I mentioned in my past blog post ... in fact ... in several past blog posts that my timing is really off when it comes to taking off in the waves. Well, I can say my timing is off in other areas as well. For instance, even though I can surf most days now, I still miss some days of surf by not logging on to the cams at the right time. I have a little more times these days to prep, but I still seem to forget something or miss something simply because of bad timing.
This fall, I have had the opportunity to surf more than I have during the past few years because of retirement. I have even been able to make the trek to Gtown as the cold fronts are coming through. For instance, last week, I made it down just in time for some beautiful waves to roll in. They were probably waist-to-chest high. I paddled out easily to find a spot in the crowded line up. I paddled more to the east, closer to the 41st street jetty. Although the waves looked beautiful from the seawall, by the time I paddled out, my perspective changed. They were still beautiful sets, but from my position on the board in the line-up ... especially when paddling in prone position and looking back, I thought the waves looked HUGE. Not sure why it bothered me so much or looked so big to me, but I suddenly thought I needed to paddle in.
During my paddle in, I lined up with another surfer. He made small talk and I told him to I was paddling in to play in whitewater because I was freaking out due to the size. He urged me to hang in and even tried to get me to paddle into a wave. On hindsight, I wish I would have. I caught a couple of small waves ... mostly whitewater, but I'd give anything to go back to that day so that I could attempt to paddle into those waves. I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to pop up fast enough. I've been watching pop up videos and practicing, yet again, on the imaginary line on my living room floor. I had been worried that I developed some bad habits, and that I was popping up incorrectly by bringing my back leg up first. I watched videos, and was particularly pleased to see that one of the videos described the pop up the same way I typically did it by bringing the back leg up first. The video warned that this particular method would only work on a longboard and could not be done as quickly as some of the other methods. All this time, I had been trying to change my method. Most suggest that you bring your front leg up and then slide the base leg forward. I haven't been doing it that way in a very long time. I felt relieved seeing it in a "how to" video. I have not been back out since seeing the video and strengthening the pop up I was already using.
I mentioned in a previous post about me skateboarding -- more specifically, land paddling. I think it will help me with my surfing since it lets me practice my balance and my stance. As I found by land paddling, I need to bend my knees more, sit back a little and let the rest come naturally. I need that to transfer to my surfing. Wish me luck!
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