April Showers Bring May Waves???

Rain and a busy schedule has kept me from surfing, and I'm really starting to miss being in the water. Thought this weekend and last weekend would give me at least one successful surf day, but I was wrong. With Easter and several other activities last weekend, I probably wouldn't have had time anyway, but this weekend, I had time to go down on Friday evening, Saturday afternoon or even this morning. I kept my eye on the webcam. Friday, during the day, several surfers went out and had a great time. I watched them on the webcam, but I couldn't leave work until 4 and, by then, the waves were gone and the rain was beginning. I was bummed that I missed it, but thought that after my run on Saturday, I would certainly be able to get in some surfing. By Saturday, the waves were still gone. It was very windy, so the water was rough, but no waves were forming.

I then thought that perhaps I would get a chance to surf on Sunday, but, again, waves were a mess. But….jump ahead to next weekend.

New post -- April 23

I started this post two weeks ago when finding waves was impossible. However, last weekend was a different story. I decided to take a weekend trip to Galveston. I registered for a half marathon that would start in downtown and then take runners to the Seawall before landing them back downtown. I ran the Diva Half Marathon last year, and because the run ended with the death of another runner, I knew that I needed to run it again just so that my last memory of it wouldn't be of a young girl dropping dead. I took last Friday off from work and made it to the island early on Friday morning to get in some surfing. Waves were disorganized, but at least there were waves. I went out on the east side of 43rd and caught a few. However, I kept feeling like it was carrying me close to the jetty because of the wave direction, which was definitely pushing west. I changed sides and went out on the west side, and even caught a few there. I missed several also just because of my inability to accurately read the wave. I was chilly when I arrived so I wore my 3-2. Since air temps were a little cool, I knew that with water temps in the 70s, I would be cold. I'm glad I wore it. Had a blast. I still need to work on my turning though. I always seem to ride toward shore. I might ride the wave at a little bit of an angle, but I always end up close to shore as if I'm just riding it straight in. I know I'm getting better, but I still have a long way to go.

Since I was staying in Galveston, I couldn't resist going out again on Saturday. I knew that I wouldn't have a chance to surf after my run on Sunday, so I decided to ride my bike down the beach to see where the best waves were. As it turns out, the best waves looked like they were across the street from the hotel at 51st Street jetty. I had never surfed there, but quite a few surfers were already out there. By the time, I changed into my suit and my shorty (my 3-2 was still wet) and headed out. I thought I would be cold, but I wasn't. Well, I was cool right at first, but I warmed up in no time. The waves had subsided quite a bit, but I still had fun. It felt good to be out two days in a row. I'm not sure that surfing two days in a row helped my run the next day, but I sure had fun. It was a great weekend.

Another new post…April 26

Now, jump ahead again, to this weekend. This morning (Sunday) I heard there were waves. I didn't believe it. The webcam didn't show very many waves. It looked flat to me despite a text from a Gtown friend who said he was going out. I had a crazy day planned, but I decided to head down and, just in case, I opted to take my SUP instead. Once I arrived there, though, I was wishing I had one of my other boards. The waves were, in fact, nice little peelers. A ton of people were out. I was glad I was there. And, I definitely needed the SUP practice. I'm thinking about talking lessons. I struggle surfing waves on it. I can catch them, but I don't get into the surfing stance fast enough. I feel a couple of times just because it was rougher than it usually is when I'm on my SUP. I saw an old friend who was in town, so even though I missed the surfing, it was still a great morning.

(Sorry to anyone who might be reading this confusing post. I need to get back into a regular pattern of posting. I need to stop letting life get int the way.)

The Need to Surf

I was determined to surf this weekend! I knew that I would be cycling on Saturday, running on Sunday morning before going to a work conference in Houston. On Friday afternoon, I was tired just thinking about it all. But, I sure did want to surf. Surf Dude sent me a text saying that it wasn't worth coming to Galveston on Friday afternoon. However, I saw waves on the webcam and knew I had to go down. It was a mess, but at least there was something. Several surfers -- probably other surfers like me who only get to surf on the weekend -- were out in the waves when I arrived at the 43rd street jetty. I could tell it was just as the Surf Dude had said. He wasn't going out in that mess, but I was ready to give it a try. My time in the water is so limited. I put on my 3-2 (although the water is warming up quickly) and headed out. Several of the surfers were in just long-sleeved 2-1 rash guards, but I thought the water felt chilly, and I was glad to be wearing my wetsuit.

I originally thought I would just stay on the inside and play around in the white water. I attempted to catch a couple, but got pushed around quite a bit. I was determined though and, eventually, caught a few. I attempted to get to the outside and took the rip current. I made it to the end of the jetty and was paddling out past an incoming wave when I somehow got turned sideways and got pummeled by the wave. I made my way back onto the board and tried to paddle, but I had been pushed back to the inside. I caught some whitewater all the way in and caught the rip current back out. Meanwhile, the other surfers are around, but only one or two seemed to be catching waves. I don't wish for others to have a miserable time, but I feel a little redeemed when I'm not the only one NOT catching many waves. I eventually caught a couple of whitewater waves, and I had a ball. I just needed to be in the water, and it helped my week be a good one.

Hmmm…maybe if I ate the right
food, I could be a better
surfer!

Saturday waves were very similar to Friday's, and I decided to just cycle. I rode 48 miles in preparation for a half marathon I had planned to run on Sunday. It was pretty silly for me to wear myself out the day before a long run that I had hoped to set a personal record running, but I wouldn't have changed a thing. Sunday was a little warm for running, but I still laced up the sneakers and ran 13.1 miles. Had a blast. I was a little slower than I had hoped. I was dreaming of a 1:55 finish, but, alas, I crossed the finish line at 2:01. That's okay, I'm still happy with my time. Temps were a little high and the wind was blowing quite a bit, so I doubt anyone had a PR. Right after the run I had to drive to Houston for a work conference.

On a sad note, one of the runners collapsed as she crossed the finished line. The medics worked on her and she was taken to the emergency room, but the run Facebook page posted that the young lady had died. She looked to be in her 20s, was having a bachelorette weekend with friends and family, made it past the point where she had her crown and pink feather boa (close to the finish line) and was smiling as she passed her sister. I was very sad to hear about this. This young woman had a bright future ahead of her. It is a reminder, that we should live life to the fullest. May she rest in peace!