Month: November 2017

Breaking In a New Surfboard

I have a pretty big birthday coming up in February, and to mark the occasion, I was gifted a custom made surfboard by Locus Surfboards. I have know about Locus Surfboards for about a year now, and what I was drawn to was that the shaper, Tyler Hopkins, is local to Santa Cruz, hand crafts the boards himself, and uses all eco materials. Since this is my first custom board, I didn’t know what to expect, and I didn’t know the process. All I really knew is that I wanted a high performance longboard. So after talking to the shaper, I was invited to the shop to start designing my birthday board.

Being in a board shaper’s shop was a dream come true. To see all the boards in progress, the colors, and the fins, I was in heaven.  We talked about my board for about two hours. I decided on a 9’1″ high performance longboard with a 2 +1 fin set up. I added some specialities to this board as well. I have a custom wood stringer, two contours, and glass in fins. That’s right, glassed-in fins. I never thought I would try glassed in fins, but they are made from old paint brushes and are iridescent, so I felt it would make a birthday board look special. The board is also extremely light weight, which is nice to walk around beach with.

After patiently waiting for about ten weeks, my board was done and ready to pick up. Of course, when I picked it up, I was also sick with a cold so my maiden voyage had to wait a week. It was a long week of waiting.

My first surf session with the board happened on a pretty good wave day for a new board. The average height was 3-4 feet, so I decided to go to a local sandbar since I didn’t want to take a chance with a new board and rocky reef.

The first paddle on a new board is always memorable. Once I was on the board, the aerodynamic shape paddled beautifully through the ocean. I only had to wait for about 3 minutes before an amazing 4 foot wave came my way. Here was my chance, the first wave caught by the new board. I went for it, and I instantly felt the contours of the board and the fins glide perfectly through the water. I caught the wave with ease, popped up instantly, and was riding my first wave on my amazing custom board.

I caught every wave that day, and I never experienced a glide like I do on my custom board. The glassed-in fins definitely make a difference in my opinion, and I’m absolutely in love. Oh, and my board has golden flecks, which is super fun.

~Namaste

Scrappy Surfing Yogi

Wicked Toe Injury

I have always had a love/hate relationship with running, but since I completed the 10K, I found that running and surfing is a perfect combination. Throw in some yoga, and I feel awesome. 

In the last couple of weeks, my running workouts and surfing schedule has been awesome. Especially, because I got my new custom board from Locus Surfboards…more on that later 😁. Everything was going great until, I dropped my metal trash can on my big toe this past week. 

As I watched the instaneous bruise form, my heart sunk. First thought was I broke my toe, second thought was I can’t surf, third thought was I can’t run or workout.  

Trying to be an optimist, I was telling myself it wasn’t as bad as I thought, but when I went to go put on my running shoes, the pain was astronomical.

This injury sidelined me all week. Readers, what do you do when you have an injury?

~Namaste

Scrappy Surfing Yogi

Yogi and Surfer Easy Beauty Essentials

I am not paid to endorse the products I write about. ALL thought and opinions are my own.

I have always been a person that needs a simple makeup routine. I don’t like spending hours in front of the mirror getting ready for whatever activity I may have; work included. Add surfing and yoga into the mix, and simple is imperative. Whether I’m salty from the ocean or sweaty from yoga, I still need to look presentable for work.

I found this lip stick and lip gloss product called Lipsense, and it has changed my life. It is a lip stick stain and gloss set, and the stain doesn’t need to be reapplied all day! This is perfect for me since I apply after a workout and then that’s it. I also love the lip gloss since it is moisturizing and my lips get terribly dry. I already own Bombshell and Bombshell diamond and absolutely love! Here’s the link if you are interested in learning more about the product 

Also, another must have item for me is tinted moisturizer. I personally use one from my esthetician’s office, but there are a bunch out there. I love tinted moisturizers because it evens out my skin after a workout, and it’s not as heavy as a foundation. It also puts moisture back into my face where yoga and surfing can dry out the skin.

Here’s a pic of the two products I use! Enjoy!

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~Namaste

Scrappy Surfing Yogi

Yogi Runs Again

These past  10 days have been filled with head colds, ear infections, and antibiotics. Since I was traveling so much for work, my body finally gave into this wicked bad head cold and then I received a secondary infection of not one, but two ear infections, with maybe a touch of bronchitis.

Obviously, after traveling so much and being sick, I haven’t been able to do any type of workout (or think about working out) for weeks. I have had to cancel everything: surf sessions, new yoga class, Crossfit and just focus on getting better.

The opportunity arose from my Crossfit gym to participate in a Veteran’s Day Run/Walk this past weekend. I thought this might be a great way to get back into my workout routines, and since it’s a “walk” as well, I can walk it if need be.

After looking at the course map, I decided to sign up for the 10K. I’m not even sure why. I haven’t ran in about a year and a half, and haven’t trained for a 10K. I barely have any real running clothes, but I also thought worst that happens I just run the 5K course instead. The course map looks pretty flat, or so I thought.

Race day comes and I’m feeling pretty good physically, though knowing in the back of my head this is going to be a very hard and physically demanding run for me. Luckily, the weather was nice, not too cold or hot.

The race starts and I keep a nice pace, but by the time I hit the 1.5 mile marker, a slow and steady hill comes into view. I know I’m not prepared for any hill runs. My legs and calves start to tighten, and I slow down. This hill slows my pace for the rest of the race.

The rest of the race was pretty scenic and not very crowded. Maybe each mile I saw one person running. After talking to a race buddy about this, it’s a good and bad situation. It’s great to not be so crowded you can’t pace yourself, but it’s bad because sometimes you forget you are running a race.

All in all, I finished the 10K, something I haven’t done in 3 years. Pretty proud of myself coming off from such a bad sickness. Today, has been just relaxation since I’m pretty sore. Been practicing some light yoga stretches and getting ready for the week ahead.

Hopefully, I can surf and practice yoga this week. There are some new yoga classes starting up I’m pretty excited about. Also, I recently received my custom made surfboard from Locus Surfboards in Santa Cruz, so I have to try it out soon!

~Namaste

Scrappy Yogi

Crafty Surf Contest Prizes

If you read my last blog post, you would know that I have been traveling a lot for work. Well, when I arrived back home this past Wednesday, I had a surprise waiting for me! About a week ago, I won a contest for surf swag on craftysurf.com, and I was elated that my package arrived 🙂

I won a bunch of Atoll stickers, Core Surf t-shirt and decals, and a beautiful anchor bracelet made by the crafty surfer herself. See pic below

If you haven’t already, check out craftysurf.com! She is also on Instagram @ surfswithscissors.

~Namaste

~Scrappy (Surfing) Yogi