Run : Moderate

I encourage people around me to run.

If you don't know yet, Malaysia has the highest rate of obesity in Asia. Based on this report, 49% of women and 44% of men in Malaysia are likely to be obese, that's like almost half of the population? Even when we are complaining about the rising costs of everything, we managed to spend so much on unhealthy foods. Pretty ironic, kan?

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I believe in living moderately.

Maybe at one point I can be seen as living cheap :

Running shoes as a running shoes with basic need to run instead of overpriced commercialized running shoes. Lunch as in food intake with small portion of rice, egg/fish and veggies that cost roughly RM 2.50 in Damansara meaning I do eat but not to be be full, but just to avoid empty stomach. Eat because I need energy.

Anything consume too much won't be healthy for you. You can die for playing games too long, drinking water too much, eating unhealthy foods too much, working too much. Anything. *I wonder what will it be for someone who read too much, hah.

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So this brought me to : Slow Runners Come Out Ahead by Gretchen Reynolds, this article was shared by my colleague. Even running excessively can be unhealthy for your body. I'm sure each and everyone has their own body limitation and we can't really decide on one number. 

Jogging moderately is healthy, perhaps 3 - 7km per run, 3 times a week. Mild sore muscles are normal, your body will get used to it. But running too much and causing body injuries aren't healthy. If you don't learn to listen to your body, it will eventually affect you. 

Read other article here : Too much jogging  is just as bad as doing none at all. 

"Going jogging 3 times a week for no more than 2.4 hours is optimal." Heavy joggers are as likely to die as those who don't run at all, and light joggers have the lowest rates of death. The study even show that you don't have to run marathons to keep your heart healthy, and you are even risking yourself to more cardiovascular problems in the future if you used your body too much. 

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Personal thought : That's why I don't really encourage my brother to sign-up for half-marathon or even a marathon. At one point, it depends on your will-power, marathon is a mind-game. Whether you can or you can't do, you'll push to the limit. What I don't understand is what are they trying to prove? Your body obviously doesn't need excessive work-out, this is just like eating excessively, when you can't control your desire to eat foods that you don't really need. Is this about human's ego? Whether you can reach your desired goal if you put yourself into it? Even if you are doing harm to your body in the long run.

Try thinking doing things with strong reason. Why do you run? You run because you want to be healthy, so run moderately. Just enough for your body to be fit and healthy. And maybe one day you'll find the zen in running.

Even nectar is poison if taken to excess. ~ Hindu Proverb

Imaam Ibn Al-Qayyim said: "Always encourage people to take a moderate stand, because it will rescue you from transgression. So we find the middle position between two extremes to be the most balanced and just, where a person will find all the benefits and comforts of this worldly life and the Hereafter. Furthermore, even the human body cannot live normally without the benefits of moderation. If a person is moderate when sleeping, waking, eating, drinking, exercising, in staying away or mixing with others, then the body will function properly. However, if a person goes to an extreme in one of these aspects, then the body will not function properly and the person will not live a normal life."

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