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Eid Mubarak

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Compared to the millions of Muslims around the world, I'd imagine my Eid was a little bit different to how it is traditionally celebrated.  From what I have learnt from speaking with my Muslim friends and from observing social media, many Muslims will take the day off school or work to maximise the celebrations with their families and friends. In my case, I headed to work as normal this morning, but I did so with a spring in my step. After enjoying a cupcake last night with my friend Zenab, I already had a taste for sugar when I woke up this morning. After just 5 hours sleep I grazed my way through a sausage (first time eating pork since the day before Ramadan) and a cupcake before making my morning coffee (similarly, this was my first coffee since the day before Ramadan). This would be more than enough food to start any normal day, but as I drove closer to work I became transfixed on an old vice; a large Mocha from Tim Hortons. As I pulled in to the Linwood 'Timmy ...
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Day 29: Cupcakes and Traffic Jams

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Today (Wednesday) was the last day of fasting this Ramadan and I have to say I am very pleased to have reached this point! It feels like such a long time since I strolled through Glenboig Park speaking to myself for an Instagram story, saying how easy my first day had been. As I write, my 29th and final Iftar has been and gone and Eid-al-Fitr has been officially announced by Glasgow Central Mosque tonight, because the new moon has been sighted. I hadn't arranged for an extravagant meal tonight - I've been keeping it simple for a week or so - but tomorrow and in to the weekend I am going to really enjoy myself in the eating department.  In Islam it is forbidden to fast during Eid and I am 100% behind this mandatory and celebratory instruction. As I discussed earlier this week, Eid is a time to celebrate indulgently and exchange gifts and blessings with your family, friends and neighbours. I will definitely be indulging without guilt, anxiety or consideration for my preferred eat...
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Day 28: Ramadan relationships

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Yesterday was the first day in the whole month of Ramadan that I managed to steal some 1-1 time with the student who inspired my Ramadan experience. 'R', as we will still call him, is quite a quiet fella. He really keeps himself to himself and doesn't often want to ask you for anything if he is in a group situation. When I was checking over the afternoon activities to see what my duties were that day, I saw that R had decided to stay with the non-sport group, which I had also been assigned to. This wasn't like him, as he'll always usually choose football when he has the choice.  I stole him for a quiet word shortly after and asked if he would like to join me to practise calisthenics instead. The group he was going to be with were all younger and far less mature than him, so I thought he'd appreciate some more man-to-man time if given the opportunity. R accepted and after lunch we headed off to Knockhill Park in Renfrew to train and hang out on the bars together....
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Day 27: What is Eid?

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The end of Ramadan approaches and Muslim families around the world will be starting to prepare for the huge celebration at the end; Eid-al-Fitr , the festival of breaking the fast.  In Arabic, Eid literally translates loosely as  festival . This celebration is intended to be a day of sharing goodwill with as many people you are able to (or allowed to, if you are someone who adheres to the Scottish Government's current guidance for Coronavirus and socialising with other households). Families will visit each others homes, exchange gifts and share an abundance of sugary treats; which sounds an awful lot like Christmas for us non-religious types.  From a quick internet search, it seems people from different countries will have different ways of celebrating Eid, as well as different sweet treats or important foods that they wouldn't celebrate Eid without. For example, it is suggested in many only articles that in Turkey Baklava and Turkish Delight are one of the mo...
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Day 26: Is it Eid already?

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Today has been a typical Sunday during Ramadan. I don't really have a lot to do, or whatever I have to do, it isn't enough and I suffer a frustrating demotivation to do anything else. I've launched a new fitness class ( #UnbrokenRecovery at Hogganfield Loch, Stepps ), done the big shop, spent quality time with Junior, and completed my workout; and still, I clock watch. The fasting day is now just shy of 3 hours longer than when it started in the wee hours of April 14th. I have been eating one meal a day for the past 5 days and it has been fairly comfortable as far as energy levels are concerned. Hydration too has settled in to a rhythm with 6 pints a day again now that I'm not eating as much food. However, hunger runs wild in my mind for about 10 hours a day. When I'm not working, it's a very long wait for Iftar. There is an elephant in the room that may be contributing to this; sugar. My increased sugar intake actually began the day before Ramadan b...
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Day 25: The Midnight League

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Throughout my research in writing about Ramadan from an athletic and sporting perspective, football has repeatedly come up. From an academic research perspective, there is far more evidence available involving football and Ramadan than any other sport. This isn't just specific to the UK either. However, researching media articles also shows football as a sport that generates the most discussion specific to Ramadan and athletes who are fasting. This makes fair sense, as football is the most popular sport in the UK. But, I had hoped to learn more about the effects of fasting in a wider range of sports during my Ramadan journey. However, I won't complain about this, because I have two very good football-specific stories to tell today. On the evening of Monday 26th April Leicester City were playing Crystal Palace in the Premier League. I'm excited to say that for the first time in British football history (as far as I can recall or seek confirmation via the Internet) an elite-l...
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Day 24: Detaching from my ego

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This week was a bit of a different week for me with regards to Ramadan and my training - mainly because I didn't do any. After receiving my injury rehabilitation and deep tissue treatment with Ashleigh at Kyniska Sports Therapy , I accepted her advice and rested for 2 full days. Resting is never my favourite thing to do! But I took my medicine and tried to see it as an opportunity to catch up on sleep and adjust to the even shorter eating/hydrating window between fasts. I actually ended up resting for 4 days! 2 of these days were not intended, but I was absolutely exhausted in the evenings after delivering my Personal Training sessions and doing bedtime for James Junior. I was also going to bed much sooner after breaking my fast and didn't set alarms to wake up for extra water. The window for eating and drinking is only 4 hours long now as the countdown to Eid begins. I simply can't eat a second meal any more and I'm feeling very comfortable energy-wise just eating a bi...
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