Running Journal - 2024-05-27 (Hiking)

Girl and cow - cover art on El Torito menu

Time: 2:25-2:53 p.m. (28 minutes) 
Resting heart rate: 61 (at home later in the afternoon)
Weight (running clothes): 83.64 kg (184.40 lb)
Body Mass Index (BMI; note criticisms of BMI): 24.3 (Overweight = 25–29.9)
Resting Metabolic Rate (RMR): 2,015 cal/day
Distance (hiking): 1.66 km (1.03 miles)
Cumulative distance (2024; ignores XT days): 624.31 km (387.93 mi)
Calories burned: 127 kcal
Average heart rate: 77 bpm
Max heart rate: 107 bpm
Weather at start: sunny ☀️19° C (66.2° F), Humidity 60% Wind: 28 km/h
Terrain: 157 ft elevation gain
Avg Pace: 27'26" /mile
Best pace: 15'12" /mile
Stinkiness air level (0=No smell; 10=☣️): 0/10 (a bit stinky)
Comments: Memorial Day - I tried twice to use the stationary recumbent cycle in the small community gym, so we ended up going for a hike instead at Coyote Hills Regional Park. Legs feel pretty sore today, including behind the knees. Once I start walking not so bad. We really liked the park--marshes, several moderate hills, great views of San Francisco Bay, etc. Going up a hill was no problem, but it was very steep coming down the other side, so we decided to head back to the parking lot. After we drove to Ardenwood Historic Farm, but since it was 45 minutes before closing time, decided not to go in. On the way home we switched plans and headed for margaritas at El Torito. Service was terribly slow (understaffed; not a ding on the server who was OK) and margaritas were mediocre (probably would not come again), but street fries were pretty good. Overall a beautiful day of weather and spending time with someone I love.
Any irregular feelings, aches, pains, heart rate, and so forth?: Very sore legs
Foods eaten today: Garden Lites Veggies Made Great Spinach Egg White Frittatas (57g, x3), Bizzy Cold Brew Organic Espresso Blend (8 oz), cottage cheese (small bowl), Columbus ABF Turkey Breast (Herb Roasted, Nitrite Free, Sliced; x3 slices), El Torito - signature margarita & street fries, Aura Bora - Ginger Meyer Lemon Herbal Sparkling Water (12 oz), Caffe Bene - Drip coffee, Sugar Mama's Bakeshop - double scoop of Fresh Durian & Blue Milk + ice cream sandwich (x0.5) + Oreo ice cream sandwich

Dipsea Trail part two

On Thursday June 1 we hiked the Dipsea Trail. We started in Mill Valley. We last hiked it in June 2010. Things that went better this time: hiking gear, weekday (less traffic), weather was cooler. Overall a lovely time. Calf muscles took a few days to recover. We stopped several times along the way to rest. California Conservation Corps personnel were maintaining vegetation and replacing steps. We stopped at Muir Woods for lunch of hummus sandwiches, fruit, and a brownie. A pair of chipmunks scampered about looking for crumbs. Dawn purchased a lightweight, light green, long sleeved shirt. Visited the Cathedral Grove. They returned to a natural state the trail where I proposed ❤️ At Stinson Beach we got ice cream and a smoothie, then relaxed on the beach. A man left a bundle of roses in the surf. One boy asked me if I knew how to do the rainbow soccer ball trick after I helped return their ball, but regrettably I didn't (turns out it's something of a trick maneuver to gain a positional advantage). We caught the shuttle back at about 4 p.m. The driver groaned when we mentioned the Dipsea Race coming up the next weekend, but was super helpful in letting us off at the top of the Dipsea stairs above Mill Valley, saving us a lot of time in returning to Old Mill Park. He also didn't charge the $2/person fee for any passengers ☺️ Counting the 1+ mile descent, we really ended up doing slightly more than a "single Dipsea" (1.15x Dip?), but far short of a double Dip, or even a Quad Dip reported by one ultra runner (28+ miles). This trail is ranked Difficult, mostly due to ~2,000 feet elevation gains. The SF Bay was a bit foggy so not as clear as last time, but the cool air was welcomed. We retired to the Mountain Home Inn afterward for the first time to clean up and celebrate. 

Wilder Ranch State Park - Sand Plant Beach Hike

Hiked from the Wilder Ranch State Park parking lot to Sand Plant Beach:

Wilder Ranch State Park - Map of hike to Sand Plant Beach and back

Weather was 81F and humid, windy near the cliffs (~10mph). Flat trail, low exertion. 

Dozens of harbor seals (video by Alessandra Zermini) sunned on an exposed rock near Fern Grotto Beach. Spotted a handful of nesting Brandt’s cormorants close by (video by Alessandra Zermini, on 06/30/2018).

Ate snacks above Sand Plant Beach then walked to the farm buildings and visited with the horses Christian (Chrissy) and ???.

UC Santa Cruz Hike

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=6834016

• Baskin School of Engineering
• McHenry Library
• Global Village Cafe
• Bauru: Ham, tomatoes, melted mozzarella cheese & oregano (we chose the whole wheat baguette)
• Acerola smoothie: Amazon cherry, banana, strawberries & OJ
• Now operated by Amazon Juices UCSC
• Features pastries by Kelly's French Bakery
• Noticed the newspaper displays had gone dark
• Liked the regional topographic maps
• Walked through the UCSC Department of Music building, to view the practice rooms:
• Older, but well-maintained equipment
• Several practice rooms occupied, but many free
• Yamaha Clavinova CLP-122S Digital Piano
• Year of manufacture: 1992
• Features: 
• Master volume slider
• Reverb
• OFF ............When no reverb effect is selected (no REVERB indicator is lit), a special natural damper effect is applied to the piano voices. This simulates the natural resonance of an acoustic piano’s strings and sound board when the damper pedal is pressed.
• ROOM ........This setting add a continuous reverb effect to the sound that is similar to the type of acoustic reverberation you would hear in a medium-size room
• HALL 1 ......For a “bigger” reverb sound, use the HALL 1 setting. This effect simulates the natural reverberation of a medium-size concert hall
• HALL 2 ......For a really spacious reverb sound, use the HALL 2 setting. This effect simulates the natural reverberation of a large concert hall
• COSMIC ....The COSMIC reverb effect produces an echo-plus-reverb sound that can add life and animation to your music
• MIDI/Transpose: Allows access to the Clavinova’s Transpose function (to shift the pitch of the entire keyboard up or down), keyboard touch sensitivity adjustment, and MIDI functions
• Voice Selectors: 
• Piano 1
• Piano 2
• Clavinova tone
• E. piano
• Harpsichord
• Organ
• Pedals:
• Soft/Sostenuto (Left) Pedal
• Damper (Right) Pedal
• Playing the Demonstration Tunes
• Press the C7 key (right-most) while holding the [MIDI/TRANSPOSE] button
• Press a selector to start playback of the corresponding tune, featuring the voice normally selected by that voice selector button
• Tunes:
• [PIANO 1] .................. “Grande valse brillante” by F. F. Chopin
• [PIANO 2] .................. “Lake Louise” by Yuhki Kuramoto
• [CLAVINOVA TONE] “Rêverie” by Debussy
• [HARPSICHORD] ..... “Invention 3” by J. S. Bach
• [ORGAN] ................... “Symphonie pour orgue No.5” by Widor
• Dual Mode: allows selecting and configuring two voices at once
• Touch sensitivity configuration: Hard/Medium/Soft
• Transposition:  
• Shift the pitch of the entire keyboard up or down in semitone intervals up to a maximum of six semitones
• “Transposing” the pitch of the Clavinova keyboard facilitates playing in difficult key signatures, and you can easily match the pitch of the keyboard to the range of a singer or other instrumentalist
• Pitch control: Pitch control makes it possible to tune the Clavinova over a ±50-cent range in approximately 1.2-cent intervals
• Yamaha Upright Acoustical Piano
• Serial Number 1213490
• Indicates Hamamatsu, Japan, as the manufacture location, in 1971-1972 (?)
• Found arrangement, in the piano bench, of Étude Op. 25, No. 7 (Chopin), "alternatively known as the "Cello" due to the prominent melody played in the left hand"
• Great Meadow Bike Path
• Passed the UCSC Center for Agroecology & Sustainable Food Systems (CASFS)
• Service road: had a number of 40 yard dumpster containers, for various materials: plastics, carpets, metals
• Arboretum, through the back gate, walked into the gift shop
• Smelled rich foliage smells, reminding me of the ravine near my childhood home
• Up the hill, to Oakes College
• Passed a number of signs: Collective Museum, the campus-wide art project by Portland-based artist group Public Doors and Windows (PDW); we sat at Ken's Bench
• Koi fish
• Porter Slug Grill and Cafe: open, but we overheard someone asking about something unrelated, and we though it was closed...not a big deal, since we needed cash and the ATM seemed down
• Walked through Kresge College, to Owl's Nest, but closed
• Back to McHenry BSOE
• Drove to Marini's, on Swift, for ice cream--noticed the Ferris Wheel model working, but the marbles kept falling off