January stuff

Unfortunately, no surf materialized this weekend. I was keeping my fingers crossed for today (Sunday), but the east winds blew way too hard and, although there were at least some ripples today, they were quite rough and unmanageable. My surf guru called to say that the waves might get better as the day progressed, but he doubted it. The wind has definitely been howling lately, which almost always causes the conditions on the water to either be completely flat or totally messy depending on the wind direction. From what I have deciphered on my own, if the wind is howling directly out of the north, the surf is flat. However, if it's like today, out of the east, the waves are just slop. The air temp this weekend has also been quite chilly. This doesn't stop me from surfing most times, but I can honestly say that if the waves are not that great and the temp is cold, it is much easier to decide to stay out of the waves than it would be if the air temp was warm. I'll surf slop in 90 degree weather, but in a chilly 50 degrees, I will definitely find something else to do, which leads me to my next topic.

Surfing is not my one and only sport. I became a cyclist in the 1990s...well, actually, I became a cyclist in 1970 when I received a fabulous bicycle from Santa. (I named it "Lightening.")Although I put quite a few miles on that bike and subsequent bikes I had as a kid, I didn't take up the sport seriously until I was close to 30. I have been regularly raking up the mileage on my two wheels ever since. This includes some pretty intense Saturday and Sunday group rides. My usual riding includes a 60-mile jaunt on Saturday followed, during the summer months, with a 40-mile excursion on Sunday. I add to that cycling with spin classes at my local gym. Since they offer approximately six classes daily, I can push myself as hard as I like. I added running to my repertoire a year ago and have since run about four half marathons and a couple of 10ks. I like to say, though, that this is my cross-training for surfing. Because of this exercise, I can honestly say that I probably last longer in the water than most beginner surfers. I'm not saying that this exercise makes me a better surfer, 'cause it certainly does not, but I do think it helps me withstand the paddling and "roughing up" I receive from the raucous waves. One of the "organizations" I follow on Twitter is Surfer Magazine. I enjoy their tweets and the articles and pictures they attach. One of the articles they posted last week was a feature titled "How to Stay Fit." The intro paragraph stated: "Although the act of actually riding waves is obviously the best thing for your surfing, there are a myriad of different exercise routines practiced by surfers in an effort to step up their game in the water." They listed a workout offered by surfer JD Irons. He says they usually do a 45-minute workout that includes 100 jump ropes, 100 jumping jacks, 30 pushups, 30 sit-ups, 15 step-ups, 10 burpies (not sure what this is) and a 1/4-mile run. I get my cardio from weight machines and spinning/cycling (they get it from the jump ropes and jumping jacks), but the other items they list on their routines are probably something I should look into. I do free weights, which helps my arm strength, and I also work on an ab machine, which should substitute for the sit-ups, but I might want to consider some step-up exercises. I'm sure that helps with the pop-up. It might be time for me to re-examine my workout routine and add some step-up exercises.

Finally, I was excited to receive my winnings this week from an online contest I entered. I don't remember exactly when I entered it, but it was an online contest sponsored by jettygirl.com. My response/name was randomly drawn and I won a traction pad and bars of wax from Sticky Bumps. Needless to say, I was thrilled to find out I won. A gal can never have too much wax! (Wait, does that sound funny?)

Worth it or not?

I sometimes wish that the weekend could be just a little longer ... more like last weekend. MLK Day was celebrated last Monday, which gave a more time to do everything I wanted to do to make the weekend complete. Waves had been nonexistent most of last weekend, so when I heard that Monday had some small, surfable waves, I loaded my 9'6" Senator board "Petal" and got down to the jetty early. I think I was there before 8 a.m. A few other surfers were in the water, but none that I knew. Surf Dude Brian made it down a little later, but I was already in the water. Getting out in the rip current was a little difficult and required patience, timing and tenacity for a beginner like me, while those more experienced like Dude, made it look easy. The waves were small and very difficult to read. I had a hard time to telling which waves were really going to form and which ones were going to collapse. I had several good rides, but, ultimately, only stayed out about two hours before calling it quits. All in all, it was a pretty good surf session even though I didn't really catch one before it broke. I noticed that the others didn't either. Occasionally, one would catch it at just the right moment, but, for the most part, they, too, were catching them after the broke, just as they became whitewater.

By Friday, I was back on my regular surf schedule. However, all the reports indicated that it was flat. And, it was! So, rather than having a fun afternoon in the waves, I used the time to clean my house. All in all, I had a successful Friday, but I would have rather been surfing. I had plans to cycle and run on Saturday morning and attend a workshop on Sunday, so I was going to have to squeeze in surfing on Saturday afternoon. And, that's exactly what I did. I experienced a rather wet and rainy 46-mile bicycle ride and a humid and warm (mid-70s)10-mile run before driving down to G-town. Although the sun was starting to peak through on the mainland, and even a little on the island, the beach was blanketed with sea fog (see photo right). Waves were rough and hard to read, but, at least, some of them were surfable. I made my way out on the 9' Softop. I chose "Goldie" since it was going to be locked in my hot car during my bike ride and run. The heat would have made the wax melt off of my other boards. Rather than having a puddle of waxy goo on my seats, I opted on the safe side. Besides, my Softop is a more sporty Softop -- a little narrower with a kick at the nose -- and offers me fun rides. Gtownsurf.com had predicted that high tide, which was at 3 p.m., would be the best time to get out, so when I got there at 2 p.m., several surfers were heading out so that they, too, could benefit from the high tide. I judged the incoming waves correctly on my first try and was able to successfully take the rip out without getting pummeled by incoming waves. I also managed to catch the first wave I went for, but it was downhill after that.  On my second attempt out, I made it only to the end of the jetty before a wave tossed me off the board. I managed to ride through the next few by straddling the board, but I was worn out by the time I made it to the outside. The current caught me however, and I was almost to the next jetty before I realized it. I stumbled into shore on a small wave. I decided to stay on the inside, but even that was difficult, and after a few more waves (I might have caught one), I decided that I might be just too worn out from the morning's activities to do any good in the washing machine.  It was time to call it a day.

After all, I always have next weekend, right?

Flying solo

I recently noticed that all of the sports I'm involved in are solo sports -- running, cycling and surfing. Solo may not be the accurate way to describe cycling since I prefer riding with my club, but, it is actually up to me how fast or how far I go on my bike and I don't rely on a "team," so I consider it a solo sport. Surfing is definitely a solo sport, although, again, I prefer it when a few other surfers are out. But, in reality, I'm on my own. I'll be traveling alone to run in the Surf City (half)Marathon in Huntington Beach, Calif. next month. I won't necessarily be running alone since a couple of surfing buddies who live in California are coming to Huntington Beach to run, as well as a couple of guys I know from either cycling or the gym who are also planning to be in California for the run.  I think I've mentioned the run before and Huntington Beach as one of my top surfing destinations on my "wish" list. Well, I decided my upcoming trip was the best time to cross that destination off my surfing list. So, this week after I finished making my important travel plans including purchasing the airplane ticket and making the hotel reservation, I made some even more important travel plans: I booked surf lessons/board rental. I had no way of knowing who offers the best lessons, so, basically, I just selected a surfing school from a list that popped up when I googled "surf lessons Huntington Beach." The Banzai Surf School, based on the physical address, isn't far from my hotel and just might be a good place to meet up and learn from a local surfer. I sent an email requesting information and got an immediate response...I think it came into my email address at 1:40 a.m. Based on the quick response and the subsequent email exchanges, I'm feeling like I made the right decision in booking a lesson with them. I'm excited to meet my surfing instructor in person (either Jaz or Phil). The waves look amazing in the pictures and video clips I've seen. I don't want the waves to be large 'cause I actually prefer 3- to 4-foot waves, but I do look forward to possibly having consistent and clean waves in which to surf.

Surfing in Galveston this week has been impossible. It's FLAT, FLAT, FLAT! This time of year, surfers wait for a norther to come through or for the wind to return to the south. Neither has happened this week. Actually, a cold front came through during the week, but it barreled in too strong, which flattens rather than allows for waves to form. Since this weekend is a three-day weekend for me (the state recognizes MLK Day), I still have tomorrow for waves. Surfline is predicting 4- to 5-foot waves, but I'm not really holding my breath. I'm not sure the wind has picked up enough yet. But, we'll see. Unfortunately, rain has also been forecasted. I don't mind surfing in the rain, but I definitely worry about possible lightning.

Finally, my week ended with a very exciting revelation for me. I found out on Friday that my entry to a six-word memoir contest was selected for publication in O Magazine. It's my Oprah debut. They didn't include a picture, but they did include a short bio I submitted. I used surfing to describe my life, and I guess the editors liked it. ummm... Surfing life's ripples, wishing for waves.