<p>Awesome, awesome hike. 70 degrees, sunny, and dry when I started. 70 degrees, sunny, and dry when I finished. This hike has been called the Stairmaster from Hell, probably because it gains quite a bit of elevation in a fairly short distance. The second half of the uphill leg is pretty much continuous Stairmaster. But, the trail is good, there are a lot of rock outcroppings, and the views are spectacular. And, I did find the lime kilns.</p>
<p>Pretty long drive. I walked out the door at 8:30 am and arrived back home at 6:30. More later, including pics, after shower (I hate bug spray!) and dinner (spicey chicken caesar salad).</p>
<p>That’s why I keep saying don’t try to run two days in a row. (Some) runners can do it, but it’s a recipe for soreness and injury for the rest of us. Occasional soreness that goes away after one day is probably not entirely avoidable as any of us transition from not-fit to fit, but – honestly – the goal is to exercise without soreness. Your soreness is a sign that you tried to do too much, too fast, too soon. It’s an imperfect world, so stuff happens, but listen to body and adjust accordingly.</p>
<p>When I ran (in my 20s) I never ever ran every day. My routine was to run 2 or 3 days of 2 to 2.5 miles and then 3-5 on the weekend. At that time I ran about 9 minute miles, but if I were doing it now, it would be much slower. I only run occasionally on weekends now - half an hour or so and I go about two miles maybe a little more. I can’t believe how slow I am!</p>
Total distance was a little shorter at about 4 miles round trip. I spent 4.5 hours including a lengthy lunch stop at the summit and finding the lime kilns on the homeward leg. Great workout, but I’m not too toasted – a mixed part of cooler weather, shorter distance, and getting a little more acclimated to this stuff. Saw a max heart rate of 91%. The trekking poles make a huge difference, especially taking some of the pounding off the legs on the downhill bits.
<p>Just driving up there and back would have been a beautiful day. This place was seriously in the boonies. All the way up to Lincoln, NH, then west for 45 minutes over the mountains towards Vermont. Even got to check out the all-wheel drive on a hilly, curvy dirt road to the trail head.</p>
<p>The bridge was a really wide tree, so I just walked across it using the trekking poles for extra balance.</p>
<p>I did see all the meet-up folk in two groups, not too far from the summit. They were headed down; I was going up. I would have had to have set my alarm for 5 am to be there at 9. No way. And, frankly, it doesn’t matter. It’s not like I’m going to be talking on the way up these hills. It’s pretty much head down, just try to keep putting one foot in front of the other. It’s good for me to set my own pace, at this stage. Definitely a new fitness challenge.</p>
<p>I spent much of the day leap-frogging with a family – mother, father, Yale son, and freshman headed off to UMich next week. This was a good hike for the weekend – quite a few people on the trail, but not crowded. Some of the more popular hikes are better during the week.</p>
<p>Cals 2416
Fat 185 g
Carbs 131 g
Fiber 19 g
Protein 130 g
Sugars 45 g</p>
<p>62% fat
19% protein
19% carbs</p>
<hr>
<p>Lots of calories today, thanks to McDonalds breakfast and 3 ounces of salted cashews on the trail. On the other hand, I’m burning a boatload of calories.</p>
<p>BC: No, I’m not aiming for any particular carb percentage. I’m just trying to cut back on the fruit and generally dial back the snacks a little bit. Just tighten it up.</p>
<p>I’m thinking about tightening up too but my wife is still cooking in a fairly carb-heavy way. I’m going to go with more nuts from Trader Joes for snacks. I’ve cut back on running distances so I can go lighter on carbs.</p>
Volek and Phinney have a short new book on the science of low carb and sports peformance. It’s only $5.99 Amazon Kindle, so I may have to read it. Their larger book is the definitive review of low carb science:
Volek has done a number of studies at UCONN with athletes on very low carb ketogenic diets. I believe their contention is that, if you become keto-adapted (i.e. adapted to a very low carb diet) you will become bonk-proof because your body is so efficient in burning stored fat. I don’t know. I’ve never gotten my carbs down that low and I don’t typically exercise long enough to “bonk”.
I have to watch it with the nuts because it’s so easy to wolf down a ton of calories. For example, the 3 ounces of salted cashews I ate during and immediately after my hike yesterday was 480 calories. But, it’s a good hike food because it’s a tasty way of getting some salt when I’m sweating for that long.
I tried something new yesterday. I don’t generally take any aspirin or pain stuff, but I took two Ipubrofen when I was putting on my hiking boots at the trail and then two more when I got back to the car after the hike. I felt noticeably less stiff and sore. The combo of the hike and two hours in the car usually has me all but crippled up!
<p>Well, I haven’t bonked lately. I eat plenty of healthy foods and plenty of not so healthy foods! Last night we were at friends’ house for homemade veggie pizza and beer- lots of beer. My weight is up about 3 pounds from ideal, so I want to cut back on some of the junkier eating. I got a little off center with some of my trips this summer which tend to involve lots of eating and socializing. </p>
<p>I feel like I ate incorrectly right after the 14 miler. I was really thirsty for iced tea, and not all that hungry. Went to breakfast with daughter/son in law and just got a big bowl of oatmeal (brown sugar, raisins) which left me without protein. By that afternoon I was feeling very hungry and “off” and craving a hamburger (I’m basically non-meat eater) and a malt! I listen to that stuff, so off we went to Culver’s where I had a wonderful small burger and small vanilla malt. I felt better immediately.</p>
<p>One of the guys playing doubles yesterday is a very good player and he said that he played Thursday, Friday and Saturday too. He was playing very well for two hours and then his performance fell off dramatically. It was most noticeable on his service games (the serve takes a lot of energy). He hit a lot of bad serves and double faults on a long service game, started making more errors in general and had more problems with serves that pulled him out wide.</p>
<p>In the past, I’d bring some food in my bag if I were planning on playing over 90 minutes of singles. I generally don’t bring food for doubles but I make sure that I’ve had enough calories beforehand.</p>
<p>Doing the bonk thing isn’t good in tennis - you mess up the match for both you and the other player who expects a tough match.</p>
<p>On running - I have various problems with not enough food or not the right mix and I don’t really want to see those problems again.</p>
<p>That meal plan looks interesting. I can’t really tell what they are aiming for. Some days are super high carb. Some days low carb, high fat. I guess the proof would be in the eating!</p>
<p>You’d have to go with the double protein option (or supplement with other stuff) because 1200-1400 calories a day would be starvation for a guy.</p>
Always fun seeing the pics. Great views.</p>![http://photos2.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/5/a/2/a/highres_150623082.jpeg]the](http://photos2.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/5/a/2/a/highres_150623082.jpeg%5Dthe){kind=link}
![http://photos2.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/5/a/6/6/highres_150623142.jpeg]lime](http://photos2.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/5/a/6/6/highres_150623142.jpeg%5Dlime){kind=link}
![http://photos4.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/b/f/e/c/highres_150529132.jpeg]the](http://photos4.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/b/f/e/c/highres_150529132.jpeg%5Dthe){kind=link}
![http://photos1.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/5/a/5/2/highres_150623122.jpeg]Almost](http://photos1.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/5/a/5/2/highres_150623122.jpeg%5DAlmost){kind=link}
![http://photos4.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/5/a/3/e/highres_150623102.jpeg]Looking](http://photos4.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/5/a/3/e/highres_150623102.jpeg%5DLooking){kind=link}
![http://photos2.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/5/a/7/a/highres_150623162.jpeg]looking](http://photos2.meetupstatic.com/photos/event/5/a/7/a/highres_150623162.jpeg%5Dlooking){kind=link}
