Is it steeplechase if a run includes (mental) hurdles?

So, now I have put February behind me, I need to look ahead to the year of running. There are a number of targets I've set myself, but generally speaking I:

want to be running comfortably at a consistent pace by late summer (there's details behind this, but it's complex and not for here, lol)

want to get to a 30 minute 5km by the end of the year

don't want to make an idiot of myself at the Southside Six 16 mile race in November.

To be fair, I have a lot of other goals and aims, but they're the main ones. Anyway, to get my goals I'm going to need to put the work in. More than that, though, I'm going to have to crack these mental hurdles once and for all. There's absolutely NO NEED for me to walk during parkrun, yet I still do, every week.

This weekend, I was determined to get a sub 36 minute time at parkrun for the first time in months, but lo and behold, by 2 miles I was 'ready' to walk, and gave in!! So easily. :( This time, though, I forced myself to run a lot faster in the run/walk intervals of the last mile - and I got my sub-36 minute time. Hurrah! Even still, I was surprised to see the data afterwards. Instead of running along at the steady pace of around 11:15-ish that I'd been doing before, I was walking then running 20 second intervals at around 9 minute miles, or faster!!

So now I need to figure out how to run at THAT pace, lmao, instead of the one in the first couple of miles. And no bleedin' walking, huh?! I don't know what it is with my brain, but I need to figure out a way to beat it. I went out for another run today, and had originally planned to try and do 5 or 6 miles, but by 1.8 miles I was walking again, and much slower than yesterday, and by the time I got back to my car at 3.7 miles, I was ready to pack in. Still, I guess 3.7 slow miles is better than nothing - the 3.15 miles I did at parkrun were at an average pace of 11:24 mins per mile, and the 3.7 I did today were at a much more underwhelming pace of 13:07 mins per mile. Not good enough.

I passed a small child on his wee scooter, while I was running this morning (or rather, while I was walking) and he was complaining to his mother about how hard it was to push off. Just as I passed them, I clearly heard his Mum telling him: "Well it's a bit more difficult to get going again every time you stop - if you just keep moving without stopping, you can glide along, and enjoy it more!!" - message for me, much?????! *facepalm* Pay attention, Sarah!

The weekend also included some time at the indoor climbing wall (more mental barriers there, for sure, but for some reasons those seem more likely to be chipped away the more I go climbing), and a 5 mile walk into town and back to see friends. I'm pretty tired tonight, but happy enough..... :) March is off to a good start. x