronger immune system
* Increases life expectancy up to 15 years
* Higher IQ
* Prevents costly disease outbreaks
(mad cow disease, E. coli, foot-and-mouth disease, bird flu, etc)
* Prevents rapid breeding of antibiotic-resistant superbugs and other dangerous bacteria strains
* Prevents over 25 million meat-related human deaths worldwide each year
* Prevents 60 billion meat-related animal deaths worldwide each year 
* Saves 70% of a total coast of US$40 trillion for reducing global warming
* Uses 4.5 times less land to grow food
* Conserves up to 70% clean water
* Saves 80%of the cleared Amazonian rainforest from animal grazing
* Prevents over 60% biodiversity loss
* Restores marine life 
* A solution for world hunger
(1) Free up 3.4 billion hectares of land
(2) Free up 760 million tons of grain every year (half the world's grain supply)
* Consumes 1/3 fossil fuels of those used for meat production. 
* Reduces pollution from untreated animal waste
* Maintains cleaner air
* Saves 4.5 tons of emissions per US household per year 
* Stop 80% of global warming
* Prolongs the sustainable life of the planet and more...........




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.

Jennifer - Big Personal Best for 1km

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 Marcel Sng

For Jennifer, a sub-5 min for 1km time was difficult for her at first, although she has the ability to run the same speed of her 5km speed all the way for the marathon. She has done a 3hr 48min in Berlin Marathon 2013. In April, when she ran in the Paris Marathon 2014, she did a time of 3hr 53min.

Over time, a few months back, even to do a 1km flat out in 4min 30sec was very difficult. However, she was able to do a time of 4min 18sec about a few weeks back. She hoped to do a small personal best time for the 1km about 4 days ago. In the run, to our amazement, she did a wonderful time of 4min 03sec, a few seconds away from a sub-4min timing. In time to come, we believe that she will be able to do a time of 3hr 30min in one year or two for the marathon. We wish her all the best for her improvement. 

I have done a small interview on her and I hope that you enjoy reading her interview. 

An Interview With Jennifer Quek 

1. When you ran the 3hour 48min for Berlin Marathon, what was your Personal Best for 1km?

It was 4 min 21 sec.

2. What was your previous personal best for 1km before your recent 1 km all out? 

It was 4min 19sec. 

3. What is s your best time for 1km now?

It has improved to 4min 03sec.

4. Are you happy with your time? Why?

Yes. As I stopped training for a week training due to work, I did not expect that I could do a much better time. 

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.

Big Personal Best for Moonlake (Part 2)

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 Marcel Sng

Moonlake, 45, recently has been doing a time of 32min to 34min before joining Flexifitness. About one and a half week ago, suddenly, she did a season-best time of 30 minutes 37 seconds when she came in 16th (age group) in the Shape Run 2014. Although it was a season-best, she was disappointed it was not a personal best. She ran in such a way that she went for the personal best time. She was depressed when she told Coach Rameshon about this, and he assured that she has been consistent in training and in time to come she will definitely do it. 

To our surprise, in our Flexifitness time trial held on 23 August, she did us proud by doing a big personal best of  29 minutes 11 seconds. She mustered up her courage to go for it rather than waiting for some months. the platform was there for her to do it and she did it. Coach Rameshon told me that in time to come, she will do a 25min flat or a much faster time.

Earlier on, Moonlake used to go too fast in the early part of her race and die out from the middle part of the race. Coach Rameshon advised her to take it easy in the first part of a race. She has applied that and is now improving consistently. I personally am very impressed in her vast improvement of more than 1 min. 

 

Moonlake at the Venus Run 2014. (In the recent Shape Run she did a season-best of 30:37)

Interview with MoonLake Lee

How did you fare in the Shape Run 2014?

This was my 8^th Shape Run since 2008 – I ran a seasonal best of 30 minutes 37 seconds but was slightly disappointed as I was hoping to complete the 5km below 30 minutes.

What is your previous personal best for 5km?

My previous personal best for the 5km was 29 minutes 51 seconds back in the 2011 Shape Run

What is your new personal best 5km?

My new personal best was in the recent FlexiFitness time trial on August 23, 2014, about one week after the 2014 Shape Run. I ran a time of 29 minutes 11 seconds at the running track.  

How do you feel about this?

I was delighted and could hardly believe that I improved by over 1 minute in just a week’s time. I have to say that I could not have done it without the support of my fellow runners at FlexiFitness who cheered me on and encouraged me. More on this later.

Can you share with us your physical preparation (45min- 1 hour) before the race?

Frankly, I was a little stressed about it. We went through our usual warm-ups and stretching routine. Lim Thow Wee also helped us do visualization before we did the time trial. This is still rather new to me so the main thing that I was visualizing was number 29!!

How were your first two rounds?

Coach Rameshon told me to pace myself especially for the first 4 minutes and not a sprint – just run at a moderate speed. This is because, like many people, I tend to go faster in the beginning since there are the adrenalin rush and excitement, and I am still fresh. However, if one overdoes things in the beginning, then it gets very difficult to maintain the pace and there are no more reserves left to finish the run well.

So I tried to pace myself and take things easier for the first two rounds… I was still the slowest of the runners but that was all right – as Coach Rameshon said, we are not competing with each other but we are competing with ourselves. Having other runners around is more for encouragement and to inspire us to try harder.

*Can you say briefly, how did you fare in the middle part of the run? (800m-4.2km)

The middle part of the run was tough. It seemed to take forever. There were occasional fleeting thoughts of giving up or walking. However, I kept telling myself not to give up but to keep running. I also knew that as long as I kept my pace at 6km/hour or under, I should be able to complete the run in 30 minutes… so the key was to maintain under 6km/hour as much as possible.

It was really helpful that the students and kids at FlexiFitness were at the side of the track cheering all the runners on with shouts of encouragement or by clapping. One could not help but quicken the pace when running past everyone. 

Can you describe what happened in the last 2 rounds?

My husband, Ansgar Cheng, ran the last 3 rounds with me to encourage me to keep running as it was obvious I was rather tired by then. Being one of the faster runners, he had already finished his 5km time trial and so was running beside me as a “warm-down” run. He reminded me to try counting my cadence (i.e. running rhythm) as it would also distract me and help take the focus away from the tiredness.

During the last round, Coach Rameshon joined both of us – he was getting excited and told me I was at the 28-minute mark and there was a good chance to achieve my personal best. With both of them running next to me, how could I not try harder??!! J

I was very relieved to finish the 5km and find out that I had improved on my timing, achieving a personal best of 29 minutes and 11 seconds J

Are you happy with the time?

Yes, I am happy with the time for now, but I look forward to gradually improving my time as I continue with the training.

What is your next goal?

My next goal, in addition to improving my speed and stamina, is to reduce abdominal fat as this is a key culprit for many health issues. My reasons for running are to lose and maintain a healthy weight. I have a family history of diabetes… I also enjoy eating and socializing too much – the food needs to get worked off!!

In terms of specific goals, I look forward to hitting 26 to 27 minutes for the 5km distance and completing a 10km run in 1 hour. I will give myself 6 months to a year to achieve this J

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.

Coffee - Good for performance or not - My Experience (Part 6)

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)

Coffee - Has pros and cons

During my training days, especially in the early 1990s, there were times that I got injured. Through my athlete Kok Kong, I was introduced to bone-setters. I have forgotten about the whereabouts of this place if you ask me now. This happened a long time ago.

The bone-setter gave a therapy that had 'crack' sounds from my back, hip area, and I was alright to run on the day itself. It was a miracle. I thank Kok Kong for this speedy recovery. The therapist told me to do back strengthening exercises and to avoid caffeine product like coffee and tea. The therapist told me about other food I need to avoid and to recover fast from it. I just followed her instruction to the very letter and was disciplined to follow it, and I got better. I did go one more time and that was the last time for me. I was able to cure myself by doing stretching and strengthening exercises to avoid injury. 

Usually, because of my regular and complete running yoga stretching regimen, I usually did not get myself injured. However, even though when I did my stretching exercises, which also involves strengthening as well, before and after a run, I got myself injured at times, however, the injury rate was very minimal. (I ended my serious running at the age of 27 with no injury). 

Usually, I did not have hips problems and if my athletes were facing problems from the hip area, I used to give them the stretches that will make them come out of the injury. I did what the therapist had given me and my own yoga stretches and got the injured athletes recovered very fast from it. 

Scientific articles have mentioned on wind produced by coffee or tea which can cause stitch in a runner. Coffee can also activate the sympathetic nerve which elevates the heart rate. In a race, the disadvantage coffee has is that the heat in the body is elevated causing the heart rate to be elevated. This causes the impairing of one's performance. This was shown is some research studies. 

When it comes to injury, I have prevented myself from taking coffee or tea for a few months when I was injured. Over time, I recovered from injury, besides avoiding other food items also. Discipline is needed. 

Over time, I realised that coffee can cause a diuretic effect in a person. which causes dehydration of the body through this. One may pass motion more often than not as compared to taking non-caffeinated food, like fruit juice etc. As bones, muscles, tendons, ligaments and cartilage are made up of water as well, when one is dehydrated, one can get injured. It is important to hydrate oneself with water regularly. 

The biggest worry that I ever had in injury was actually getting achilles tendon injury. However, by good stretching, especially doing specific stretches, I was able to bring down the injury. Another way was to avoid coffee and tea totally for a period of time and resume when one gets well when there is no sign of injury. 

I realised that Kenyan runners take tea for their training. I also found that they drink nearly every day, especially before the run. Hence, I realised that tea forms part of their training. (Tea's caffeine content is much lower than coffee). The only thing, I believe, is that one should do one's best not to be addicted to coffee and tea, and not drink all the time. I am not talking about Green Tea etc as it has been shown to have beneficial effects by taking it. 

One case that I have heard was that my friend when I was about 18 years of age, was drinking 18 to 20 cups of coffee per day. I have heard on other Hollywood actors and actresses doing this. When one does this it can be harmful. Excessive coffee drinking can cause over - anxiety instead as the sympathetic nerve will activate more and this is reflected with an increase in heart rate in one. 

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.

Coffee - Good for performance or not - My Experience (Part 5)

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)

Coffee - Good for metabolising fat

 

The good thing about caffeine is that it is found through research to boost performance. However, I did not use this for races, especially in the past. It took me a long time to drink coffee for performance. 

I used to do meditation and I did not like the idea of getting my mind restless and distracted. It was only over time that I started experimenting on coffee. 

I was drinking coffee and biscuits when I was training in Hong Kong for the Hong Kong Marathon race in the early 1990s. I ran my heart out for the race and did 2hr 31min for that. I broke the National Record in this race for the first time. Because of the fact that I was a vegetarian, I had limited choices of food I could take. Most of the bread there at that time had egg included. Hence, I stuck to biscuits and coffee for breakfast, lunch and dinner. I included fruits and vegetable in the diet but it was difficult to get this food at the place that I was staying at that time. Just before the race, I used coffee as I had no choice for my breakfast. However, I did not have a proper understanding of caffeine at that time.

When I train for the 1993 London Marathon, I felt so tired in the morning such that I needed coffee for the running sessions. My observation was that I felt a surge of energy and it was translated by my moderate speed in my runs all the way throughout for my runs. I trained in the morning and evening for 5 weeks after my first-year exams and I did 2hr 29min plus. That was the first time for me to cross the finish line for the marathon in under 2hr 30min. My friend- Tony Bignell- was the one who arranged the breakfast in the morning when I stayed at his place for the London Marathon. He was the main person responsible for me to do this time, which was a National Record at that time. I used coffee just before the race and it came in handy as I was able to run well throughout the race.

My understanding of coffee at that time was that it was a stimulant and it has an ergogenic aid in running, 

It can make a person run 20% more, in terms of distance covered, for long runs, the runs that we usually run on Sundays.

Later on, after reading on Dave Costill's work on caffeine, particularly on coffee, I come to an understanding that runners who are fit will benefit from drinking coffee. How? During moderate-intensity, predominantly the energy will come from glycogen (carbohydrate) and not fats for the less fit runners. As for the fitter ones, for example like an Ethiopian or Kenyan elite runner, during moderate runs, they are able to burn fats through a scientific process called Kreb's Cycle. There is glycogen sparing effect. As such, fit people would not feel tired out after a run. For obese people, even a jog is a sprint for them and they use predominantly glycogen only. They get tired out by this usage of glycogen from the body, and as such they get hungry all the time as their glycogen stores get depleted fast. 

A thorough understanding of which energy path taken by an athlete was explained to me by Veteran Triathlete Dave Williams and I was able to understand on coffee better. Dave Willaims was my lecturer at that time. It was after my association with him that I was able to find out on the importance of the energy pathways used when one runs fast, moderate or slow intensity runs. He was my Physiology Guru who taught me on Thermoregulation, training in the heat and cold etc. He also taught me about other physiological factors that can help one to improve performance in running. After his imparting of knowledge to me, I was able to understand the caffeine effects better, from then on. 

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.

Flexifitness Veteran Runner Dr Ansgar, 48, Does 2min 55sec in 1km Time Trial.

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)

Dr Ansgar - A lot of potential seen

Picture 1 - Wife Moonlake (left) and Dr Ansgar Cheng, a team itself

Dr Ansgar's mileage is not that high. As such, his programme is different from many of the runners here. He saw me about 9/10 weeks ago and asked me what kind of time he would be able to run by joining me. I thought he was fooling around with me by asking me this question. I always believe that to ask this question, a runner must be prepared physically and mentally to be committed and consistent. However, he proved to be a force to be reckoned with.

Unsure of his formative years in running, judging from his 22min run for 5km for time trial he did at first with us, I told him that he should be able to do, in 3 to 6 months time, a time of 20min flat around there. Then, he told me that he has done 18min plus for 5km when he was young, in his late teen. I told him that, then, he should be able to do 18min plus through me. I had to say this with some reservation in me. However, I had to tell him to go easy in the first part of the run. A month back, his time dipped to 21min plus before going to 20min plus for the 5km time trial. He did not look burnt out, hence I gave more trials. He did 19min 15sec, all of a sudden. This was a real shock for all of us. It was like a miracle.

From a month's 1km time of 3min 09sec, he brought his time down to 3min 07sec three weeks ago. A week back, he did a time of 3min 03sec for the distance. Yesterday, he blazed the tarmac 1km route to do a time of 2min 55sec. He got big applause from our group for this feat. His 200m time was 32 sec and his 500m time was 1min 24sec before the final time of 2min 55sec. That means that in veteran races in Singapore for 1500m, he is capable of coming top 3, if not even first for it. It was pleasing to hear from this veteran runner that he believe that he is capable of 2min 40sec. So, I feel that he has a lot of potential in him.

To tell you the truth, I have brought many students to do 16min plus for 5km, in my past 20 years of coaching. He would have done a sub - 17min 5km if he had come under me, in the past, judging from his recent performance, not as brag on myself but I am telling that this athlete has more in him. I feel that, in his teenage years, maybe, he could have even done a time of sub-16min basing from the mental strength that he as shown recently. 

My job as a coach is to fine-tune this fine gentleman to run as fast as possible. He is now capable of doing a sub-3hrs this year or by next year in a marathon race.

Having said this, Dr Ansgar has written me his own essay on hard work to me on why he thinks that impossible is possible. He also shares with us on how he ran in the past. Now, let us have a look at his essay.

Running hard By Dr Ansgar

Time is something no one can work against. As far as we know, there is no time traveller in the history of mankind yet.

On more than one occasion, I have dreamt of the good times I enjoyed when I was running with my high school cross-country team. That mixture of mental suffering and physical pain was part of the resulting joy of running cross-country. The happiness of running together as a team was precious too.

However, the secret in that type of running was Discipline, Discipline, Discipline and with an additional touch of Discipline.

Jo Pavey is a mother of two. Her younger kid was born less than a year ago. At age 40, the British runner won the female 10000m event at the 2014 European Championships. She literally outran runners half her age to win the gold medal.

Another runner in the European Championships representing France, Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad, was disqualified after he crossed the finish line ahead of the field in the 3000m steeplechase event. The reason was that he took his jersey off in the last 100 metres, which violated the IAAF rule that the number bibs needed to be displayed at all times during the competition. This was probably a penalty for ‘un-sportsman-like behaviour’ and being disrespectful toward his fellow competitors while the event was still ongoing.

In 1982, I was running in the age 16-17 school division 1 interschool cross-country race in Hong Kong. It was a very cold day by Hong Kong standards, probably about 5 degrees Celcius. Our school team did not fare well that day on the grass track. Following our 6.5km run was the 18-19-year-old boys run. It felt like forever after they were gunned off but we were busy checking out runners from the other girls' schools. After about 20 minutes plus, far from the horizon at the Fanling Golf Club, a few fast runners emerged. It was a few Caucasian boys and one Chinese boy. As they dashed toward the finish line, it was clear that the Chinese boy (his name was similar to mine and he was known by his nickname as ‘Din Chung’ aka Crazy Chung) was approximately 10 meters ahead of the gang and he was effortlessly running while wearing a big smile. This boy was a record holder in 1500m and 5000m on the track in various age groups. He later went on to represent Hong Kong as a middle-distance runner in the under-19 age group.

‘Din Chung’ was certainly in a class of his own. The other boys were no competition in that cross country run. A few metres before he crossed the finish line, he kicked even harder, punishing the other runners and then he did something unbelievable - he turned his head around, put his hands next to his ears, stuck his tongue out and made a face to the other boys behind him while sprinting even faster. As usual, he crossed the finish line first. He truly lived up to his reputation of being a little unpredictably crazy.

Spring 1983 recorded the highest level of rainfall in 20 years in Hong Kong.  I had a great training program and a few excellent training buddies from my cross-country teammates. Some of my training partners from the cross-country team had the speed of sprinters and some were sprinters who could last the distance like middle-distance runners. In the March 1983 interschool game, I attempted to break the 1500m record of ‘Din Chung.’ It turned out to be a disaster for me as I almost did not finish and had to settle for a second place. I outran myself badly.

Hard work never kills. It is hard to teach new dogs old tricks.

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.