Proud as a Peacock

Another day, another Park Run completed! This was my 4th Park Run and they seem to be getting better. I'm meeting more fantastic runners every week and maybe soon I'll even start recognizing people from week to week. It's flat, it's relaxed, it's free, and we always get photos. What's not to love?
Now that I have a clearer picture in my head on how my training is supposed to go, I know I can take it easy on most of my Park Runs. My goal is to run a 5k at race pace about once a month. Which means that this week I could run at an easier pace. I love easy runs!
So today I ran with Chris. The nice part about running with Chris - besides running with Chris - is that I get to relax a bit. So what if I haven't slept well the last few days and was half asleep at the start? No pressure to go fast, as it's all about setting a reasonable pace for Chris to hold on to. It was a bit of pressure in a different way for me - not falling to my default pace. My default pace is a bit faster than Chris can maintain and I caught myself every now and then creeping forward into that pace. Fortunately Chris was there to prompt me to reign myself in, even as she kept up beautifully to the ever changing paces.

Chris in pink in the middle, me on the right of the frame in the white shirt & red hat. I need to start running in brighter colours!

We were faster than ever today, running at an average pace of 6.41min. When we hit the 3k mark and Chris was still breathing easily, I knew we could make it the whole distance.
So I set one goal for Chris: do not stop.
And she didn't!
I was surprised that we ran the first 4k at an even 6.41 pace. Not because I didn't think we could maintain the pace, but because I am an erratic runner and find it hard to settle into a consistent pace. The last 500m we picked up the pace to a much faster 5.30, but even at this speed Chris dug her toes in and stayed right on my heels.
We flew through the finish line at a beautiful 33.22min. That's a massive improvement from last time! Well under Chris' goal of a sub-35min. AND the farthest she's ever run without taking a walking/drinking break. I was as proud as a peacock. Pretty soon she's going to have to pace for me.