Today, I took part in my first ever London Youth Games at Parliament Hill. It was supposed to be a 1.5km race, but it turned out to be 1.93km. This made the race a bit tougher than I expected, especially since I didn’t know the course very well. I had been told by a friend beforehand that the start was going to be a really tough hill, so I knew it wasn’t going to be easy. Still, I was excited to take part and give it my best shot, even though I was a bit nervous.
Just before the race started, something unexpected happened. Two boys from another borough pushed me back in the crowd. This meant I had a terrible start, and I found myself starting way behind the pack. I knew I had to catch up quickly, so I had to sprint to make up for the lost time. It was hard, and I could feel my legs burning, but I didn’t want to give up. I kept running as fast as I could, trying to get back into the race.
Even though I managed to catch up a little bit, it still wasn’t enough. I ended up finishing 23rd in the race, which was a bit disappointing because I know I could have done better. My pace was 3:54 per kilometre, which wasn’t too bad, but it wasn’t fast enough to beat some of the other runners, including a few from my own club who I usually do better than. After the race, I was a bit frustrated, but I also knew I could learn from it and do better next time.
One thing I’ve learned from this race is that the start is really important. Next time, I’m going to work harder on getting a better start, so I’m not behind right from the beginning. I think I could have saved more energy if I didn’t have to sprint so much to catch up. I’ll also work on my hill running. Since the first part of the race was uphill, I think if I do some more hill training, it’ll help me get through it faster next time.
Even though I didn’t get the result I wanted this time, I’m still proud of myself for pushing through and finishing the race. It was a tough experience, but it showed me that I can handle challenges and keep going even when things don’t go as planned. I know I need to keep improving my strength, speed, and strategy if I want to be at the top next time.
My goal for the next race is to do much better. I want to aim for first place, and I know with more practice, better preparation, and a stronger start, I can do it. It’s all about learning from what went wrong this time and using that to improve. I’m going to keep training hard and give it everything I’ve got. Next time, I’ll be ready for whatever comes my way!
