Today, I kicked the mile’s butt.

I planned to do speed work. I was going to the Y anyway to post on the community board about my Team World Vision fundraising efforts. But I didn’t plan to go for a PR.

It’s funny. You never really know until you put one foot in front of another how a run’s going to go. I set the treadmill on about 7:20, and a half mile in I felt strong and like I had the wind at my back. I edged it up to under 7 minutes, and still felt great. So, as it ticked to .97 miles, I figured “What the heck?”

My previous mile PR was 6:31. At the time I slogged through it. Today, I cranked up the speed on the treadmill to 6:18, and figured I’d see how long I could hang on. To my surprise, it felt great: I felt like I could go faster, but I didn’t want to be greedy and hurt myself.

So, mile 2 ticked by before I knew it. I set a new PR, and felt awesome doing it. I finished with another 7ish minute mile, and wrapped up 3.1 miles (a 5k) in 21:23 for an average pace of 6:51. That 5k time is also 5 seconds shy of a PR.

My earlier best mile, and still best 5k, was a session in January 2009. At the end of the notes for that session, I wrote “Now, collapse.” Today, I could have kept at it, so I think my general fitness has come a long way.

Today’s kit: Bikilas w/Injini liners, iPod shuffle (of course)

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