Set a PR today ... perhaps an all time high one

I busted an old PR today. But first some history to help you appreciate this a bit more.

A BIT OF 2005 HISTORY.
In November I began my third year of running, having begun running at the ripe old age of 46. And I did pretty well the first year, thanks to a running coach. A year ago I actually ran a mile in 7:30. But then on December 3, when hiking, I fell and bounced down a cliff about 25 feet, and then dropped another five feet into an ice-encrusted pond, breaking the ice with my head. The cliff probably had an incline of about 80 degrees. I wasn't seriously hurt -- bone bruises on my left hip and arm, and tailbone, plus some cuts and bumps on my face. When I talked to the coach at the Y, she said to allow two months for healing. So I cut my exercise down to two to three 1/2-hour sessions per week, but didn't cut my intake enough to compensate for the fact I'd be expending fewer calories. So I gained about five pounds. The combination of injury and extra weight has made running hard. Then, too, this is bronchitis season for me, and although I didn't get bronchitis this year, I've had some days when it was difficult to breathe. I've been alternating between cycling on a stationary bike and running on an elliptical machine.

TODAY'S RECORD.
The cycling has improved tremendously and on New Year's Eve day I broke my 2005 5K record, but today I ran 5K in 25:48. If you could compare the elliptical with running ... if the two were calibrated the same, that would break my all-time 5K PR of 25:58 by ten seconds. It's definitely, by all measures, the fastest in over a year -- 8:20 mile pace for the first 3 miles (which I did in exactly 25 minutes). I ran a total of 3.5 miles in under 30 minutes (after I hit 3.1, I did the rest at a jogging/cool-down pace).

GOALS
On Monday I plan to hit the treadmill and see how that goes. But it sure looks like I am on the mend. And I am very grateful. Not too bad for an old lady!