A lot depends on the distance of your race.  Even or just slightly negative is best if you can run your race that way.  One thing for sure is that if you go out to fast you will pay for it latter in the race!

Conventional race wisdom is to do either an even pace or slight negative splits. That assumes that the terrain is relatively uniform through the race. If there are significant hills, running them at constant effort - not constant speed - is an efficient way to use your energy - you intentionally slow down on the uphills and speed up on the downhills.

Starting out too fast is almost always a recipe for burnout late in the race, especially at longer distances, but even in shorter distances like the 5K.

In a 5K or 10K race, I tend to run the first mile just a bit slower than what I'd consider ideal pace. This is often unavoidable, especially in a large field, where it can often take a quarter mile or more for the crowd to start thinning out. That usually leads to slight negative splits. In the last mile, I'll often turn up the heat as far as I can without burning out - leaving just enough for a final acceleration if I need it, say to beat a certain clock time (or to get past someone who looks like they're in my age group).

I would add that for  new runners that the way you posted is not bad.  It takes time to be able to pace correctly in a race!  You will feel better doing it the way you posted, but it might not give you your best time, which is okay.