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 Marcel Sng
Moonlake, 45, recently has been doing a time of 32min to 34min before joining Flexifitness. About one and a half week ago, suddenly, she did a season-best time of 30 minutes 37 seconds when she came in 16th (age group) in the Shape Run 2014. Although it was a season-best, she was disappointed it was not a personal best. She ran in such a way that she went for the personal best time. She was depressed when she told Coach Rameshon about this, and he assured that she has been consistent in training and in time to come she will definitely do it.
To our surprise, in our Flexifitness time trial held on 23 August, she did us proud by doing a big personal best of 29 minutes 11 seconds. She mustered up her courage to go for it rather than waiting for some months. the platform was there for her to do it and she did it. Coach Rameshon told me that in time to come, she will do a 25min flat or a much faster time.
Earlier on, Moonlake used to go too fast in the early part of her race and die out from the middle part of the race. Coach Rameshon advised her to take it easy in the first part of a race. She has applied that and is now improving consistently. I personally am very impressed in her vast improvement of more than 1 min.
Interview with MoonLake Lee
How did you fare in the Shape Run 2014?
How did you fare in the Shape Run 2014?
This was my 8th Shape Run since 2008 – I ran a seasonal best of 30 minutes 37 seconds but was slightly disappointed as I was hoping to complete the 5km below 30 minutes.
What is your previous personal best for 5km?
My previous personal best for the 5km was 29 minutes 51 seconds back in the 2011 Shape Run
What is your new personal best 5km?
My new personal best was in the recent FlexiFitness time trial on August 23, 2014, about one week after the 2014 Shape Run. I ran a time of 29 minutes 11 seconds at the running track.
How do you feel about this?
I was delighted and could hardly believe that I improved by over 1 minute in just a week’s time. I have to say that I could not have done it without the support of my fellow runners at FlexiFitness who cheered me on and encouraged me. More on this later.
Can you share with us your physical preparation (45min- 1 hour) before the race?
Frankly, I was a little stressed about it. We went through our usual warm-ups and stretching routine. Lim Thow Wee also helped us do visualization before we did the time trial. This is still rather new to me so the main thing that I was visualizing was number 29!!
How were your first two rounds?
Coach Rameshon told me to pace myself especially for the first 4 minutes and not a sprint – just run at a moderate speed. This is because, like many people, I tend to go faster in the beginning since there are the adrenalin rush and excitement, and I am still fresh. However, if one overdoes things in the beginning, then it gets very difficult to maintain the pace and there are no more reserves left to finish the run well.
So I tried to pace myself and take things easier for the first two rounds… I was still the slowest of the runners but that was all right – as Coach Rameshon said, we are not competing with each other but we are competing with ourselves. Having other runners around is more for encouragement and to inspire us to try harder.
*Can you say briefly, how did you fare in the middle part of the run? (800m-4.2km)
The middle part of the run was tough. It seemed to take forever. There were occasional fleeting thoughts of giving up or walking. However, I kept telling myself not to give up but to keep running. I also knew that as long as I kept my pace at 6km/hour or under, I should be able to complete the run in 30 minutes… so the key was to maintain under 6km/hour as much as possible.
It was really helpful that the students and kids at FlexiFitness were at the side of the track cheering all the runners on with shouts of encouragement or by clapping. One could not help but quicken the pace when running past everyone.
Can you describe what happened in the last 2 rounds?
My husband, Ansgar Cheng, ran the last 3 rounds with me to encourage me to keep running as it was obvious I was rather tired by then. Being one of the faster runners, he had already finished his 5km time trial and so was running beside me as a “warm-down” run. He reminded me to try counting my cadence (i.e. running rhythm) as it would also distract me and help take the focus away from the tiredness.
During the last round, Coach Rameshon joined both of us – he was getting excited and told me I was at the 28-minute mark and there was a good chance to achieve my personal best. With both of them running next to me, how could I not try harder??!! J
I was very relieved to finish the 5km and find out that I had improved on my timing, achieving a personal best of 29 minutes and 11 seconds J
Are you happy with the time?
Yes, I am happy with the time for now, but I look forward to gradually improving my time as I continue with the training.
What is your next goal?
My next goal, in addition to improving my speed and stamina, is to reduce abdominal fat as this is a key culprit for many health issues. My reasons for running are to lose and maintain a healthy weight. I have a family history of diabetes… I also enjoy eating and socializing too much – the food needs to get worked off!!
In terms of specific goals, I look forward to hitting 26 to 27 minutes for the 5km distance and completing a 10km run in 1 hour. I will give myself 6 months to a year to achieve this J
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.
