Category: health

Weak waves, running for miles and Labor Day weekend

This past week has been incredibly flat! But when you are trying to train, you have to go out anyway. Seriously, the only thing that improves surfing is more surfing.

All in all it was a good surfing week, little crowds, 2-3ft zippy waves and 2.5 hours per session 😁

Then, I decided to go for a run on Saturday. See, my husband has officially lost 75 pounds and to keep us motivated we do these little challenges. Whether its miles running, intensity minutes or number of workouts, these challenges are all in good fun.

Well, since I have been surfing so much my running has taken a back seat, so Saturday I decided to run. And I kept running for 5 miles.

Now, I havent run 5 miles in about a year, so afterwards I was sore, tight, and sleepy. The only thing that is making me feel better is yoga 😁

I’m not sure if running and surfing are a good combination. Followers, what other exercises to you do to accompany surfing?

When you step on a piece of glass…

Last week started like any other especially because I’m training for Women on Waves.

I got up early for my Monday morning paddle session with low expectations since no waves out there.

I caught a couple of fun little waves but mostly paddled to build up strength. When it was time to go in, I headed for the very high stairs.

I stopped at the seaweed bottom landing to tie up my leash and felt something sharp on the bottom of my foot. Stepping again, thinking it’s just a rock or shell, I tried to move the rock or shell off. When I stepped again, the feeling was sharp.

I immediately looked at the bottom of my foot and to my surprise it was a piece of glass! At the bottom of a long staircase on the beach!

My reaction was to remove the glass (obviously) but then my foot started to bleed. So, I bled up the stairs to my car and drove to work to take a better look.

At work, I could see that it was punctured, so unfortunately that means trip to the ER to get it cleaned thoroughly because the water is filled with bacteria.

Everything is fine with my foot, but most disturbing is that the glass was basically in the ocean.

How hard is it to keep a beach clean?

I decided to become a competitor

I would say I’m a fairly competitive person. I always enjoyed winning or placing in events, but when it comes to surfing it was nothing I wanted to compete in.

I guess that changed when I heard Women on Waves (WOW) was coming

back to Santa Cruz. It’s a fun contest, not to competitive. It’s like a color run.

So like any competition, one has to start to train. I have started to introduce my yoga training with Beachbody workouts again and of course a lot of surfing.

I’m excited to document my progress here as well.

So I took a little break…

So I took a little impromptu break. Between Logjam! 2018 and my new job…I have just been swamped lately.

Good news is that I have been surfing a bunch! Part of that is dedication on my part but also part is my jobs location. I’m lucky enough now to work in Santa Cruz so basically I can surf whenever.

My next goal is competing in the Women on Waves contest, so I will be keeping daily journals on my progress.

Oh, and I had my first encounter with a water photographer. You can find him on IG @wanderingsurfer. Heres my pic below

It’s good to be back!!!

Kumihimo Japanese Braiding

Since my last post, I have still been working on my carved surfboards. I even added tiny fins to my creations, however my carved surfboards still needed a cord.

Luckily and gratefully, craftysurf.com provided me a solution: Kumihimo Japanese Braiding.

This braiding is a form of loom jewelry, and can be as easy or as complicated as you want it to be.

I have been doing a simple 8 strand cord, but have also been experimenting with 4 strands.

I’m keeping my post short and sweet this holiday weekend!

Namaste

Scrappy Surfing Yogi

Shaping Surfboard Necklaces

The recent weather has been cold, rainy and very little surf. In order to keep my passion for surfing going, my husband and I started woodworking. We started making surfboard necklaces inspired by my Koa necklace I bought in Hawaii. We also have experimented with rings, fish hooks and anchors.

Here is a pic of a surfboard necklace I hand shaped.

I then added a wood stain on the surfboard. I chose a more natural stain to just bring out the wood grain.

I’m excited to show you what type of cord I have been working on, once it’s done. I have been taught by the very talented blogger craftysurf.com.

Last Meridian Lip Balm and Surf Balm

* I was not paid to endorse these products. All thoughts and comments are my own.

You all know that I am now an avid surfer and yogi. Well, surfing and practicing yoga in colder weather just does so much damage to your lips and skin. Lately, I have been dealing with dry, cracking and even bleeding lips with no relief. I have also been dealing with dry skin, and even with all the moisturizers and sunscreen, still dry and cracking.

Finally, I found natural and organic products from Last Meridian that has been healing my lips and skin. It’s made locally (to me) in Santa Cruz. I tried their Northern Kiss Lip Balm and Surf Balm.

What I love about the Northern Kiss lip balm is it’s made from Beeswax, Cocoa butter Cocoa powder, Sweet almond oil, Local Raw Honey, Spruce essential oil, and Peppermint essential oil. All of these products mixed together smells great but also feels great on my achy lips. It’s been healing all of my issues, and I couldn’t be happier.

I also started using Last Meridian Surf Balm for actually everyday use. It’s an SPF 30, and I find the balm is more soothing to my skin and also has a hydrating quality. I have to wear SPF everyday, and even under makeup. It’s great for under any foundations or powders, and it’s not oily.

I’m absolutely in love! For more information on Last Meridian products click here

Petroglyphs

Visiting the Big Island brought a lot of Hawaiian history to my attention. First piece of history we saw were the Kailoka Petroglyph Fields. Actually, we were staying in a condo right on the fields, so it was easy to walk to. These fields were all over the place, and there was even a 32 mile horse trail filled with petroglyphs.

I enjoyed figuring out what the pictures represented and walking in the volcanic ash. It was totally like walking on another planet!

Happy Saturday readers!

Valentine’s Day

So surfing can be a very selfish sport. I mean, I check the surf report multiple times a day, adjust my schedule to tides and pretty much obsess about my next surf session.

So I found this meme today I wanted to share with everyone from hotswell.com

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Surfer Girl and The Big Island

So this past week, my husband and I took a vacation to The Big Island in Hawaii. We were also there to celebrate my birthday, which happened to be a BIG birthday. I guess it made sense to go to the BIG island. We decided to stay in Kailua Kona, which is full of lava fields, and it pretty much felt like a different planet.

The Big Island isn’t known for it’s surfing, but you can surf there, I mean there is a coast. It’s just not lined with surf shops like Maui or Oahu. It’s mainly rocky which isn’t a difference for me being a Santa Cruz surfer. I did have something interesting happen to me on my birthday, which I wanted to share. The surf report wasn’t that big, so I wanted to go to our local beach break. It’s a beautiful inlet with somewhat of a beach and comes equipped with lifeguards, so I went to talk to the local surf shop. Now, this isn’t my first time surfing somewhere else, and it’s not my first time surfing in Hawaii. I know the rules, and I’m well aware I’m a guest, but usually I don’t have an issue. I just make casual conversation and mention I’m a Santa Cruz surfer, and that breaks the ice. For those who don’t know, Santa Cruz surfers have a reputation of being SUPER AGGRO. Well, that didn’t work this time.  They were pretty much turned off by me from the beginning.  They were worried about broken boards and the rocky terrain so they wouldn’t rent me out a board (they also denied others), and just to put icing on my birthday cake, told me to go to Kauai where the “surfer girls” go. Surfer girls in this context was said in a negative way.

In the past, I have written on how “surfer girl” could be a derogatory term if used in such a way, but in the past year, it’s also become a term I really enjoy.  The people I surf with use it as a term of endearment, and as multiple FEMALE surfers have said, we have all been called much worse in the water. Needless to say, I didn’t surf on The Big Island, and I wasn’t going to rent a board where I’m not welcome. Now, I didn’t let it ruin my day, and sadly this won’t be the last time I run into this, but it makes me appreciate ALL the surfers I know who believe men and women can surf.

But hey, I can still cross step and noseride on my board right? 🙂

Namaste

Scrappy Surfing Yogi