elevation gains

[zippetydude]

Sorry Alan, looks like I misunderstood your post. You may have already heard this, but taking in a significant dose of simple carbs - just plain sugar is actually fine - within an hour of finishing your exercise seems to greatly reduce the recovery time for aerobic exercise so that you're fully charged the next day. It appears that the muscles are most capable of reloading during the first hour after cessation of effort, then there is a downward trend in which it can take, as I recall, 24 hours or more to fully replenish their stores. I have tried it out, and it seems to have an impact.

While in Yosemite, I try to do several trips around 20 miles, some on back to back days. I think the recharge method has helped, though I do find that my heart rate will not go as high on a second, long, intense day, and the times seem to suffer a little but not too much.

Closer to home, last year, just for fun, I did San G from South Fork ( a little over 20 miles) on Friday, a 17 mile road run on San Timoteo Canyon on Saturday, and Skyline on Sunday. It really helped - my legs didn't feel bad, I wasn't particularly tired, but by the time I did Skyline it did take me about 45 minutes longer than my average time.

Since this was running, I don't really know how it compares to hiking, as the systems involved are the same, but they are functioning differently.

In any case, you guys did a remarkable distance in some really beautiful territory. Too bad we were a week apart - it would have been fun to stop and have a Cliff Bar together at some point along the trail.

Perry: What do the various classes indicate?





z