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
Jennifer Quek - The Always Improving Jennifer
Picture 1 - Standing Men (left to right) Kenneth Lai, Coach Rameshon, Marcel Sng, Hong Yew Leong, Lim Szer Khee and Andrew Chang. Front Girls (left to right) Jennifer Quek, Tarandeep Kaur, myself, Divya.
Jennifer Quek, 41, came to see Coach Rameshon about 3 months back as she was planning to run a marathon soon. Coach Rameshon told us that she has a very good stride frequency in her running. Her timing for 8km tempo was about 46min plus at first and it went to as low as 40min over time. Although I have a 38min 52sec 8km tempo time, I realise that she has closed up the gap between her and me recently and I am very impressed with this.
Over a period of time, I have noticed something in her. She generally keeps improving her running times all the time. I think that there was once she did not do well and I could see her reflecting herself to do something to her diet to improve in running. Jennifer Quek - Amazing near 100% improvement in running in workout timing
Once, I saw her doing her 15km tempo run which she in 1hr 20min. During my own 8km tempo, I was focusing on my own running and hers as well. I was wondering about how she is able to finish the 15km run which can be very boring to run, especially when running alone. I saw that she was very consistent in her run time throughout. This, I believe, was the reason why she did a very good time for her.
From here, she looked confident to run the SAFRA Army Half-Marathon 2013. She was smiling on that day. Less stress for Army Half- marathon, I guess!
Whenever I see her run, I feel that she has a very economical way of running.
However, what impresses me a lot is that she does not miss any training, with near-zero absence in her attendance status. She only misses training if it is really something very important that she had to attend to. Rain or shine, she is there at the training ground, twice per week.
I also see in her a very economical way of running. The thing that makes me look up to her is that she is a very hardworking person who is meticulous on diet etc. There is a lot of perseverance in her that I could emulate as a young girl. I have improved in running a lot, but Jennifer has all along shown a near 100% improvement can be done if we train consistently. The only word that comes in my mind on Jennifer is 'Consistent'.
I believe that many in our group were thinking that Jennifer will do 1hr 55min around there. However, I was very surprised to hear that she did a time of 1hr 51min 31sec instead. I was there to witness this at the Padang, near Connaught Drive. I think that I can learn that if I muster up my mental strength and courage, I can do anything to do well by drawing inspiration through her recent amazing performance.
Having said that, I would like to introduce Jennifer to all and feel that through her interview many can benefit in running.
An Interview With Jennifer Quek
1. What was your target for the race?
Actually, I am targeting anything below 1:59. However, during Thursday training, coach Rameshon suggested I should visualise my timing as 1:55, or even 1:50.
On Friday, I printed out the 21km pace for 1:50 and carrying it for my “visualisation”.
2. Did you hit your target?
No, but I am very glad that I did 1:51:31 in my own home ground.
What are your 5km,10km.15km split timing?
10km – 52mins 31 Sec
16km – 1 hr 25 mins
3. How are you feeling about the race?
Lesson learnt. No cold drinks one hour before the race as I was looking for a toilet in the 1st 5km and finally found one at Gardens by the bay. After the toilet break, I was disheartened as I felt I will not going to do well for this race. I didn’t even look at my watch as I know it is going to make me feel worse. I just keep telling myself just run, one foot after another, that’s all I can do.
4. How was the race route? / How was the organization of the race?
I
am sure the organiser would want to find a broad scenic road for runners as well. But they also face the difficulty of getting road closure and relevant authorities may not accede to such application that upset many other road users. While the event may not be perfect, l really appreciate the men who wake up much earlier than us to serve us drinks, the pretty young girl who squatted every now and then to apply the spray for runners, the mascots and cheerleaders who are there to support us along the way. In summary, it’s an enjoyable race for me.
5. How did you find the weather on the day of the race?
No rain or hot sun, nothing much to ask for. Good weather for the race.
6. What is your next race and target you are going for?
Berlin on 29 September. Visualising to do anything before 4 hours.If you like our blogpost, please like us in Facebook https://www.facebook.com/flexifitness.runningcoachsg
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.
