Halloween Heats 2

It's a costume ball...It's a surfing contest...It's the Haunted Heats Surf Competition held by ZJ's Boarding House. It was also my first time surfing since August and the rib injury. I went as Slash and it felt appropriate as I stumbled onto the beach, pretty much in character. 8 am on a Saturday is early to play dress-up, act out your character, and then surf in costume...but, I pushed through. Played Sweet Child of Mine with my Les Paul and a portable amp, and rocked the 60 people watching..



In the waves, I caught one good wave right off, and executed a nice bottom turn, playing some air guitar for style points, and holding up the sign of the devil. I almost had brought along a wine bottle for more style points but not really a great idea when you're surfing to have glass on you. Beyond that, I lost my aviator sunglasses in one wave, and got fairly nailed by many waves, though a lot of people congratulated me when the 15 min heat was over. Also in my heat btw were a pilot who had turned his surfboard into a plane, a mullet wearing redneck, Mrs Doubtfire, and a Hershey's kiss. Slash did not win- but it was still a good experience, and good to get back into the water (One of us has lost some speed and strength)



Then there was the raffle. Proceeds went to Boarding for Breast Cancer, and October is breast cancer awareness month. I didn't win that either and they gave out some nice Firewire boards. So, I actually did a Craigslist search when I got back to my apt for a board I've been aware of- Shaun Thomson's The Warp (2012). Designed by Ventura shaper, Al Merrick, The Warp is made for older surfers looking to shred on California waves. I met Shaun last year around this time and was inspired by him to go to the North Shore, Hawaii. He's a South African, Jewish surfer, now in his 50's, and produced the film, Bustin' Down the Door about the birth of pro surfing (narrated by Ed Norton), and beyond that, is a classy ambassador for surfing. He wrote the Code, which I covered in another blog entry. So I felt like, maybe this board, a 6'4 performance shortboard ($200), was a good reward for all my surf efforts of the past year- from Hawaii to the 50 year swell in Malibu, to competing in three surf competitions; it's been quite a year. I hope the board works out, and takes me to a true intermediate level.



Here's Shaun at Rincon in Ventura...notice the board...


Most of all, I hope I get back to that place of enjoying surfing and having fun with it. I get very competitive about it. It really is a privilege to be healthy and active and have the opportunity to get out into nature. When you do catch a wave, it's such a great feeling- and even when it doesn't- and you're out there with seals and dolphins, surfing at sunrise and sunset, it's a beautiful thing.

Daniel Craig's 007 workout

I'm back in LA and back at 24 Hr Fitness, still healing from the surf injury but doing much better. The important thing about an injury is to keep going. You can take a little time off and definitely you need to rest, but you ultimately, have to push on. That being said, it's been awesome to swim again. I've chosen to go back to a program that I tried in 2003, the Daniel Craig James Bond workout.



I did a modified version of this workout today- involving isometric lifts (ie. no weights- and subbed pull-ups for another back exercise)



The Daniel Craig 007 workout is tough. It's 5 days a week and heavy in volume- and very pull-up oriented. Pull-ups are great for building upper body strength, but they're difficult. It's a solid program with a power circuit of big lifts on Monday and Friday and some smaller workouts on T,W,R (groups of two body parts). The real key is finding the motivation and sticking to the program.

Happy Fall!
Gabe

Traveling in the NE

It's so hard to keep in a routine when you're traveling. But I was thinking about it....maybe that's the good thing about moving around. It makes you want to be settled someplace, and makes you want to make plans for when you get home. Even diverging from a set way of eating can have benefits if you reign it in. I find that about a month is the max I can go before I really notice weight gain. Of course, visiting Boston for my Dad's birthday and Rosh Hashanah has been challenging from the top. String cheese, beer, fruit, hummus, kugel, as well as Dunkin' Donuts, birthday cake....I didn't eat all of those things, but they're out there and tempting.

I've been rereading Gary Taubes' Why We Get Fat back in LA and Art DeVany's New Evolution Diet, and been watching some videos of them online while here. Pretty interesting...and pretty amazing the mainstream media is so adverse to covering these guys. I've also been checking out Mark Sisson's blog- Mark's Daily Apple http://www.marksdailyapple.com and almost bought his Primal Blueprint for my Dad today...So many Paleo books at Barnes and Nobles now. Pretty amazing.

Here's a video with Mark Sisson:


Not too much to add. Been stretching and have been good overall with the diet. Had an amazing time kayaking with my Dad a few days ago on the Charles. It was really beautiful to get out on water in a different way from surfing. It was very placid and still but with a gentle current, and the scenery was like marshland- almost like the Everglades. Very peaceful- and quite a change from surfing. I find I'm drawn to water these days- so very cool to interact with it in new ways. I'd love to try windsurfing when I get back.





Happy New Year to anyone reading.

Cheers-
Gabe

24 Hr Fitness and Muhammed Ali

Yup....Rebooted my 24 Hr fitness membership today. Have been feeling much better with the prescription drugs. I think the anti-inflammatant has really worked, as I'm able to stretch again. It's felt so nice the past couple days to just move again. And it's been brutally hot in southern California, which was what brought me to Hollywood's 24 Hr Fitness....namely THE POOL!!!



Did about 20 laps on a kickboard which felt amazing. It's been a while since I swam in a pool. I used to do that regularly back in Brooklyn in 2004-2005 before the mini-triathlon. So it was nice, and good to beat the heat in the middle of the day. If you have a 24 Hr Fitness membership, you know it can be a drag at peak times- like 4pm -8pm on weekdays. Also, cleanliness can be an issue. But overall, for $50/mos, you get your money's worth- and can choose gyms all over LA and around CA. Unfortunately you have to pay a guest fee in NYC, though sometimes they'll let it slide. It can be particularly useful to have validated parking (like in Anaheim during NAMM in January).

I hit the jacuzzi too, which can be nice with the jets against your back. I've been chilling with some Hydrocodone tonight, so feeling pretty cozy, and discovering whole new meanings to Pink Floyd lyrics ("my hands felt just like two balloons"). Cheers, gentle reader. Here's to rocking out this Fall. Don't let anything hold you back...

Below is my favorite from Muhammed Ali:

Injuries and Keeping On

So I had an injury and it turned out to be not so good. I hurt my ribs surfing...I just came from the doctor's office and they did an X-ray. Apparently that shooting pain in my rib cage is a series of muscle contusions and bruises. People keep asking if I hit a rock or my board. They're not realizing the size and power of those waves. I basically just got rocked and I remember holding onto my board with my arm outstretched underwater. The doctor was very insightful and empathic and explained that the ribs stretch apart when they're being pulled like that and when they snap back in place, they can lead to bruising. I resisted going to a doctor figuring it was just bruised but it actually was helpful. Here's the X ray for any rib enthusiasts:



But the question is- Where do you go from here? The doctor said I can't lift weights or surf or swim until the ribs heal up- and guess what, they're slow to heal. Good news is he gave me an anti-inflammation drug prescription and a painkiller prescription. So that's cool- and should speed the healing process. My thinking is really that anyone who's testing their limits and trying to improve is going to get injured. This is my second big injury. My first was over a year ago with a shoulder/back injury...That's when I discovered Owen Mckibbin's book- which really helped me through that period. Owen, a fitness model and former athlete, has a lot of insight about injury which I've drawn from.

His thoughts are:

Injury is really an opportunity to grow.
It challenges you to stay positive and focus on what you can do.
You choose to focus on areas that are healthy.
You can feel lucky for the mobility you do have.
Appreciate that healing takes time.
Listen to your body- and respect it.

So along those lines, I've developed a little two week program for the rest of September, consisting of walking, a tightened Paleo diet, and arm and leg exercises. I've gained some weight in just two to three weeks from eating more carbs and drinking beer. I'm now clocking in at 195 vs. 185. My pre-Paleo weight was about 205-210. But beyond that, I feel like I'm losing muscle in my arms and shoulders, and gaining weight in my lower abdominals. So walking can aid metabolism and Owen recommends it first thing in the morning for 20- 30 mins, before breakfast. Leg exercises, like body-weight squats and lunges will work your mid-section and core. Beyond that, there are other things you can do to boost metabolism- namely cold baths; also chili powders. Caffeine has some known weight-loss effects also. The key is to be maintaining muscle while increasing metabolism. Muscles and feeding them proteins helps metabolism too. Additionally, rest and keeping stress levels low are important. (When I get stressed or sleep poorly, I often crave crabs and breads and sugars.)
So there you go...RICE is the recipe (from Bill Pearl's "Getting Stronger"). Rest. Ice. Compression. Elevation. Hope this helps someone.

Cheers-
Gabe

Huge Surf in SoCal and Kelly Slater

My buddy from Hawaii is back from Bali, and hit me up about surfing. "A big south swell is coming in", he said. I didn't think anything much of it...and agreed to meet him at 10am this morning out in Malibu. I was coming form a friend's apartment so didn't have my board and didn't feel like braving Hollywood traffic to get it, so headed up the 101N to Kanan and out to Malibu. I checked out the surf before I went, and knew immediately this was a special swell. Dume was packed. "Everyone and their mother is here" I texted him. Cars were everywhere and surfers, like it was already Labor Day weekend. I went out to the cliffs that overlook this special spot. It was pumping and guys were getting rides all the way down.

I rented a board at Clout for $15 and headed back. My buddy hadn't shown up so I suited up and headed down the long path to the wiry staircase that leads down to the beach. It was really only then that I realized how big these waves were. They were huge and guys were watching them, people taking photos, the way they did at Sunset or Pipeline. It was crazy. Down below, on the beach, I watched the waves- trying to get a feel for the frequency of the sets. There was no way to paddle through any of these waves. You could be seriously hurt in the whitewater and one thing about Pt Dume are all the rock outcroppings by the shore. There's a cove off to the right (from the beach) that most people were launching out of. Some of the biggest waves were coming around that northern point. I watched for about 25 minutes before putting on my leash and making my move.



I haven't experienced anything like today since Hawaii- maybe the time in Haleiwa or Sunset Beach, when I got worked so hard I thought it might be game-over underwater. Paddling out was fine- and I hit a few snags but duckdived through them and carried on. There were a lot of guys in the water...and honestly, some of the waves coming around the point were behemoths, dwarfing the tiny riders- some of them sailing down the faces; others getting flipped around and going under or through the ferocious spray. The power of these waves was incredible- and I heard one guy say it was like Vietnam (the war, not surfing there). Sidenote- a guy drowned yesterday at Malibu pier. Luckily, I didn't know that going out- but I was aware of the conditions. Big and brutal.

In the line-up, you have to constantly reposition. The waves don't consistently break in one spot. Sometimes it'll break unpredicatbly 100 yard back form where you are. If you stay still, you'll be in the impact zone, where the wave will crash on top of you. (aka not cool). The goal, always, is to stay out of the impact zone- whether you're going for a wave or not. But more, the goal is to keep positioning yourself and reading the water, so you can grab a wave as it crashes, at its peak, and ride it, turning down the line, and surfing up and down its face. There were some good surfers out there today- and some less experienced ones too. Another note is that waves come in sets. Frequently guys skip the first wave of a set. If you miss it, you'll get worked by the 2nd, 3rd, and sometimes 4th wave of the set. That's what happened to me.

I went for the second wave of a large set- probably 10' face and double overhead. It was large, but I thought I had it. Also- oftentimes the waves don't seem as large as they are until they actually break- so it may have been larger. I didn't have it. The wave crashed over me, throwing me down its face, deep underwater, wrapping me up in my leash, diving for the surface, all at about 25mph. I coughed while grabbing my board just as I got nailed by another mammoth wave. I was in trouble and held onto my board- which must've bounced hard into my ribcage. I was going over and around and through the water- and worried about rocks, as I was closer to shore. ..before the next one nailed me. It's hard to explain how large these were- but I was seriously worried about drowning. I got on my board- and paddled towards shore. Normally you turn around and go back out..but this wasn't normal. On shore, a guy pointed to his buddy's board and told me the guy had gotten hit by the same...but hadn't come in. There are no lifeguards at Point Dume. It's pretty much you're on your own. Luckily, the guy swam in eventually. "I almost drowned", he said.

My ribs on my left side hurt badly and I wondered if I'd cracked one. I remembered a bigger guy in Hawaii at the hostel who spent his days on the couch watching sports and reading because he was waiting for his ribs to heal. I wasn't wheezing, but it hurt like a bitch. I waited about 45 minutes walking back to the staircase, and talking with some Peruvian guys. They said Peru pumps like that once a month. Meanwhile, the kid who I was with who had lost his board was getting ready to go back out. I had the rental board another two hours so I followed him out- and instantly got worked in the whitewater. The set had come quicker and my ribs were killing me. I turned and went back in to shore, watched a bit more, and decided to drive upthe coast to see if there were smaller waves there. There weren't.

All up the coast, it was banging. There were less surfers than in the morning and County Line was abandoned. Zuma was firing and closing out immediately. No one was attempting those. There were people just watching the waves, like they had the 3rd week in Hawaii. But overall, the best spot was Point Dume. I returned the board, changed, and went back to Point Dume to watch from the cliffs. This cool local guy named Mystic Pete was watching and telling me stories about the local spots and his time coming up, places he'd surfed in South America, and how certain big wave surfers that I've admired were total dickheads. It was a cool hang- and I offered to teach him guitar in return for surf lessons. No dice. But he did wax mystic on me and said this spot on the cliffs had a real special energy and the Chumash used to say it was a holy place. He took off and I watched the surfers way below in silence, hearing the wind, and watching the powerful waves. I looked over and, like a hallucination, there was Kelly Slater beside me, also watching. For a second, I actually did think maybe it was a daydream or a vision. But it was totally him, squatting down sizing up the waves. We were there in silence watching from the cliffs for about five minutes before I said something.

"You going in?" I said. He had sort of a Clint Eastwood-like presence.
"Not sure", he said. I looked out.
"It was huge this morning...I think I broke a rib"
His eyes didn't leave the ocean.
"Really?"
"Yeah, maybe."
"There's no shortage of swell out there," he said.

I watched the waves breaking in long lines and the wind swept through the grass near me. It was a peaceful and cool moment. I didn't want to be that fan-guy who bugs him. I know he gets mobbed for photos all the time. But I thought- when else are you going to meet him?

"You mind taking a photo?"
"Ok"

I stood up and went over. I took a selfie of us.
"I'm Gabe", I said and held out my hand.
"Kelly", he said.



Later, around 6pm, I saw him surf the Malibu pier- and he rocked it, gliding up and down the waves like a world champion. He even did (no joke) a 360 aerial. And he was a cool guy.

My ribs? Doing better....But I don't think I'll be out tomorrow. ;)

Anatomy of a Healthy Diet

So what should I eat, Gabe?

This is verbatim what I just bought at Trader Joe's. It's mostly Paleo. Some of the products have sugar in them or organic cane sugar. That's hard to avoid- though doable. If you've been doing Paleo for a while, you can tolerate some beers and some bread. I am guilty of both.

Here's what I just bought for the week for about $40.

Organic vegetarian fed eggs
Kerrygold unsalted butter
4% cottage cheese (dairy is not technically cool)
Organic ketchup
TJ's red salsa
Tj's vegetable tortilla chips (made form spinach and white corn- also not technically Paleo, but I'm eating a lot of straight up corn chips anyway these days)
2 bottled water jugs
bag of mixed greens- spinach and kale etc
individually packaged bags of nuts (includes cashews- also not Paleo because they are legumes, but they are de-lish)
1 lb turkey (for chili or burgers)
1 steak (also not grass-fed, but again, I'm eating alll this carne asada out and about that's like the lowest quality imaginable; figured what's the diff)
2 organic pears (ten cents more than regular- a real splurge)
1 box of TJ's organic tomato soup (also has some sugar)
1 can of stewed tomatoes (for chili)

That's about it. Might've missed something.

Main points here are:
1- It's not that pricey
2- It's protein based
3- There are carbs- veggies, fruits, and chips)
4- I cut corners but am overall 85% Paleo
5- Mix it up- try pears over apples, spinach chips, etc.
6- Be kind to yourself
7- Drink lots of water

Have a great week!
GPR