April Already?!?

I can't believe that it's April already. I haven't published a post since February. I started one in March, but for some unknown reason, I never finished it. My March post began with a description of my February marathon. I ran my sixth marathon at the end of February in New Orleans; my third in five months. I didn't have a record-breaking finish time, but anytime you can finish a marathon, you should feel good about yourself. I've signed up for the Houston Marathon in January 2017, but other than that, I don't have any other full marathons taking place. I'm still running, but it feels good not to have to run a 12-, 15- or 18-mile training run. Last week, my run group opted for bridge repeats on the Kemah Bridge. I'm proud to say I completed 4 1/2 complete up-and-overs for a total of 8 miles. With an upcoming half marathon later this month, I probably need at least a 10-miler this weekend. Alas, I digress. This is a blog about surfing.

Once again, waves have been sporadic with the best ones coming during the middle of the week in the middle of the day while I'm at work. The weekends have been flat. The good thing about mid-week waves this time of year is that the sun is out long enough to allow for an after-work surf session. Last Thursday (3/31), everyone with a surfboard went surfing. The wind shifted from the north/northeast and the waves were nice. The problem was that the winds were incredibly strong as was the current. I made it down to Gtown before 6. Because of crowds, I ended up at Flagship, which wasn't nearly as crowded because of the current. I paddled out near the pier, which had a strong rip current to pull me along. However, the current was rough -- very rough -- and I got pulled out. I could see the surfable waves midway between the Pleasure Pier and the jetty. However, trying to swim to the waves was nearly impossible. I kept getting pushed back to the pier, which was tiring and disturbing. Finally, I decided I needed to be a little bit more on the inside. Once I paddled in a little, I caught a few waves. I paddled out once or twice more, but used the rip near the jetty rather than the pier. I always ended up back on the inside. However, I caught a few waves there, so it was the better place for me. All in all, I had a great time. I can't wait to get back out.

The forecast for waves has been dismal, although I noticed that sloppy knee- to waist-high waves are forecasted for tomorrow (Sunday, 4/10), which may be good enough to get me back out in the water. I completed a brick workout today (Saturday, 4/9), so I got in a good weekend cardio workout. And the paddling will help me too. A good little surf session will help round out the weekend.

Surfing Again, at Last

It's been a little over two weeks...actually, almost three...since I've been surfing. The waves always seem to come during the work week when I can't make it out. I was hoping for some waves on Friday afternoon because I knew that I would be working on Saturday (UHCL introduced it's new mascot -- the Hawk), and I wouldn't be able to surf if the waves were good. Friday was too messy according to my surfing contacts, and, fortunately, so was Saturday. My report early today (Sunday) was that it was messy again. I decided to run instead and got in five miles, but once I returned home and looked at the Galveston web cam, I decided I must go down.  I'm incredibly busy lately, but I felt like a good surf session would help strengthen my soul.

I surfed at 37th today instead of
my usual 43rd Street jetty.

Since I have my first marathon coming up in June, I needed to run today. I also had some responsibilities at church this morning, so I knew even if the waves had been decent, I wouldn't make it down this morning as early as I would have liked. I really prefer getting down to the beach by 7 a.m. because fewer surfers are usually out at that time -- usually just the locals.  I also had a lunch scheduled with my mother and father, but I was able to convince them to eat in Galveston. Once lunch was over, I drove over to the Seawall, which was full of other enjoying April. Although the sun was shining, the temps were a little on the cool side, which meant that I would probably need a wetsuit. (The water temps were quite cool too.) I found a parking spot on the hotel side of the Seawall between 36th and 37th and opted to surf there. Waves were breaking beyond the jetty, but they weren't all holding up very well. I made my way out and immediately turned back toward the beach when I saw a powerful wave come my way. I caught whitewater but it was still incredible to be out surfing again. I caught several more whitewater waves while I was out and was able to practice turning and looking forward instead of down. I wanted to catch some waves as they were breaking instead of just catching strong whitewater, but only accomplished that once. I definitely need more consistent practice. I can't go two weeks between sessions. Just like my running and cycling, I need to surf more. As the water warms, the days get longer and the busy-ness subsides, I'm sure I will be able to do that.