Superwoman

It was a beautiful California day when I met Tamara Lentz for the first time. The sun had finally broken through the fog on her last wave of the day.

When I arrived, she was just finishing up a stand-up paddleboarding lesson with Michelle Hadidi of Manhattan Beach.

Tamara, a Redondo mom like me, carried her 9'0" C4 Waterman stand-up paddleboard out of the water with ease. I was surprised to see how short and narrow her board was, but she quickly pointed out that she rides a high-performance board made to surf and not just paddle around. She works part-time at Spyder Surf Shop in Hermosa Beach where she is having a board custom shaped just for her.

Before learning to stand-up paddleboard, Tamara surfed for two years. Then one day she and a friend decided to rent stand-up paddleboards and give it a try. She caught a wave on her first day and had been paddling into waves ever since. That was two-and-a-half years ago.

Tamara has become so passionate about stand-up paddleboarding she participated in two races this year. She finished fourth out of 12 women at the Santa Monica Pier Paddleboard race in June, and sixth out of 9 women in Hennessey's U.S. Paddling Championship in July.

Tamara, 36, is one of the fittest women I know. In addition to surfing and stand-up paddleboarding, she plays volleyball and is a personal trainer. She teaches spin classes four days a week and works in some Pilates classes, too. She does all of this and is also the mother of a 7-year-old boy whom she has already begun teaching how to surf.

Even with all the training and activity that she does, she pointed out that her best workout is on the stand-up paddleboard. "This is the best workout for your core muscles." Tamara said.

"I love it, it's my passion right now," she added.

Tamara said that it is really hard to explain how peaceful it is to cruise around out there. It wasn't long ago that she paddled a couple of miles out and saw whales. Her only wish was that she had brought her waterproof camera.

After spending a little time with Tamara Lentz, I couldn't help but feel her passion for living an active lifestyle. She is a woman to be admired and I for one am happy to see more women in the water.

And I think I'll take her up on her offer for a lesson or two.