runningcoachsg

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Zoo Run - Divya did 1hr 10min for 12km.

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

Divya - Wanted to have a taste of 12km run as there was no 6km competitive run.

Flexifitness Runner Divya Rajendran ran in the Zoo Run 12km. Since there was no race to run she ran the women open 12km. She recounted her experience through an interview.

An Interview With Divya

How was the race as a whole?

It was fun.

How do you find the running route?

It had at least about 5 up and downhills.

Are you happy with your time?

Actually, I was supposed to run 3km to 5km. There was no race for this and it was left with 6km Fun Run and it was more for leisure. Hence, I decided to run 12km to run more for a fun run. I am definitely happy with the time 1hr 10min 33sec. Even though the time shows that I did 1hr 08min, the time is wrong. The correct time is 1hr 10min.

How about your Flexifitness runner's performance?

Many did very well. For example, Armand came in first with a personal best time of 11min 58sec. He was 5th out of 90 runners of age under 12 for male. Kasi and Avinash from men open section did 49min 04sec and 49min 47sec. In the past, they were not doing this time but now they are able to do good timing. They have improved so fast in their training.

Are you happy with your position?

My mother was very happy. However, I just ran this for the fun of it and to support the Zoo Run to raise funds. I am happy with Flexifitness support and we, by running this race, have brought in at least $1,000 for the Zoo animals.

What is your long term target?
In the past, I did 1.6km distance with a time of 12min 36sec. Now I can do in 7min 00sec. All I am hoping is to get Gold for my Napfa Test. In the past, I was not able to get gold or silver.

www.runningcoachsg.com

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.

Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Zoo Run - Vijayaraj, 13, ran 12km in 1hr 02min

The Zoo run started at 7 30pm. As there was only 6km fun run, Vijayraj decided to reluctantly register and run in the 12km run. As he was just 13 years of age, he was thinking of doing a 1hr 10min for the race. A day before, he ran in the Sat (16th/02/2013) 4.3km Swift race in Bedok Reservoir.

While running in the zoo run, he felt good and he managed to do a 1hr 02min. He was happy and he recounted his run in an interview form.

An Interview With Vijayraj

How was the run?
It was fun to run and I was watching the animals while running. For this race, I told myself that to compete was not an option. This is the first time that I am doing my 12km. Because of many Flexifitness people supporting me in the run, I was very motivated to do well by completing the race in sub-1hr 10min and not 1hr 20min and above. I was very happy that the Flexifitness athletes were also running with me in my race and they did very well. It makes me satisfied that we have done well.

What made you take part in this run?
I wanted to challenge myself in terms of completing and I am very happy and satisfied with the time. I believe that Flexifitness training has helped me a lot and my stamina has improved over time. I am amazed by this. In the past, I joined the programme to help me with my stamina. I was doing 10min 30sec in 1500m in the past. Now I am able to do 6min 00sec for 1500m race.

Right now, I am not afraid of National Service when I reach 21. My parents were worried about this and they have given me hints to train when I am young.

Earlier on, I was all the time afraid of my stamina. I used to get tired easily and quickly. Now things have changed and, in fact, my academic scores have improved significantly because of running.

How do you find the route?
To tell you the truth, there were too many turns and the ending point was unclear and I did not know where the finish line was. Overall, the route was ok.

How do you find the water point?
I did not drink anything because I was not thirsty. But I found the water points evenly distributed in a way that people will not be dehydrated. That was good.

Did you go to the Zoo after the run?

Wanted to but it was raining and I had decided to go home instead, although seeing the zoo was an important thing for me, especially after the race. However, I somehow have managed to have a peek of the animals during the race. So I am satisfied with this.

How did your coach feel about this?

Very happy as I was able to do faster than 1hr 05min for my first 12km race. In the long run, I would like to do a sub-35 min just like Ashley Liew, who is my direct inspiration, who is overseas now and I have heard that he has improved his 5km time of 16min 06sec to 15min 53sec. This is amazing. It is very hard for a Singaporean to do a sub-16min in Singapore and he has done it. I think Ashley is a role model to follow for me.

Your future goal?
To win the best Physical Trainee (PT) in the Army.

www.runningcoachsg.com

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.

Monday, February 18, 2013

Zoo Run 2013 - Saranniya - 1hr 08min 13sec in Women 12km

Saranniya Rajendran,15, did not like the idea of running in the 6km Fun Run for Zoo Run on 17th Feb 2013.

She finally decided to try running the 12km run in the women's section. One of the reasons for this was that the 6km Fun had no competitive element at all and it would be run in a leisurely fashion.

She felt that people will not be motivated enough to run fast enough and challenge running with moderate or at least a steady speed pace in the leisurely Fun Run.

Although the 12km was considered too long for her, she was inspired to run at a moderate pace such that she could experience some form of competitive element in the race. There was no other race distance left for her run.

She ran a sub-6min pace per kilometre in the zoo during the 12km Zoo Run. She was happy to complete the race. I decided to interview her on this completion of the race.

As a reporter for Flexifitness, I decided to interview her to share this with others.

( Photograph - Courtesy of Tan Eng Howe, Montage Studios)

An Interview With Saranniya

What made you run this distance?

I don't mind running in 5km or 6km competitive race for women's open. However, the race distance was only for Fun runners. Hence, I decided not to go for the Fun Run and go for the 12km competitive run. I had no regrets running in this race, except that the organisers could have put a 5km or 6km for people of my age group.

(Photograph - Courtesy of Tan Eng Howe, Montage Studios)

How did you find the route?
I found the route interesting and it was not too difficult

Are you happy with your timing?

Yes, of course. Coach Rameshon told me that it was a good time, considering that I am very young. He told me not to put too much pressure on myself and go for a fast target. I felt better with his advice. He was more interested in my completion of the race.

Can you share with us on the race itself and your experience running it?

I think that I went out too fast. I should have been conservative on my race. Later on, I fell back too much such that my sister caught up. The last two kilometres were the most difficult for me to run. However, something told me to go for it. Also, my sister's presence in the race made me go all out for the last two kilometres. It was fortunate for my sister, age 13, to run side to side with me. However, she fell back at the last part and did 1hr 10min for the 10km race.

How was the organisation of the race?
It was good but more could be done to improve the race. Young runners could run shorter races like 6km and put it as competitive, besides putting another race that is non-competitive.

What is your next target?
My coach has not gotten back to me on this yet. Perhaps I would like to focus on running the Energiser Run and the Great Eastern Run. I leave all these decisions to my coach.

www.runningcoachsg.com

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.

Sunday, February 17, 2013

Zoo Run - Avinash runs first 12km race

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

Avinash - 49min 47sec in 12km race.

A number of people came to run in the Zoo Run. There were 2.8km race, 6km race and 12km race as well.

(Picture - Courtesy of Tan Eng Howe, Montage Studios)

A number of athletes from Flexifitness did very well in the race. We will discuss the runners who have done well in the coming blogpost to motivate people to run.

One of them who did well is a runner by the name of Avinash.

Avinash, 15, ran the Zoo Run 10km today and did 49min 47sec.

His parents also came to see the race. They were very happy to see their son doing his first 12km race and that he came in first in the second wave race. I told Avinash that I would like to interview him. He was glad to do this.

How was the run?
I was running my first race. I am happy that I could do 49min 47sec.

Did you expect it?
Frankly speaking, I was not expecting this. I had stitch and it made me stop for a minute. Hence, I believe that I am now capable of doing 40min for the race.

Why was this so?
I was hoping to do a 1hr 00min to 1hr 02min. It turned out that I could do a 49min 47sec.

What was your aim then?
To do a 1hr and come in first in the second wave run. The second wave group, as I know were not that fast.

Anything that had motivated you in this race?
Yes, I was overtaking a number of runners in the race from the first wave runners. Many Flexifitness runners, who are my friends, the presence made me feel fantastic just before the race. I felt very good to see them motivating me.

What is your next target?
To do a sub-40min for my next 10km race.

www.runningcoachsg.com

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.

Wednesday, February 13, 2013

Running Analysis - What I saw at Toa Payoh Stadium

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

Hand Analysis - One of the way to run faster from my experience.

Recently, a number of my runners have done well when I arrested the problem of running with proper hand swing. This could be seen from two non-runners, Divya and Saranniya who came in champions in lower secondary and upper secondary Queensway School Cross-Country race. Divya came in first in the lower secondary section of the girl's race with a time of 13min 30sec while Saranniya came in first in the upper secondary girl's section of the race. The race distance was 3km.

A year back, Divya had a personal best time of 12min for 1.5km while Saranniya had a time of 16min at the start of the time trial. Right now, Saranniya has a personal best time of 6min 32sec in the 1.5km. All these took about a year to do. Both of these girls are not runners in the past.

With consistent training, these two runners have become fit. Saranniya has a personal best time of 10min 33sec for 2.4km. The reason for Saranniya's success is attributed to not waiting to achieve things. She knows that time and tide will not wait for any man. Rather than achieving when one is old, she wants to achieve when she is young. She was very consistent in training.

Coach perspective.

Training Cycle

Although a few things have helped these girls to attain good timing, I believe that the main component that had helped them was the training cycle that they have done recently - minimum input and maximum output. Of course, another reason for this success is attributed to the mother's support.

Hand swing, Gait, leg drill.

Gait is one of the reasons for people to do well in running. Swaying a lot will only increase oxygen cost which should go to running rather than to distracting the running movement through swaying, laterally, sideways and moving front and backwards. There are ways to correct this. I have been working on this a lot.

Leg drill is also good to do for one to do well. Anyone who neglects this will not be able to run much faster than oneself.

However, recently, I have noticed that the hand plays a dominant role in running faster and it has been neglected. Last year, I met Wilson Kipketer, Former World Record Holder for 800m, in Evans Road, Ministry of Education track. He told us the importance of hand swing. He showed us the correct hand swing that we used to do at Loughborough Athletics Club. He told us that the hand is of utmost importance in running rather than the leg movement. I reflected on this I agreed with him on this. My take is that if the hand start to work fast and with proper technique, the legs will follow suit. Correspondingly a nice stride will take place.

My experience in Toa Payoh Stadium.

A month back, I was watching people running at the stadium. Therefore the first time I found that the hand swing was vastly different among the individual runners. Some are doing it correctly while a number of them were running with a lot of hand movement that will increase one's oxygen cost. I was observing about 50 people running there and saw only a runner doing it the hand swing right, while two of the runners were doing near correct.

I was amazed when I saw this. I felt that if we sway wrongly, just for the hand swing, for 10 000steps for 10km, during the run, we will definitely lose some energy and it can be huge considering the total steps we need to cover for our run. My experience is that when the hand swing is corrected, one could run with a bigger stride.

That is where I realised that a good hand swing could give one an edge to a good running form and to get an edge in the stride. Speed of the run is equalled to stride rate and stride length. If the stride length is further, one will have an edge in running.

www.runningcoachsg.com

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.

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Johnson Jacob - Still going strong

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

Dan Johnson Jacob Held on 19th/20th of January 2013.

Picture 1 - Johnson Jacob, about to reach 50 years of age, still going strong

Johnson Jacob was my classmate in primary school. He was with Christian Stauffer and Mika Kume for the 250km Sahara Desert Challenge in the year 2009 and I was amazed by the group's performance. It was like a superhuman performance.

In the past, Johnson was not that active in running as I know him in our primary school days. Over time, he picked up triathlon, ironman and later on even the 250km Sahara Challenge. I just hope that this would rub on to people who are looking for a challenge in life.

Recently, I was amazed by his performance in the 100km Vibram Hong Kong 100km challenge. When he completed this, I decided to do a blog post of his achievement.

Picture 2- A Panoramic Scenic View during the Hong Kong Trail Run

What was the race called that you ran?

Vibram Hong Kong 100km 2013.

How was your preparation for this race?

I wasn't that prepared for the race. My mileage in early December was around 97km per week. I soon fell sick due to the sudden increase in mileage. As soon as I recovered, my youngest daughter, Krystal, became ill. Her condition was only diagnosed on Christmas Day and since she was hospitalized and I was unable to continue with my training. I was seriously contemplating whether to go for the race or not. On the week of 19th January (Race date), a few days away, I did a 20km run and a 10km run, back to back. I flew off to Hong Kong on the 17th of January. I told myself that I was going to take this as my training race for the UTMF (Ultra-Trail Mount Fuji) in April, a 100 mile (161km) race.

Was was the time taken for this race?

I was only going for completion as I did not have much time to train. As such, I told myself that I would only look at my watch when I reach the 7th station which was 73km. My upslope climb was so much stronger than my descend from the mountains. I continued to push as the memories of what my youngest daughter has gone through kept playing in my mind. I was saddened upon recalling these moments. It also gave me some new found strength to do nothing short of my best. I was happy to reach the 73km (7th station). By that time, I was confident to complete the race.

Are you happy with your time?
I was happy because, at the 7th station, I knew I was within the time to take home a bronze trophy for my daughter. It is a 32 hour cut off the race. Sub-16 hours - Gold. Sub-20 hours - Silver. Sub-24 hours - Bronze. I completed in 21 hours 12 minutes.

What is your next target?
My next target - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pz6NFimVGgg

Vibram Hong Kong 100

The Vibram® Hong Kong 100 is an ultra-endurance race that takes place in Hong Kong. The 100km course starts in Pak Tam Chung on the Sai Kung Peninsula and covers some of the most beautiful scenery in Hong Kong, including remote and unspoilt beaches, ancient forests, nature trails, reservoirs and steep hills. The course is based around Hong Kong's famous Maclehose Trail, but with some diversions to ensure that runners spend more time in its most scenic sections, as well as finishing with the descent from Hong Kong's highest peak (Tai Mo Shan). The course involves a cumulative elevation gain of over 4500 meters and the cut-off time is 32 hours. This is a unique, challenging and beautiful run for the trail running enthusiast and a chance to take part in an unforgettable event.

Sunday, February 3, 2013

What does a 5km sub-16min time mean

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

5km - A sub-16min time - Going one notch up

Picture 1 - I knew that Ashley will definitely do a sub- 16min anytime soon after knowing his recent workout times

When I was training in the past, about 17 years of age, I used to see one of our fellow runners in Swift Club by the name of Ramasamy doing 16min 00sec for a number of times. At that time, I used to do a 16min 30sec. I used to think that doing a sub-16min is beyond comprehension.

Over a period of time, after serving my National Service, I came back to serious running when I joined the College of Physical Education as a trainee teacher. I was not able to run a sub-16min until I was a teacher at Clementi Town Secondary School. Before I finish my three years of teaching there, I did one 15min 51sec and an about three 15m 55sec to 15min 56sec in Singapore. I was usually coming in first and there was no competition for me.

At that time, I trained N. Ganesan, a former national record holder for 5km, who did 14min 57sec in Germany in the 1990s. Earlier on, I brought my time down to 15min 31sec in the Singapore Open 5km race, while I helped N. Ganesan to do a 15min 41sec in that same race. Later on, I went for my further studies at Loughborough University. Ganesan went under other coaches and finally did 14min 57sec.

Studying in England, I shelved the idea of running 5km races and concentrated in marathon purely. I did 2hr 29min in the London Marathon 1993 and four months later do a 2hr 28min in Berlin Marathon 1993.

What does a 5km sub-16min time mean

It simply means that one is no more running a schoolboys' race. A sub- 16 mins time for 5km means one may go through a physical burnout or mental burnout if one does not train without proper training, guidance and race preparation. If the training cycle goes wrong, one may give up running overtime. This nearly happened to me and N. Ganesan.

It is a point where one has to be independent enough to take care of the training cycle so that the mileage training and speed training are planned very well.

In my life, it is now good to see Ashley doing a sub-16min finally after relentless attempts to go down in timing. He is the second in line of my coaching career to do a sub-16min and I am proud of him. Many had given up for various reasons and to do a sub-16min needs a lot of sacrifices, especially time, money and effort.

Not only this but we have to be careful of recovery methods and it must be done properly. One should be vigilant about an injury. A sub-16min athlete will one day do a sub - 15min over time when one is running consistently.

I believe that without injury and with persistence in running, over time, Ashley has the potential of doing a sub- 14min 30sec in the near future. This is my take.

www.runningcoachsg.com

Note:

By Narayanan