The Unity 5k and why I signed up
Back in the spring, I signed up to take part in the ‘Unity 5k’. This took place in Birmingham over the weekend, and was a 5km run, taking part on the same course as the marathon in the European Athletics championships.
There’s a 10k and half marathon in Birmingham every year, but I think the days of running any distance (even 10k) might be behind me as I twisted my knee (ironically running a 10k) years ago and now I manage it as best I can. So having the opportunity to run 5k in Birmingham, well I thought that sounded fun.
I had clearly forgotten about the 4k I ‘ran’ in Berlin on New Year’s Day – I managed to strain my ankle less than halfway in it and hobbled the remainder of the course.
Sunday morning and not quite raring to go
Sunday came, and I got ready, not with trepidation, but definitely without a bounce in my step. I haven’t really slept through the night in nearly 8 months, I’m exhausted pretty much all of the time (hello perimenopause!), so I’m about 2 months into trying HRT (I don’t think it’s the right one for me, but that’s for another day!) and my period had come early. With the heat we’ve had recently, I’ve also had a really heavy head for several days now, and all of this combined meant that I promised myself I’d finish, but not put any pressure on the time.
How the day actually went
So how did the day go? Annoyingly my Strava didn’t record the run, but it was well organised and there were lovely people lining the streets shouting encouragement, which always helps. I was never going to break any records, but it was a great reminder that when I put my mind to do something, I absolutely can do it.
What it reminded me about life and little goals
And this is really what life is about. Those little goals and milestones. Pushing ourselves when we don’t really want to do something. Maybe getting a new top and fancy medal (I got both!). Taking ourselves out of our comfort zones and seeing what we’re really capable of. And on days like yesterday, when I was feeling very perimenopausal, not pushing so much, reminding myself I could stop at any time, I didn’t have to run the whole thing (spoiler: I did NOT run the whole thing!) and the whole point was just to enjoy the day and get to do something which doesn’t happen very often.
How can you push your comfort zone?
So my question to you: what can you do that pushes your comfort zone? That you can say ‘I did that’ when not many people can? How proud of yourself can you feel and how can you then celebrate yourself? Because if you’re doing something you’ve not done before, you absolutely deserve to break out the bunting!