5 Tips For Running In Winter

This is how you run in winter; first thing’s first DO NOT OVER LAYER!  I did this two winters ago and nearly threw away my hoodie halfway into my run.  I still do not know why I thought wearing a tshirt, light sweater and a hoodie was a great idea, DO NOT DO IT.  Back then what I didn’t realise was that even though the temperature is pretty cold when you leave the house after some distance your body heats up.

Below are a few tips I use when it’s time to run in winter:

• Invest in a pair of gloves.  The gloves I have are touchscreen gloves meaning I can still operate my phone during my run without having to take them off.  If you don’t need to use your phone then an ordinary pair ($1) will still do the trick so if you start feeling too hot you can always shove them in your jacket pocket, if you lose them it won’t be a train smash.
• A woolen hat will also be ideal because it will keep your ears warm and protected from the cold wind.
• Make yourself visible; this applies in any other season by the way.  I now have to leave the house at 6:00 am when the sun is out so that I can see where I am going.  On occasions I choose to run earlier say 5:30 am I make sure I wear reflective or fluorescent gear and my good friend Amy goes all out and wears a headlamp during her runs.  I should invest in one as well!
• Run twice a day.  I am NOT an evening runner but sometimes it’s too cold to even begin to imagine going out for a 10K run.  Instead, on very rare I will run my 5K in the morning and the other 5K in the evening, that way I complete my set mileage for the day and also not freeze my ass off in the process.
• Stretch, stretch, stretch.  I can not emphasise this enough times.  You need to warm up before and after your runs.  Winter isn’t too kind to the body; you want to keep your body warm and flexible.  The plan is to prevent injuries and if you stretch religiously your body will be eternally grateful.
• *BONUS TIP* Make sure someone knows that you have gone for a run, which route you have taken and how long you expect to run for in case something happens to you along the way.  Safety first!

Image from Pinterest

Remember summer bodies are made in winter.  You do not want to be the only one dreading to go out to swim,play tennis, rock their short summer dress or shorts because of all the winter weight you gained because you were not exercising.  Get up and do something, winter is the best time to get your fit on!

P.S I have running gear available and you should check out my shop you might find something you like.

Maintaining your regular routine, no matter what the weather, keeps excuses at bay!

Fitness Bae®

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Spar Rainbow Run

Yesterday I attended my first ever Rainbow Run.  True to their word Spar was open for registration at exactly 7am, talk about great time keeping skills!  The Rainbow Run was open for all ages and it was a great way to spend Mothers Day.

Image captured by ZOL

Distances covered included 2.5km, 5km or 10km colour run and the best part was you could either run or walk.  Unfortunately the event was delayed because a lot of people didn’t keep time so registration took forever and a day.  My intention was to run 5km but when we eventually started nearly an hour than the advertised time it was uncomfortably hot so my friends and I chose to walk instead.  I bumped into so many familiar faces and some of my Twitter friends came to life!

 

With Ropa from Twitter

With Xavier from Facebook

With my good friend Shami 🙂

Great Vibes!

There were lots of fun activities for both adults and children.  Food stalls as well as a bar were conveniently placed within the venue.  There was a hive of activity it’s unfortunate that I didn’t get to go through each and every stand.

You can view more pictures from the Spar Facebook Page over here.

The Rainbow Run was in a charity event to raise money to assist vulnerable young people in our community and we managed to raise $30 000!

My highlight of the entire event were the exploding colours.  You can check out the video from my Facebook Page over here.  A truck would pass by runners or walkers and fire away colours that would turn into colourful clouds.  I felt like a child again.  The excitement was unbelievable!  There was part of the route where colour was spewed on the road and participants stopped to take pictures, roll on the ground and cover themselves with different colours and grab a refreshment of sort that was provided.

What I loved about the Rainbow Colour Run:

• The massage I received after my run from Massage Cafe, my body is so tense it’s unbelievable!
• Networking, I made new contacts that I’m going to be putting to great use.
• The amount of fun and laughter I experienced, I forgot about all my worries for an entire day.
• I got to spend Mothers Day surrounded by happy people.

Yesterday was an entire mood. I experienced Saturday vibes on a Sunday! 

Have you been to a Rainbow Run before?  If yes what was your experience like?

Fitness Bae®

Swimming In Summer

Swimming is your best friend if you’re looking for a low impact sport.  I started swimming when I was still in preschool because all my siblings were involved in different sporting activities which included swimming so I was bound to join in.

Fitness Bae

 

Some of the reasons why you should swim in summer:

• Swimming beats any form of exercise on a hot summer day.
• You can enjoy swimming on your own or with friends, it’s really up to you.  I like to time my workouts so I usually spend at least 30 minutes doing a few laps and the rest of the 30 minutes just floating about and enjoying the cool water against my skin.
• Best stress buster after running!
• Swimming is gentle on your joints.  After my half marathon a few weeks ago my body has been in all sorts of aches and pains especially my hips and feet.  After my swimming session my joints felt so much better.  I spend way too much pounding my feet on the ground during my road runs.  You should see my feet, my toes, my word my toenails are even falling off!!! Sadly that’s a topic for another day…
• No matter how old you are, you can always go swimming.  I started swimming at age 5 and decades later I’m still at it.  I know I will still be enjoying a few laps of my favorite breast stroke even in my 60s.

 

 

OMG look at those abs!

With my friend Tawanda

Saturday well spent 🙂

You might be reading this and thinking but I don’t know how to swim; fear not, it’s never too late to try something new.  Add swimming to your to-do-list!

What’s your favourite form of exercise, the one you can do for the rest of your life?

Fitness Bae®

Half Marathon With Bon Marché

I’m going to run my second half marathon to date on Saturday and I’m excited!  Running makes me happy.  Running keeps me sane.  Running is the definitely the next best thing after sex, well; for me anyway!

On our way home yesterday my colleague, Tawanda, asked me what I was going to be up to over the weekend and I leisurely told him I wanted to go for the Bon Marché Walk-A-Robix but the location is too far seeing that I’m not mobile.  It was my lucky day because he was going with his friend Gloria; and she called a few minutes after we had the half marathon conversation.  She was registering for both of them and I begged him to ask her to do the same for me and I’d reimburse her money.  A few minutes later she called to confirm that everything was in order, happy days!

Why I love Bon Marché fitness dos:

1. They’re reasonably priced, $5 gets you a t-shirt or vest and they are good quality too!  I still have my t-shirt from the very first do I attended close to 3 years ago.
2. They’re organised; nothing makes me happy as much as event organisers who keep time.
3. They serve refreshments, no need to worry about packing my own water bottle.
4. It’s a colourful event, it brings a lot of fitness enthusiasts together, just watch this space for the selfies I’m going to take.
5. They’re fitness competitions after the run so you stand a chance to walk away with a cool prize!

After taking another look at the running route I noticed that it’s ending at 18K, well, the overzealous me will run all the way to get to 21k, why stop when I can hit my actual target?

You can register at any of their 8 Bon Marché branches.  However, YOU CAN NOT register on the day.

I hope to see you there.  I know I’ll be there seeing that I’ve already paid for it!

What are you doing this Saturday?

Fitness Bae®

Shout out to Gloria for getting us to to the venue in one piece; she’s the one with the pretty lipstick.

Before the run

After the run with my friend Tawanda

Photo courtesy of Xavier, he’s a member of my Facebook Fitness Community

Fitness Bae

Zumba!

I last got some Zumba workout done close to two months ago.  You can imagine my excitement when I received an email notifying me that Zorro was hosting a free Zumba session! The first thing I did was message my friend Shami to let her know that we were going to be attending this do come rain or shine.  Come Saturday, I was there 30 minutes late and Shami was right on time; shame on me!

We clocked in a good hour of different music genres and danced the morning away.  I was in my zone; dancing makes me happy!

Zorro, Shami, Fitness Bae

The outing would be incomplete without a selfie with Zorro.  He’s really good at his craft.  The event was mainly to support the underprivileged so people came through with donations of any sort including but not limited to money, clothing and groceries.  I donated a few clothes that don’t fit anymore thanks to all this running I do.

Goofing around 🙂

It’s always great to do something different every now and again, even better if your friends can come along.

What fitness fun did you get up to this weekend?

Fitness Bae®

5 Reasons Why I Love Banting

I follow Tata on social media and she has her banting game on lock!  If I didn’t love carbs so much I would have tried out her diet because her plating is too pretty to resist!  Today she shares with me the reasons why she loves banting.

Egg Muffins

Stuffed Squash

Egg Roll

Chia Seed Pudding & Fresh Cream

 

Caulie Hash Browns & Poached Eggs

1. It doesn’t feel too much like a diet, imagine eating all the bacon, cheese and eggs in the world and still loosing weight!
2. I don’t feel bloated as much as I do when I’m on high carb which means no burping all day long anymore, thank the stars!
3. I love it because doubled with intermittent fasting (8pm-12pm) I dont feel like I’m starved and quarter to death anymore.  Hunger doesn’t come rapidly like when your glucose levels go low.  Fat adaption means staying fuller for a longer time.
4. Did i say bacon?
5. For the first time I have found a diet which doesn’t make me want to quit after a few days. I wont lie, its hard walking into the grocery store and not reach for Oreos,chocolate, fizzy drinks and all the scrumptious enemy of progress junk food God created… (sometimes I grab them anyway, I’m human after all). But for some reason I find banting to be sustainable, doable and also fun. I really enjoy making my meals and getting creative, the kitchen is now my favourite place to be in!

A big thank you to Tata for taking time out to share her mouth watering meals; you can find her on:

Instagram: #girlversusketo

YouTube:  THE TATA_TAINMENT

Do you have a food diary?  If yes, which methods of documentation do you use and where do you get your meal inspiration from?

Fitness Bae®

 

 

 

The Life Colour Run

The number 1 reason I’m going to attend this colour run is because it’s in my neighbourhood and I have zero excuses not to show up!  I’m going to register for the 5K run mainly because I did my 21K just last weekend my body needs a break!

See you at the colour run!

Fitness Bae®