5k Warm-up Run at Full Pace - 21:19!!!

Man, I gotta say I think I actually impressed myself today. Ian, Joey, and I went for a quick run after work today. We agreed to push it hard, as Ian and I are running the Winter Park Moonlight Ramble 5k on Saturday. We pushed off hard and after a half mile, the pace was my primary concern and my injuries were loooong forgotten. I hung with Ian at about 3/4 of a mile, and spent most of the run giving EVERYTHING to stay within 15 yards of him. I had him at a distance where if he got any father I was dusted and would have definately given up a bit. I continuely stuggled to reel him in. We made it to the half-way turn around in about 10:21 (I think..Ian had the watch today). I hit a wall of sorts at about 2.5 miles and with a serious gut-check pushed at the end. Ian finished in 21:10, but I have no doubt if he weren't turning around and pushing me to catch up he could have fone 20:30 or so. Joey, in his first run in years was only a couple minutes behind (which is faster than my normal pace). The next few days will be leisurly 4 mile runs, with Friday off in preperation for my race. I honestly think that I was close to my limit today, and am currently setting 21:30 as my raceday goal. It will be my first race in about 6 years or so, and second race ever. I think my time back in my early 20's was 24 minutes. That alone makes me happy, but defintely not complacent. I hope these races and training sessions propel me to my long-term goal of comleting my first marathon.