Winter Running

Here in Michigan we finally got our first snow... yayyyyy! (sarcastic tone)

Although I hate cold weather, I do enjoy running in the snow. The cool, crisp air is so refreshing against your skin especially when your body temperature is raised from moving around. Before running in cold weather conditions you need to be prepared...

Two of the most important things to cover when running in the cold is your chest and your hands! You need to protect your lungs from the cold air, and if you're not wearing gloves your hands will FREEZE. I know this from experience. I wear a vest rather than a jacket when running. With a vest your chest and core are covered, but you won't overheat like you would with a jacket. If you don't have a vest than you can wrap a scarf around your neck and chest. I'd also suggest covering your ears when running. I've never ran with my ears uncovered since I wear a headscarf, but I can imagine that ears would get really cold and don't easily warm up.

When you start your run you will feel cold and it might be uncomfortable for the first 5-10 minutes, but once your body warms up you will feel amazing. Most people complain about their lungs burning when they run in the cold. As I've mentioned in a previous post, you must breathe properly... in through your nose and out through your mouth. This is essential in the cold because when you breathe in through your nose all of the little hairs in your nose warm up the air before it reaches your lungs. If you breathe in through your mouth, the cold air will hit your lungs really hard and you will feel a burn. You may even feel some discomfort breathing correctly, but if you are persistent and keep at it you will find it gets easier with each run.

I encourage everyone to try running in the snow and/or the rain just for the experience. It is invigorating and will make you truly feel alive. It awakens your senses and for me, few things can compare.

Commenting and Comments! Please read

It has been brought to my attention by many readers that they are unable to leave comments on posts and/or they were not able to see the comments they published. I changed the settings and now anyone can comment. Thank you all for reading! I really do appreciate your feedback:):)

New Moms!!! This is for you

A lot of new moms ask for my advice about working out after having a baby. My first, and most important, piece of advice is to wait after delivering to start working out regularly. Generally, the rule of thumb is to wait 6 weeks to workout after birth. It is very important to allow your body time to rest and heal. Having a baby is very traumatizing for our bodies.

Having said that... the biggest challenge is finding the time to workout with baby. As the old saying goes, "If you really want something, you will make the time for it." You don't have to go to a gym to workout, you can workout from home. When I had my children I worked out at home for a few months before I joined a gym. I would wait until the kids were either napping or sleeping for the night and then I would follow workout dvd's. I liked the Tae-bo dvd's and gradually made my way to doing P90X workouts. There are a variety of workout dvd's that you can choose from that would suit your preference from dance videos, to kickboxing, pilates, etc. The point is that you don't need to leave the comfort of your home to start a workout regimen.

Another thing that helped me was investing in workout equipment like an elliptical machine and some free weights. I would use the elliptical whenever I had some downtime, as well as using the free weights. There really is no excuse for not working out when you have the tools at home to do it. You can also buy a jogging stroller if you want to go out and jog/run with your baby, or take long walks.

At some point you will become tired of using the same equipment and watching the same dvd's, at this point I suggest you enroll in a gym. Many people are intimidated by gyms, but if you've been working out and building your strength before enrolling it should not be as scary. There are many gyms that have day care centers in them so you can bring your baby with you. Again, there really are no excuses when you have options. If you don't have a gym in your area with a child care center, then you can look into 24 hour gyms where you can workout late after you kids are sleeping or early in the a.m. before they rise.

For every excuse you can come up with, there are a number of options to counter those excuses. Having a baby changes your life drastically and they become your priority, but that does not mean you forget about yourself! As mothers we need to especially take care of ourselves because a happy mother breeds a happy baby. Also, you will set a good example for your child when they see you living a healthy lifestyle:)

Music- What moves you?

I love music. Music moves me physically and emotionally. When I go for long runs I put my headphones on and get lost in the music, and in my thoughts. Having music that motivates you to move is a great way to enjoy your workouts. I frequently add new songs to my playlist so that I don't get bored with my music. Every time a new song comes on I get a burst of energy... it's almost exciting!

Music can also move you emotionally. My playlist is a hodgepodge of upbeat house music, R & B, hip pop, pop, Arabic music, Indian music, some country, and the list goes on. As I run and listen to the variety of songs I am in tune with my feelings because each song brings about a different emotion. It's good to be able to allow yourself to feel, especially if you're feeling things you normally don't like to face. In one run I might find myself wanting to cry, smile, laugh, or even get angry. It's like a roller coaster of emotions, but at the end of the run I always feel great. I realize that life is a roller coaster of events that will make us feel many different ways, but in the end it always turns out just fine. 

Allowing yourself to go through the emotions can help you move past whatever you are feeling. Bottling it up and swallowing it down will keep those emotions prisoner. Run and feel the wind and let all of your thoughts fly away and get lost in yourself. When my headphones are on no one exists but me, myself, and I. 

Here are some songs from my playlist:

Tupac ft. Snoop Dogg- 2 of America's Most Wanted

Psy- Gangnam Style

Nicki Minaj- Va va voom

Pitbull ft. Havana Brown - We Run the Night

Alicia Keys- Girl on Fire

Usher ft. Swedish House Mafia- Euphoria

Akon- Takin it Off

Outasight- Tonight is the Night

La Roux- In for the Kill

Seal- Kiss from a Rose

Inna- Love

Hakim- Haboso

Gorillaz- Dare

Dev- Breathe

Adele- Skyfall

This is just to name a few! 

Friends with benefits...

Working out can be fun! A great motivator for working out is having an awesome workout buddy. My workout buddy is Manal B :) 

I encourage anyone who wants to start working out to find a friend that can be their workout buddy; someone who is motivated and will motivate you. It's easy to make excuses when you're alone as to why you can't find or make the time. When you have a friend reminding you it's a lot harder to make those excuses. 

Running is not the only way to be active, there are many fun things that you can do to be active. Some of the things that Manal and I do is play basketball, lift weights, and sign up for super-duper awesome group events like Warrior Dash and Tough Mudder (see pics below :-D )

**A tip that might be helpful is to sign up for an event with a friend/s and use that event as a goal that you are working towards and start training for it. (There are group events held all throughout the year, just look up events in your area).**

Working out has it's obvious benefits, but spending time with friends also has it's benefits. You feel good when you're around people who are positive and who have a positive impact on your life.  Just like a good workout can lift your moods, so can being around a good friend. Put the two together and that's just a recipe for the best day -EVER-

Make each day count, work towards the changes you want in your life and bring your friends with you. 

"People often say that motivation doesn't last. Well, neither does bathing-that's why we recommend it daily."

-Zig Ziglar

                     After Warrior Dash   7/30/11                           Before Tough Mudder   4/14/12

Life is about creating yourself

A saying is only "cliche" when one doesn't fully grasp the meaning, truth, or wisdom behind it. You can hear a saying and it can sound nice, but when you understand it and have experienced that truth then it is a part of your reality.

"Life isn't about finding your self, life is about creating your self."

"Happiness starts from within."

"Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself."

These are just a few examples, but the key is that every person has the power in them to create a happy and beautiful life. If you place your happiness in someone, or something, than they have power over you because your happiness is not within you. If that person or something is no longer in your life, then your happiness has died with them. We were brought into this world alone and we will leave this world alone so it's best we make a friend out of our self and we take care of our self. 

People are always on a journey to find themselves, and what a beautiful journey that is! But the reality is that you will find yourself within yourself. The real search is in finding what will make you the best you you can be. (what a tongue twister!) What makes you happy? What makes you upset? What motivates you to be better? What brings you down? When you find the answer to these questions and you implement those answers into living a happier/healthier life than you are creating a better you.

Listen to the voice within you. Follow your intuitions. Be good to everyone around you. Be good to yourself. Treat yourself  like you would any loved one.

When you look good..

I believe it was the football player Deion Sanders who said, "If you look good, you feel good. If you feel good, you play good." Well, I don't really know much about Deion Sanders, but what he said is a true story! So when I go to the gym, or when I'm getting ready to work out, I usually shower first. People give me a hard time for this because they think you should just shower after your workout since you're going to get all sweaty anyway. WRONNG! I mean, yes, you will get sweaty after your workout and you will need to shower after, but I think it's important to prepare for your workout as well. To look good and clean before you start because it gets you in a mental place where you feel really good and when you feel good, you play good! Not only should you shower or freshen up, but you should wear clothes that are clean and match!
I can't stand when I see people at the gym looking like raggedy Ann. You want to feel good about yourself and it starts with taking care of yourself. It's not about vanity or impressing anyone... it's about yourself.

It's just like any job or profession where you have to wear a uniform or follow a dress guideline... the purpose behind it is to get you in the mindset that will prepare you for that job. So when you go to work out it's like you're going to work where you put in your hours (yes, HOURS!) I would encourage anyone who is seriously thinking about working out regularly that they invest in some nice work out clothes for when they go to put in their "work." Believe me, when you start to see results and you feel good about yourself when you look in the mirror you won't want to stop.

I freaking LOVE running!!!

So I was looking at motivational running quotes and, seriously, some of them brought tears to my eyes. Yeah, you might laugh at me, but this ish is real! I freaking love running and it makes me feel amazing and at the times I get that runner's high I feel on top of the world! When you get that runner's high there is a moment of clarity where everything seems so beautiful and you realize that life truly is beautiful as long as you make your world a beautiful place.. Do the things you love! Do the things that make you and those around you happy.
Nothing makes me happier than knowing that, just by my doing what I love -running- that I inspire other people to want to become active and start living a healthier lifestyle.
Surrreee, people can get high other ways. I know, I'm from Ann Arbor :-D ...  BUT with runner's high you get no negative side effects! Only positive results!
Ok, so what's your excuse? Start moving!!! Well, not right now cause it's 1:30 am EST, but tomorrow, or even now.... I mean, I've done P90X and Tae-bo at 2am, so I guess now is better than never. The point is, there are no excuses. If you want it, you can get it, you just gotta work for it. This is what I look like when I'm super happy... I rarely smile big for pics so this is a rare caption...

I got more than I bargained for

When I started running it was so that I could get back into shape, but I got more than just "my body back." I also got a different perspective on how to face roadblocks in life and I definitely learned discipline. 

When I first started running I saw results almost immediately, but after a couple of months I hit a plateau that I was stuck on for over a month. This is usually the time that people give up on their efforts - when they stop seeing the results. As frustrated as I was that I was putting in the work and not seeing results, I made a choice to keep at it. I kept working out, but I re-evaluated what I was doing and looked to see where I could make improvements. I decided to cut things out of my diet that I knew were working against my goal, like pop, and I made my workouts a little longer than I was used. Soon after, I started to see results again.

Hitting a plateau is part of the cycle with working out and fitness goals. Every time I would hit a plateau I would make a change where I saw fit. The point is I never stopped running and I was looking for places to make necessary changes. I've achieved my goal of becoming physically fit, and I'm always setting new goals for myself.

All of this can translate into anything in one's life. Now I know, from experience, that when you set a goal for yourself and you keep that goal ahead of you and you are patient, persistent, and determined that you can and will accomplish that goal. Also, I know that there is ALWAYS room for improvement. Once you've achieved a goal you can always look forward to how you can improve. Someone once told me that we are our truest selves at the moment we die. As long as we are living and working towards being a better person tomorrow than we are today, then when we die we will be our greatest. It takes discipline, but it is well worth it.

I wasn't always a "runner"

Some people think that being a runner is in your genetic make-up, but this is not true! I was definitely no runner when I started out. I took it one day at a time and set small goals for myself. My first goal was to be able to run one mile without stopping. The trick was that I would run and if I felt winded, or tired, I wouldn't walk, rather I would take it to an extremely slow jog. Once I caught my breath, I would pick up the pace again. The key is to not walk when your tired or else you will never train your body to run without stopping. When you do slow down your pace to a very light jog you want to take in nice, deep breaths. In through your nose... out through your mouth. Breathing properly is extremely important!!! Although we breathe without thinking, breathing the "correct" way takes effort and doesn't come naturally for most people. So starting out you want to

1. Run at a comfortable pace
2. When you feel tired, take it down to a slow jog
3. Make sure you are always breathing in through your nose, out through your mouth! Nice, deep breaths
4. Pick your pace back up

I did this until I hit the one mile goal. After my goal of a mile, I made a two mile goal and so on. Once I was able to run 3-4 miles without stopping I started to truly feel like a runner. I didn't need to take the breaks of going into a really slow jog, I could just keep running until my goal was met. The first ever group run I participated in was the Big House Big Heart 6k on 10/04/09 in Ann Arbor, Mi. My time was 1:03:15.4 I started running in October of 2008. After one year I ran my first 10k in a little over an hour! I was very proud of myself, needless to say. Today I run full marathons and I run about 5-6 days a week. With patience comes progress and results!

First Post

I never really understood blogging and what it is that bloggers do, but like I always say... Never say never! So here I am creating my very own blog.
I decided to make a blog because I found myself repeating the same story of how I got into running to everyone who asked. With this blog I can talk about my journey of living a very active lifestyle and maintaining it.
I am a mother of two, and after my second child I realized that I was not happy with the transformation my body made. I have always been an active person but I decided that I wanted to dive into the world of fitness and bounce back to the person I always vision myself being (a slim, fit, active woman!)
It was not an easy task to commit myself to working out regularly and finding the time to do it, but I was persistent and was determined.
I'll write another post with all the juicy details, but it's 2 am right now and I haven't even changed out of my gym clothes or showered and I'm pretty tired.
To be continued....