I contacted the school I used when I was out there in February and asked if the instructor I had then would be available and he was. I really liked Phil 'cause he's a little older and really wants his students to understand the waves, which is very similar to the "dude" I learned from, and still surf with, in Galveston. I received my instructions about where to meet him through a text message, so, on Saturday morning, I headed down to the beach entrance on Huntington Beach to meet Phil. The first thing we did was examine the waves. After a few moments and a thorough discussion with Phil, he decided we needed to drive down the beach a little way. There were waves where we were,but he thought the waves on the outside were closing out a little too fast for me and, on top of that, it was quite crowded with local surfers. We drove down the beach and after another thorough investigation and explanation by Phil, we found the perfect location. He explained that I would have to paddle quickly to get past the rough stuff to the outside. I said "No problem." Of course, the first time I tried, it was a problem. I got pounded on the inside. On my second try, I paddled quickly enough to push to the outside. Once out, it was wonderful. With Phil by my side, I was able to decide which waves to attempt to catch. Of course, it helps when he's right beside me and is telling me. There were a couple of waves I would have attempted to catch if he hadn't been there to wisely guide me. However, even with him there, I managed to blow it most of the time. I caught two or three...kind of. By that I mean, that I had a couple of waves that didn't pummel me, but I waited a little late to get up, so I missed the drop. My drops were small in comparison to his, 'cause I delayed my pop-up. However, the two or so waves I caught were wonderful and fast. Phil assessed me and basically said the same thing that my "dude" in Galveston said. I need to stop thinking so much about and surf. It needs to become second-nature. I definitely want it. I think it's a fair assessment.
On another note, my run today was fun, but not a PR for m. I probably needed to run more miles while training. Also, I probably needed more repeats on the Kemah Bridge. Today's course was very hilly for a flatlander like me, but the scenery was beautiful. I finished the 13.11 miles in 2:02 rather than 1:55. But, I've already signed up for the Long Beach Half in October to see if I can better my time. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
