An Interview With Coach Rameshon

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 R

Coach Rameshon - What is yet to come is discussed

Today, Coach Rameshon, 48,  went down to 221 Henderson Road to collect the 10th position medal from the organisers' Spectrum Worldwide (Singapore) Pte Ltd.

It is official that he came in 10th position in Masters International Open for 40 years and above section.

Having won it, I was wondering that many out there might want to follow and find out on what is next for him. I realize that there are a number of them who read his blogpost. Hence  I was thinking of giving an interview so that everyone is aware of his goal and next step while coaching a big group of children and a group of serious runners who have been taking his service professionally.

An Interview With Coach Rameshon

How do you rate your performance in Stanchart Marathon 2013?

I believe that I could have done a faster time for this race, probably a sub-3hr. A day before the race, I felt that I actually need a little more rest. On Friday, when I woke up, I was feeling very tired, just two days before the race. On Saturday, I felt better, but I could still feel the fatigue of my body. On the day of the race, I somehow felt good, but it was not that great. If I had rested my body a bit more I could have done well.

Are you happy about the race?

I was very happy with my time of 3hr 10min 17sec for the race. Many congratulated me, a number of them did this verbally and a number of them used the SMS service to congratulate me. Others used social media, like Facebook, e-mail to congratulate me. To all these well wishes, I would like to thank them.

How about your runners' performance?

The weather was good, but the performance as a whole, for my running group and the general population it was found that many did not do well as expected. One of FlexiFitness athlete by the name of Moses Ng was expected to do a sub - 3hr 18min, He had to pull out when he was at the 9th km mark. Since he was carrying an injury, he stopped. Others did not do well as expected.

However, others like Jensen Toh(3hr 22min), Jennifer Quek (4hr 01min), Szer Khee (4hr 06min), Tan Eng Howe (half-marathon 1hr 54min), Jimmy (5hr 05min), Hoang (10km - 47min plus) and Benjamin (10km - 46min) and Samir Bhandari (half-marathon - 2hr 09min) did a personal best for their selected 10km/half-marathon and marathon races. Overall, we have 9 people doing personal best. The other 9 of them did not do a personal best time.

Do you have any feedback about the race?

Firstly, it is good to separate the races. Perhaps 10km and kids dash on Saturday and the half and full marathon race on Sunday.

The Sports Care runners blocked us from running and they were in front of us just before the start of the race. I believe that they should run 5 to 10min ahead of us in order for them not to block us. Before the race, the SportsCare athletes, who are not well trained as us were blocking and this led us to weave during the race.

In a number of countries, the marathon race is usually held such that the paces carrying the balloon should be standing at appropriate places. The appropriate place for them to stand is behind us. Instead, they were forming a straight line after the SportsCare runners and they were blocking us.

I believe that after the elite runners, it should be us standing. The gun time for us was taken when the elite runners were running while we were standing. About 50sec later it was my race. Finally, instead of taking the net time, we are given gun time. I feel that this is grossly unfair.

Finally, three of my friends who reported at 4 30am plus were given the slower pen to run. There should be better organisation so that the runners can finally get a good time rather than poor timing because of this.

At the start of the race, I was running hither and thither to find the entry to go into the pen in front with the front runners.

How about the SEA Games and Ashley's preparation?

Ashley has prepared well for this race. If everything goes smoothly, we are hoping to get a bronze and it is possible. That means that there is a high possibility for Ashley to go under 2hr 30min for this race in Myanmar. His personal best time is, for now, 2hr 35min 43sec.

When are you going to Myanmar?

I am going on 15th of December and reaching at 2pm at the Airport at NYT, hopefully, we reach the Games Village and visit Ashley at 3pm with SAA support and give the necessary assistance and then we will go to our hotel to rest. The next day, Dr Kelvin Ng and I are hoping to be at the start with the help of SAA officials so that he can get emotional support just before the race to do his best.

What is your next race?

I am running the Paris Marathon and I am hoping to do a sub-3hrs before going for a sub-2hr 50min in Chicago or in the Stanchart Marathon race. This time, I would want to find out how they organize the race. If they let some runners run off first, then what I will do is to avoid running the Stanchart Marathon race totally. I would also suggest many of my athletes run elsewhere as it is good to run in a race in order to get a good time where there is fairness and better-structured organization.

What is your life goal?

To encourage kids, young people and old people to run for health and fitness. When a person reaches 50, people think that they are old. I can play soccer like a 15-year-old with fitness that I have now. It is good to exercise. I will write in this blog post on the benefits of exercise so that many will exercise.

Are you intending to do anything that is impossible?

I will keep attempting to do a sub-2hr 34min if possible in future and coach others to do personal best time in the marathon as well. I believe that it is possible. The only problem I have right now is the time to do it. I don't have much time in my hand to train for a sub-2hr 34min in Singapore. I have a personal best time of 2hr 34min 02sec done in the year 1994, before doing the 2hr 24min 22sec the following year in Chiengmai SEA Games marathon in Thailand in the year 1995.  

What is the hope that you have for Ashley Liew?

The good thing is that if he continues like this, training hard with dedication,  in the long run, he will be able to win a gold medal in future SEA Games and go for Olympics, which I have mentioned a few years back. 

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.

Szer Khee - PB of 4hr 06min in Stanchart Marathon 2013

Note:

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

By Saranniya

Szer Khee - More is yet to come, the sky is the limit

Szer Khee was one such person who has done his personal best time. After a race, Szer Khee told Coach Rameshon that he would like to do a sub-4hrs in the future. Over time, he has done several personal best time from 1km, 5km, 8km and 10km and half-marathon.

In this marathon race, he has done a 4hr 06min and did a personal best time. Just imagine, he was not feeling well for the few days before the Stanchart Marathon. He was thinking of pulling out of the race. Coach Rameshon told him to pull out if he is not feeling well. Just one or two days before the competition, he felt ok to the point that he wanted to race.

Coach Rameshon and Team FlexiFitness were amazed by this feat by Szer Khee. It is a really impressive performance by Szer Khee. Coach Rameshon feels that Szer Khee is able to do a personal best time of sub-4hrs for a marathon now.

It will be good to interview Szer Khee on how he has progressed and has brought his time from near5hrs to a current 4hr 06min

An Interview With Szer Khee

What was your timing for the race? Is it your personal best? (please list down your split timing)

It's my personal best.  I did 4hrs 06mins.
My spit timing:

5km	10km		20km	21.1km		30km		40km
0:26:32.34	0:54:34.16		1:48:59.18	1:58:22.81		2:48:47.24		3:52:20.91

What was your aim for the race? Are you happy with it?

My aim was to go below sub 4.

Yes, am happy with this time as had a strain on back 2 weeks prior the race and also had diarrhoea 2 days before the race.

How did you find the race route?

The race route was the usual. Except that this time round, I made an intentional mental imagery of running up the Sheares Bridge strong post 37km, prior the race and it helps!

How did you find the weather during the race?

Weather was excellent! No sun and the best I have experienced thus far for SCB marathon.

Was the race well organized?

The race is well organized despite the publicized timing hiccups, though I am not affected.

What is your next race and target for it?

Will discuss with Coach Rameshon and will like to do an overseas race next year.



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.

Paris Marathon 2014 - A Race To Consider

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)

Paris Marathon - A big consideration for next year's race

After running London and Berlin Marathon thrice, currently, I have been pondering on running the Paris Marathon as an important race before I run either the Chicago Marathon or the Stanchart Marathon 2014. I might choose the Chicago Marathon 2014 for some reasons.

From the Paris Marathon 2013 race results timing, it is given below, I believe that I should be doing a sub-3hrs for this race if I go there.

I have heard that Lim Thow Wee has registered for this race and I have thought of choosing this race.

What I found about this race is that the gradient is 60m at most to run and it is predominantly a flat course. Thow Wee told me on this today and I had to do some reading before choosing this race. Also, I hope to go with some of the athletes training with me could follow me to this marathon so that if they have any doubts, I am available to answer their queries.

2013 Top 10 Men and Women Open Results
 Men

Place	Surname	Name	Nation.	Official Time
1	SOME	Peter	KEY	02:05:38
2	TOLA	Tadese	ETH	02:06:33
3	NDIEMA	Eric	KEY	02:06:34
4	BACHA MERGESA	Chikuala	ETH	02:06:56
5	SANGA	Philip	KEY	02:06:57
6	TEIMET	Sylvester	KEN	02:08:15
7	WARGA	Sahle	ETH	02:08:19
8	GIRMA	Abraham	ETH	02:08:20
9	ALEMAYEHU	Gezahegn	ETH	02:09:57
10	MASAI	Gilbert	KEN	02:10:27

Ladies

Place	Surname	Name	Nation.	Official Time
1	TADESE	Boru	ETH	02:21:06
2	MOHAMMED	Merima	ETH	02:23:14
3	KIRWA	Eunice	KEN	02:23:34
4	TEFERA	Dinknesh	ETH	02:25:09
5	KIPROP	Agnes	KEN	02:25:22
6	JIMMA	Fantu	ETH	02:28:03
7	GOBENA	Amane	ETH	02:29:36
8	BEDASO	Shitaye	ETH	02:34:40
9	OLIVERAS	Carmen	FRA	02:35:57
10	CAMBOULIVES	Aline	FRA	02:36:44

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 Quek does 4hr 01min best Singapore time in Stanchart Marathon 2013

Note:

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

By Saranniya R

Picture1- Jennifer only person with cap standing in front of the photo

Jennifer Quek,  41, did her best time for marathon in Singapore by doing a time of 4hr 01min. Coach Rameshon, although has a personal best time of 2hr 24min 22sec in Chiengmai SEA Games 1995 marathon, his personal best time done in Singapore as a local runner is 2hr 34min 02sec In Singapore Intentional Marathon 1994. It is difficult to run a good time here in Singapore as it is hot and humid climate here.

Two weeks before the marathon, Jennifer was sick. She was not able to train at all. According to Coach Rameshon, he feels that this must have made her stamina to drop by 30 to 50 percent, guessing from research studies on a drastic drop in maximum oxygen uptake of 100% in three weeks of not doing any activity.

Hence, as for Jennifer, she has her personal best in this hot and humid Singapore for the marathon. IN cold climate country like Berlin, she has a personal best time of 3hr 48mins done in the Berlin Marathon.

As a training partner, I feel that Jennifer is a good role model that we can all learn from. She is someone who always pays attention to the other aspects of training that Coach Rameshon emphasizes, and also apply those tips being taught. 

She, as I know her,  is a very careful person when it comes to diet. She is also a hardworking lady.  Most importantly rain or shine she is always at the training ground without fail, unless there is something urgent that she has to attend to on that day. This shows that with the consistency one can definitely do well in running.

Coach Rameshon has mentioned that she has a good cadence and is an economical way of running. He has also mentioned that within the next 6 months she should be doing a time between 3hr 35min to 3hr 47min in a marathon. This he says that can be done as long as Jennifer remains consistent in training.

While she keeps improving, it would be good to hear her out on her goals and target in running

What is the timing you did? What is your split timing? 

I completed it at 4:01:35 with the following spilt timing:

5km: 27:16

10km: 55:18

15km: 1:21:29

20km: 1:49:37

25km: 2:17:57

30km: 2:47:05

35km: 3:19:30

40km: 3:48:24

42.195: 4:01:35

Are you happy with it? 

Yes, I feel good with this timing as I had to drop my mileage to zero 2 week before the race due to fever. So I just tell myself to do my best for this race. There is always another race ahead.

What was your target? 

I was hoping to maintain the same timing I did in Berlin, 3:48.

How was the race route? 

There is room for improvement on the race route towards the end. It's too crowded and messy. Some road is not properly closed, where I can see cyclist cycling (or non-participating runners running) towards me. Hopefully, in the future, we can have a separate route for the full marathon itself which make the race look for respectful. 

How was the support during the race? 

The support seems weak compared to many other countries. Supporters are mainly at the finishing line. Barely see any supporter crowd at the starting part of the race. 

How was the weather?

Weather is cooling but humid which make hydrating very important.

What is your next target?

I am hoping to qualify for the Boston Marathon in the next race. 

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.

Post Race Recovery for 10km and Half-marathon - 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)

Post Race Recovery - Overenthusiasm, not resting enough and quickly coming back to running may lead to fatigue and injury in the mid-term/long-term

My last topic of the 3 parts summary on post-race recovery

If it is a 10km race, it is good to rest for at least a day after the race day. This is applicable to a temperate climate country where the environment is hot and humid.

In a cold country, I have found that one can run the next day itself. It all depends on the feelings of the body. Usually, one should not feel the muscles feeling tired or tightness. If it is tight, it is good to rest. In my university days, I found that my running friends usually rest a day before the race and a day after a race. That makes sense why they were constantly doing well in running over a period of time.

After the Spinx half-marathon race in Spartanburg, about 5 weeks ago, Ashley and I were thinking of doing a 25km run the next day as our long run session per week. When I woke up in the morning, I told Ashley that it is advisable not to do a long run. Instead, I suggested that we do 8km in the morning. He obliged to this.

In actual fact, our whole body was aching all over. By doing the 8km, it became a recovery run. This was done in a cold country like Spartanburg, where the temperature ranges between 1 and 19 degrees centigrade.

Two days after the race, we were back to normal training. Now, the very long run that Ashley did not do the week before the race and after the race was cancelled, as I found that not getting injured was very important for him as the SEA Games was around the corner.

If instead of a cold climate, let us say, Ashley, runs the half-marathon in a hot and humid country, I will definitely ask him to rest for 3 days immediately after the race and then start training.

Sometimes it also depends on the individuals' ability to recover. I suggest a coach will help a runner to go back to training looking at the perceived feeling.

I suggest, that whether it is cold or hot weather environment training, it makes good sense to do undertrain rather than overtrain.

As for the marathon race, I have not spoken on running a marathon in a cold country. After one has run a marathon race, one should rest for at least 3 days at least. After that, one may be able to go back to one's training by following the gradual increase in mileage. A  careful approach to the proper increase in mileage is paramount. On the second week, one can go to a moderate mileage and then go to one's usual mileage.

This careful approaches that I have discussed in the blogpost will enable one to make long-term progress and will prevent burnout from oneself.

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.

The one strategy I took during Stanchart Marathon 2013

Note:

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

By Rameshon

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

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

Strategy - If Plan A doesn't work, it is good to go to Plan B.

As soon as the race started, an Indian athlete shouted angrily of the unfairness and ran to the front. At Penang Road, he gradually lost out to Jensen Toh and me. I was going at a pace of 4min as expected. I was trying out this and was able to sustain for the first 5 kilometres and reached nearly 20min flat, but slowed down by a few seconds. At 10km, I reached around 41mins.

It was here that I told myself that I am going to hold on to this 4min per km all the way. The problem came when I had to bypass one of the drinking points and it was a costly mistake. I knew that towards the last portion, I may be affected by this action which was unforeseen.

At the 21km mark, I reached the point at about 1hr 32min plus. Hence, I was actually doing my best to go a 4min 10sec pace and faster. I slowed down at some portion of the race and ran fast at some parts of the race. Eventually, I did 3hr 10min 17sec. My Gun time showed that I did 3hr 11min plus. Officials took the gun time. I believe that the officials should take the net time as it is my actual time.

Overall, I found that I was sticking to a 4min to 4min 30 sec pace throughout as forecasted by myself just before the marathon. I did a nearly 5min pace towards the last few kilometres. I was happy that I was able to stick to my strategy so that at least I may be able to do a 3hr 32min. The great thing that happened was that I did 3hr 10min 17sec.

The bonus thing that came was that I was tenth position in the International Masters Open for men's marathon. Many congratulated me when I was at the Padang while a number of them congratulated me through SMS.

I would like to thank all those who had supported me. Also, I wish that in future you will have a strategy for your self to do well. If Plan A doesn't go well, Plan B should come in. This is my advice.

The next strategy that will be planned by Ashley Liew and myself will be done in Myanmar for the upcoming South East Asian Games 2013. It is only after the race that I may be discussing on this, that is if Ashley Liew allows this information to be out 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.

Post Race Recovery After A Marathon - 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)

Post Race Recovery - Recovery in a hot weather country is different from recovery in a cold-weather country.

It is important for one to read books on how to train in a hot and humid climate. It is disadvantageous to run in countries with such climate, where thermoregulation plays a dominant role in determining performance. A person's core temperature is found to be higher in a temperate climate than in a cold climate. It has been found that a mere warm-up in a humid country can induce a 50% maximum oxygen uptake used. It means that it is easy to go to a 90% to 100% effort easily.

As for a cold country, where the humidity is low and the weather is cold, the core temperature is lower in the body, such that even if one warms up, it takes a longer time to bring the maximum oxygen uptake to 50%.

One will perform better in a cold climate which ranges from 10 degrees to 18 degrees centigrade.

As for post-race recovery after a marathon, one will be more dehydrated in a hot and humid country as opposed to a cold country. The muscles will be fatigued, which will be seen especially towards the last 10km of a race.

It is easier to run the last 10km of a marathon in colder countries rather than a hot and humid country.

Hence, the post-race recovery days will be different between the temperate climate and cold climate countries. When I say cold countries, I mean about non-extreme countries, with a centigrade of 5 to 18 degrees.

Having said that, in a temperate country, it is good to have a longer recovery. For a week, it is alright not to do anything. Even if one goes to a swimming pool, one could take it easy during the week. Run less. In the past, I used to run 3 days after a marathon race and end up in fatigue and injury over the months. 

I have run two races in a week after a marathon and ended up going through all sorts of problems later. It was true that I came in the first position but it was of no use. Anyway, it was not my personal best time. I will share these stories of mine on a later date in this blogpost.

In another scenario, where it involves training, I started doing a 10km run after a week's rest. I was tired for the whole week because of this. It happened another time where I did the same action of resting for a week and running 10km. I could not recover.

My mantra in a hot climate is to rest for a week. After 3 days of rest, one could go for a brisk walk between 3 to 4km for the rest of the days for that week. On the second week, one could do cycling and swimming more and do jog/walk kind of training. One should also stay 5km per day kind of training 3 times per week for the second week after a marathon.

On the third, for me, I start with a 3km and then go to 5km the next day. Subsequently, I go to 8km and rise to 10km and move up if needed per day. It all depends on the goals that we are aiming for.

On the fourth week, it is good to do the original training one has been doing. I will go back to 8km morning and 8km in the afternoon for nearly all days of the week. This is the type of training I was doing in the past when I was training seriously.

The key point is to come back slowly and gradually so that it forms a smooth transition for one to run faster in the next marathon. Precision is very important and it depends on one's fitness.

Remember that it is good to gradually come back to training seriously rather than becoming overanxious and get into a number of problems, like getting injured and falling sick.

By coming back fast, one just delays the progress.

One might ask me where is the proof. The only way I can answer this is that I have experienced this in my lifetime as a runner.

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.