Purisima, I have defeated you!!
So today we hiked at Purisima Open Space Preserve. A bit of history - I hiked Purisima several years ago...I'm going to say in 2003 - when I was actually in better shape overall. I was doing more pushups, situps and overall toning back then. But when we hiked it last time, I remember it being so hard coming back uphill at the end I almost cried, seriously. The hike is about 4 miles down 1800' elevation change, then back up to the parking lot. But a few things have changed.
First of all, this time I was of course expecting the worst, but I also at least knew it was downhill and then back up. This time we actually added an additional out-and-back trail, making it more like 11 miles, so it was longer and more up and down. But it wasn't harder! I guess I've underestimated how much endurance training I've been doing, but after an initial bad uphill section, it wasn't that bad. I will admit I am pretty sore right now but still, I really was dreading the hike so I'm pretty proud of myself. :)
First of all, this time I was of course expecting the worst, but I also at least knew it was downhill and then back up. This time we actually added an additional out-and-back trail, making it more like 11 miles, so it was longer and more up and down. But it wasn't harder! I guess I've underestimated how much endurance training I've been doing, but after an initial bad uphill section, it wasn't that bad. I will admit I am pretty sore right now but still, I really was dreading the hike so I'm pretty proud of myself. :)