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)
Sheryl Loh - Teenager with great potential is going to face the great challenges of life in terms of balance in studies and training in running.
Picture 1 - Sheryl Loh, Kang Yan and Rameshon
Last week, Tuesday, Sheryl Loh, Ashley Liew and Kang Yan did an 8km time-trial. In the trial, Sheryl did 32min 24sec, which was the fastest time done by any Hwa Chong girls that I have ever trained. Last year, when she came in third doing 41min plus for Great Eastern Run and Penang Bridge 10km run, she was doing 33min plus consistently for the 8km time-trials.
As such, for the benefit of Singaporeans, I decided to interview her as she is about to go to Australia, Monash University to study Medicine. It is hoped that she will continue on her pursuit towards excellence in running. My prediction is Sheryl will be able to do 33min to 34min for 10km as her lifetime best if she continues in running. I have seen an Indonesian women runner doing 33min plus in Bali and women doing 33min plus in Loughborough Echo 10km Race. As such, with a long-term goal, I believe that Sheryl is capable of doing this time.
The real challenge comes when she has to balance studies and running. Can she do it? Only God knows. I have seen many giving up their talents on their pursuit to academic excellence. Very rare are those who can meet the twin goals of excellence in sports and studies. It is hoped that Sheryl will be able to cope well and take the challenges in life boldly. Also, it is hoped that the intention of this post is not to have any form of expectation on her to give any form of pressure.
As such, I believe this interview will give us a clue to her next step that she is going to take in life.
How is your training going on?
I am currently focusing on increasing my mileage and building my cardiovascular base while doing tempo runs to get the feel of running close to race pace again. I hope to find an 8-10km race to run before my medical course starts in late February.
How were you able to attain 32min 24sec? How was your pace like during the run?
As I was not feeling good at the start of the run and had a slight pain in my left hip, I told myself to just take it easy for the first 1km. At the 1km mark, my timing was 4min, but after that, I did not take note of my pace as it was dark and I could not see the timing on my stopwatch properly. I just ran according to my perceived 90-95% effort. It was an enjoyable run as it was a cool and breezy evening.
What is your next step when you reach Australia, in running?
I am most looking forward to checking out nice places to run in Melbourne! I've heard that there are beautiful parks such as Jells park and Bundoora park as well as trails near the Yarra River and I'm really excited to run there.
Also, I intend to find races and plan my 2011 racing calendar. In order to balance my studies and running effectively, I realise that I should choose my races wisely and periodise my training as Mr Ram has shown me in 2010. I hope to work out a feasible and sustainable training program that will allow me to devote sufficient time to my studies, rest and family.
Are you intending to join any club there?
I intend to join the Glenhuntly athletics club as it is an affiliate of Monash University. It is an excellent and very established club in Australia and I look forward to learning from the coaches and runners there as well as find people to run with.
Nevertheless, I will certainly miss the running groups I've been training with the past 8 months- Mr Ram's marathon group as well as the Hwa Chong cross country team. They are very motivated runners who find time to run and excel in it in spite of busy work/school schedules. They inspire me to keep running even when I start my course in Melbourne.
What are your goals in running in life?
I aspire to be able to run faster and further! But more realistically and importantly, I just want to keep running for happiness and for health, as an avenue to meet like-minded people and as an excuse to travel the world. (:
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.
