Same philosophy here as my previous run.  The training plan has me running 8 miles today, but I'm going to cut it short and continue my taper.

The Result: Ran 4.71 miles in 38:54 at 8:15 mins/ mile.

The Splits: 8:01, 8:06, 8:16, 8:29, (8:32 pace for final 0.71 mile).

Obviously my taper must be working, because I'm running faster.  More importantly, it's a faster that I don't even notice - it's effortlessly faster.  In other words, I'm putting the same effort into an 8:05 mile this week that I put into a 9:05 mile a few weeks ago when I was so beaten down.  The miles don't feel any different, but they're getting faster.  Thank God.