Tag: longboard

Last week in Review

In my previous post, I wrote that last week I was going to get back into the swing of my routine, and I very much did.

I started on Monday, surfing at a spot I hadn’t surfed in quite a few months. It tends to be a more intermediate spot in the Winter, and I was excited to see what my new Locus Surfboard was made of. It was on Monday that I took the longest and biggest wave of my life, and the board did fantastic! She is so fast, I love it! The pic below doesn’t do the waves that day justice, but it does show how nice the waves were.

I also knew after that epic ride, my ankle had enough for the day. I could feel it instantly start to swell within my bootie, but it was worth it.

On Tuesday, my ankle still was a little swollen so I decided to try out my balance board to strengthen some ankle support. Also, the wave report for Wednesday was going to be good, so I wanted to rest before a long surf session.

Wednesday came and along with it came excitement. My ankle was feeling better, my wetsuit was clean and the forecast was around 70 degrees. I usually arrive at the beach before the tide drops in order to get get the best spot in the lineup, and I happened to snap a picture of what the waves looked like at higher tide. I was beyond excited! 

I surfed for hours in perfect tide conditions. I had some great rides and some not great rides, but I always love learning what a new board is made of. Its always fun for me to try new pop up styles and new foot positions in conditions like this.

After surfing for hours, yet again my ankle had enough. I knew I needed some yoga in general, so I did about and hour of a yoga session at home.

The rest of the week was full of holidays celebrations with the family, and unfortunately taking care of our sick dog Kokoa. 

She’s doing a lot better now after a vet visit, some antibiotics and a lot of sleep.

I’m excited to start this week of surfing again. Surf conditions will be smaller but it’s always good to just paddle. I also have a couple of yoga sessions planned. Should be a very productive week.

As always you can follow me on Instagram at ScrappySurfingYogi 😁

~Namaste

ScrappySurfingYogi

Recharging this week

This past few weeks have been hectic. Between work and life, I have had little time to recharge. Sure, I have gotten in some surfing but not as much as I like. And I haven’t been able to practice yoga. Not being able to practice yoga or surf as much as I would like is really taking it’s toll.

This coming week, I have decided to recharge my mind, body and soul. I have planned 5 days of surfing and some yoga to rest and recharge. My husband even made me a rinse kit for my recharge week. See the pic below.

I’m excited to take a week to myself. Readers, what do you do to recharge?

~Namaste

Scrappy Surfing Yogi 

Beachy, Surfy, Yogi Bracelets 

I used to be a very creative kid. I was always sewing, painting, making lanyards, knitting or creating clay figurines. I guess as I got older, I just sort of stopped creating things. 

I’m always inspired by craftysurf.com, so I thought today, I would make a couple of bracelets to go with the beautiful anchor bracelet I won off her blog. Also, I love beachy, surfer -yogi bracelets, so wouldn’t it be nice to create it myself?

Being inspired by my new surfboard colors, I went to the local craft shop and bought nylon string and jute string in peach, champagne and teal colors. I like the natural look of the jute string. I also bought a nice starfish charm, just to try out.

I found a really easy braided pattern online, and made two bracelets; one with the charm and one without. 

Maybe next time I will add beads and a more complicated stitch. I also love hemp cord so I will probably experiment with that next time. 

~Namaste

Scrappy Surfing Yogi

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

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

Yoga Classes, Surfing, and the O’Neill Memorial Paddle Out

Well, it’s been a while readers! The reason I have been so silent, is that the husband and I moved into a new house which we are super excited about. Now that we are finally settled into our new place, I finally can share with you the  past couple of weeks.

First fun thing that happened over the last couple of weeks is that I participated in a community yoga class. I haven’t been to a teacher lead class in a long time, as my computer has been my yoga instructor, so it was nice to not watch YouTube. Between the move and surfing, my pesky shoulder blade was acting up, and a new fun South Swell was going to hit Santa Cruz, so I wanted to be in tip top shape. Luckily, the yoga instructor did a lot of shoulder openers and back strengthening, so I was good as new.

The surf the past couple of weeks has been really fun and we actually have waves! The waves are small, but with some South Swell activity, at least there is some power. I also have been taking the summer to work on certain surfing skills, paddling in particular, and have made a couple of minor pop up changes.

The biggest event that happened over the last couple of weeks is the O’Neill Memorial Paddle Out. Being a surfer in Santa Cruz and surfing regularly at “Jack’s”, I felt drawn to being part of the memorial.

The paddle out didn’t start until 11:00 am, but I decided to get together with some other surfers around 8:30 am to have brunch. To our surprise, there were already surfers in the water. We were warned that the memorial was expecting thousands, but we didn’t think surfers would be waiting that early.

By the time, we were done with brunch, the ocean was packed. I decided to not paddle out, but rather show my respect via the beach. Crowds tend to make me uneasy on land, so crowds in the water isn’t exactly a great combo for me.

Being part of the memorial is by far one of my most favorite memories. The sheer size of the paddle out, the beauty of all the surfers and boats, and the good nature of the crowd will always stand out in my mind. I am so grateful I could be a part of it.  Below you can see my pics of the day!

~Namaste

Scrappy Yogi

P.S. Thank you to Crafty Surf for the kind shout out! And congrats on your Liebster Award nomination 🙂

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Chicks in the Water

Being a female surfer definitely has it’s drawbacks, especially when you are just starting to learn. I have gone through periods of time where I don’t feel strong enough, good enough, and even thought of quitting. But as I started to look around in the line up and meet more  female surfers, I started to find my supportive group.

In particular, I found this Instagram profile @chicksinthewater. Her daily posts keep me motivated! So naturally, I reached out to @chicksinthewater to find out the reasoning behind this awesome Instagram account.

@chicksinthewater was started by a 24 year old name Brenda, who is an avid surfer and world traveler. Starting out as a surfer, she would regularly surf with dudes (just like me), and made excuses for why she wasn’t getting better. By finding supportive women surfers, she became better and found her true surfer self.

What I love most about her Instagram account is that they are true posts. She adds women who she has surfed with or has personally watched. She hopes she will inspire women and girls in the surfing world. Well, guess what Brenda, you already have.

If you haven’t already, check out her Instagram accound @chicksinthewater. You can follow me @scrappyyogasurfer for more updates, pics, and blog posts.

~Namaste

Scrappy Yogi