Friday I went with a different hiking group, San Jose Midweek, back to another section of Santa Teresa park where the wildflowers are really beautiful. We worked our way over the hills from the Santa Teresa side to the Almaden Valley side, descending the rocky but scenic Stiles Ranch trail, then returned on a different trail to make a loop. It was a longer hike for me, about 7 1/2 miles, without about 1300 feet elevation gain. I again rode my recumbent to and from the start. So this was a total of about four and a half hours of exercise. I was tired afterward, but it was worth it for the scenery and the flowers.
Gathering before the start at the Bernal-Joyce ranch entrance to the park
Working Our Way Up a Steep Slope Through a Field of Mustard Grass
There were nice displays of poppies everywhere
And lupines
Descending the Switchbacks on the Stiles Ranch Trail
Taking a break at the Stiles Ranch Entrance, With a view towards the Almaden Valley in the distance
https://ift.tt/wxOr4u3 My last strength workout went really well, I was able to go pretty hard without pushing my heart rate excessively. But afterwards it occurred to me that monitoring heart rate might not be enough. Strength training can cause a temporary spike in blood pressure which is probably not a good idea. I figured there must be a lot of research on this, because there are a lot of older people with cardiac limitations besides mine which is relatively rare (including heart-attack survivors, angina sufferers, and those with valve regurgitation). And they are still encouraged to do strength training to prevent sarcopenia. So I asked Gemini deep research about it and it produced this fascinating report . It points out that a resistance training session, properly performed, is beneficial to the heart because while it temporarily raises blood pressure, there is “a phenomenon known as post-exercise hypotension, where blood pressure remains below pre-exercise resting levels for se...
https://ift.tt/CX7dOP2 Yesterday my group did a loop first heading to the southeast of Morgan Hill and then turning north to pick up the Coyote Creek trail. We headed North up to Metcalf Park and then south, finishing at Rosy’s in Morgan Hill for lunch. A few of us also added a detour to check out a side route along Basking Ridge road on the way back. This was 40 miles for me, in about 2 1/2 hours, a nice brisk ride. Rosy’s has Taco Tuesday the 1st Tuesday of each month, their special is their delicious Salmon Taco’s which I love. The Coyote Creek Trail on a nice summer day, tailwind on the way out.
https://ift.tt/aS2nC3F Fall in our area is not as spectacular as in other places but it’s nice that it lasts this long. Some trees have lost their leaves by now, but other species, such as maples, are peaking. Yesterday I enjoyed a long ride up into the hills West of town. I rode through Paradise valley then past Chesbro reservoir, and returned to town via Willow Springs road, enjoying the glorious sunshine. Long rides at an easy pace, like this one, feel like they are good for my leaky heart valve, or at least are relaxing. I won’t give them up unless my cardiologist convinces me too, but I’m pretty sure he’ll approve. The hill across Chesbro reservoir, with the dam on the left Looking down Willow Springs road Japanese Maple in our back yard
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