This January seems colder than some of the past. I may just be imagining it, but it seems not only colder but also damper, which in turn, makes it seem even colder. I was excited to see several surfers out at the jetty on the webcam early Friday morning, but even more excited to see people surfing when I got off of work. I made my way down to 36th early in the afternoon on Friday. By the time I got there, the sun was hidden by a thick layer of clouds and the breeze had picked up just enough to make the temps seem cooler than they actually were. I was sure glad I had my 5/4 wetsuit yet again. Some of the surfers had on booties, but I opted not to wear mine. I knew my feet would be cold, but I was hoping that I would be able to last two hours before I lost feeling. I believe my feet had feeling for about an hour and 45 minutes before I had to get out of the water. In fact, during my last pop-up, I couldn't feel the bottom of my feet at all. I decided that it was time to get out of the water. I had only a three or four rides, and, of those, only a couple that were halfway decent. I pearled numerous times -- more times than usual. I just had a hard time judging the waves Friday. I would see them coming, get in position and paddle, but I either paddled too hard or not hard enough, which would cause me to get caught in the break of wave and then to pearl. It's strange; I go for a long time without pearling, but then I have a day like Friday when I pearl three or four times. It makes me realize that I just haven't surfed long enough. Several of the people I surf with have been surfing 40 years or more, and they also live close enough to the beach that they are able to surf just about every day there are waves. I have too far to drive, a full-time job and several other activities that steal my free time, and I don't see that changing anytime soon, which means that I will just have to be satisfied with my slow learning curve. No matter what, I'm having fun! And, I'll just have to realize that in order for me to get better fast, I will have to either stop some of my other hobbies, or realize that it might be a few years before I can do everything right when it comes to surfing.
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| I definitely watch the beach for waves! |
I've had a really disappointing week when it comes to a judgement. I'm in a situation with a close friend where my judgment skills are being tested. When someone doesn't act or do something I think they should, I need to try not to judge them. I don't have to agree with them, but I do have to accept them if I want to keep them in my life. I'm not sure how my situation will be resolved, but I'm hoping the outcomes are good. I really need to think about all of this, and learn to find acceptance.
Sunday is my other usual surf day. However, since I had signed up for the Houston Aramco Half Marathon back in June, I knew that on one Sunday in January I would be running instead of surfing. Today was the day. Seems like it was a good day not to be surfing since, not only was the weather bad, but the north winds blew through and flattened shore. Unfortunately, that means I ran in bad weather. And, it was bad! I managed to run and make it through. I even completed it in a decent time. I wanted to run a little faster, but I'm glad that I finished in under two hours. I'll have to look for another run to set my record. It'll take a little time to select the right run. I'll have to use my best judgment.
