Friday, October 9, 2015

Hiking Iron Mountain


This day I set out for a really great hike. I love our hiking spots here in the San Diego area. Iron Mountain is true hiking. The terrain is rocky and hiking shoes are best. It was a great day with clear conditions and warm (not hot) temps.




The views from the trail are gorgeous!

Made it to the top!

Don't slip! Haha
I followed my awesome hike with a great lunch at Rubios...shrimp tacos-yum!

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

The best day!

Monday I had the best day! :)

I worked all last week and then into the weekend. My stress level was far beyond healthy so Sunday night I got my stuff all packed for an early Monday morning surf session. The news has been reporting on increased hammerhead shark sightings N of my Pacific Beach surf spot. It didn't bother me one bit.  I'm not sure even a hurricane would have stopped me from heading out into those waves. That's how badly I needed my "therapy".

Two hours of salt water refreshment and I emerged a new person, cleansed by the sea and salt air, ready to take on my life again. I had caught a couple of waves on my longboard too. And really to me, catching waves is just icing on the cake. I rinsed off my board and wetsuit and took a shower at the beach showers. They're not the cleanest (I just wear flip-flops), but the water was cool and the ceiling is open-aire which is such a refreshing feeling, especially with the heatwave we've been having. I combed some moroccon oil into my hair, doused my face with some Neutrogena moisturizer and threw on a maxi dress and flip-flops and headed over to work. When I got there I discovered that the project I was scheduled to work on was DONE! What to do, what to do? I had just bought 4 hours with nothing on my schedule. How about spend the day enjoying myself? There was no question! God had opened up the day and knew I needed it!

I am long overdue taking care of myself. I almost always find time for exercise but rarely do I do much else aside from buying products I like for my hair and skin. So today I marched right over to the nail salon and got a wonderful hour-long mani-pedi followed by a bikini wax (not relaxing but still feels good to take care of myself). After that it was getting quite warm so I drove down to the beach boardwalk, where I grabbed a breakfast burrito (even though it was lunch) from a place called Kono's Cafe where the line usually wraps around the building. Well today was my day. I walked right up to the counter, placed my order and found a seat with a gorgeous view (almost never available!). I didn't eat much, but then browsed around Wahine's and a few other surf shops and walked out onto the pier where I watched the surfers for about an hour.

After that it was time to pick up my hubby from work and carpool home. I even got to sit and wait for him for about an hour napping in the car under a shade tree.

Of course after that we went home where the craziness of football, homework, chores, etc occurs but at this point nothing could have bothered me. I was good.

I can't think of a better way to spend my day. Maybe my shaded nap could have been in a hammock? ;)

Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Day 1! (again...)

Here's to Day 1 of being a runner again! Today's run was 3.15 miles at 10:15/mile. Not bad! I dropped my son off at school and was really looking forward to hitting the pavement after quite a while. My last runs were in Oregon so...yeah it's been a while. I hit the ground running in 73 degrees and sunny conditions and after just a few minutes I realized my weather app lied! It was a smokin' 80 degrees out! I did a walk/run combo and more than once during my walk portion I threw my hands up and moaned, " Too HOOOOOT!" I had my earbuds in so if I was loud I didn't know. It actually made me very thankful I skipped the AFC Half Marathon because in such poor shape with 90+ degree weather I would have seriously suffered for that medal. (Ok it still stings a little)

I finished today though and can finally say I've started back again. I have so little time these days but running is such an easy way to get a workout in. The weather is bound to get cooler eventually too.

Here's the Skinny

Football season is back in full swing, and with it my son's nightly practices. I've been seeing faces I don't see all year until football starts. One face in particular that I haven't seen all year got much, much skinnier.

A mom of one of the boys on Aaron's football team lost a bunch of weight, a shocking amount actually. Not the, hey-good-for-you amount of weight but the.woah-is-she-sick? amount. And it's weird because I specifically remember admiring how lovely she looked last year...a very attractive build, very pretty hair, low-key fashion that she made look effortless (with her 4 kids!). I remember thinking, wow, she looks very nicely put together.

This year I was shocked to see that she has lost like 20 lbs which for someone of 5'6" or 5'7" stature really shows. I can't help but wonder, did she do it on purpose? This woman was gorgeous now many of the things that stood out as attractive last year have shrunk, and not in a good way. Perhaps she is ill (hopefully not). But otherwise I wonder, why women do this? I don't understand how to so many women ultra-skinny is still considered attractive!

Listen up ladies. We need to understand that we are amazing. We are beautiful, we are feminine and strong, we are creative and sporty, we are loving and powerful. We have so many wonderful traits as our true selves, especially our mom-selves. I don't understand why so many try to fix what isn't broken.

Here's the thing...if you are overweight, then definitely make some healthy changes. But if you are at a healthy weight, your blood lab draws are in range at the Dr's office, you see the dentist regularly, get your annual Pap smears and mammograms and you're good, don't try to fix what isn't broken! I'm not trying to criticize women who are naturally thin, thinness as a goal does not equal beautiful or attractive. In fact I have never once heard a man say that they loved putting their arms around a boney-thin woman. Most say they like having a woman with areas they can squeeze-LOL.

I don't mention things like this often because I always receive "well you couldn't possibly understand" messages. And let me tell you this...I live in the same appearance-obsessed, airbrushed society as you do. I have grown, birthed and breastfed 3 babies. I have plenty of flaws...PLENTY. I see the pressure to get Botox, a boob job, weekly mani-pedis, etc. And here's a bomb for you...I weigh 145 lbs with my 5'4" stature...I'm not skinny! And that's ok because who says it's not?!?

Anyway, I'm not an eloquent blogger or anything I just thought I would throw this out into cyberspace. We all need to hear this. It makes me sad that the woman at my son's football practice either hasn't heard this or doesn't believe it. But I'm going to say it...Whatever you are naturally, ladies be proud of who you are...you don't need to be skinny to be beautiful! Who you are, is enough.



Tuesday, August 18, 2015

Who's the Flakiest Runner?

Me!

So after planning all year, and finishing the first two races, I flaked on the AFC Half Marathon. I know...for shame! I have not trained at all this summer, unless you count marathon surfing sessions (which I totally think count...). The weather was unseasonably hot this week and last weekend I came down with a mysterious case of plantar fasciitis. What? What's that you say? I REAL runner would have just gone and done it anyway? Well I guess a medal plus another medal wasn't enough motivation for me to hobble on a hurt foot through 85-degree weather over 13.1 miles. It just wasn't. I still love running, but I just didn't care enough for some reason. And I'm ok with that.

So what did we do instead? We went surfing of course! It was a million degrees! We went to the ocean...and I spent 3 1/2 glorious hours in the beautiful waters of Cardiff Pipes attempting (and mostly failing) to surf and succeeding at teaching my 15-year-old and 12-year-old sons to surf. That last part, teaching the boys was reason enough. I've never been so proud. Only I didn't think it through, because now I have to share my board...Hmmm.

Saturday, August 1, 2015

I love being home on a nice day after surfing and being able to take the time to wash off the boards and my car in the process. It's a refreshing way to enjoy the sunshine.




Friday, July 31, 2015

New Longboard!

My husband is the best...he bought a new longboard for me off a friend of his at work! I saw it in the Swimmer shop and commented how it looked perfect for me (which it is) and the guys there had said the guy who owned it hadn't used it in at least a year. Then I jokingly hinted to the hubby that maybe he could see if the guy would sell it to us...well isn't he the sweetest? He did it!

Oregon friends who met me at Cardiff that day.

It's a wide deck...would actually make a good smaller paddle board as well as surfboard I think.

Tuesday, July 28, 2015

I Don't Wanna Work, I just Wanna...

Do anything else!

Since it has been a while since I have posted and trying to catch up would be a huge chore, I'm just going to do a quickie to get up to speed:

I'm a surfer chick. I have been surfing pretty regularly these days and really have a hang of the longboard. I have a short board also that I bought at a garage sale but it is built for speed and not stability so I have not been very good at it yet. I also have not been SUPing very much. I can't help it... the waves beckon me! Summer in San Diego rocks for surfing, and the water has been warmer lately. On average I am lucky enough to find myself out in the waves once a week.
Cardiff Reef

San Elijo

New 6-footer I can't ride yet

Surfing the Silver Strand over 4th of July


The America's Finest City Half Marathon is in just a couple of short weeks and man my training is going awesome! Ha! Not so much. I am just to where I have been running a handful of 3-4 milers these days. It's not that I hate running, it's just that I have been working SO MUCH...way more than I honestly want to. I am so exhausted after work. Some days I can get up the nerve and psych myself up but most days I'm just trashed. Hopefully in a couple of months I can scale back work a bit and get more fitness in. I did run 2 4-milers on our recent trip to Oregon, and remember why I ran so much there. The modest temps, clean air, and beautiful scenery are perfect!

And I miss my regular yoga, or rather my mind/body/soul misses it. This whole working mom thing sucks the big one. Time to make room on my calendar!




Friday, May 29, 2015

Exactly!

Don't be too afraid to try something you feel is out of reach! If you never try, you'll never know! The worst than can happen is that you'll fail...and even then you will be glad you tried!

Sometimes Location Matters

We've lived in San Diego now for just shy of 2 years. It's hard to believe but it's flying by! I can truly say we are making the most of it and experiencing a lot! Related to staying active, living here has made exercise super easy (and fun). When I am not going on runs (easy fallback), I'm hiking near my house, taking awesome yoga classes, and now surfing. I get to bicycle with my husband from time to time too. The great thing? It's all super fun! I actually enjoy getting out there, and look forward to my next adventure. That's the great thing about it, these options for exercise are energizing my spirit, not just my body.

While we lived in Seaside, OR I feel like I stepped out and tried different activities, but it was cold and rainy a lot so I didn't get to do as much outside as here, and I certainly wasn't as enthusiastic about getting outside.

So far this week has been:

3-mile run plus yoga at home
SUP session with a friend
4-mile run
4-mile mountain climb hike
2 hour surf session

My body feels better than it has in years!

Friday, May 22, 2015

Newest Hobby!

Well it only took me 16 years but I finally realized a dream of mine...learning to surf! I'm not half bad at it either! I have gone out three times so far and two of those were a private lesson. It's a blast and I'm fully hooked.

Friday, May 1, 2015

Colorful Pants Yoga

I did quite a bit of yoga tonight but you'd never know because my camera was being finicky! That's ok :)
 
 
Working on some "flying bird" poses
This one turned out more like a flying crow...

...while L side turned out to be more of a Flying Pigeon pose Eka Pada Galavasana

Legs up the wall-and I love my new pants! They remind me of a stained-glass window

Working on King Cobra
 Working on Pincha Mayurasana using the wall for stability. Later I used my strap to keep my elbows more parallel


What the heck have I been up to?

Well as my last post recounts, I finished the La Jolla Half last Sunday! Woohoo! I also celebrated my 34th birthday and my husband bought me a stand-up paddle board. Man does it work the core and arms! And...I finally tried out the new Reach Yoga studio that I bought a Groupon for and took an awesome hot yoga class! I'm SOLD on hot yoga! I have also squeezed in a post-half-marathon run in this week. Loving the sun, water, surf, etc. San Diego is awesome!




La Jolla Half Marathon

Life has been busy, but I managed to finish the second race in the Triple Crown Series!

La Jolla Half Marathon is a beast! So many hills, including the famous Torrey Pines hill. I finished in 2:20. Not my slowest half, but definitely not my fastest! I stuck with a kind stranger runner for the first 10 miles but after that she caught up with a runner who was not fading like I was at that point. I am not fast on downhills and at that point there was a looooooooong downhill. But for the most part I felt much better about my overall physical fitness during this race than the Carlsbad Half in January.





Half Marathon #7 in the books!

Friday, April 10, 2015

Quick Run Post

Quick being the post, not necessarily the runs ;)

Wednesday I got a 4-miler in, pushing around 9:15 per mile, not bad! Then Thursday my hubby and I climbed Mt. Woodson and came back down in just under an hour! Not bad for 1 1/2 miles up 1200 feet!! Then back down of course ;)


Yoga tonight then an 8-miler for Sunday. Coming along!

It's Friday Night! Let's Get Crazy and...

Do Yoga!

I know, don't freak out. I'm such a Friday Night party gal ;) Just kidding, there was a time for going out with girlfriends partying but that ended oh...16 years ago? These days there is nothing better than peaceful, relaxing things that quiet the mind and bring peace to the soul. Enter yoga...

Working on King Cobra Pose Bhujangasana...I thought my head was much closer to my feet!
Working on Lizard Pose Utthan Pristhasana..I'm really starting to like this pose! Elbows to floor in this deep lunge is a victory for sure.
Lizard L

Lizard R



Hands Under Feet Forward Fold Pose Padahastasana

Downward Facing Dog Pose Adho Mukha Svanasana...I took my tank off to make an important point. In this pose it is easy to forget but it is important to really draw the navel to the spine.

Chair Pose Utkatasana
 Standing Head to Knee Pose Dandayamana Janushirasana. I was happy to see I am now able to fully straighten my legs
 
 
 Here is a step-by-step progression



Goddess Pose Utkata Konasana

Corpse Pose Savasana (with block under my Thoracic region)

A Two-Legged Inverted Staff Pose (Dwi Pada Viparita Dandasana) just felt right-I love this pose