Yet More Expectations

Tomorrow is Saturday, which means I’ll be having another stab at the Park Run. Last week was a lot of fun, the atmosphere was great, I pleasantly surprised myself with my time, and overall I enjoyed the experience greatly. I am admittedly pretty nervous for my second attempt at the event though, because now I have certain expectations (namely that I will finish in under 30 minutes) and in so doing, I am acutely aware of the potential for disappointment. As discussed in multiple previous posts, it is difficult to consciously adjust one’s expectations, but I am going to try anyway. Before last week my flatmate gave me probably the perfect piece of advice, and it is his words which I will be running through my mind tomorrow morning to drown out any thoughts of missing my targets;

Try and force yourself to enjoy it as much as possible. When it gets hard, just smile, and for a few moments, you’ll trick your brain into believing you’re actually having fun.