runningcoachsg: September 2015

Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Gratitude to Environment - Haze is a good lesson.

Masters in Education (University of Western Australia, 2005-2008)

Haze - Many physical activities by Flexifitness has been cancelled for outdoor activity.

Haze Situation - Getting Worse

From my experience, the haze comes to Singapore from time to time, and usually, it stays for a month, the most about 3months, I guess, judging from the past PSI (Pollutant Standards Index) readings of Haze. People are hasty not to train or exercise and become worried.

In the past, for my training sessions, usually, from a PSI reading of 100 to 150, I could wait for the PSI go down to around 70-80 so that I can do workouts and also to do other forms of training. The current situation, however, shows that the PSI is stubborn and it is still staying at around 120 to 200 plus and this is not a good situation that we are going through.

Kids in schools are disappointed with the haze reading, I guess, as the activities are cancelled. From my understanding, the year 2015 is significant as the schools, all over Singapore, had to close as the PSI reading increased to 300 plus.

I guess, that it is about time that we can look at the past happiness that we had in having a good environment, and appreciate the nice situation that we have been having, all along. We are able to do many things with a good environment. Right now, we have to be careful with our own health and decide on when and where to go for food, social activity, physical activity and so on.

With a high PSI reading above 200, it is best that we totally go indoor. The important thing to do is to be consistent in training or in doing some form of activity. If you halt your training, there will be some negative consequences which will take place, which in fact, make our stamina to be reduced.

There are some sharing sessions that I may do in future blog posts so that many enthusiastic athletes do not give up on doing their sport. It is about time to find out on alternative training methods that they can do so that their performance is not compromised. When we do not train aerobically, for 3 weeks, the research (Saltin et al, 1968) shows that our stamina will be drastically reduced. Ascertain what you can do in order to continue so that your progression is always there or your maintenance of fitness is always there.

Haze comes to show that when things get tough, the tough will continue.

Next Issue: Dr Ansgar Cheng - An Interview on his official time of 37min 37sec for 10km, in Straits Times Run, overall 11th position.

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.

Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Jensen Toh - 2hr 58min 30sec in Berlin Marathon (27/09/2015)

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)

Jensen Toh - Story of an athlete whose passion was to do a sub-3 hours marathon

Jensen Toh is talented in both running and triathlon. From an earlier personal best time of 5hr 37min for half-ironman, he has done a time of 4hr 59min in year 2013, August, in Cebu. In Stanchart Marathon 2013, he did the race in 3hr 22min, thereby missing his sub-3hour time which we wanted to do as a personal challenge. However, many things did not go well, however he did not lose faith. He did his best by being consistent even though he had work commitment as well. Hence, he kept training in our group all the way since the day he joined us.

2013 - Standard Chartered Marathon

At one of the meeting outside, we met again at Specialist Dental Talk, on one fine and eventful day. His wife, was there for the talk as well. She was discussing with me on Jensen's improvement. We had a good time discussing on Jensen's goals in running. I found out that the wife was hoping that Jensen achieves his goal, which is to do a sub-3 hours for the marathon time, which was eluding him all the time.

With some obstacles that was disrupting the training, without losing heart Jensen kept training consistently with us. He did his steady state runs in a calculated way such that mistakes are not done unnecessarily. We have another 3 runners in our group who are more or less the same standard like him to push the pace.

Team Flexifitness in SAA Cross Country Race 2015, with Andreas in the picture.

We knew that he was going to Berlin a few weeks back. Two days ago, many of our athletes were excited to know how he was commencing during the race. He ran a real steady state pace such that he ran the race of his life and did 2hr 58min 30sec. At 40km, his time was approximately 2hr 48min plus. Flexifitness is glad that we have developed yet another runner to a sub-3hours. We were in cloud nine to know this fantastic piece of news. Well done, Jensen!

I realise that an interview, with answers from him, will be good for people out there to know about him and who would like to improve on their time in running and they can also learn some tips from him to do well in running.

An Interview With Jensen Toh

Question 1: What is your personal best times for the distance before and after you joined Flexifitness?

1500m - Present: 4min 30sec (PB)

3000m - Present: 10min 51 (PB)

5000m - Past: 21min (before FlexiFitness)

- Present: 18min 46sec (PB, 2014)

10km - Past: 42min (before FlexiFitness)

- Present: 40min 20sec (PB, 2014)

Half Marathon - Present: 1hr 33min (2014)

Marathon - Past: 3hr 22min (2013)

- Present: 2hr 58min 30sec

Question 2 : Can you share with us on the Stanchart Marathon race in 2013 on your dream and timing?

2013 was my first attempt on a full marathon with proper training. I did a couple of ironman races previously. I was hoping for a sub-3hr 15min. However, I managed a 3hr 22min.

Question 3 : Were you happy with the time at the time, in year 2013?

Yes and No. Yes, because it was my PB and no because I did not achieve my target.

Question 4 : What was your plan after that race?

Given that I was settling my wedding and honeymoon in 2014, I set myself a target to run a sub-3hrs and qualify for Boston in 2015.

Question 5 : How did you feel when you are known as the handful few to do a sub - 3hrs for the marathon race?

Everyone in FlexiFitness was part of my success in this journey. I am always motivated to do well given the support from the team. My frequent chats with Flexifitness athlete Lim Thow Wee, who is an experience sub-3hrs marathoner certainly helped. Being able to run alongside other sub- 3hrs runners (Dr Benny Goh, Andreas Wenger, Evan Chee and Erich) also encouraged me to do well.

Question 6 : Can you share with us on the split of the race, during the race, giving us some details on your plan?

As Berlin was my first overseas marathon, I did not really know what to expect. Coupled with my injury in April which affected my training build-up, I was unsure if sub 3 was attainable. Perhaps, a sub-3hr 05 min would be more realistic yet still qualify me for Boston. I targeted an even 45min split with every 10.5km. I told myself that if I could run a 2hr 15min for 32km and still felt good, I would be able to achieve sub 3hrs.

Question 7 : Did you believe that you can do it, the sub-3hours?

Not at the start of the race but at the 32km mark. When I was at the last 10km, I felt good and my legs were still going strong. I told myself that it was possible.

Question 8 : How was the organisation of the race?

The race support was fantastic. The drink stations were adequately set up on both sides of the running route and that prevented congestion at the stations. The route was generally flat and wide.

Question 9 : How did your family members feel when you achieved the sub-3 hrs for the Berlin Marathon 2015?

My wife was extremely happy and proud of me. She knows that my sacrifices have paid off. She has been very supportive of my training and I am glad that she could witness my achievement.

Question 10 : What is your next target?

I have signed up for Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon. If my recovery and build up is ideal, I hope to do better than what I did in Standard Chartered Singapore Marathon 2013.

In 2016, I am aiming to run a marathon in USA and improve my time further before Boston 2017. I will discuss a realistic target with Coach and work towards it.

Question 11 : Are you keen to run in the track and cross country races, next year?

Yes. I believe that the training for such races is key to a good marathon time. I also hope to better my 5km and 10km timings through these races before my next marathon in 2016.

Lastly, I would just like to say a big thank you to everyone in FlexiFitness. Thanks for all the advice, pacing and encouragements. My success would not have been possible without an awesome 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.

Sunday, September 27, 2015

Miracle Day for Flexifitness - Jensen Toh (2hr 58min 30sec) In Berlin Marathon 2015, 27th Sept.

Mr Jensen Toh - Looking elated after doing 2hr 58min 30sec in Berlin Marathon, today.

The day will be passed and I may not be able to write about Mr Jensen Toh, 32, on his sub-3 hour achievement in Berlin Marathon 2015. I saw Mr Joseph Ho's post in the Facebook, where many were congratulating Mr Jensen Toh's achievement in doing a 2hr 58min 30sec.

Mr Jensen did a 2hr 48min in the 40km mark. At that point, Coach Rameshon told me that the chances are not easy as there will be muscle fatigue which may derail the effort of a runner to do well, as severe cramps can set in.

Even pace running by Mr Jensen Toh

With an even pace running all the way, Mr Jensen finally did a time of 2hr 58min 30sec. He has become one of the sub-3hour runners in our group. I am very happy for Mr Jensen as I found out from coach Rameshon on how the former missed the sub-3hour mark in the year 2013 in Standard Chartered Marathon where he did 3hr 18min. Unfazed, he braved the training and workouts and finally did a time of 2hr 58min 30sec. This is great news for us, for Team Flexifitness!

Jensen Toh, in one of the Singapore Races

The resilience that Mr Jensen Toh demonstrated has finally made him to achieve his goal. I believe that there was self-believe when he did it. It was good to hear that despite failures he attempted the marathon again and again. This is great news for those who want to brave the sub-3hours for the marathon.

Mr Jensen - At Race Venue

Wednesday, September 16, 2015

Go overseas - for middle and long distance athletes - No waiting (Part 3)

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)

Note: This Blogspot is dedicated to my Coach Alan Guilder and Sir George Gandy (University Coach)

Chamkaur Singh (left) still holding the 1500m national record of 3min 51sec

Several years ago, I remember seeing Chamkaur Singh at Yishun Sports Complex (track) as a young runner who was aspiring to do well in running. At that time, I was there for speed endurance, very intense one, which lasts just within 10 to 20min, and I will go back home. Warm-up and warm-down were done at home. My belief was to do a short, sharp and simple workout which will give the result. (At the same time, I used to do longer workouts at places like Mac Ritchie and Clementi Stadium etc). Meanwhile, I saw this young chap by the name of Chamkaur Singh doing 200s on the track (200m repetition training).

The next time, I saw him, he was again seen doing the same old workout. Over time, repetitively, he kept doing the same old 200s workout again and again, relentlessly. I could see the fire in the eyes that he wants to excel in running.

Something told me to talk to him to vary his workout, but I decided to be mindful of my own training. I was, at the same time, also focused on not bothering others but myself. I did my best to practice silence most of the time. My thoughts were on how to get faster, all the time.

After my 2hr 31min performance in Hong Kong marathon in the year 1990, John Sproule, who was my former lecturer, in the then School of Physical Education, came to me at night at CCAB track, which is now called PESE Branch, Ministry of Education, Evans Road. He strongly suggested to me to go overseas and meet Mr George Gandy and to train under him at Loughborough University. I asked him on the reason for me to go there. John Sproule told me that England has good weather which allows greater improvement in running. Immediately, I told him that that was the reason why I train at CCAB at night and it is cooling here in Singapore at night.

However, it was good to hear the truth from John that Singapore is, in fact, warm and not cold, even at night. That sentence of his struck me and I was thinking of running and improving in favourable weather in overseas, in my mind, and over time I was looking forward of doing sub-2hr 30min by training in England.

I decided to apply for my further studies at Loughborough University and I got myself accepted for the degree course. I did not want to wait anymore and I told myself to go for it.

When I was there, I was training with the Loughborough Athletics Club. Over time, there, my timing improved a lot and I did 2hr 29min in London Marathon and 2hr 28min in Berlin Marathon. Both races were done in the year 1993. Over time, using the training methods used by Alan Guilder, I trained in Singapore for Chiangmai Marathon in 1995 South East Asian Games. Yvonne Danson ran for Singapore as a woman representative, while I ran for the men open section. I did 2hr 24min 22sec there.

Later on, in life, I met Chamkaur Singh, who started varying his training and was doing very well in his middle-distance events. He was doing a near 4min flat all the time for 1500m. One fine day, he met me at MacRitchie Reservoir and discussed with me on his going to Australia. Chamkaur self-funded himself to go for his further studies cum training. I strongly proposed him to go and he finally considered took the plunge to go after looking at all possibilities.

Over time, while Koo Chin Poo, the runner that I was training in the year 2004 for Vietnam SEA Games, was representing Singapore, I got the news that Chamkaur finally broke the national record of Sergit Singh's 3min 52sec.

Earlier on, in the late 80s, Maran and Saravanan have done 3min 53sec but were not able to do a sub-3min 53min. Chamkaur was slower than there two in the past. I believe that Chamkaur's thought of not waiting and go overseas, as an elite runner, made him to finally get the final target of 3min 52sec for 1500m which he will rejoice, always.

Note:

By Narayanan

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

Go overseas - A message to our middle and long distance athletes (Part 2)

Masters in Education (University of Western Australia, 2005-2008)

Note: This Blogspot is dedicated to my Coach Alan Guilder and Sir George Gandy (University Coach)

(left) Chamkaur (the Singaporean who broke Serjit Singh's long-standing 1500m national record of 3min 52sec), standing with me. Chamkaur and I did well in overseas.

Somebody asked me why it is important to run overseas when you are becoming an elite athlete. This was one of the questions usually posed to me by people, even by Chamkaur Singh, our current national record holder for 1500m and a bronze medalist for 2004 Vietnam South East Games, to me, when he was about to go for his studies and training trip in Australia.

It has been donkey years since we got any medals for the middle distance races and this gentleman by the name of Chamkaur Singh delivered it. By going overseas, there are a number of benefits and I shall enumerate the points one by one.

First and foremost, I would discuss on the coach who is training in Singapore. Only if we go overseas with our runner, it is easy to enable our runner to do well. It is difficult for the coach to go overseas and train the athlete for 2 to 4 years etc. The only way to do it is for the coach to go there and it is easier to do well.

It took me 3 years to do a time of 32min 52sec for 10km to drop to 32min 42sec. For me, it was a huge task to do this and a lot of hard training was put into to do just the 32min 42sec. I tried everything at my disposal to bring the time down but it was a difficult task to do. Finally, when my former lecturer John Sproule, a Scottish gentleman, told me to go and train in Loughborough, England to do it.

I remembered my training with the Loughborough University Cross-Country team and Athletics team. I had to study and train and it only took about 7 months to do 31min 46sec for the 10km race.

I felt that one of the most important reasons for me to go to Loughborough is because of the weather. The weather was one of the main reason for me to do very well. Although nearly every day the temperature is 10 degrees centigrade to run, the weather was perfect to run. Easy runs, moderate time will be faster.

You will be less tired. Most of the time, I kept doing personal best time all the way from 5km to 16km races during my stay in Loughborough.

I remembered of a guy in Singapore doing a time which is the same after 4 years. If you are really good, the most important thing to do as a runner is to source out a way to go to a cooler climate to do well.

In Singapore, you can keep doing well for the hot climate and that is going to be your fate. There will not be a significant improvement in your running performance if you are an elite runner. However, if you are not an elite runner and if you would like to keep improving, Singapore is a satisfactory choice, and you will still get some improvement here.

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.

Monday, September 14, 2015

Go overseas - A message to our middle and long distance athletes

Masters in Education (University of Western Australia, 2005-2008)

Overseas Training Stint - A must for middle and long-distance top runners.

(left) Chamkaur (still reigning 1500m national recorder with a time of 3min 51sec, a SEA Games bronze medalist.

Somebody told me that in the track and field events, during the 2015 South East Asian Games, that the middle and long-distance runners did not fair well, except for the marathon race where Soh Rui Yong ran and got a gold medal for Singapore.

Dr Bala was the Team Manager while I was the official coach for the middle and long-distance race for the Singapore athletes. Day and night we were working to get things done. I remember Dr Bala waking up at 5am and we meet for breakfast at 5 30am before we do our services for Singapore Athletics. Dr Bala was very hardworking during SEA Games. During the Swift Athletes Association Appreciation Dinner, we were honoured for our service.

Both Dr Bala and I were observing that many of the middle and long-distance runners, in fact, did their personal best times. I think that it was necessary to give encouragement to these middle and long-distance runners, even though the timings were far off from the top 3 timing of 2013 and 2015 SEA Games timing from 800m to the 10000m for both men and women.

Perhaps, the Singapore Athletics must have realised that it is good to give exposure to these runners as they were chosen for the SEA Games, and also of the fact that the race was held here and not overseas. Only the marathon race, was hotly contested as the timings were competitive.

While taking care of the middle and long-distance runners, Dr Bala and I realised that we have a personal best time for 10km which was 31m 36sec and 31min 46sec, respectively, done long time ago. Dr Bala did it in the USA and I did it in England. Even Morales Menon from Singapore Athletics, while discussing with us was not aware of Dr Bala's personal best time. I believe that it is not his fault as Dr Bala did this time several years ago and at that time Morales was not known to athletics. Helen Gilbey, our former lecturer, during our teacher trainee days period, was the one who showed me the news that Dr Bala did 31min 36sec. Many don't know about this and he told me that he prefers not to tell anyone.

In the 10km running scene, only Soh Rui Yong, the current record holder of 10km and P.C. Suppiah, the former record holder, has a 10km time that is faster than us. The best time for 10km in Singapore is a 32min plus and this need to be improved. My job is to offer solutions for upcoming runners on not to wait but to look beyond Singapore shores and aim to improve more.

Chamkaur Singh, the national record holder of Singapore for 1500m for men open was once training in Singapore and he did a near 4min flat for the event.

Over time, he asked for some advice from friends and me. Vehemently, I told him to go overseas and he got his dream time of 3min 51sec for 1500m. Else, his time would have stagnated at 4min flat all the way. .He went over to the west, in Australia, for further studies and for intensive training and competitive stint for few years, and he finally brought a bronze medal for Singapore in 2004 SEA Games in Vietnam.

A number of athletes have actually gone overseas have done very well in middle and long-distance running. Our top runners need to at least stay for two years there, although for holidays it is wise to visit Singapore to see their respective family members.

And I know of two runners who did not go overseas and heed our advice to train and studies, who ended up not breaking the national record. They intended to stay in Singapore when the time was ripe to go overseas for training and racing.

My intention in writing this is to suggest on the need to take steps as an aspiring runner that maybe, in the early part of the athlete's career, it is alright to stay in Singapore and improve. When you need more improvement in running and to have more competition it is wise to go overseas as the weather permits one to do a good time.

There are other factors also which will help in running performance and I shall discuss this in the future.

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.

How to run in hazy condition (part 2) - Have Gratitude

Masters in Education (University of Western Australia, 2005-2008)

Haze - Turn problems to opportunities.

Haze - at 7pm at my place facing Interlace

Part 1 Blogpost -Please read http://rameshon-m.blogspot.sg/2013/06/how-to-run-in-hazy-conditions.html

Today, I was looking outside of my house and realised that the haze (psi) was getting worse. This makes me go back in time to make us appreciate the nice environment that we always have been having, to walk, run and live comfortably most of the time.

The last few days, I have been observing a drop in people running outside. As my suggestion goes, it is good to exercise indoor, if the psi is too high.

The POSB Race which was supposed to be held yesterday has been cancelled. This is for the safety reason as competitors may exert and finally become casualty during the race. We feel sad for the POSB organisers, the participants, young and old, who were told of the cancellation at 5am in the morning of 13th Sept 2015.

Above all, we have to take note of the things on what has been given by God and also not to take it for granted. It is good that we do not complain about small things in life and to value life, instead. The haze visit may teach us the value of gratitude.

Concerning my running in the past with fluctuating psi

In my life, while going for the 2hr 24min 22sec time for the SEA Games marathon in Chiangmai, Thailand, in the year 1995, I had been doing my training when the condition was hazy. I had to turn to indoor training some of the time. As I was given 6 months to do full-time training, I had, at my disposal the time to do any form of training in a day when the psi was down. Sometimes the psi was high and this made me wait for the psi to go below 100. There was a manipulation of my diet. I had to watch my diet so that I go out to do the very important workout if the haze does not go down.

Another thing that I did was not to exert outside with psi above 100 and get myself sick. If the psi goes above 100, I turn to MacRitchie Reservoir and do some form of activity, like slow jog so that I do not take a deep breath. I felt great at MacRitchie and I run near thicker vegetation of MacRitchie forest. It was great running there as the air there was still fine. In no way, I fall sick. In fact, I was getting stronger. So, for easy and moderate I go outside to run, with no waiting, as compared to the interval and steady run workout, where there is this waiting for the environment to a bit better before doing the training session which is intense in nature.

There are times I loved to run outdoor running only for workout sessions, to not get bored running indoor, and hence I had to wait more patiently for the psi to drop below 100. Sometimes I got to do at 4/5am and sometimes I will do it at near midnight if it was necessary. I used to wait and wait, sitting down and work on quality instead. My advice to people out there is to adhere to patience, patience and more patience.

The good thing that happened to my workouts most of the time was that my timings started to improve tremendously and this is a truth. The reason for this, I attribute to, haze's prevention of the sun's ray from falling on me and I felt a kind of cooling sensation coming from the haze blocking the sun's ray, as the environment became a bit cloudy. My complaints of, "Singapore is hot" stopped because of the opportunity created by the haze. So, I like to thank the haze for this.

Anyway, I do my best not to run when the psi was too high. With a psi slightly above 100, I was doing easy runs in MacRitchie. That period was the best training days of my life.

Of course, I had some days where my workouts have gone wasted. Sometime, I will wait for the haze to go down for another day and hold back my workout for the day and postpone it. Hence, I was very satisfied with all of my workout times such that it led to the breaking of my own national record for marathon of 2hr 28min.

Most of the runners, in the past, scrammed and visited the gym for training instead. The problem in the gym is that there were too many people and this caused congestion to do the exercise properly.

I pray to God now for all the favourable psi that was given to me, usually 70 to 90, such that my improvement went unhampered.

Many runners that I know, in the year 1995 September to October, were really worried to train. My answer to them is to find out what to do if everything fails and to do a detailed reading on haze and training. There is something that God has done to ensure continued running and you have to continue finding out and not give up and complain about the haze and in turn not do any form of exercise. There are always many things that we can do. When there is a will, there is a way! We should stop complaining and rise to succeed!

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.

Saturday, September 12, 2015

POSB RUN 2015 - 74 From Flexifitness Registered, highest in 4 years of participation

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 Saranniya

POSB RUN 2015 - 74 registered, the highest in 4 years so far.

We have been taking part in POSB RUN for the past 4 years, from 2011 until now. As I know, the POSB Run is done for charity and we in Flexifitness have been supporting it all the way from the year 2011. This is one race that we do our best to raise money by registering as many runners from our group.

In the year 2011, My brother Yogaraj and sister Divya were the only ones who took part in the POSB race from Flexifitness and they ran for experience only. Divya took up running when she was primary 5. Over time, she has improved a lot in running, ever since.

(left to right) Sathia (Mother of Divya and Yogaraj), Yogaraj, Coach Rameshon (has a PB of 31min 46sec for 10km race) and Divya

Right now, my sister is focusing her attention to walking and she is trained by Coach Kannan, Coach Rameshon taught Divya walking first. After coming in 17th overall in this year's 1500m walk competition in the National Schools' Track and Field Championships Finals for under 14 girls for secondary schools, Flexifitness has engaged Coach Kannan to improve her walking performance. Recently, she came in overall second in SAA Walk 2015 series for Women Open.

In the year 2012 POSB Race, we had Ewan running in the race and his photo came out in the press. He has improved in swimming and he has been winning medals ever since.

Ewan Oh (2012 photo) with tag number 1066 will be running the POSB Run 2015

In terms of Flexifitness athletes taking part in POSB Run, a number of our runners. Racing has exceeded beyond expectation as a whole for the Year 2015. In the Year 2011, 2012, 2013, and 2014 our Flexifitness participants have been less than 50 although it was on an upward trend. For this year's race, as many athletes have joined our Flexifitness family, we decided to ask more to join us for the upcoming race.

Our number of runners went up to 74 as a whole and we are happy that we are doing this for charity and we know that we can earn some good karma in this, I hope.

However, for this year, the haze is back and the organisers have mentioned that they will cancel the race at 6 pm if the haze condition worsens. Right now, the organisers have mentioned that they will look at the haze condition at 5am and decide whether to carry on the race or to cancel the race tomorrow. The kids have 800m race and 1.2km race, for those under 12 and below. It will be exciting to see the men open and women open race tomorrow.

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.

Friday, September 4, 2015

3rd SAA League Walk Championships 2015.

(left to right) Coach Rameshon, Coach Tan Eng Howe and Coach Kannan

Today, the 3rd league was held at East Coast at car park B1. Dr Leong, an enthusiast of walking club and an othortics specialist was also there. There were some schools like Raffles and Hwa Chong and St Nicholas CHIJ girls.

Coach Tan wins the Men Masters Champion trophy

Our walking coach and skating coach, Coach Tan Eng Howe came in champion in Men Masters. This is a feather in our cap of achievement by Flexifitness athletes and coaches. In the Women Open category, Coach Sumathy came in 4th, with Anja Tan coming in 3rd and Divya coming in 2nd position. Overall we did well. This was the best performance.

(left to right) Tan Eng Howe, Anja Tan, Rameshon and Sumathy

In C Boys 2km, our athlete Jia Wei came in 3rd. Suh Hyoun came in 5th in Under 14 girls.

Flexifitness medalist and coaches

We were all happy and we took photos before we left the place. Coach Rameshon, Coach Kannan and Coach Tan were very happy with the performance of the athletes.

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.

Mr Viju - A Talk On Failure That Can Lead To Success

Mr Viju - Discusses the importance of knowing what failure means

Mr Viju, a parent of the two kids in our programme, and a firm believer of sports for life gave us a talk, two weeks ago. It was a talk that inspired me and the rest of the Flexifitness group of athletes in a different and meaningful way, on that day where Mr Viju delivered his 20min short talk, teaching us the importance of having the courage face failure and keep progressing from there. His advice was to face failure with courage and not think that it is the end, but it is a lifelong process, that leads one to success eventually.

During the talk, he shared with us on how blessed we are to have a number of wonderful and dedicated coaches in Flexifitness who are, by our side to guide us along and never once to lose hope on anyone of us when we fail. He used successful examples like our own Head Coach Rameshon himself, speaking on the courage and determination that latter had to go through in breaking his own National Marathon Record five times in a row, before having the final record set in the year 1995 in Changmai, Thailand with a time of 2hrs 24mins 22sec standing till today.

Then, he told us that trying something new is a vital thing in everyone's lives, as we will never know what each and every one of us is capable of. He quoted Thomas Edison, the inventor who invented the light bulb, who once said: “I have not failed, but have found ten thousand ways that won’t work.” We should learn to break out of our comfort zones and be brave enough to begin something new. He then said it’s not about the results that you achieve as the most important thing. He told us about the process that we need to experience in our journey of life. We will then be able to experience great success later on.

He discussed this experience of failing 3 subjects in his engineering course. He told us that he was devastated in knowing this and felt helpless. However, putting in his energy and mustering up his courage, he told that he tried again to do well and then found that there was a success along the way and achieved greater success such that he has done a Management Course in Havard University and feels happy of this achievement. Coach Rameshon was very impressed with this achievement as this was a feather on the cap of Mr Viju as he has already attained his masters as well. Of the talk, the most interesting part of the talk was on knowing the difference between mistake and failure, that he touched on. This was an important piece of knowledge for me as I am also studying for my exam.

He told us that the term mistake has something to do when one intentionally does something knowing the consequences for it. For example, if you sit for an examination without preparing for it, the known fact is that you will fail the paper. This is something that we choose to do, a choice that was made by us.

Failure occurs when we decide to start something new that we have never ventured into before, your first time attempting it. That’s when you are amateur at something that you have decided to do.He told us on the importance of trying such that we can learn from there.

Lastly, he told us that no matter what the results just continue in working hard and to do the process, cause one day you will never know what you can become by giving your 100% in it. He ended his speech by quoting the famous NBA player Michel Jordan “I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost ... I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.'

In short, his speech pointed out that it is ok to fail by trying and to keep putting effort, which will finally lead one to success at a later date and not now.

Coach Rameshon presented to Mr Viju a token of appreciation after his talk and we took some photos altogether.

Athlete and Parent who attended the Talk on Failure given by Mr Viju