Showing Up for Herself: Dima Al Sheikhly’s First Half Marathon With Her Apple Watch

For Dima Al Sheikhly - the Iraqi-born, Dubai-based fashion, beauty and lifestyle creator known for her effortless blend of luxury and real life - that moment happened in Tokyo.

We’ve long followed Dima for her glam, her cultural pride, and her modern take on femininity. But over the past few months, another side of her has emerged: disciplined, focused, athletic. The kind of strength that doesn’t always show in an outfit but in early mornings and sore legs.

When we asked her what sparked her decision to run her first half marathon, she didn’t romanticize it.

“I never thought I’d run a half marathon. I wasn’t “the runner. But last February, I was in Tokyo during the Tokyo Marathon, and something shifted in me. Watching thousands of people, especially runners 45 and older was incredibly inspiring. It wasn’t about speed; it was about strength, discipline, and the simple power of showing up for yourself. In that moment, I made a promise: I would start running.

The early weeks of training were chaotic. I was sore, breathless, and doubting myself more than I expected. I quickly learned that training requires discipline, not motivation. What kept me consistent were the small wins.. finishing a run even when it felt messy, going a little farther than I thought I could, choosing effort over excuses.

Somewhere between the struggle and the progress, it stopped being just about a race. It became personal. Running turned into a way of understanding myself better my limits, my mindset, and my resilience. And that’s what truly kept me committed."

For someone whose career lives online, performance could have easily become the focus. Instead, Dima leaned into structure — and data — in a way that supported her growth rather than defined it.

On how her Apple Watch shaped her training:

“My Apple Watch was a huge part of my training. I could track my pace during every run and see how my heart rate responded, which helped me train smarter, not just harder. The best part was seeing my pace improve and my heart rate stabilize over time.. real proof that I was getting stronger. The Fitness app made it easy to keep streaks going and track progress in one place.”

But consistency isn’t just about metrics as much as it’s about rhythm. Especially when your life includes flights, shoots, and shifting time zones.

“I’m really grateful that my job lets me work on my own schedule. It’s made it so much easier to reprogram my week around training. I try to workout/run 2–3 times a week and save my recovery sessions for the weekend. Honestly, since I started training for the marathon on Nov 7, 2025, I don’t think a single week has gone by that I skipped a workout!

It’s become such a part of my life that it feels weird not to move my body. Even when I’m at home, I try to stay active.. doing yoga, foam rolling, just moving in some way. It’s less about strict rules and more about making it part of my day-to-day once it feels normal, consistency comes naturally.”

And yet — numbers aren’t everything.

“I love the data — pace, heart rate, distance it keeps me focused and motivated. But I’ve learned that numbers are only part of the story. I always try to listen to my body first. If I feel strong and my body can push, I push. If I’m tired or something feels off, I slow down even if the stats say I could go harder. The metrics help guide me, but they don’t override how I feel.

For me, it’s about balance. The stats keep me accountable, but tuning into my body is what keeps me consistent and injury-free.”

Training in the UAE brings its own narrative: heat, humidity, city life. But for Dima, the real challenge wasn’t climate. It was movement of a different kind.

“I actually started training in November 2025, so I got really lucky with the weather in the UAE it was getting cooler and better every week, which made building the habit so much easier.

The bigger challenge for me wasn’t the heat — it was travel. I’m constantly flying for work, different time zones, different routines. Instead of letting that throw me off, I decided to make running part of the trip. No matter what city I was in, I’d find a route and go. Honestly, that made me fall even more in love with running. There’s something special about discovering a city on foot.”

And when race day finally arrived?

“On race day, I know my Apple Watch will be tracking everything splits, time, calories and I do love seeing those numbers. But crossing the finish line means so much more than what’s on the screen. For me, it’s about keeping a promise I made to myself. It represents all the early mornings, the runs I didn’t skip, and the days I showed up even when I didn’t feel like it. That’s the real win. And seeing my family at the finish line was honestly the cherry on top. Sharing that moment with them made it so emotional and special.”

There’s something deeply JDEED about this evolution, a woman known for style choosing discipline. A creator known for aesthetics choosing endurance. A modern Arab woman redefining strength on her own terms.

Not because she was “the runner" but because she decided to become one.

Follow her journey on Instagram, @dimasheikhly