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.

Finally, Some Waves

I stayed away from the water for the past three weeks for a number of reasons. One reason, and the biggest reason, is that I was busy with my

Although it was rainy, the waves were actually quite
nice at the 43rd Street Jetty. The photo doesn't do it justice.

final weeks of training for the Marine Corps Marathon. Although my training went well, I didn't finish as fast as I had hoped. Although I planned for a 4:15, I didn't finish for thirty minutes after that. My final time was 4:44. It was a great run, though, and I would do it again if I had the chance even though it is impossible to PR because of the crowds and the hills. My favorite memories of this run will be the Marine Corps band playing the Marine Corps Hymn at about mile 10 and the Blue Mile that honored Marines who had lost their life serving the country. What a touching run it was! I will recommend this run to all my running friends. And, if I ever get a chance to run it again, I hope that I can get a better time.

This weekend has been a good weekend for waves. But before this weekend, we haven't had much for surfing, which is yet another reason I haven't been out. Beginning on Friday, the wind started blowing and the waves started building. Surfing reports on Friday suggested the current was strong and the waves were rough and surf would be better, hopefully, on Saturday. By the next morning, the waves looked much bigger, but the current and consistency of the waves looked rough. The forecast was for the waves to clean up a little, but they never did on Saturday. The next forecast suggested that Saturday would be the day that things cleaned up. And, while the waves were building, the weather was stagnate  and only offered clouds and rain. One forecaster said that the sun would start coming out on Sunday, but by this morning, it didn't look like it would be clearing soon. And, the current still looked awful.

I was determined to be in the water this weekend. I felt a little relieved when the weather didn't clear up and the waves didn't build on Saturday as first forecasted. I had a family party to attend that would take most of the days. Don't get me wrong, I love my family and the gatherings, but I would have been a little disappointed if I had missed the best wave of the week/month. I noticed late on Saturday, that the prediction for clean waves had been pushed to midday on Sunday. Perfect!! The weather forecasters had also said the weather would clear, which didn't happen at all. But, the waves cleaned up. Not only were the sets easy to read, the waves were big. The only problem I had was reading them correctly. I either paddled to soon or too late. I caught a couple but it was after they had broken. What a bummer! I need help with the timing aspect of surfing. I had fun nevertheless. And, I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a few more waves at least one day this week. I love surfing!

Marathon Training and Surf Time

I'm pretty sure I mentioned my marathon training. In fact, I know I have. Because of the extra mileage required for training, I'm having to adapt my workout schedule a little. It shouldn't affect my surfing, but it has the last couple of weekends. Because of weather and moving and cycling, I've been forced to give up my surfing on Sunday mornings for the past two weeks. I miss my Sunday morning surfing, but it can't be helped. Last week, I was able to go out on Sunday afternoon, but this week, I didn't have the time to wait until the afternoon. I just had to skip it altogether. Fortunately, I went out on Friday.

I received a text from the surf dude Brian on Friday morning who said that the waves were not that great. I had the day off and was really counting on some decent surf so that I could get down early, surf a few hours and make it back to continue my moving. It would be quiet at the other home, and I would peacefully be able to get some of my stuff out. Of course, I would be a lot stronger mentally if I was

"The Endless Summer" movie still
reminds me how much I miss
summer sometimes.

able to surf before I went to pack. Even though the wave report was bad, I loaded up Roxanne and headed to G-town. The waves did not look great, but every once in awhile a sweet little wave would roll in. I had a couple of wonderful rides, which made it a great day. A slight wind made me a little cool so I opted for my 3-2 wetsuit instead of my springsuit. Brian and his "lessons" were wearing springsuits, but I'm so glad I had my full wetsuit. I was chilly in the water. A man on the beach made a

snide remark about my wetsuit, but I would not have changed a thing. I would definitely prefer to be comfortable rather than be even just a little cool. I was hoping that by next Friday, I could wear my springsuit (I have a new one for this season), but with a cold front scheduled to come through on Thursday, I'm sure that by Friday, the air temp will be be too cool to allow me to do so. I'm sure the water temp will dip a tad too. Can't believe in May I will still be wearing a 3-2. Maybe I'll be able to wear before the season is over!

Mentioning the marathon training was how I began this post, so I feel it might be fitting to end this post with more marathon talk. I'm trying to run my long runs during the week, but I don't always have the time. I'm just going to have to figure this all out so I don't have to miss any surfing. I think I need longer days: Surf, run, run, surf, cycle, run!!