Fastest 5K, Fastest Mile

My friend texted me yesterday that she ran a Turkey Trot 5K in 32:30!  We ran one together back in August and neither of us were that fast, although close.  I have been running a lot this year compared to her; she runs 5Ks or 30 min, does yoga, goes hiking, all kind of active things.  Oh, and she also completed a 10K on 10/10/10!  Me,  I just run.  Not to discount her activities at all, but I'm thinking that with all the running I'm doing, I should be able to run as fast, shouldn't I? Hearing of her time yesterday felt kind of like a challenge.  Could I run a 5K in 32:30?

Today I planned a 5K, just a regular day on the treadmill.  But about 10 minutes in I decided to try and match her time, or even beat it.  I'm happy to report that I got the exact same time!!  And that's actually weird because of how much I varied the speed on this run.  I started at a regular pace, so I had to really kick it into high gear at the end.  I started at 5.2 on the treadmill and ended at 6.5.  For me, that's fast!  So my finish time was 32:30 and I recorded my fastest mile to date which was 9:52!  I finally exceeded my goal of 10 minutes a mile.  I guess the easy paces of this past week were a good lead in to today's run.

This coming weekend I have a scheduled 5K event which I have been waffling about.  Do I or don't I?  I'm still not sure because if it's cruddy weather, I'd rather skip it than take the risk of getting sick right before Thanksgiving.  But if I end up doing it, I now have a time to aim for.  Can I do that outside?  In the cold?  I guess we'll see.  Regardless, kudos to my friend on such a great time yesterday and challenging me to keep going.  I'm now more on the "do" side for the event on 11/20 thanks to her!

Here's me after my run.  I was tired, couldn't even smile.  My dark shirt doesn't show the sweat as much as a light shirt would, but trust me, I was drenched!