Back to the starting line: TM Fan Run 2016

The end of Ramadhan marks a new running chapter for me. After one month of good rest, it is time to get going again with higher hopes and bigger goals (Hint: another ultramarathon coming really soon!). Coincidently, 2016 has passed it’s second half and so it is also a good time to reflect on the progress of our New Year Resolutions ; How far are we from reaching our goals? Have we completed any New Year Resolutions yet? Have we even started working towards our goals yet?

IMG_7480IMG_48922014 vs 2016. Same race, different venue, different distance

Time is of the essence. When you have limited time to work towards your goals, every mileage and work out counts. Not wanting to waste another moment, I signed up to run for 10KM in the TM Fan Run. Plus, signing up for an event in the midst of Eid celebration made me feel less guilty about enjoying the high calorie foods such as rendang and cookies.

IMG_4917Who says runners don’t celebrate Eid? This was our carbo-loading on the night before the run!

Lining up at the starting line, I realised how much I missed the smell of the morning air before dawn, the rays of light during sunrise, and the immediate jolt of caffeine and sugar in my system. I missed the cliché, annoying pop songs played while some random instructor did an aerobic warm up on stage, the buzzing crowd building up the excitement, the sight of your running crew and a few familiar faces. There was nothing quite like the feeling on race day!

As soon as the gun goes off, I took a deep breath, ready to give my best shot. The route was mildly easy with minimal elevation. Starting from Dataran Putrajaya, we passed by the usual landmarks if you have been running in Putrajaya regularly such as PICC and Persiaran Perdana Bridge, so there was not much excitement about the route. Overall, the 10K route was short of a few hundred meters but by my books, I ended up running my fastest 10K anyways by shaving 10 minutes of my previous personal best record.

So far, it looks like my running calender is off to a pretty good start. I’m feeling rather optimistic about the second half of 2016, with more races and work outs in the near future!

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Until next week,

The Weekend Runner.

The Weekend Runner: Eid Battles

Eid is a constant battle between wanting to crazy on the good food while dealing with guilty feelings that would come later after stuffing myself too much. Eid after eid, I realized this is not a healthy mentality to have as I should be consistent with having a balanced diet all year round. There must be a better way to win this battle. Since no one eats avocado smoothies or protein shakes for Eid, and avoiding the good ol’ rendang is absoloutely impossible, I have devised 5 tactics to strike a balance to have a healthy and happy Eid:

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Yes kitty I feel you. (source: google)

 

1.The key word here is MODERATION.

Don’t totally deprive yourself of the good food or grandma’s cooking, but stop before you are 100% full. If you experience indigestion and bloating on the first day of Eid, you know you have gone overboard. Plus, your poor stomach will need some time adjusting because your food consumption has decreased in Ramadhan.

 

2.Use smaller utensils.

Buffet spread is the biggest culprit of overeating during Eid, because our eyes are bigger than our stomach. We want to take everything! A simple trick to curb this is by swapping the dinner plate (usually it’s the biggest plate) for a smaller plate. Bigger plate –> more space to fill in with food –> overeating. This will also significantly reduce food wastage, because we only take what we can eat.

 

3.Take time to savour your Eid cakes and cookies i.e. kuih raya.

Try to limit to just one piece for each type of cookie. Alternatively, if you know you have a weakness for your favourite type of kuih, pre-portion them out first on a piece of plate so you are less tempted to empty out the whole jar.

 

4.Drink plain water only.

This is simple and straight-forward. No soft drinks, no sugary drinks, as these drinks contain ‘empty’ calories (no nutritional value). Alternatively, you can have hot coffee or tea without sugar.

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A glass of syrup contains more calories than a stick of satay! (source: google)

 

5.Remain active through out the day.

Instead of lying down after stuffing yourself with good food (sounds tempting, right?), offer to help out instead. Volunteer to help prepare the meals, do some cleaning up, run errands, or just play with the kids.

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Ideally, you should schedule in time for a work out to burn that extra 500 calories.

 

Ultimately, Eid is a time to reconnect and socialize with your family and friends. Having a good time and nurturing relationships does not always have to revolve around food. Remember: we eat to live, not live to eat.

 

Until next week,

The Weekend Runner.