Strength

Ramadan has just ended on June 15 - I hope everyone who celebrates also had an amazing Eid full of celebrations with their families - and y'know what that means? It's back into my running training schedule time! I've drafted my entire schedule for the next 8 weeks and I'm just so excited to get back out there and start running again.

For the month of Ramadan, I didn't run at all because well, ya girl was fasting (no food no water) and putting running into that equation was not going to happen. I used to run a bit before breaking my fast (first meal of the day when the sun is set) but decided not to do that this year.

Did I maintain my fitness? Did I throw my nutritional habits in a closet and lock it for the duration of Ramadan?

Well, let's start question by question.

Did I maintain my fitness?

YES! For the first week of Ramadan I took off of exercising to get me into the zone for Ramadan. For the following three weeks, every day after nightly prayers* at the mosque at around 1AM I'd be doing ab and full body workouts from Lucy Wyndham-Read.

I did a mixture of:
1. AT HOME WORKOUT 10 MINUTE ABS - with standing ab exercises and tips on how to properly lose belly fat.
2.  7 DAY CHALLENGE - 7 MINUTE WORKOUT TO LOSE BELLY FAT - HOME WORKOUT TO LOSE INCHES - START TODAY
3. LOSE BELLY FAT - HOME HIIT WORKOUT - SUITABLE AS BEGINNERS WORKOUT -  NO EQUIPMENT NEEDED

And as a result, I actually felt I had more energy throughout the day as I was fasting.
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* = Are you confused on what Ramadan is & what I mean by Nightly Prayers?
I wrote a blog post on Ramadan - you can read it here: Crash Course: Ramadan

A great video I came across by Jenna Chia on the science of Ramadan, if you're interested:
Why Fast For Ramadan? My First Experience
In it she answers the questions:
What happens to your body when you fast?
Why do Muslims Fast?
How it's been for her to fast for the first time?
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Did I throw my nutritional habits in a closet and lock it for the duration of Ramadan?
HAHA no! When it came time to eat, I only snacked on fruits and some almonds & cashews. I sometimes feel I can be a bit strict on myself, though. The days leading up to Eid is usually filled with baking cookies - y'know how in Christmas there's sugar cookies, gingerbread cookies etc.? Yeah, so we have stuff like that too - cookies only made during Eid!

A little bit here and there won't be the worst thing on the planet, but inner me needs a lot of convincing to eat a single cookie. Inner me needs to sit down and eat an ice-cream and chill with a few date cookies.

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I wrote an article for AMALIAH Magazine on being kind to yourself & tips on healthy eating:
Weight Loss & Healthy Eating Starts With Viewing Yourself Differently
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I went on my first run this week - a short mile to get my body used to the movement of running again. Something that I worried about before Ramadan was my pacing. Before Ramadan started, I was running three miles at a quick & steady pace and I was afraid I'd have to start over & all that endurance building was going to get chucked under a rug.

I even mentioned to my family and friends that Ramadan came at the worst time for me because I was progressing, getting faster, and becoming stronger. My mind viewed Ramadan as something stopped my progress, a block that stopped me from running for a month. As I went for my first run since the end of Ramadan, I realized how wrong and closed minded my thinking was. I thought of Ramadan in such a negative way because I was worried about my pacing per mile.

On this run, I ran this mile faster that I ever did the month previously, got a new 1K PR at 5:03, and actually felt pretty strong as I ran. There were a few thoughts running through my mind. God gave me the strength to go faster, my will to run comes from Him, my dedication to my training schedule comes from Him yet here I was, throughout the month of Ramadan doubting Him. 

Where do I get my speed from? Where do I get my dreams that sometimes feel like boots that are 3 sizes too big from me? Where do I get my strength day in and day out? Him. 

This run was an eye opener to how closed I viewed myself and my running. With faith in God, anything is possible and when that faith falters everything kind of crumbles as a result. I have plans, but also I know that God is the best of planners and he will lead me to the path I am meant to go down.

My running and self belief derives from my faith and that is something that this Ramadan has taught me - trust Him and all will fall into the place it is meant to.

I want to clarify: I say this as a religious person, if you are not religious I hope you haven't taken any offense to this post.

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Do you exercise? Do you run? HOW'S IT GOING FIT FAM LET YA GIRL KNOW

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