Easy Run?

This morning, before it began to rain, I thought I might test the limits a little and see what kind of 5k speed I could come up with, despite the fact that this is an easy run day and I should be doing my usual 2 miles at 13:00. Even as I started out, I wasn't sure which run I would do, but the threat of night, and the ghost of my earlier shin pain made me opt, conservatively, to stick to the schedule. It was more difficult to stick to pace: the wind was blowing toward me, dashing rain into my face and I had to fight the tendency to run head down, hands in pockets. It was tempting to sprint, both to keep warm, and to get the whole thing over with. The first mile took will power to complete, but I had the consolation that there would be only two. The second mile was easier. I was warmer and the wind was behind me. I allowed myself to increase pace, a token nod to my ambitions earlier in the day, and finished in 22 minutes. A clean 11 minute mile. Take that, training schedule.