Today I ran in a one-mile UK Athletics accredited race in Ealing. This was very special for me because it was the first time I had ever run a mile on the road in an official race. Normally, I take part in 2K parkruns, so this distance felt shorter but also much faster and more intense. I was determined to do my best and show how well I could run over a mile.
At the start of the race, I managed to get near the front of the pack, which was a good position. When the race began, I pushed hard, but I still felt that my start was not as quick as it could have been. This is something I know I need to work on, because in such a short race, every second at the beginning makes a big difference. Even though I felt a little slow to get going, I stayed focused and kept pushing myself all the way.
The course itself was a little tricky. It was a mixture of road and tarmac, and part of it even went onto the main road. To make things harder, it had rained earlier, so there were puddles all over the place, and it was still lightly spitting during the race. I had to watch where I was stepping, which meant I couldn’t always run in a perfectly straight line. Despite the conditions, I kept running as hard as I could and didn’t let the puddles distract me too much.
As soon as I saw the finish line in the distance, I gave everything I had left. I sprinted as fast as I could and tried to drive myself through the line strongly. My target was six minutes and five seconds, and although I think I finished a few seconds slower than that, I was still happy that I had given my best effort. I felt proud to have completed my first official mile race on the road.
Even though I am pleased, I also know that I can definitely do better. I felt like I had more energy left in the tank, and with a sharper start and a little more focus in the middle of the race, I believe I can run faster next time. I am confident that I have a lot more to give in this distance, and I would like to return to another mile race soon to improve my time.
This result will go onto my Power of 10 profile, which makes it feel even more important to me. I don’t just want to be pleased with a decent time — I want to keep improving and show that I can get much closer to my target. My next goal is to try and get under six minutes. I really believe that sub-six is possible for me, and I am excited to give it another go in the next few weeks.
