Corona Virus and Exercise to prevent Susceptibility

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)

Currently, the coronavirus cases are at 859,032, and it is on its way to passing 1 million. There are 4 ways to curb coronavirus. One, it is to wash hands with soap most of the time, when necessary. The other is to have a face mask. Next, it is to have a 1-metre gap of social distancing.

However, just by staying at home, one could actually become more susceptible to corona if we go to inactivity for a number of days, about 2 to 3 weeks are enough to also have the effects of detraining. Muscles atrophy, losing the size of muscles, will take place. One's cardiac output for endurance effort will be drastically reduced. Fats in the body will increase, thereby increasing the visceral fats, and subcutaneous fats will also go up in percentage. Our immunity will be down if we don't exercise at all.

In this essay, I just want to firstly share that we are not alone in the fight against coronavirus. All of us MUST learn to fight, by putting aside our differences, against coronavirus prevalence. We must not say lip service to unity but show by the action itself by forgiving and forgetting mistakes by our fellow men.

Hence, having said that, I will suggest some points for Home Stay Order people.

For Aerobic/Cardio activity

(1) One could do 10 to 15 min of on the spot jogging, 4-5 times per day, 3 hrs apart. 

(2) One could do skipping 2 min x 5..... morning and another session in the afternoon 

(3) Skipping for 30 sec, with 30sec rest for 10 to 20 sets. 

(4) To maintain the muscles, one could do the following (20sec non-stop, with 20sec recovery):
(a) push-ups
(b) sit-ups
(c) squat thrust
(4) hyperextension
(5) hand swing
(6) dips
(7) superman pose

These are simple but good exercises to increase our well being and immunity, and also maintain our muscles and also one's cardio as well.


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.

A 20min Exercise Will Do

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)

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

27 March 2020

As many are afraid of Corona Virus and are following the government's Home Order, it is wise to do some form of exercise at least for 20min to work the cardio. One can do several of what I am going to propose. I will give you two different ways to train - at home and outside, where it is rare to come into contact with people. 

Home 
(1) 20min step-ups on a chair which is about 1/3 metre. One could do 30sec of step up, with 30sec recovery, which is two steps of HDB staircase. The step-up height should not be too high in height. 
(2) skipping for 2min slowly and with 2min recovery x 15
(3) On the spot jogging for 20min. I did this in 1992 for California Marathon as it was raining outside. You can include one or two knee lifts or kicking off the back. 

Outside
(1) Jogging for 20min, with a 1min moderate run intensity and a min to recover and repeat for 10 times,
(2)Take a short 50m hill and repeat running up and down for 20 times. As you go up the hill, one should go up faster, and go down in dead slow or jogging pace to recover.
(3) Go to an overhead bridge and do up and down 20min run. First, run up the stairs and run to the other side and go down the stairs. Do reverse direction to continue. 

These are examples for some out there to follow to keep oneself fit, following the government's order at the same 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.

Training one can do with Corona Virus around?

Note:


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

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

27 March 2020

TRAINING ONE CAN DO WITH CORONA VIRUS AROUND
With Corona Virus striking us, with cases and deaths, training becomes very challenging. It is easier to go to the track and run. However, it is very important to keep oneself away at least a metre away from each other. One must follow government orders like quarantine, homestay orders and not go against the government as the government is doing its best to contain and win over the battle of having no virus in the country.

One could go to a variety of routes like East Coast Park, Mac Ritchie Reservoir, Hort Park, Mount Faber, West Coast Park, Botanic Gardens etc. The time one could go is between 5 am and 6 am to exercise. In the night, it is a good idea to go and run as many people do not train in the night. There are two advantages to training at night. One is that the weather is cooling and the other is that many people do evening training as compared to night training. One must learn to keep the hands free by reminding oneself of washing one's hand most of the time to prevent the spread of the Corona Virus.

It is at this kind of time that the energy of people may be down as few do training in the early part of the morning and later part of the night.

I will put some training one could do to some form of quantity or quality or both training combined.

Fartlek
One can choose to do what they want from the fitness and condition.
I shall give some examples here and do to suit your convenience.

Example One - 1km jog, 5min hard, with 5min easy, 3min hard, with 3 min easy, 100m moderate with 1min jog, 2km jog

Example Two - 3km hard, with 10min jog, 200m hard with 1min jog, 100m hard with 1min jog, with 500m hard and followed by 3min jog, followed by 2km jog.

Intervals - for 5km and 10km training
Note:
Very conditioned athletes can do Type A, B, and C
Quite conditioned athletes can do Type A and B
Casual runners could do Type A

Type A -200m x 10 easy pace, with 1min rest, heart rate of 150beats per min
Type B - 200m x 10 moderate pace, with 1min rest, heart rate of 160-165 per min
Type C - 200m x 10 hard intensity of 90 per cent, with a min rest, heart rate of 170 to 180 beats per min for heart rate.

Other methods - Easy to hard intensity for 5km training.
One could run 5km, the first 5min of easy intensity and they are to run at their own moderate pace and at the last 1-2min to run as fast as possible.


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 train without races?

Note:


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

Written By Rameshon 
Bsc (Hons) Degree in Physical Education, Loughborough University (1992-1994)

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

27 March 2020

It is good to do breathing technique, like Pranayama (prana means lifeforce, yama means control) or Tai Chi to increase one's lifeforce, thereby improving one's vitality. One's immunity goes up. To keep the mind from overthinking, it is wise to exercise the mind and body. 

One should occupy one's mind by listening to or reading positive thinking books. There are other ways also. Instead of gossiping, one could do mantras, a one-word syllable that one can repeat such that there are grooves formed in the mind, and one becomes more positive towards the outlook of life. Prayer for one's self-growth, world peace and world prosperity, helps the person himself or herself and at the same time, it helps the environment as a whole. Meditation and singing positive songs do a lot of help for the mind. 

To keep the body from restlessness, one could go to spaced out parks and do some casual walking, brisking walking or running. One can go to the gym to do exercises, like weight lifting or own bodyweight exercises like push-ups, sit-ups, hand swing and lunges and so on. 

As for 5km to 10km athletes, it is wise to go for at least 20 to 30 km runs. Once a week, one could do 1min cadence training x 20 to 25 reps alone or with a group. 

One could do fartlek like 2km jog, 100m fast, 100m slow, 300m fast, 300m slow jog, 200m fast and 200m jog, finishing with a 2km of an easy jog. One can do planning similar to this. 

For those who are affected by not racing Seoul and Tokyo marathon 2020, it is good to do one's own time trial, so that one's life goal or target is always in focus. This is a form of maintenance. A 3km or 5km time trial will be a good idea to do once or twice a week.

As we still have the Corona Virus, it is wise to keep exercising, not just stay at home and not doing anything but get ourselves to be worried even more. One could do as what I have proposed with the sharing that I have given. I wish you all the best in training consistently so that one keeps the fitness, and not lose it.



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 the 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.

Consistent Exercise and Corona Virus

Note:


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

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

25 March 2020

It is a good time to keep exercising, while one stays at home, One can go to a spaced-out area to exercise, like parks etc. One could go in the earlier part of the day to exercise where only a few people come to exercise, while others are asleep, as early as 4am or 5am.

By doing regular exercise, one gets to be healthy physically. In addition, by doing breathing techniques, like doing a simple belly breathing exercise, one will not only be bringing one's vitality up but also to maintain one's emotional stability.

If one stops to exercise, the muscles in the body will atrophy, one will lose muscle mass while ageing or lose the muscular size. One becomes weak. 

For the mind to be balanced, it is good for one to do meditation. A simple 10 to 20 min meditation will do, Meditation prevents overthinking, as one may be worried about diseases like coronavirus etc. 

Having said that, it is wise to every time keep the hand clean by washing the hand when the opportunity arises.



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 the 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.

Untold Stories of 10km, Half-Marathon Road Racing

Note:

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

By Ms Tan

Picture 1 - Running shots of Mr Rameshon from the POSB Run 2018

After reading a number of past articles, local athletics books, websites, and also interviewing athletes, I realised that it will be good to share with people some of the untold stories, of our own Singapore distance runners, particularly in road racing. For instance, in POSB Race 2018, this year, an elite Kenyan runner ran and won the 10km race in 32min 22sec, for Men Open category, where the quality of the race was good. The second male winner was also a non-Singaporean, a Gurkha.

Having interviewed Mr Rameshon, he showed me a diary with 1995 training book, and I saw his Singapore best time was 32min 22sec where he beat one of the most formidable Malaysian runner called Ramesh, personal best for 2.4km was 6min 56sec, who was undisputed in Singapore soil, in winning a race. Yvonne Danson, another top runner and current marathon national record holder for women open category, unsatisfied, remeasured the 10km route again and told that actually distance was 10.3km. The story of the race was inspiring to hear and I shall write in detail in the upcoming blog post.

There are other past unknown heroes like Dr Bala, Khoo Chin Poo, Balasundram, Ernest Wong, and Tan Choon Ghee. It is good for people to know, as the latter can trace back the history of distance running to have the knowledge and also to make running a more worthwhile pursuit.

It is, in fact, good to know the summarised history of half-marathon best timing ever, especially in road racing, as people do need to know as they may get confused.

It is only now that people know that Dr Bala is the fastest ever Singaporean for 10km for road and that Mr Rameshon is the second-fastest ever. In half–marathon time, Mr Rameshon time has done 1hr 04min in Johore, the best timing ever by a local until now for half marathon. I shall be writing a lot of these unsung heroes for the benefit of fellow Singaporeans. So, watch out for it!

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 the 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.

Corona Virus, Winning and Compassion

Note:


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

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

24 March 2020

It is at this point of time that one must come as one to pray to God that we, our loved ones, and friends and the world to be protected from the Corona Virus. It is unwise to talk about subjects like 'why we are not holding any race as Corona is always there'.  They should not say things like, " My training and workouts have been affected greatly."

One should know that the Corona Virus has caused colossal damage to our economy. Many have already died and many will be dying etc. It is at this time that one could do meditation, do breathing technique etc. to improve one's vitality and immunity. 

It is said that if a person has high immunity, no disease will be able to make one sick. It is good to have a healthy lifestyle and eat nutritious food. Tumeric has the highest vitality index for food. One should include it in food. Yoga exercises and deep breathing exercises will help one to increase one's life force. 

In short, what I am trying to say is on the importance of staying alive and go into a risk stage in getting the virus spread to us. One should find out the preventive measures and kiv issues on winning, as it is imperative now.


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 the 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.

Corona, Fitness and Current Training

Note:

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

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

23 March 2020

The fact about Corona Virus being a deadly virus is real. It is known as an invincible enemy, and it is not an easy one to eliminate from planet earth. It is, however, good to work as one in the world to be safe without corona by systematically eliminating this virus from our life.

To my understanding, there seems to be not much heard on the Corona Virus in terms of research done on it. There are things we can do to continue training or we will be inactive and we will have poor health status.

We need to know that it is important to stay where we are and especially stay in the house. We should, however, keep ourselves active. We could run at MacRitchie Reservoir, Parks, as the space between one to the other is reasonable in term of distance. This act of keeping ourselves fit can increase our vitality. 

It is also important to not just exercise but also eat healthy food which could increase one vitality. Fruits like berries are good for the body as they have high anti-oxidants. Moreover, we have food which has turmeric, which has the highest antioxidant index, to make us have high immunity.

As for Corona outbreak, my advise is for people to do exercise in the gym. If not much people are using the gym, it is good to do. One should be careful about hygiene etc. One should use one's towel.

If one does not exercise during this period, it becomes disadvantageous, as one will become unfit and for corona to leave our lives is still an unknown thing. We become conscious of what food to eat, to be healthy and increase vitality and immunity, and these comes when we are conscious of health and fitness as important in our lives.

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 the 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.

Improving the 2.4km Time

Note:

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

Written By Rameshon 

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

7th March 2020 

Improving the 2.4km Time

Coach's Perspective


Improvement On The Test Day Itself

I shall now discuss on running the 2.4km test on the day itself. This article will give suggestions on what to do before and during the run of the 2.4km Test. In the next article, Part 2, I shall discuss on designing a basic training program to improve your 2.4km timing.

My coaching experience was put into practice as a Physical Education teacher of Hwa Chong Institution (High Sch, Mar 2000-Oct 2005) (College, Oct 2005 onwards)

Frequent running (3 days per week) as compared to Regular runs of 2 days training

There was a time when I was working in the Hwa Chong Institution (High school) in 2004, I was dealing with the 2.4km failures of secondary two students. They were given two days per week of remedial training to pass the 2.4km test. The boys were training for several weeks and months. Eventually, I found that around 25 students of the sec 2 boys were failing the test again and again. Hence, I decided to put some scientific principles into practice.

I was left with three weeks to finish the whole NAPFA Test, around August. I decided to have a heart to heart talk with the students to cooperate with me. I assured them that every day if they do the training of 20min run, they will pass the test or will improve the test time by a bigger margin, instead of coming for the run twice per week. I told them that 3 days per week will ensure an aerobic training effect. As for two days per week training, the heart size will increase for a few days and then decrease in size. The boys finally relented to this. Altogether, they came from Monday to Friday for the first week and then for the second week they came on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. I told them to rest on Thursday. On Friday, I took the test. Before the test, I told the boys to keep the mind positive all the way of the run. Negative thoughts will come, but they were told by me to consciously channel whatever positive thoughts that they could find.

Even Pace Running

From my research at Loughborough University on 1500m run, I told them to run steadily and pace themselves well. Pacing themselves evenly throughout the run will, in fact, prevent stitch as compared to running with an unsteady pace. It is advisable to at a pace in order to prevent huge lactate buildup, which will affect the last two laps, by going quite hard (85-90% effort) for 400m and then going hard (90-95% effort) for the next 1600m or four rounds, eventually finishing the last round with 95-100% effort. This would prevent the feeling that you are a superman at the start, just to get deceived and see yourself dying out at the last portion of the run. It is a false perception that many get before the run that you feel very good.

Shortest Distance Travelled.

I also told them to run close to the left hand of the lane of the track, about 2 inches away, so that they do not run longer. The first lane is 400m, the second lane is 407m and third lane is 414m per round per lap. I have seen students running in the centre of the first lane. It means that the person is running 21metres extra for the 2.4km run test (3.5 metres per lap multiplied by 6). It is also a good idea not to run too close to the curve, for example, 1cm away from the curve. The nearness to the extreme left of the track will make a person swing to the right, instead of left, as the centripetal force will influence the run. This is Physics put into practice. We may tend to run tangent, which means running straight, away from the curve. Another valuable advice to run the curve is to bend the body slightly to the left of the track to prevent the centripetal force affecting your run to a certain extent. This can be seen from the motorcycle test pylon riding, where a motorcyclist has to negotiate the curve while they are driving. In some running books, this has been written.

During the run, it is a good idea to run with someone who has the same pace as you have. If the person is fast, one should let the person go. However, if the person is slow, it will be a good idea to move forward to run behind the next person in front of you. Another thing they can do if the person is far in front of you is to have the eye point on the runner running in front. This is how I have been running races and kept myself motivated during the run and hence kept myself working hard throughout the run and obtain a better timing over time

Pacing Oneself Evenly During The Run.

Also, if a person wants to run per round in 2minutes, they will end the run with 12min for the 2.4km. Hence, knowing and keeping aware of the run time per lap during the run is of paramount importance. One could write down the timing on the hand so that you can see whether you are hitting the time and pacing yourself well. It is a good idea to run with a light digital watch. As a competitive runner, I have shunned heavy and expensive watches for a light and simple watch. I have seen many people being attached to these material things which are temporary in nature. Some wear a heavy and expensive watch because of prestige. I think that this is being childish. If you want to wear an expensive and heavy watch, I suggest that it can be worn after the run. A person who wants to do well should learn to do what is important to do rather than what he likes.

Benefits of Running Racing Shoe

It is also a good idea to wear a racing flat or spikes for the 2.4km around the track. If the run is on the road or pavement, a racing shoe will help. The durability of the racing shoes can, in fact, last for several years. A racing shoe can, in fact, take away 10 to 20sec off one's gross timing of 2.4km. All my cross-country athletes who run with training shoe, usually post a slower time as compared to the racer where the athletes come back with a much faster timing. A training shoe is heavier and it is logical that the timing will be affected because of a higher oxygen cost involved. However, it is advisable for a heavier person to wear a mid-range shoe, between a racer and a trainer, as this reduces the impact which can affect the run at the last two rounds.

Focus on Hands at the last stretch of the Run

Several coaches usually may tell the athletes to work on the hands towards the last portion of the race. Towards the final portion of the 50m to 100m of the finish of the run, an athlete will come back with a running technique which exhibits exhaustion. At that time, it would be advisable to use the hand technique and work on the hands to wind up the run. When the hand drives, the leg will follow suit. Hence, this can help a person to attain a better time by a few seconds.

Accelerate to the Finish

At the finish, a number of runners usually decelerate the run, instead of accelerating to the finish. A strong finish will improve a person's timing. Hence, a person should think of running additional 5 to 10metres after the end of the finish line. We usually see this in a 100m race, where the sprinters decelerate after crossing the 100m line. You can see them going 20 to 40metres extra to achieve this advantage. We don't see sprinters stopping suddenly at the finish. This is to take advantage of the momentum and doing one's personal best.

Food Consumption

If the race is in the morning, one should prevent oneself from consuming oily food in order to prevent yourself from going to the toilet frequently because of this. One may get diarrhoea. If the test is in the morning, it is advisable to drink a coffee/milo and consume two slices of bread with butter or jam spread in between. This should be taken an hour before the run, at least. If the test is in the evening, it is advisable to eat and drink 3 hours prior to the test itself. This is to prevent any digestive problem and ensure proper digestion.

Water
Last but not least, drinking water about 400 to 500ml of water will help one improve the later part of the run. The ones who will benefit immensely from this are those who stay in temperate countries. Singapore is a hot and humid country. However, my suggestion to prevent stitch affecting your race is to consume water an hour before the run.


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.