MILEAGE: 2009

Monday, September 28, 2009

Reminiscence

~Contributed by Michelle~

Mileage runners are growing- in numbers that is, definitely not horizontally. The cosmopolitan factor has also increased with members hailing from parts of the globe known for pork knuckles, the very strange La Tomatina Festival, Victoria Bitter beer and the homeland of the inventor of Rubik’s Cube.

As we were pumping our hearts out together at CCAB doing drills, exercises, sprints, Fartlek and intervals, a nostalgic part of me began to recollect my 1st few sessions with Mileage.

Some Recollections

I have not had any formal run coaching before Mileage hence terms like striding, knee lift, XX seconds per 100m were a new lingo to me. When I first heard of the drill “ankling”, I thought it simply meant lifting your ankle and rotating it.

I was very reluctant to do running drills round the field as I thought I looked very bo-seh (not stylish), out of place and felt utterly embarrassed. Coach tried to convince me that only serious runners do drills and if I do, it will make me look pro. I had to be convinced for weeks.

When I did my very 1st intervals of 10x500m at 26s pace, while waiting for Coach to arrive, I thought I’d better “test” the pace 1st. And test the pace I did. For 1km. Deadly (and dumb) mistake. I could still recall Coach’s bewildered expression when he found out what I did. As expected, I was literally on my knees on the verge of cardiac arrest by the 7th set.

For my 1st long run at Macritchie, I innocently thought that there will be drink stations throughout the trails. Yes, I did imagine there would be a vending machine plonked amidst the trails. So, instead of the 100+/H2O/Accelerade filled 1.5l bottles that we trudge along with to long run trainings now, I merely brought along my cutesy 300ml Nike bottle. And yes, I could also recall vividly Coach’s expression of disbelief then.

Classic Moments

Most of us who have been with Mileage for some time have our fair share of “classic” moments.

During Jan’s 1st session, she found 1 min invisible chair very challenging and insistently claimed that the rest of us do not have chairs at our office desks. I chuckled while trying to steady my shaking “chair”. Thereafter, I recall her saying that after her very 1st session of drills and exercises, she felt so sore that she couldn’t get out (or was it getting in?) of her car that night. Admire the fruit of her labor on her legs and arms now.

Another classic incident was by Raymond (the tall dark and handsome dude from Philippines). Coach has planned for him to do 20mins Fartlek. Raymond had no idea what Fartlek was. That afternoon, via Facebook messenger, he messaged me.

Raymond: “Hey, what’s Fartlek?”

Me: “Run fast for a period of time then walk and repeat”

R: “Oh, I thought must fart for 20mins. Wah, that’s tougher than any intervals”

I was convulsing with laughter in office.

For those of you who will be doing the 10km/10.5km/11km route at Macritchie, please be reminded that you are entitled to a drink break at the Ranger’s Station. Take as long as you like without incurring the wrath of Coach, and by that it usually means 30secs or less.

There is a reason behind this reminder.

We thought it was only natural and “common sense” to take a water-break at Ranger Station. Until one morning, we found out that dear Raymond does not stop at Ranger station because (according to his words) “Coach didn’t tell me that I can”. It was a moment of realization for us as to why Raymond always appear drained even only after 1 lap.

These are some of the amusing experiences I have with Mileage that would probably be stuck with me for a long time. There are of course disappointing ones (like when I fail to complete training) and upsetting ones (like when I “disagree vehemently” with coach. Read the 1st entry).

For the “older” members, I’m sure all of you have your own unforgettable moments with Mileage. For the newly joined members, welcome to Mileage. Your memorable journey has just begun…

~By Michelle~

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

Mileage Turns 1 Today!

The title of this article was written at 2100hrs. Time now is 2200hrs. Yes. It has taken me that long to pen down what the opening of this inaugural Mileage blog entry should be.

I figured I can do without the history lessons on how Mileage was born. After all, factual writing has never been my forte.

Thereafter, I thought I can inject some humor and creativity on this page but I remember a hard lesson learnt just slightly more than a year ago where my sense of originality (or so I thought) was grossly overruled by peers; I wanted to call my maiden coaching school “MAUleage”.

Point taken, right?

Thus, I reckon I shall just pen down my heartfelt feelings.

I liken the past 365 days serving Mileage to that of the timeless quote “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you are going to get”. I’ll elaborate on why it is so.

At almost every training session, there will be situations for me to handle. My runners complaining of aches and pains, Michelle disagreeing vehemently if I change my training plan for her last minute, Chantelle insisting on joining many races, Evelyn refusing to eat proper meals before training, just to name a few. But there is one "flavour of chocolate" I know pretty certainly I'll be getting- the Hungary imported "sore muscle" flavour made famous by Mr Gabor.

But like a kid hankering greedily after sweets (just like Antony and his almost daily triple thick milkshakes), I savour all flavours of chocolates. Chocolate triggers the release of endorphins that makes one happy and that is how I always feel (well, at least most times) after each session with the Mileage runners, on and off the track and trails.

What about those times that fall outside the “most times”? Those are the times when I did question myself if I’ve made a prudent decision in setting up this adult training program. As a coach, the most gratifying and satisfying element is witnessing the commitment, determination and focus in your athletes being translated to steady progress in their fitness and overall condition. However, this “phenomena” is sometimes hard to witness among my Mileage athletes especially when:

1. They are too busy with other commitments outside Mileage (sometimes so busy that i have no inkling of whether they will turn up for training.)

2. They have a mindset of their own which makes convincing them why they should or should not do a certain workout challenging.

Thus, there came a point where I was at a total loss of how to devise a training program best suited to their busy schedules. Other than at a loss, frustration was another emotion that accompanied.

“Look on the positive side” I’d tell myself. There has to be a lesson I can learn from these episodes to make myself a better coach. I look at my own coach (whom I have deep respect for) and ask myself how I can emulate him. I read up on legendary coaches’ biography for inspiration, amongst the many running articles.

Mileage turns 1 today. It is still at its infancy and I hope that it will gradually grow stronger in its identity. A big thank you to all my Mileage athletes who have helped lived my passion in coaching.

To more anniversaries, intervals, long runs and good races!