After running in the darkness for a few weeks, it was a pleasant change to be out on a bright and sunny morning (left around 8:30). I headed over to 11th Ave via Wasatch Drive and through the old golf course (saw the sign for the new track and field complex, which was great confirmation of a rumor I'd heard). My turnaround point was the gate near the mouth of City Creek. On my way back up the hill toward 11th, I was approaching a female runner from behind (I was probably 30 feet back) when she slipped and fell pretty hard. I stopped to see if she was okay, as did another woman I had just passed. As we were talking to her, the woman said that she had heard me approaching from behind, so she had moved to the shoulder, where she hit some ice. In other words, it was my fault. I told her that I hadn't planned on running into her as I passed, but I felt kind of bad. After she assured us that she was fine, I took off again. For some reason, I had a burst of energy and decided to put some effort into the next stretch. I pushed the pace a little all the way back up to the fire station and to the turnoff at Popperton (where the trail goes down the hill to Alta Street). It felt tiring but pretty good, too. I took it a little bit easier until I hit Foothill, then cruised in comfortably with a 6:17 final mile. Overall average was almost exactly 7 minutes, with AHR of 160. I wore the Nike Frees with thin socks and loved the lightweight feeling, especially after running in the Kayanos for the past couple of weeks. | 