Training for the World 10K

On 27 May 2012, India’s most popular 10K race will be held in Bangalore. From the 1^st day of the year, that will be about 21 weeks to raceday.
This race is perhaps the best race in India for beginners who are interested in running as well as those experienced runners who intend to better their timing, since the distance is not as daunting as those in longer races round the country.
I am looking at taking on a batch only in Bangalore of not more than 50 runners for training for this race, starting in the 1^st or 2^nd week of January 2012, by when there will be about 20 weeks to train. For the experienced runners, 16 weeks may be adequate to train. So you can start from February 1^st week but you need to sign up asap.
In short, the following will be key features

1. You will train for 3-5 days a week, of which you will do two runs a week with a group*. The two key runs will be a speed workout and a tempo run.

2. For those who have already run a 10K in the past and are looking at improving timings, I may have a 3^rd run every week.

3. You will get a customized training plan in line with your capabilities (to be assessed using a time trial) and supervision of your training sessions.

4. You will get feedback as needed both at the key runs and at the end of the week.

5. We will set a mutually agreed target in line with your capabilities and performance for the final race.

* You will run on your own on the other days. You are welcome to join me on other days too since I run on 6 days of the week and sometimes all 7 days, but the locations/timings on those days will be at my discretion on the other days.

If you are vegetarian, I can also help you on planning your diet based on my experience. We could examine your diet even if you aren't but since I am not non-vegetarian, I have little experiential advice to dole out.

If you are interested mail me at dhammonia@gmail.com and we will work out specifics like locations, timings, fees, etc. In case you are outside Bangalore and want to work out some unusual arrangements based on email-based coaching (Yes, there is such a thing. Even some sub-elite athletes train like that) wherein I design a custom-training plan, visit you once a month but track you on a daily basis, mail me and we shall work something out.

Update: I am no longer taking on trainees for the 10K since there are less than 10 weeks to go for the race as on 25th Mar 12. If you are interested in training for a later event, see this in stead

About me:
I am 33 years old. I used to work as a manager in a premier Management Consulting firm until recently. I just found running more enjoyable and quit my job to become a full-time coach. I have been running for over 10 years. I had no running history before 2001. For that matter, nobody in my family has ever played any sport with any competence. I used to be a plump kid for a while. Then I just grew up to become a fat adult. I just decided to change this one fine day. So I know what it is to train as an ordinary person who has no sporting history. I have run 14 marathons and run a half marathon at least once a week (sometimes two). I started with a half marathon in 2 hours 34 minutes in 2004 and a full marathon in 2005 (in 5 hours 4 minutes) with little training or even an idea on how to train. I just ran them on a whim. So I began training since I thought I could improve with training. As recently as in 2009, I ran 10K in 47 minutes and 51 seconds.
However I ran without a coach till January 2011. My best marathon till then was in 4 hours.
In 2011, I found an amazing coach and trained under him in the US. I ran 2 half marathons in about 1 hour 30 minutes each and a full marathon in just 3 hours 10 minutes, qualifying for the Boston Marathon.
I would love to show you what you can do with targeted training.
I am currently training my first ever batch of runners with a broad range of abilities, who are running in the Mumbai & Auroville Marathons, for both the half and full marathons.
I love to run. It has changed my life. It could change yours too.
Update: One of my trainees who is Singapore based, came up with interesting names for my coaching options - remote and on location in Bangalore. He calls the remote model (email/telephone based) as the "Ekalavya" model and the on-location one as "Arjuna" model. I have loved the terms enough to quickly appropriate them