Big Workout (last one). Picked up our Bountiful Basket at 8:45AM, and was able to head out the door to Hollow Rd by 9:15AM. I was concerned about rain, but it held off for the most part during my run. Circumnavigated the stupid USU homecoming parade, and eventually parked at the start of Hollow Rd and ran up the TOU course for 9 miles, turned around and came back the same way. First half was all uphill, last half all downhill. Very weak canyon wind on the way up, but didn't see the leaves moving on the way down (think it died out due to the rain). The workout was moderate/brisk pace on the way up, and then progressed into tinman tempo on the way down, with the last few miles at marathon pace or better. I was a little skeptical on how I would feel, since I hadn't eaten much since Wednesday, due to food poisoning (or whatever it was). But I was feeling back to normal when I woke up this morning, which was a great relief. I hate the feeling of not feeling well.
Felt okay on the way up. The uphill splits were 6:23, 6:18, 6:30, 6:46, 6:38, 6:26, 6:14, 6:16, 6:16. 6:26/mile average at the turnaround. Looking at those splits, it's pretty obvious where the canyon wind died out! I was looking forward to going down, and feeling pretty decent. Hit mile splits of 5:54, 5:46, 5:43, 5:40, 5:32, 5:31, 5:21, 5:08, 5:08. So a nice progression. Averaged 5:32/mile for the downhill part. Once I hit Hollow Rd, I popped into into a higher gear to finish the run. This felt really good. Averaged 5:58/mile for the 18-mile run. Passed the 6-minute guy on the last mile. This was a nice workout to start my taper with. Not incredibly hard, but this out-and-back tempo up Blacksmith Fork is always good for my confidence. I think I enjoy the uphill more than the downhill. It's a very nice gradient to run up.
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