5K Revisited

Tuesday was chilly and I debated whether to run inside or outside. I literally paced in my office for a few minutes and tried to decide - treadmill at Anytime Fitness or outside. I took a look out of my blinded office window and saw nothing but darkness and cold air. I decided to run outside.
The first 1/2 mile was a little chilly and I could see my breath quite easily, but things got better. I wore my black 1/2 zip that Mary bought me for Christmas, black tights, my running hat and gloves. To lighten things up, I also wore a headlamp and a wristband w/ red blinking lights on my right wrist. Because there were street lights, I think I could have made it w/o a headlamp, but it's all good.
When I passed the track next to the MU Rec Center, I thought I saw Nic running around it. I was wrong. I found out later that he didn't run until about 6:15 p.m.
I finished a little more than 3 miles in 24:55 - 8:12/mile.
To make me feel like shit, I should also note that Jason ran 3 miles in 19:37 (6:35/mile) at the Rec Center inside track. But he's a skinny mf-er. And also a wanker.
While I was running, I tried to pay att'n to the music on my iPod, but I struggled to do so. I kept coming back to the run and how I felt - which generally was pain. But not pain in a negative way - simply pain as a feeling w/ no real judgement attached to it. I think I need to run slower to swing from pain to enjoyment. But I also know that I can always slow down at any given second. It's a security blanket that I sometimes use - especially going up hills.
Had an interesting chat w/ Nic today about pacing. He hopes to maintain a consistent pace in the marathon from mile 1 to mile 26. I read in Hal Higdon's book that this is a difficult task. Most people start out too fast and slow down during the last 13.1 miles. I don't really know enough about the experience to comment, but I imagine things get real saucy at mile 20 when the body runs out of fuel. I have some fear about when this happens, but for right now, it's all about a 4-miler that awaits me this afternoon. Don't know yet where I'll run it.