I'm a high school distance runner (1600, 3200) and am also a Muslim. I've been looking for answers on when to train online but all of the info is outdated from previous Ramadans that were over the summer. I've been stressing out on how to time my workouts, specifically harder ones (track workouts). Racing season has already started and I've done sub-par so far for me. I've just had a couple of breakthrough workouts during our non-race week and I cannot express how much I want to do well this year. I don't want to go backwards when I'm finally breaking out and everyone is pushing me forward. There are races during the month of fasting this year, and state is a month out from Eid. I do two-three workouts a week whether thats on the track or a tempo. I'm also wondering how else I can improve on my running whilst fasting. Don't have to be a Muslim to answer and please no discriminatory comments, I'm just looking for some advice. If any other info is needed I'll gladly supply most of it.
Ramadan during racing season? How is it done
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Hope you live in a time zone (well, a place within a time zone) where you don’t have to wake up super early. Doubling is tough but I assume you’re not doing that. The focus is the same - even on race days, eat a massive breakfast that’ll give you energy throughout the day. also make sure you’re very well hydrated before. If you run at like 4 or 5, you should only have ~2-3 hours until sunset
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The performance hit is inevitable, but if you do Ramadan like everyone else (98%+) you'll escape mostly unscathed. How?
Fast during the day and feast after sundown. Although it defeats the 'noble purpose' of Ramadan you'll come away with a decent caloric surplus. Sure it's not optimal to schedule meals this way, but the alternative is living free of superstition and the associated social expectations which is downright scary for a lot of people.
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ramadanracer wrote:
I'm a high school distance runner (1600, 3200) and am also a Muslim. I've been looking for answers on when to train online but all of the info is outdated from previous Ramadans that were over the summer. I've been stressing out on how to time my workouts, specifically harder ones (track workouts). Racing season has already started and I've done sub-par so far for me. I've just had a couple of breakthrough workouts during our non-race week and I cannot express how much I want to do well this year. I don't want to go backwards when I'm finally breaking out and everyone is pushing me forward. There are races during the month of fasting this year, and state is a month out from Eid. I do two-three workouts a week whether thats on the track or a tempo. I'm also wondering how else I can improve on my running whilst fasting. Don't have to be a Muslim to answer and please no discriminatory comments, I'm just looking for some advice. If any other info is needed I'll gladly supply most of it.
Salam Alaykum, brother.
1. Fajr - good meal. Eggs, daal, chapati, etc.fruit.
2. Fast during day, including good sleep, 1-2 hours.Work around your schedule.
3. About 1 hour before IFTAR, run your mileage, but not high intensity.
4. IFTAR, break fast with light foods to start. Then good meal, protein, carbs, veggies. Easy on the sweets to avoid weight gain!
5. Before bed - another light snack.
One one month passes quickly and you don't lose much fitness at all if you trained sensibly. Just realise that you won't be able to do the same intensity but if you do everything properly you will still maintain very good fitness during Ramadan despite the fasting.
Salam. Bismillah, etc.Insh Allah, may Allah bring you a good life, brother
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ramadanracer wrote:
I'm a high school distance runner (1600, 3200) and am also a Muslim. I've been looking for answers on when to train online but all of the info is outdated from previous Ramadans that were over the summer. I've been stressing out on how to time my workouts, specifically harder ones (track workouts). Racing season has already started and I've done sub-par so far for me. I've just had a couple of breakthrough workouts during our non-race week and I cannot express how much I want to do well this year. I don't want to go backwards when I'm finally breaking out and everyone is pushing me forward. There are races during the month of fasting this year, and state is a month out from Eid. I do two-three workouts a week whether thats on the track or a tempo. I'm also wondering how else I can improve on my running whilst fasting. Don't have to be a Muslim to answer and please no discriminatory comments, I'm just looking for some advice. If any other info is needed I'll gladly supply most of it.
I can only empathize with you. I had a runner who had raced a 3200 during Ramadan and ran out of gas mid race because we didn't do enough hard training sessions to prepare him. However this was during the indoor season.
My only suggestion is to continue to train but understand that the next 3 weeks will be tough but it will make you stronger.
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Ghost1 wrote:
ramadanracer wrote:
I'm a high school distance runner (1600, 3200) and am also a Muslim. I've been looking for answers on when to train online but all of the info is outdated from previous Ramadans that were over the summer. I've been stressing out on how to time my workouts, specifically harder ones (track workouts). Racing season has already started and I've done sub-par so far for me. I've just had a couple of breakthrough workouts during our non-race week and I cannot express how much I want to do well this year. I don't want to go backwards when I'm finally breaking out and everyone is pushing me forward. There are races during the month of fasting this year, and state is a month out from Eid. I do two-three workouts a week whether thats on the track or a tempo. I'm also wondering how else I can improve on my running whilst fasting. Don't have to be a Muslim to answer and please no discriminatory comments, I'm just looking for some advice. If any other info is needed I'll gladly supply most of it.
Salam Alaykum, brother.
1. Fajr - good meal. Eggs, daal, chapati, etc.fruit.
2. Fast during day, including good sleep, 1-2 hours.Work around your schedule.
3. About 1 hour before IFTAR, run your mileage, but not high intensity.
4. IFTAR, break fast with light foods to start. Then good meal, protein, carbs, veggies. Easy on the sweets to avoid weight gain!
5. Before bed - another light snack.
One one month passes quickly and you don't lose much fitness at all if you trained sensibly. Just realise that you won't be able to do the same intensity but if you do everything properly you will still maintain very good fitness during Ramadan despite the fasting.
Salam. Bismillah, etc.Insh Allah, may Allah bring you a good life, brother
Wa Alaikum As Salaam.
How would you recommend I do my track workouts? If any at all? I've been keeping in check with my diet and sleep, making sure I get rest. It is spring break for me right now so I have time to sleep in. And how would you recommend I tell my (non-Muslim but understanding) coach about my new training regimen?
Thank you for your advice. Yarhamuk Allah.21 -
I live in the central time zone, Fajr today was around 5:30 but its going to get earlier and earlier.
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Solution Provider Guy wrote:
The performance hit is inevitable, but if you do Ramadan like everyone else (98%+) you'll escape mostly unscathed. How?
Fast during the day and feast after sundown. Although it defeats the 'noble purpose' of Ramadan you'll come away with a decent caloric surplus. Sure it's not optimal to schedule meals this way, but the alternative is living free of superstition and the associated social expectations which is downright scary for a lot of people.
Yes I understand. My parents were advising against me feasting but I feel it is the only way to recover from my runs and get nutrients.
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Pretty sure Hicham set an indoor world record, and ran some other great times during ramadan. You wont suffer much in performance.
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Tuesday, January 19, 1999
Combining
athletics with religion tries limits of body
COLUMN: Ramadan tests Muslim endurance, piety in professional
sports
Eid Mubarak. Today marks the end of the Islamic holy month of
Ramadan. Ramadan is the month where Allah revealed the Quiran to
Prophet Muhammad. Eid-Ul-Fitr was the day that the revelations from
Allah to Prophet Muhammad became complete.
During this historic month, Muslims fast from sunrise till
sunset. Not too arduous of a task during December since the days
are short.
Yet, the month of Ramadan is on the Islamic calendar and is
equivalent to 11 months. So several years ago, the month of Ramadan
was during the summer, provided Muslims to go without food or water
for durations of 15 hours.
A challenging responsibility in itself – but how would an
athlete respond?
As the Muslim population increases at a faster rate than
Christianity or Judaism in America, the influence by Muslims on
athletics has also risen.
Nowadays, Muslims participate competitively in nearly every
sport, from football and boxing they dominate, namely basketball
and distance running.
How could a Muslim athlete remain competitive vs. a non-Muslim
athlete during the holy month of Ramadan?
Most would think that the Muslim would either be markedly worse
or would try to bypass the fasting. However, both of these
statements are wrong.
The best example of performance while fasting was by Hakeem
Olajuwon of the Houston Rockets. While his squad entered the NBA
playoffs several years ago, the month of Ramadan began.
Olajuwon, being a devout Muslim, started fasting and his team
surged rather than faltered.
He would begin his fast before sunrise and would attempt to end
them after sunset. His team, however, was playing games that
coincided with the end of his fast.
Therefore, Olajuwon would fast through the games’ halftime; he
would eat, hydrate himself and do prayer during halftime, and
return to lead his team in scoring and rebounding.
The Houston Rockets went on to repeat as NBA champions.
Impressive? Definitely.
There have been other Muslims who have excelled in the
professional ranks of basketball, namely Shareef Abdur-Rahim and
Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf.
Other noted examples have come from the running world, where
Muslim athletes are more prominent than ever.
From world record holders Nourrendine Morceli and Hicham
El-Guerrouj, Muslims have been nearly invincible in the longer
distances.
But how could a runner perform without food or water? How could
he run competitively against other renowned runners? How could he
possibly break a world record?
Those questions are echoed by many and answered by few.
Morceli and El-Guerrouj hold the mile (3:43) and 1,500-meter
(3:26) world records respectively. A 3:43 mile? Incredible.
How about El-Guerrouj winning nearly every European track
circuit 1,500-meter race while fasting? Not bad.
We’ve seen Muslim athletes who have dominated boxing, such as
Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson. At UCLA, we have one of the top soccer
players in the Pac-10 in Sommer Hammoud and tennis player Hassan
Akmal – athletes in every sense of the word.
It’s not just about going without food and water for a long
time. It is becoming closer to God and having the mental strength
to know that you can succeed.
I try to follow their examples while fasting, as I push myself
to play basketball on the Rieber courts and to run on the track
during the day. But pickup games and running six-minute miles are
far from the performances of the professional Muslim athletes.
I’m still trying to perfect that fadeaway and that mile time.
Maybe next Ramadan.
Salahuddin would like to give a shout out to "the girly crew of
H22" and D-214. If you would like to find out more information
about Islam, e-mail him at .
Comments, feedback, problems?
© 1998 ASUCLA Communications Board[Home]It doesn’t cover much about what they did though. El Guerrouj dominated even while fasting
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Ask any runner named Mohammed.
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Mo Salah, one of my favorite soccer players, is Muslim. Article on what he does
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Man your tough. We have 2 Muslim runners on our team and I certainly could not make it, as I eat 5 meals a day most days. What they told me they do is eat their morning and night meals very large and nutritious, as well as drinking lots of water during those times. Hang in there!
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Apparently EPO is halal
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ramadanracer wrote:
I'm a high school distance runner (1600, 3200) and am also a Muslim. I've been looking for answers on when to train online but all of the info is outdated from previous Ramadans that were over the summer. I've been stressing out on how to time my workouts, specifically harder ones (track workouts). Racing season has already started and I've done sub-par so far for me. I've just had a couple of breakthrough workouts during our non-race week and I cannot express how much I want to do well this year. I don't want to go backwards when I'm finally breaking out and everyone is pushing me forward. There are races during the month of fasting this year, and state is a month out from Eid. I do two-three workouts a week whether thats on the track or a tempo. I'm also wondering how else I can improve on my running whilst fasting. Don't have to be a Muslim to answer and please no discriminatory comments, I'm just looking for some advice. If any other info is needed I'll gladly supply most of it.
Salaam,
The best time to do your workouts would be in the morning after suhoor. You will be sluggish the rest of the day but will maintain quality this way. work within the parameters of your schedule and listen to your body. I would do almost all my trainings in the mornings, of course if you have an easy run or light double you can always do those just before your fast and try to take those as easy as possible--it's ultimately just time on your feet. Most importantly make sure you are hydrating when you break our fast into the night, this more than anything can impact your training. Lastly pay attention to what you are eating, because you only have a small window to eat make sure you are taking in calorically dense foods that don't fill you up too much, avoid empty calories and sweets. Best of luck, insha allah you will come out of this month better for it.
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