Mental Health
Posted: May 25, 2012 Filed under: everything else | Tags: food, mental health, pray, run, sleep Leave a comment »
Sleeping Through the Sunrise
Posted: April 18, 2012 Filed under: everything else 4 Comments »Has happened to me just about everyday this week! Working on getting back on a runner’s schedule since my Spring Break hiatus.
More Muslim Women Marathon!
Posted: April 1, 2012 Filed under: everything else | Tags: hijabis, marathons, Muslim, running, women 2 Comments »At the recent National Marathon in Washington D.C., with sights of The White House, Capitol, Senate, and House buildings; monuments of presidents and visionaries; and the historic river that still partitions this same town, I saw new flashes of faces that belong to our American fabric, too: THREE other hijabis running!
(Lack of) Progress Report
Posted: February 26, 2012 Filed under: running Leave a comment »Since my debilitating “blister break,” I’ve had the hardest time sticking to my plan: taking forever to get out the door, lacking rhythm during the run, and even calling the day off more than once. I have yet to earn a full star. At 3 weeks away here is my new plan: to run. Godwilling.
Universal Muslim Season
Posted: February 24, 2012 Filed under: everything else 2 Comments »When Muslims pass each other, we greet one another with peace: “AsalaamuAlaikum.” Getting or giving a greeting of peace from a stranger makes my day.
I always say AsalaamuAlaikum to women that are clearly identified (i.e. with hijab). Usually the salaam is returned with a smile. But after a stream of awkward salaams, I realized that in the winter time, everyone looks Muslim!
Bundled up in layers with scarves and hats, we all look the same. I love the universality of that, and although not everyone understands my salaams, I wish peace upon everyone, in winter and summer alike.
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: “O (my) people, spread greetings (of peace), feed people (in need), keep ties of kinship, and pray during the night while the others sleep, and you will enter paradise in peace.”
Fiqh-us-Sunnah, Volume 2, Number 21
I will inshaAllah
Posted: February 6, 2012 Filed under: faith, running Leave a comment »I used to think that running could solve all my problems: discipline, focus, time management, stress reliever, anxiety evaporator, immune system booster, body toner, fierce challenger, constant helper, social connector, creativity outlet, opportunity to achieve, continual improvement, betterment of the self, and much more. 
And it does: while engaged in the act. But when it ends, if my paper’s not done, it’s still not done. If I didn’t feel like writing it before the run, I probably still don’t feel like writing it. But at least now I WILL inshaAllah.
Popcorn Cereal
Posted: February 4, 2012 Filed under: food | Tags: cereal, popcorn, recipe Leave a comment »I love cereal, but I don’t typically buy it. When I do, I reserve the box for breakfast only. Something about store cereal is so addictive; like Oreos. So I recently developed my own cereal, from seed to spoon in 5 minutes!
1. Air pop corn kernels
2. Top with honey
3. Add milk
And now you have fresh cereal! For an extra twist, add toasted oats, dried fruit, or nuts.
National Marathon Training Schedule
Posted: February 1, 2012 Filed under: running | Tags: training 2 Comments »The National Marathon is just 7 weeks away, and so far, I have had issues adhering to my schedule. I am more likely to follow through if I broadcast to the world wide web, and reward myself with check marks and stars. So here’s my plan to rock D.C. on March 17!
50 Push Ups
Posted: January 29, 2012 Filed under: everything else | Tags: fitness, push-ups 2 Comments »I’ve always wanted to do as many push-ups as my sister. But I will start with 50 first! To go from 5 to 50, the trick is to do more push-ups. If you must count, do your base number of good form push-ups, say X, 6 times a day. Consider it a commercial break in life. Every 5 days increase X by 1. It is a slow additive algorithm, but should get me to 50 by summer, which is the next time I will see my sister inshaAllah!
I shop in Men’s
Posted: January 28, 2012 Filed under: faith, running | Tags: clothing, men's, women's 4 Comments »Today a representative from Under Armour’s female clothing line joined my running group to share some samples and ask for feedback. Around mile 4, I explained to her that as a Muslim woman, I have a hard time finding comfortable shirts and pants in the women’s section: everything is made way too tight. She thought about it, and went through different options
- Yoga sweatpants–light and loose, but not made out of technical fabrics
- Winter running pants–”only tight around the hips so that they stay on, then they’re loose at the legs”
- No luck in shirts; perhaps jackets.
I explained that I prefer technical lightweight fabrics, and need the pants to remain loose from hips to ankels for full religious and athletic comfort. After trying on hundreds of women’s running pants and tops, I finally discovered that they don’t make what I want, so I turned to another avenue: MEN’S!
“Really? How interesting.”
Yup, I buy all my running stuff (except socks, shoes, hats, and stuff like that) from the men’s section, where they actually make pants that are loose the whole way through, and shirts that don’t stick to the skin.
How do the pants “stay on” even though they’re not tight at the hips? Why is clothing made tight for women and loose for men? Until we establish equal clothing options for men and women, I have no problem shopping in men’s. Any other ladies wish we had equal options in women’s?
