Pretty little waves in October

Lately, the 43rd street jetty has either provided choppy waves or no waves at all. Forecasts predicted the latter for today, so I was ready to either use a SUP or just sit on the beach. I was planning to go down because Brian had specifically requested that Robin and I come down to pose in photos for a possible new ad; a winter ad that would show us in wetsuits. Robin suggest we shoot early so that the sun wouldn't be quite as harsh, so at 7:30 this morning, I found myself at my Sunday morning surf spot with Robin, Brian and Neil...the usual Sunday crew.  Neil came early to help take photos and, also, to surf. We all were ready to get in the water since we could see nice, little, surfable waves waiting for us. And, we were ready for them.

We went to the west side of the jetty. The waves looked a little more organized on that side. And, they were. All four of us went out, and we all caught waves and SURFED! I can't speak for the others, but I had a blast. I'm pretty sure they had fun too. I practiced paddling out, but realized that on days like this, it was always easy to do. It's on the rougher days when I'm trying to use my 8'1" that I struggle to get out. AARGH! This should be getting easier. Days like today make it seem like it is. I caught just about every wave I tried to catch. I practiced turning and riding the wave down the line. I even took a few steps and walked on the moving board. I experienced one small hiccup, however, when I tried to use Neil's board. I slid all over the place. I pearled and slipped. Neil's board is pretty, but instead of using wax, he uses some spray on substance for grip. I find it difficult to use. Of course, part of the problem could have been that it was at the end of three hours of surfing. All in all, though, it was a great day. I got in a good workout surfing.

I've added a photo of the waves.  Note: The surfers in this photo are not me since I'm the one taking the photos.

Thursday night surf, but no good weekend waves

Since Thursday was surfer dude Brian's birthday, surfergal Robin and I decided to surf on Thursday afternoon and then take Brian and his main "dudette" out for supper. The evening was a blast despite the crappy waves. Of course, at least we had waves! Brian had warned us that the surf was really rough, but we decided to head down anyway. Once there, I understood exactly what he was talking about since high winds and a strong current made conditions difficult to manage. Several surfers were out. In fact, so many surfers descended on the 43rd street pier after Billy's G-townsurf.com's recommendation to surf despite strong currents that we decided to find another place to surf. We hopped in Brian's surfmobile and moved to the 39th street pier. Although a few surfers were already out there too, we chose to stay. I didn't feel like fighting to get to the outside (IT WAS SOOOOOO ROUGH), so I opted for whitewater waves on the inside close to the jetty. I struggled some, but I also had some good, although short, rides and managed to practice turning the board. Robin took a few pictures, and I was happy when I saw them since she caught me in the start of a pop-up. I finally saw that my pop-up was done properly. In the pic, you can clearly see that I have air between my knees and the board!!! I'm not sure I get it right every time, but it was refreshing to see it this time. Unfortunately, I still need to work on where I'm looking. I should be looking out in the direction I want my board to take but, instead, I'm looking down at the board.

I was ready to go surfing again on Friday, but Brian warned that the conditions were as bad, if not worse than Thursday, so I opted not to go down, thinking that I would go to G-town Sunday/today after my race. However, heavy rain and lightening squelched that idea. I'll just have to go next weekend.

On another note, I did get to run my race during a brief reprieve of heavy rain this morning. I decided to participate in the USA 10-mile race this week, and I'm glad I did. I haven't really found proof in writing yet, but I can't help but believe that strengthening my cardiovascular system through running and cycling will boost my surfing and, in particular, my paddling. I meant to look it up on some surfing sites, but haven't yet. But, how could it hurt? I had a great run. I finished in approximately 1:28 with an 8:54 pace (I think...I'm relying on my memory and the results haven't been posted yet, AND I forgot my Garmin this morning.) I believe I placed 13 in my age group out of 32 or 33 other runners in the category. I was pleased. I don't run often, and I haven't run more than seven miles since the end of July, so this 10-miler was nice addition to my weekly running schedule.

More time needed

Wow! When trying to come up with a title for today's post, I couldn't come up with anything. I almost used one I had used before, but decided to look at my past posts and found it just in time. So, I was thinking about my past week, and realized that a recurring theme for me has been lack of time. I had someone tell me this week that he didn't know how I found the time to do all the things I did. I found it funny, because I had been thinking the same thing about him recently. It seemed that every time I spoke with him or exchanged emails with him, he was taking a trip or going to an adventure race. He had gone surfing or gone skydiving. He's now training for his first marathon, which takes much more discipline and a more agressive training schedule than a half marathon, which is all I've ever run. And, this was discussion we had while preparing for an intense high mileage (Me 72 and him 100) bicycle ride we did in hilly East Texas. We both did fine, but I wished I had trained a little more (spin class just CAN'T prepare you for 72 miles) and had a different gear set-up on my bike. But, what does this have to do with surfing? Well, I wish I had more time for surfing. I guess I could give up something, but I'm not sure what I would give up. And, sometimes, I need more than time, I need waves at the same time I have time. Does that make sense?

All this leads me to something I wanted to add to my schedule and that is skydiving. I've now completed two tandem jumps. I've attended the four-hour STP (Skydiver Training Program) also, which means that, hypothetically, I could jump alone on my next jump. I'm not sure I will be ready to do that, but it's an option. Several things make me think that "surfing on air," which has multiple meaning to me now, may or may not be something I pursue.

First of all, skydiving requires a major time commitment. It would take 18 jumps to get my certification and I don't want to give up anything to do it. Secondly, I don't want to die. During the STP "ground" school, my instructor "Kritter" told me about all the things that could go wrong. About halfway through the class I thought to myself, "What the heck are you doing Karen?" Then, when looking at the photos of the screwed up chutes, I thought it again. Once I get away from the airport, I think that it would be a fun thing to do, but when I look at the books as well as the stats about how many people die, I have second thoughts. (Statistically, it's really not that many, but still...)  Can I react quickly enough for this sport?

I should look up statistics on surfing. I'm pretty certain that surfing would be considered a safer sport. What's interesting is that I read about all the things that could go wrong (i.e. sharks, killer waves, board injuries), and I still don't feel unsafe doing it. I feel like I have more control over my destiny. Waves sucked on Friday, and, even today, while some friends went down, Brian told me not to bother. He said it was rough and quite cool. He thought the water was actually warmer than the air. Brian had a lesson, but he said he wouldn't be out there if it weren't for that. I probably should have gone down anyway, but I changed my mind. After skydiving school and a 72-mile bike ride out of town, I was ready for a rest day. I didn't even run this weekend, which I will pay for Wednesday during my next scheduled run. As for surfing, I will definitely pay for not surfing this weekend the next time I go out and wipe out on my first two waves. AAAARRRRRGGGHHHHH!!! I need more hours in the day, minutes in the hours, seconds in the minutes...