Today, I went to Pitshanger Park in Ealing to do my usual parkrun. This is the one I normally go to if we don’t have anything else planned. The course is supposed to be 2k, but today it was just a bit shorter, about 1.92k. While I was running, I noticed there was a girl in front of me, and I decided to try and overtake her. When I moved onto the grass to pass, she did the same, trying to block me. It felt a bit frustrating, but I kept pushing forward.
In the end, I managed to finish ahead of her by 8 seconds. My final time was 8:01, which is the same as my personal best (PB). I think if she hadn’t tried to block me, I might have beaten my PB today, or at least come closer to my goal. My target was to finish under 8 minutes, and I was just 2 seconds away. My pace was 4 minutes and 10 seconds per kilometre, which I’m happy with, but I know I could have done even better.
One thing I always try to remember is my dad’s advice. He tells me to race fairly, focus on my own race, and not to block others. I’m glad I followed his advice today and kept a good spirit, even though it was a bit annoying to be blocked. I think it’s important to race fairly and give everyone a fair chance to do their best.
Even though I didn’t get under 8 minutes this time, I’m proud of how I did. For my age grading, I was in the 81 percent range, which is really good. It shows that all my training and hard work are paying off, and I’m getting stronger and faster with each run. I’ll keep aiming to get under 8 minutes and keep working on my pace.
Hopefully, next time, I won’t have to deal with anyone trying to block me, and I can just focus on my own race. I’ll keep pushing and maybe even surprise myself by getting a new PB soon. It was a good learning experience, and I’m excited to try again next week!
