Staying fit as a family

Remember we took part in the Cold Storage Kids Run for the first time last year, how the hubby accompanied Angel for the first race of her life, how I tried to run at the sideline with Ariel in the baby carrier, how I ended up missing that golden shot of them crossing the finishing line? Gosh, I can't believe that a year has passed already!

Since I made a resolution for it to be the start of many more fun races for our family, we were excited when we were invited to participate in the Cold Storage Kids Run again this year as part of the AIA Vitality Challenge. It didn't matter that the hubby was away and couldn't make it back in time to join us, I felt ready and game enough to run my first race with my daughter.

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The night before the run, the girls and I went to bed at our usual midnight timing after a busy evening as it was my granny's 80th birthday celebration. I was all psyched up and had packed the bags, ironed the shirts, got ready our race bibs before I set the alarm for 6:00am.

At 3:30am, I jumped out of bed, half thinking I had overslept and went into a panic when I couldn't find the alarm clock. It always happens because Ariel likes to take it and hide it somewhere else in the room. It was only when I grabbed hold of my phone that I let out a sigh of relief. You can guess it was pretty much a sleepless night after that and when the alarm went off, I was all set to do a most difficult task - wake the kids.

Contrary to my expectations, both of them woke up promptly in a cheerful mood and were ready for the action. We got dressed swiftly, applied sunblock, put on our sports shoes, had a light breakfast and before we knew it, we were on our way.

Back for the seventh consecutive year, the Cold Storage Kids Run 2014 was held at a brand new venue - The Meadow at Gardens by the Bay. This year, over 5,700 kids signed up for the run and it is heartwarming to know that fellow Singaporeans are so supportive of this event. The way I see it, healthy activities such as sports and exercise are definitely one of the best platforms for children and parents to bond and keep fit at the same time.

The day started off beautifully as the sun started to rise and shine warmly upon our faces. We witnessed the flag-off of the Sporty Apple Sprint which, unlike our Happy Grapes Family Fun, was a competitive race where the children had to race on their own. Angel looked in awe as these big sisters raced off and I'm pretty sure when she turns seven, she will be one of the participants standing there and I will be the proud mum cheering my heart out.

Soon, it was time for us to report to the holding area and await for our race to begin. From last year's experience, I knew this was going to be the toughest, and hottest, part of the day because you had to squeeze in a crowd with dozens of other parents and children. This year, it was no better off. We waited for close to 50 minutes and the queue moved so slowly that some kids were starting to feel lethargic. In fact, it could get so muggy and stuffy that a kid standing behind me felt giddy and vomited on the spot.

Luckily for me, Angel was fascinated by all the grasshoppers she saw along the way and kept herself occupied by trying to spot them among the green grass. When we finally made our way to under the tentage, she was pleasantly surprised to see her friend, Dana, and her dad from Princess Dana Diaries.

We waited with heavy hearts as dull grey clouds started to block out the sun rays and a torrential downpour was imminent. You can imagine how all of us shouted "Hooray" when we finally got to the starting line and braced ourselves up for the "3, 2, 1, Go".

I held Angel's hand at the start of the race, asking her to tell me if she was ready to run and when her reply was not audible enough, I asked her to shout it out loud. The moment the horn sounded, she began to run at a good and steady speed.

You know what is ironic? I had planned on letting her pace me so that we could finish the 800m in good timing but it ended up I was the one following her the whole time. Seriously. She had to keep turning her head back to see if I was there and I kept assuring her "Mummy's here, go go go!" Halfway through, I started to pant and I wondered if my words of "Don't give up, we are almost there!" or "You can run slow but you can't quit" were meant to encourage her or myself. This girl had no intention of stopping and we began to overtake the rest one by one.

When the finishing line was in sight and we had to make the last 100m dash, I told Angel to "Run as fast as you can!" and I saw my little sprinter race to the end. I could barely muster the energy to come closely behind her and it felt totally awesome when we crossed that finishing line. It was even better when the emcee announced proudly "Angel, welcome back!" and I turned around to give my girl a big, tight hug.

I'm not shy to say it, I was really, really proud of her for doing a terrific job. Last year, she ran at a slower pace near the end but this year, she managed to dash. I do mean dash. That is what we should always aim to do in life, to get better with every experience, right? As for the certificate and the medal, she definitely earned them and it was yet another achievement for her.

We were really fortunate to have completed the race in the perfectly breezy weather because soon after, it started to drizzle. Considering the baby was sleeping and the rain was coming, I made a decision to skip the stroller race for Ariel but instead let Angel participate in the booth games where she played bowling, picked apples and threw bean bags.

Apart from the new category All-Dressed-Up Family Fun which had parents and children coming in their creative superhero costumes, we also saw children dressed as cute fruits and vegetables to promote healthy eating as part of the AIA Vitality Munchkin contest.

The AIA Vitality Munchkin contest participants. Photo Credit: AIA Singapore.

The AIA Singapore booth at the Cold Storage Kids Run 2014. Photo credit: AIA Singapore.

In addition, we spotted at least 10 lovely mascots roaming around and of course, my girls were delighted to be able to take pictures with them and gave each of them a high five.

A big thank you to the organisers, sponsors and everyone who made the Cold Storage Kids Run 2014 possible. Of course, I have to thank my best friend for waking up at 5:45am and accompanying me to the event so that Ariel had a babysitter while Angel and I were away.

It was a fun day out even though we got drenched eventually. We will definitely continue to make healthy living a way of life and stay fit as a family through sports!

For more photos from that day, visit AIA Singapore FB page here.

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AIA Vitality Mobile App

As I am attempting to live and eat healthily, I’ve always wondered how much I really burn from doing a run or how much calories I am putting on from eating a burger. This question has always crossed my mind which was why I’ve found it extremely handy to find an app to help me do just that. As an AIA Vitality member, I track mine using the AIA Vitality app which can be downloaded on both the iPhone and Android phone.

What I like about the app is that it allows you to set goals, track your workouts, log your food intake and keep a record of your workout history and fitness assessments. If you are an AIA Vitality member, you get the added benefit of earning up to 100 AIA Vitality Points a day for logging in your workout.

You can use the app to calculate your BMI, monitor your weight and even view your daily calorie budget - including how much calories you have consumed, burnt and are remaining, by logging your workouts and food intake.

Personally, I do not really log my diet because it can get time consuming to search for the food item and I've experienced cases where I totally couldn't locate the dish that I just ate. Nonetheless, I do like the idea of logging my workouts so that I can keep track of my exercise frequency and better understand the calories involved.

When logging a workout, you can choose to either "Record a workout" or "Log a manual workout". The first requires you to have a GPS signal and when completed, the route is saved as one of your preferred routes and you can also have it under Favourites. The second requires you to key in your height and weight, select your activity and enter the distance before the calories burnt can be derived.

What impressed me most was the list of workout activities to choose from, including Walking - Pushing Single Stroller, which will no doubt be my most frequent form of exercise for now. I also like how my workout history is presented in a neat list which helps me to keep track of how diligently and consistently I am keeping exercise as a way of healthy living.

Now, who says mums are too busy to workout? Let's bring out that stroller for a walk or have a family race in the park!

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AIA Vitality Membership Giveaway

A Happy Mum is now giving away 2 x AIA Vitality Memberships! Hopefully, this will encourage more families out there to eat healthy, live healthy and stay healthy. This giveaway is open to all AIA Singapore policy holders. For more information about the AIA Vitality programme, visit AIAVitality.com.sg.

To participate, all you have to do is to leave a comment in this blog post and answer this question: Name one recommended activity for children aged between 2 to 5 years old to get them active and fit.

(Hint: Visit https://www.livingvitality.aiavitality.com.sg/lv-aia-sg/articles/articleDetail/3415)

Indicate on the Rafflecopter widget that you have commented and follow the rest of the options to increase your chances of winning. Good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
 

Website: AIAVitality.com.sg 
Facebook: www.facebook.com/AIASingapore

Disclosure: This is part of a series of sponsored conversations between AIA and A Happy Mum. All information is correct at the time of post and AIA reserves all rights to amend existing clauses at its sole discretion without prior notice. In no event shall A Happy Mum be held liable for disagreements arising between AIA and any party. Neither shall I be held responsible for any indirect, consequential, incidental, special or punitive damages or losses of any kind. For more details, please visit AIAvitality.com.sg.