Often Anakin outside the Temple, Anakin had found himself grateful for the hard conditioning of the Jedi and he was seeing that this place would be no exception. He's still growing into his legs, which will help him feign that awkwardness he'll need.

"I've faced people like them in racing. They can laugh if they want." Because he knows he'll best them, if not today, someday. In other times he might bristle, but now? It's easy to shrug off their behavior - the person he truly wants approval from is giving it to him and with that validation, he doesn't feel the need to get it from others.

"I should not finish first my first run. People will be more invested in my runs then." Treating this like a sporting event - which it was - was something he was used to planning a strategy for.