I'm sad...but you don't have to be.

Oh it's a sad day as a SUP business on Cape Cod...Labor Day.  Do you know what Labor Day means in these here parts...it means your stand up paddle board business is toast until the next July 4th. It also means no more crazy traffic on Cape Cod. I won't lie, I'm not gonna miss that one bit!  I had an amazing season and I'm pretty darn sad that it's mostly over.  I mean, how cool is it to have a job sharing what you absolutely love with people who are always in a good mood and ready to have the time of their lives. I feel very lucky to have met so many fantastic people this season who trusted me to keep them safe and open up the wonderful world of stand up paddle boarding and SUP yoga to them.  If you were one of the lucky ones to have tried and fallen in love with SUP this year then I am happy to say that your SUP season does not have to end on Labor Day.  There is tons of time to enjoy this water sport as long as you keep your safety in mind and prepare for the weather.  I enjoy paddle boarding year round and take the appropriate precautions so that I always have a safe and enjoyable experience. Paddling in the fall is a fabulous way to see the foliage along a river or lake. My favorite time of year is the dead of winter when all the boats are gone, the waters are calm and there are miles of shore line, water fowl and wildlife to view.  With the right wet suit/dry suit, booties, gloves, hat and a float plan you can stay out for hours (a thermos full of hot coco doesn't hurt either).  So don't let the cooler temperatures fool you into putting your paddle board away for the season or keep you from calling your local paddle board outfitter like Peace Love SUP.

SUP Yum!

So at 9:30 tonight I decided it would be a good idea to eat a half pound of scallops wrapped in a pound of bacon...yup I did...probably not my best idea right before bed but what the heck! I'm betting I'm not the only one that eats loads of salty meat before bed.  Really? You don't eat salty meat before bed?  Well what the heck do you eat then?  Oh wait, I bet you eat ice cream before you hit the sheets don't ya...well I can't argue with you on that one.

www.polarcave.com

 

Okay, so what do you eat when you are out paddling then? You sure as heck can't be eating ice cream my friend.  I'm trying to picture you paddling and licking your cone at the same time...that would be a site.  Anyway, my point here is that your body is the fuel that propels that beautiful board of yours, and what you fuel your bod with...well you catch my drift.

I'm not going to pretend that I'm an expert on paddle nutrition but I'm gonna give you a few things to consider the next time you decide to paddle. First and foremost you must hydrate. Before, during, after...all of it!  I'm not talking about chugging a bud light, although I have been known to pack a few cold ones in my cooler when I'm out on a SUP picnic.  I'm talking about water, and you should be drinking a bunch of it anyway but especially when you are headed out on a long paddle in the heat. Consider adding in a sports drink to perk up those lost electrolytes if you're going to be out longer than 1.5 hours. Before I purchased a fancy camel back type hydration system I use to throw a gallon of water on my board in front of me and it worked just fine. 

So we covered fluids, now the food part.  I like the basics...carbs, fat, protein. My body likes it when I mix them all up in a nice little bowl, then shove a fork in said bowl and take aim for my pie hole.  If I'm going out for a morning training session then I fill my tank with scrambled eggs and add veggies and meat (and a cup of coffee, I gotta have my coffee) My favorite things to eat while I'm paddling....chop up grilled chicken breasts and mix with your favorite salsa and mashed up avocado....tada! I also love chopped up grilled chicken breasts mixed with celery, walnuts, apples, cranberries, a little mayo, celery salt, and some maple syrup....holy yum.  Okay, one more chopped up grilled chicken entree, mix it with broccoli slaw, nuts & dried fruit and just a little otria cucumber dill feta greek yogurt dip. I swear it's not gross.  Nuts, fruit, meatballs....ya know, whatever I have on hand I find a way to bring it along. I tend to leave out grains and dairy for the most part because it makes me feel like crap but to each his own. If you wanna jam a sandwich down your throat then I say go for it.  But consider keeping your fuel natural and not ingesting the bulk of your nutrition from the innards of the grocery store isles....just sayin'.  Now go forth, pack a picnic, and paddle! 

SUP Racing....i.e. The After Party

 So you're thinking to yourself..."Racing? Seriously?  Why would I want to do that? I just wanna peace out on my love SUP, paddle over to an island, crack a beer, open a book and chill." Alright, alright simmer down...I hear ya. Most days that's all I wanna do to. But here me out on this one. I don't get the chance to race often but when I do there is tons of fun to be had.  First of all you are likely going to travel to and paddle around a place that you have never seen before and I betcha it's going to be friggin beautiful.  Next you're gonna get a kick ass workout, cause lets face it, you want to win and that will make you paddle hard and fast! Finally... at the finish... who really gives a crap if you win because there are fun people to hang with, a band to jam to, delicious food to stuff your pie hole with and beer!

The other cool thing...SUP racing is still in its infancy so that means you actually can win..or at least place. That's what happens to me. The last race I did on the Essex River there were only 2 women competing so guess what? I won second place even though I came in dead last! Oh, and for you ladies...there is some nice scenery for sure. I won't go into details but the words built and gorgeous come to mind. So there you have it, the real reasons to get SUP racing this year. And don't worry about whether or not you have a specialized race board. Paddle whatever you've got. Yeah, maybe someday you'll decide to invest in a $2,000+ race board but if you ask me it's all about the experience, meeting new people, having fun, and the after party!

Keep Calm...

Oh man...it's been 3 weeks since I last posted, crap! And I thought I was gonna get good at this blogging stuff...oh well. So what have you cats and kittens been up to?  No good I'm sure! I on the other hand have been a very good girl, well not really. I went to a concert in Boston last week and almost peed in a parking garage.  But I didn't, I guess that's the good part.  It was one of those fancy garages that was playing elevator music and had lights everywhere.  I was waiting to meet some friends who were driving down from Maine and I just didn't think I could hold it.  I came really close to copping a squat in the corner.  Come on, you know you've been in this situation before... So anyway, the concert was amazing, I got to see some old friends who I hadn't seen in a while and I didn't pee myself so all ended well. I have a bladder of steel I tell ya!

On another note....here in New England things are springing up which is super duper exciting.  People in these parts are finally happy again.  The grass is green, leaves are starting to bud on the trees, flowers are blooming....and...the weather is warming up so I don't have to wear a damn wet suit and booties to SUP anymore. 

Once all that winter SUP gear is on it's really not so bad, but peeling yourself in and out of it is a big hot mess. There is nothing less appealing than trying to jam yourself into an ensemble that looks like it's suppose to be painted on your bod.  And then have to take it off in a cold, and I'm talking really cold, parking lot without attracting attention...well...you catch my drift.  A necessary evil cause I'm a safety conscious kinda gal and not about to chance taking an unexpected swim in the drink when it's 30 degrees out. So I'm thankful those days of jamming in and peeling out of wetsuits are behind me for a while.

And with the warm weather arriving my peeps are starting to think about SUP (those that decided not to brave the cold weather wet suit escapades with me) and they all ask me...What kind of paddle board should I get?  Well heck, just go google it and you'll get tons of answers from tons of other SUP bloggers out there.  There are different boards for different conditions, rec, race, yoga, blah blah blah...But I'm gonna give it to you straight.  Please, please, please choose a board that you can lift above your head safely and get on and off your car, truck or whatever it is you mobilize yourself in.  Cause you know what really stinks, dropping the damn thing on the pavement, scratching and scraping the heck out of it and getting really mad at yourself and your beautiful new board.  The first board I bought was great, and big and thank friggin god it was plastic cause I banged the shit out of it.  It really was to heavy for me and looking back I'd wished I had gotten something that was more manageable.  But you know how it is, I was on a tight budget and Craig's List was my oyster so that's what I ended up with.  I've gotten much better with maneuvering my boards by using smart body mechanics and my brute strength (CrossFit serves me well) but those things can get slippery sometimes, or the wind whips up, or I'm just plain tired and bang. So do yourself a favor..unless you have a hot chesty man (or you are a hot chesty man) lifting and transporting your boards everywhere, make sure you can pick the board up and put it down a few times before buying it.  You'll thank me later. You'll be so happy that you took my advice I bet you'll even want to cook me some bacon!

SUP, Zombies, Bacon and blogging

Okay, so i guess I kinda suck at blogging. You know how I can tell that I suck at blogging?  Because it's been almost a year since my last post.  I have tons of reasons why I haven't posted but I'm sure you don't want to hear about them. Anyway, I've decided to give it another try for a few reasons.....but mainly my marketing director (i.e. husband) says that if I blog it will get me higher up on the google search engine  (he also said I should talk about bacon and zombies because those are popular topics these days). So I said I would do it except this time I don't want to just blog about SUP and my wonderful Peace Love SUP business.  There's only so much you can say about SUP being a great core workout before it gets really boring right? You see, I started thinking about my life...and it turns out it's pretty amazing and fun, so I think maybe I should include the other amazing and fun stuff too...that's why I'm renaming my blog to Peace Love SUP (and other stuff)...pretty catchy isn't it?

Do you wanna hear about the other stuff? Well I won't tell you all of it right this second but I'll give you a quick run down...I'm a physical therapist...that lends itself to a million stories most of which start out with a patient telling me..."I have a high pain tolerance" or  "my doctor said my knee is bone on bone" but maybe only other physical therapists find that funny so I'll move on. 

I have two children and a hubby who make my heart smile a million times every day and who also make me want to drink a lot of vodka every night. I know some of you out there feel the same way so I'm not gonna feel bad about it.

Hmmm what else....oh I drink the kool aid...CrossFit kool aid that is. What the hell is CrossFit you ask? If you don't know, the best way I can explain it is it's a cultish type of gym where you beat the crap out of yourself and then feel good about it later.  Until you hurt yourself of course, and have to see a physical therapist, then you don't feel so good anymore...job security right there!

I also teach a little yoga...and I love it...it balances out my crazy sides. Like the side of me that dresses up like a fairy for the holidays (or just because I feel like it) and passes out jello shots. Or the side of me that likes to head bang in the mosh pits at obnoxiously loud concerts and drink beer. Are you starting to understand why I need yoga to balance me out?

So I think that's a good start to my return to blogging...I'm not sure how often I'll do this but I'm going to aim for more than once a year.  I'll probably throw out advice on SUP and safety from time to time.  I'll give you my two cents on the importance of staying supple and how to avoid injuries. I'll relive some of the adventures I have with my babes and hubby. And I'll keep you posted on opportunities for fairy sightings and jello shots. Oh, and don't forget the bacon and zombies.....we'll talk about them to!