With about one month left to the South East Asian (SEA) Games in Kuala Lumpur, marathoner Jasmine Goh, 38, still remains as cool as cucumber for what is set to be the biggest run of her life.
Said Jasmine, a financial planner, “I know everyone is anxious and wants to know what is going on. But you know there is really only one month left and what is most important is to not try anything outrageous. Instead, just keep to what has been working, that is, the consistency and training.”
Jasmine is ready for the biggest race of her life next month. (Photo credit to GEWR)
The bubbly runner added, “But most importantly I am taking better care of myself so that I can stay injury free and healthy. As runners, we all want to stay as healthy as possible to be at the starting line of our key race in the best shape that we can.”
Jasmine had been speaking on the sidelines of the Great Eastern Women’s Run Launch at One Raffles Place this morning.
A week in her training
A typical week in Jasmine’s training programme consists of speed work, hill training and pace training. She explained, “There will obviously be speed work, hills and pace runs, where you run at a certain pace or up your pace in the second half of the run. I also do strength and conditioning workouts; that is very important I think, and also spend time on recovery, such as foam rolling.”
Jasmine has been preparing for the SEA Games for the past 1 1/2 years. (Photo courtesy of GEWR)
Laughing, she playfully continued, “Basically it’s just run, run, run, if I may add!”
In fact, since January last year, Jasmine has been focused solely on making it to the SEA Games. She said, “So it has been one and a half years that I have been training for this race. The other races that I have taken part in, such as the Hong Kong Marathon, Singapore Marathon and so on, these are all races to be used as training, to see if I am on track. The main focus was always the SEA Games.”
She continued, “I never had individual training blocks targeting other races, like training specifically for the Great Eastern Women’s Run or the Singapore Marathon. It has always been the end intention to be in the best shape that I can be, for the SEA Games. Of course these other races were important to some extent, as they help to cement your position and give you a confidence booster in that sense, as well as the opportunity to know if your training is on track and is progressing well. So in that way they are also important races. But I never trained specifically for any of them.”
Jasmine is now focused on keeping herself healthy and injury-free.
Focusing on staying healthy and keeping herself injury free
And this next month, Jasmine will be continuing her focus on trying to keep her body healthy. She said, “Training goes on. I will be following the training that has been laid out for me by my coach. For my diet, I am trying to eat the best as I can, taking more vitamins to make sure I am healthy and injury free. I am enjoying the process because I think that it’s no point to get stressed. There’s one month to go and I want to enjoy it.”
She added, “I am a careful eater when it comes to my nutrition; I will eat what has worked for me in the past and what I am familiar with. I do not necessarily avoid fried food, but I do not eat a lot of these either. I prepare my own food most of the time, with lots of vegetables and fruits.”
Jasmine has come a long way
Jasmine has come a very long way in terms of her running.
Since she had set about to realise her dream one and a half years ago, Jasmine has come a long way in her running. She said, “I have come such a long way; I am definitely very different now. My timing is different and the training load I can handle, as well as my body’s response to training has also changed.”
She added “But my coach (Lexxus Tan from F1 Runners Team) has never given me the stress that I have to be first or second, or that I must win. He always tells me to go out there and do my best. I am already at the start line; there is no need to chase the clock or to stress myself out over such details. I just go and run what I am comfortable with. If I feel I can run fast, so be it, but if I do not, then he does not pressurise me as we both know that the ultimate goal is the SEA Games.”
Running for her country
But the SEA Games Marathon will be different to anything that Jasmine has run before. She said, “At the Games, I am not running for myself. I am running for my country; in any other race, it is just me that I am letting down if I feel bad about my timing. But in this case I will have the whole Singapore rooting for me. I am also wearing the nation’s colours, so I will have to go all out in that sense, and there is the added pressure of performing to expectations, but it’s worth it; this is the opportunity of a lifetime and I am so honoured.”
Jasmine being interviewed.
But though this will be her SEA Games debut, the jitters and nerves have not sunk in for Jasmine yet. She said, “I have come to the point where I know I will be there and I have done so much. All I need to do right now is to take really good care of myself so that I can be at the start line in the best shape that I can be.”
She added “For the pressure and pre-race jitters, I don’t feel anything yet but maybe in the week leading up to the Games, I will, because I will be with the Games contingent in Kuala Lumpur and will be wearing the national jersey. That is when you would feel the national pride and the jitters to perform well for your country. But right now, no.”
To do her best for Singapore
Jasmine wants to do her best for Singapore next month.
And what does she think are her chances of winning a medal for Singapore? Said Jasmine playfully, “Oh I have been asked this so many times today! But I always say that I want to do my best. Because to be at the start line, I feel that I have already achieved so much. I am already a winner in terms of my commitment, dedication and what I have gone through for the past one and a half years.
She continued, “So to be at the start line and having the chance to race with the best from the region in Singapore’s national colours, is something that I have no regrets about, no matter how I perform at the Games.”
Running Tips from Jasmine
And what running tips does Jasmine have? Said the cheerful runner, “You know, I always say that not everyone can do a marathon tomorrow. But almost everyone can start preparing for a marathon tomorrow.”
What tips does Jasmine have, to share with runners?
She added, “You just need to take the first step; do the first kilometre or mile. Walk it if you can, and jog it if you can, but just stay active and eventually you can do a marathon.”
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