Introduction
My alarm was set for 7:45am, but I was already awake at 7. I lay in bed listening to the wind until 7:30am. Boy, did it sound windy! It was also raining, and still dark, so my enthusiasm wasn’t too high. I didn’t get much sleep, but I’d mentally committed to getting myself to Wolverhampton West Park for the New Year’s Day Parkrun, so out of bed I climbed.
I’d never actually drove to West Park, so I set out early to make sure I could park. The roads were pretty much empty, which was nice, and also gave me a bit of a boost knowing that most people were still in bed. I got there with ease, and to my relief, had a choice of parking spaces.
The rain had eased a little and it was now just the odd drips here and there. I got out of my car and walked towards the starting area. As soon as I entered the park, I was greeted by a really friendly squirrel who ran straight up to me! One soon became three as they started chasing each other around a tree.
I took a few photos, and even volunteered to take a picture for a lady who was trying to get a selfie with the Parkrun sign. So far, I was at least three up on my “get out of my comfort zone” goal! (1. Drive to new place, 2. solo Parkrun, 3. talk to a stranger)
Running
Ah… to the running section… and yes, I made the typical rookie mistake. The mistake that I know better of, but still did anyway! I got caught up with the adrenaline and rush of the crowd and set off way too fast. Within the first sixty seconds I knew that I had made a mistake and would pay for it. My best pace came in at a 7:30 minute per mile speed… much quicker than I could hold. I had to tuck to the left and try to slow down as I felt the lactic acid building in my legs.
From that point on, I figured I would end up needing some walking breaks as my quads were burnt out! I didn’t have any set distances in mind, I just ran until I felt I could use a break. According to my Garmin, I spent 27:16 running and 12:29 walking, so I’ll take that! My finishing time was 39:45 on my Garmin and 39:46 on the official Parkrun time.
Reflection
Well, one thing it did make me realize is how much I didn’t appreciate it when I ran my personal best of 25:58. Running today really hit home how much faster that is, and the work that it took to get there. I guess this ties in with the goal of self-love, as before I would push myself but then never really congratulate myself for achieving my goals. I’m my own worst critic, but not my own cheerleader, and that’s something that I’m working on for 2025.
It was also interesting to see my stats over the years; it came as a shock that my last Parkrun was back in 2019! Where has that time gone? Slightly reassuring to see that I’m not as slow as I was in 2016 or 2017, but I am also lighter than I was back then. I guess it gives me something to aim for and motivation as my goal is to get back under 30 minutes and seeing that I managed that from 2017 to 2018 gives me hope.
Conclusion
I’m glad that I managed to push myself to take park in the New Year’s Day Parkrun. It definitely gave me a much-needed boost, and hopefully I can build on this moving forward. I can say that I’m proud of myself for getting out of my comfort zone and challenging myself. I’m also still hoping to finally reach my 50 Parkrun milestone at some point (33 down)!
