PB, no locals... not Pacific Beach- Pismo Beach

My mom has these photos of me from when I was a toddler playing in the sand under a pier.  She told me it was Pismo Beach, a place we often visited when we went up North to visit my Aunt.  Last month, on my way to a conference in Monterey, I was able to visit Pismo Beach for the first time as an adult.  It's a long strand of beach where you can surf, fish, camp and ride dirt bikes.  

There's the infamous pier in the background.

I love that you can drive right on to the beach.  Just be careful though, don't get overconfident and get stuck in the sand like these boys almost did.

That truck you see there is not moving.  His wheels are turning but...
He eventually got out.  The campsites are on the other side.
It looks like you'll have to cruise through some water to get there.
Hopefully you have a raised truck or an amphibious one!

My good friends are "desert rats", while I'm the "beach bum".
Check it out guys.. a compromise?
Pammie- RSVP at Pismo Beach and we'll all be happy campers!

My 7-Miles Endurance Training

Today was a true test of my strength and endurance for Stand-Up Paddling.  Coming into the Seaside Slide race this morning, I was more fearful about getting through the surf rather than paddling the 7-miles.  I guess it was a good distraction to start with because after I got through the surf unscathed I was feeling okay.

Check out the background.  You see why I was nervous having to get past those waves?

The first half wasn't so grueling. I followed everybody going way outside to the buoy.  It was a windy day and we got it from the back towards the buoy.  So you know what that means when we turned the buoy.  We had to take the next 3.5 miles going into the wind.  On top of that, I heard someone before the race say it was fastest to come back on the inside through the kelp beds.  This wasn't such a great idea for me.  It slowed me down big time having to deal with my fin and paddle sometimes getting caught.  Well, one time I tried to paddle through one of the kelp beds and it actually stopped me in my tracks, making me fall off my board.  I jumped back on with kelp in tow.  I also pulled up my leash that had additional kelp to make things more exciting for me.  It was disastrous.  I started to get frantic because I had a tough time getting all the kelp untangled.  I had to take a moment to compose myself as I almost broke into tears thinking, "What the hell do I do now?!"  I finally took a breather and patiently untangled the kelp one by one until I finally was clear.  At this point, I was over paddling through the kelp beds and went back outside.  I finished the race with a sore back from using a paddle that was too short.  I need to get another paddle for racing now that I have the raceboard because it sits about 4" higher above the water than my surfboard.

This has been the most challenging race thus far.  I learned a lot from it and will make some necessary changes to improve my game.  Miraculously, I finished 4th in the woman's division.  (Not bad out of 6 females and now I know why not many women enter this race but it won't stop me from coming back next year.)

Here I am with my contenders.  Terri Plunkett taking 1st place.

There's the Boga Board on the far right waiting to hit the water.

You Are What You Eat

An important part of any physical training regimen includes what you put into your body.  In the past few months I have changed my diet to eating mostly home-cooked meals.  And if you knew me personally, you'd know this was a huge step.  I was always self-conscious about what types of food I ate, even when we ate out so I always considered myself a healthy person.  Little did I know about the big gains I would receive by learning how to cook a few simple meals at home.  Along with my SUP workouts, I've shed some pounds, mainly body fat, and earned some muscles.  I feel stronger and my endurance is improving.  On my quest to continually improve, I visited an organic farm called Suzie's Farm in Imperial Beach.

Suzie's Farm provides local vendors and community members with fresh produce.  They provide your typical breeds of tomatoes, beets, broccoli, lettuce, etc.  But they also harvest unique varieties such as the spotted cabbage I have pictured below:

It only cost $10 to take a tour and you get to harvest a bag full of vegetables to take home.  Farmer Ellie's presentation demonstrated her passion for food and farming.  She broke down the process from tilling to planting the seeds to harvesting.  I learned so much on this tour and suggest you stop by when you're in town.

If you've never harvest carrots (like me), you'll have a blast.
It was like finding an easter egg every time and trying to find the biggest one!

Okay, that IS a carrot in my hand.  It's a red carrot.

I guarantee that if you started eating mainly things that are grown, such as the vegetables found on this farm, you'll improve your health big time!

Looking at the Sunny Side of a Rainy Day

A few more photos from the Adler Paddler:

Here I am sitting in the truck before the Adler Paddler trying to keep warm AND
debating "Do I want to do this?"  Thank goodness there isn't a chance of rain
for this weekend's Seaside Slide.

It's always a good time hanging out with these crazy guys!

I was impressed with the amount of people who attended
even with the cold and rain... that's dedication!

What's a BOGA?

"Based in Northern California, BOGA Paddleboards was founded by a group of industry professionals with the goal of bringing to market a lighter, stronger more high-performance Stand Up Paddle Board at a cost approachable for the average consumer.  David Meyler, founder and president of BOGA Paddleboards came up with the name.  In Spanish the verb bogar is to paddle.  BOGA is also slang for hip and stylish in South America."

Check out my fast and fine-looking BOGA race board:

The raceboard is all carbon-fiber so it's very light.  I tested its stability at the Adler Paddler last week.  It was very stable, even with the chop, strong winds and rain.  I also enjoy surfing the BOGA 9'2" Bullet.  It's a super wide board so it makes for a fun little board to ride, especially for someone like me transitioning from my long 11' to shorter boards.  Make sure you check out the old school retro looks of their longboards at www.bogaboards.com

Watch out! The BOGA Team is already making its mark with Ben Sarazin placing second in the Men's Stock SUP Division at the Dana Ocean Challenge.  

A Feast Fit for a King... I Mean Queen

Since I started training, I eat practically all the time!  I've always loved to eat (who doesn't) but the difference is the type of food I put in my body... not much junk (sugar and fat) anymore.  This photo is my dinner the other night.  I had delicious grilled veggies to make a healthy burrito.  I skipped the beans, rice and chips to stay on track and it was still "muy delicioso"!  Compare it to my friend's meal showing on the top right.  And yeah, you better believe I ate most of it!!  Yummy!

Fashion Forward and Beach Ready

Fashion is always on the forefront of my mind, even when it comes to SUPing. So I was thrilled to find these fashionable, beach appropriate shoes while shopping for Doc Martens for my kiddo's birthday gift.  (Yes, Docs never go out of style.)  These are the first time I've seen these and I'm usually on top of all the fashion trends.  The brand name is Native.  They are waterproof, washable, anti-microbial, shock absorbent and odor resistant.

These are black, but I'll be back for the bright orange ones!
Other colors include white, blue, grey and purple.

I'm actually going to try using them while SUPing.  I probably wouldn't use it for a long distance paddle session but might be cool when I'm just cruising around the bay on an easy day.