Tag: northern california

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?

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

 

 

 

To Surf With or Without Booties 

So, as most of you know, I’m a Santa Cruz surfer, which means the water is about 50 -58 degrees. A wetsuit is a must because of things like hypothermia. What are not always used are booties and gloves, your feet and hands might get cold but nothing extreme will happen. 

So the other day, while I was doing some yoga stretches and dry pop ups it dawned on me; I can feel every part of my foot. I haven’t surfed without booties in Santa Cruz in a long time, and my booties tend to be extra thick and padded. Great for ankle support, but not great for feeling your feet.

So, today was a surfing day. The swell was fantastic! 5-6 feet and most beaches, long period swell ans chunky powerful waves. We’re gonna get hit with an XXL swell by end of the weekend (maybe even Mavericks will happen next week). With the weather 65 degrees, I decided to go without booties. I wanted to see if it hurts or helps my surfing ability. 

Guess what? Totally did better without the booties. Of course the water was freezing, but I could really turn into the wave. And not to mention after surfing my feet were freezing! Guess that’s why Uggs were invented 😁

~Namaste 

Scrappy Surfing Yogi 

The New Surf Rack 

For years, I have been storing my surfboards in not great locations in our homes. Against walls, one the ground, in bags, and the places go on and on. I even kept one in my car for awhile.

I desperately needed a surf rack. My loving creative husband decided to build me one instead of buying an expensive wooden rack.

He took some spare wood we have (he’s making a table), built a box against our garage wall and presto surf rack.

I put insulated cardboard on the bottom on the box to keep my boards safe. I still want to add sections to the box for each board and secure it better to the wall (you know earthquakes) but it’s working for now!

~Namaste 

Scrappy Surfing Yogi 

The Night Before Christmas

Well, this holiday didn’t really go as planned. My husband and I were supposed to be on our way to the mountains, but since our puppy got sick, we stayed at home. At least, she is doing much better!

We decided to redo our holiday plans by relaxing at home, cooking and baking holiday food, and we treated ourselves to some holiday shopping. 

Yesterday, I was treated to a holiday surprise from craftysurf.com! See the pic below 🎄🎁

I love surfing Santa’s this time of year!

Wishing all my readers a very happy holiday! 

~Namaste

Scrappy Surfing Yogi

Movie Marathons

Every since I was little, my mom and I would have movie marathons. These were the days before “binge watching” was popular. Our movie marathons were usually actor based; John Cusack and Anthony Edwards were always at the top of the list, but needless to say, my love of movies started young. I guess that’s also why I got my B.A. in film and video technology, but that’s another story for another day.

Now, there is nothing wrong with holiday movies. I already watched all the ones I wanted to; Home Alone, Scrooged, Gremlins (yes, it’s an x-mas movie) and Christmas Vacation. Since I ran through the holiday movies, I decided to have a surfing movie marathon.

Now, not all the movies I would classify as “works of art” but fun to watch at least. I started with my go to favorites Blue Crush and Chasing Mavericks. Blue Crush is awesomely bad, but the female surfers are fantastic. Oh, and I might have watched Blue Crush 2 as well 😁

Chasing Mavericks is another favorite. It was actually filmed in Santa Cruz, where I surf, and it is a biopic of Jay Moriarty and Frosty Hesson. I always find is amusing to watch movies about locations I am familiar with. Fun fact: I actually met Frosty Hesson about a year ago surfing Pleasure Point…cool ain’t it?!

After these two movies, I decided to watch a movie I had never seen. I watched The Endless Summer by Bruce Brown. Amazon put it on Prime since he died, so I figured as a surfer I should know this movie. What I found so fascinating about it was Bruce Brown was shooting surf footage just like people capture on their GoPros now. Pretty revolutionary for a 1966 film maker.

I finished my marathon with Point Break, the original with Keanu Reeves. Another awesomely bad movie, but fun at the same time.

What types of movies do you like to marathon?

~Namaste

Scrappy Surfing Yogi

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