I am a mechanical engineer born in 1953 with a lifetime interest in outdoor activities and fitness. My lovely wife of 44 years, Karen, and I live in Morgan Hill, Ca, a bit south of the San Francisco Bay Area. I have gone through and rehabbed from three major surgeries: two hip replacements, and a … Continue reading Welcome
Urban Ride in the Fall
I did a shorter ride today so I stayed within Morgan Hill. This allowed me to see the urban fall colors in neighborhoods, parks, and around industrial areas. This is just around the corner from our house. The "sidewalk trees" are at their peak of color: Another example from the neighborhood behind us: One nice … Continue reading Urban Ride in the Fall
Cardio and The Heart: LISS vs. High Intensity Training
In several recent posts I have discussed the controversy over whether a significant amount of Low Intensity Steady State (LISS) cardio training is a good idea: here, here, and here. I concluded that LISS is beneficial and that the arguments that it causes muscle wasting are exaggerated. A combination of LISS cardio, strength training, and … Continue reading Cardio and The Heart: LISS vs. High Intensity Training
For Covid Coping, Spend More Time in Nature and Less Online
This was inspired by a post on fellow blogger Tony's site: "Regular dose of nature may improve mental health during COVID-19 pandemic". I would have reblogged it but the Worpdress reblog widget was acting up today. The people I know that are coping well during Covid, especially due to the ongoing necessity for shutdowns, are … Continue reading For Covid Coping, Spend More Time in Nature and Less Online
Late Fall Ride
Autumn is just about at it's peak now, I checked it out yesterday on a ride. Fall starts late for us but will go on into December. As I've mentioned previously, we don't have spectacular hillside displays like back east in this area. There are some nice panoramas in the high country in the Sierras … Continue reading Late Fall Ride
Bodybuilder to Ironman- Without Muscle “Wasting”
Recently I discussed the remarkable transformation of Ryan Hall, who retired from being an elite marathoner and took up bodybuilding, putting on a lot of muscle mass in the process. But I mentioned: "This is not an example that lots of cardio causes muscle wasting, though. For that you’d have to start with someone lean and muscular, … Continue reading Bodybuilder to Ironman- Without Muscle “Wasting”
Bike-Hike With a Wintry Sky
A couple of days ago I wanted to do a longer workout so I rode my e-bike to Santa Teresa park. I did standing pedaling on the way in low assist. which took about an hour. I then hiked up to Coyote peak in the park and rode back down and home. The sky was … Continue reading Bike-Hike With a Wintry Sky
Ironman
Inspirational Story of a young man with Down’s syndrome completing an ironman! He is the first person with his condition to do this
I published a post last week about Chris Nikic, a Special Olympian attempting to be the first person with Down Syndrome to complete an Ironman competition. Several readers asked me to post the results. I am happy to do that here.
In order to win the coveted title, Chris would have to swim 2.4 miles, bike 112 miles, and run 22.6 miles in under 17 hours.
He did it!
Chris is officially an Ironman.
I give him other titles too. I call him Lionheart, Courageous, Dedicated, Tenacious.
I call him Inspiration, Role Model, Superstar.
I call him Hero.
Congratulations to Chris. I hope he is taking it easy today. I can’t wait to see what his next adventure will be.
Coyote Open-space With a Friend on a Crisp Fall Day
I haven't been hiking in a while. When the air was bad and I had to workout indoors, one of the things I did was stair intervals , two steps at a time. It was a good workout but unfortunately irritated the piriformis muscle in my right leg, which caused sciatica symptoms (pain down the … Continue reading Coyote Open-space With a Friend on a Crisp Fall Day
Jessie Diggins- Brave Enough
I just finished reading Jessie Diggins' inspirational autobiography Brave enough. She is most famous for the historic first Olympic gold medal for the US women's cross-country team, which she won in the team sprint with the great Kikkan Randall in 2018. I think the call of the finish by Chad Salmela, former member of the … Continue reading Jessie Diggins- Brave Enough
Holiday Lake Estates On a Nice Fall Day
It's finally starting to feel like fall. Until about a week ago we were still getting temperatures into the 90s. I couldn't figure out how the trees were changing, maybe it was because it was getting cool overnight. Now it has cooled off nicely during the day too. This is pretty typical in Norcal, we … Continue reading Holiday Lake Estates On a Nice Fall Day
