Shannonvale 10k

Friday night at Phairs Pub in Shannonvale only 2 miles from home
and I am lining up for another 10k.
I bump into Grellan at the start line and he tells me he is aiming for the 40 mins mark , and, so am I (again).
We start on a downhill past the pub and cross the River Argideen,
heading uphill we crest and level off for the first few kilometres.
I am running alongside Grellan and this helps me to dig in and
maintain a good pace.
A tough hill meets us after 2 miles and I push on a bit as Grellan is
working hard. As we reach the top he catches up and I pick up speed again to stay with his pace as we speed along the next few km.

The route is on small grassy country roads and the sun is sneaking through the trees lighting up the puddles from the earlier showers.
I have no time to enjoy though as I am working hard to keep pace.

After 6 km Grellan increases the pace a bit and I am on my limits if
I don't want to blow up. By 7 k he moves ahead and I see him track and pass the guy ahead on a long straight.
I tell myself to keep a good stride and I get some regular breathing going again. I am running ok but not gaining on the guy ahead.
2 k to the finish and I can see we have a nice downhill run over the last mile so I can pick it up a bit again.
I cross the line in 40.47 - still no sub 40 , but I am happy enough
with the time and my consistency.
I must dig deeper and push harder through the pain and I will get there!