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A new break? Beautiful Friday waves -
A photo taken from the Seawall |
Friday afternoons are just plain FUN! I think most people would agree that there is a lighthearted attitude in the air because it's the beginning of a weekend. In fact, the feeling starts in the morning. I work half a day on Friday and, in the summer, that means lots of surf time. This Friday was perfect for it. Some strange, weak cold front/norther came through, which shifted the winds out of the north and dropped the humidity for a few hours. I was worried that by the time I got off of work, which is usually noon but was changed to 11 a.m. this week, the waves would be gone. But a phone call from my friend at 11 included a positive message. The waves were small, but still very pretty. I can certainly enjoy small. I brought two boards to work with me on Friday. I'm usually a little worried about leaving a fiberglass board in the car during the summer because of the melting wax, which means I usually just bring my Softop. However, because of the lower humidity this past Friday as a result of the weak cold front, I decided to take my 9' Softop AND my 8'1" McTavish with me and, because of that lower humidity, I didn't find wax melted all over the inside of my car. (On a side note, I'm thinking about selling my McTavish to get another 9' board since I've decided that 9' is my perfect size, but that's for another post.) By the time I made it to the island, the 43rd Street jetty was packed. So, my friend and I decided to surf at 36th. I had surfed 37th near the jetty, but I had never surfed at 36th, which is a sandbar break. With that said, it means that I don't have the rip next to the jetty to help me get out. It didn't matter much on Friday, though, since the waves were still pretty well formed and getting out only required some strong paddling and timing. Sets were pretty consistent, so if I counted and watched, it was possible to make it out between sets. It was definitely the right choice for me. The waves were fantastic. They were small...maybe two or three feet...but perfect. I used my Softop because they were on the small side and because I was at a new break. I think I would have had a hard time on anything smaller because it would have required a lot more paddling. All in all, I had a fantastic time. I caught wave after wave. I missed a few, but not many. I wish we could have more afternoons like that.
My other usual surf day is Sunday. I found out late Saturday that I would have out-of-town company on Sunday, so my surf time was going to be short. When I woke up this morning though, I realized that I wasn't going to miss much. The waves were very crappy, and although the dude would have enough for lessons, they were not rideable. The G-townsurf.com report described them as "barely rideable if at all." It was a good excuse to stay home and wait for my visitors.
On another note, I am trying to figure out a way to solve my workout dilemma. I'm not sure there is an answer I'm willing to accept. Because I surf in the middle of the day on Fridays, it's usually extremely warm. When I work out hard surfing like I did this past Friday, my workouts on Saturday suffer. This weekend, I joined a new group for my Saturday workout. I worked out with a triathlon training group. Their Saturday workout is a run-bike-run plan. I debated whether I would make it this Saturday because I had my heart set on just cycling, but I knew I needed to get a run in and, ultimately, decided that the only way to ensure a run would be to join with this group. I ran 6.3 miles and then rode 48 miles. I was supposed to finish the workout with a 4-mile run, but because of some bad communication and the fact I was so dehydrated from surfing on Friday, I opted out of the second run. I need to figure out a way to stay hydrated. I'm not sure if it means less surfing on Friday or just carrying more fluids with me on Friday AND Saturday, but either way, I need to figure it out. I think I will have plenty of weekends this summer to do just that.
