The canter returns

At one of our customer's offices there is a monthly canter, a handicap race that takes on the tourists of central London.
For years I'd always said "no lunchtime running for me, lunchtime is for eating", yet when I decided in March to become a bit more serious it made sense to add the canter as an extra bit of speed work.
My participation hasn't been regular, work commitments often get in the way. But when I have a week of early shifts my evening running often doesn't happen. This is one such week, so into my work bag went my running kit.

The Run

It was a surprisingly warm and still day given the past few days of horrific weather. I was second to start, 2:06 behind the lead out runner and one of five competing. The canter is a near 4k loop, yet I've never managed to run it like a parkrun. I tend to throw myself into the run in the belief that it's a 4k so I can get myself through.
After some tourist dodging I managed to get into a rhythm before the next obstacle, downward steps. From that point on the course is relatively flat.
My pace felt decent and I passed the front runner before halfway, telling my colleague I'd started too fast! I carried on pushing, although the body did start tightening up.
The problem with a handicap is that once you pass the lead out runner, you're the guy being chased. I was leading the race until the last 400m, when the guy who started 20 seconds after me soared past. I tried to kick but realised I was beaten, conserved my energy and kicked again with 200m to go.
My finish time was 18:53, 2nd place of 5 & my second overall (my 1st place on my first canter doesn't really count as I was creating a handicap).

The Conclusion

I'm really happy with the result. In summary, my canter results are:
March 13 - 20:01
July 13 - 19:16 (-00:45)
October 13 - 18:53 (-00:23)
These results are great. Like the parkrun PB earlier in the month, they are validation of the progress I'm making. Whether I can break the 10k best at Movember or not, I'm in the best running form of my life.