San Francisco Surfing

I'm a little delayed in my weekly post, but that's because I'm just returning from a fantastic long weekend trip in San Francisco. I signed up a while ago for the San Francisco (half) Marathon. The Wipro San Francisco Marathon is unique in that it divides its full marathon course into two half marathons, which means that it is possible to run either the first or the second half of the marathon route. I ran the second half last year since I was new to running and noticed that the second half was a little flatter than the first. So, this year, it was only natural that I consider running the first half, which includes some steeper hills and a glorious run across the Golden Gate Bridge. Run weekend was this past weekend, but I had already made up my mind that if I made it to the northern California coast again, I would surf.

A "Texas Surfer" with an amazing
California surfer named Candace

The week before heading to San Fran, I put in some calls to some local surf shops that popped up when I googled "surfing San Francisco." None of them answered right away and only one returned my call the same day. University of Surfing (ironic since I work at a university) called me back within four hours. A young surfer named Candace called to see what kind of lesson I was seeking. I explained that I had been surfing about three years, but that I still needed a lot of practice. Candace said it was no problem and that she would be glad to meet me on Friday afternoon, right after I arrived in San Fran, for a surf session. (Incidentally, I eventually heard from two of the other surf shops I called; but it was several days later.) I questioned her about wetsuits, and she said she would provide one; however, I insisted that I wanted to bring my own. She said I would need either a 4-3 or a 5-4. I opted for my 5-4, and I'm sure glad I did.

On Friday morning, she called my phone and told me to meet her at Linda Mar Beach in Pacifica, Calif., which is a suburb of San Fran. So, as soon as my plane landed, I made my way to San Fran to check into my hotel, and to plot my travel to Pacifica. I was able to take the BART and then a taxi straight to the beach. It was quite cool, and I was having second thoughts about getting in the water just as Candace arrived. I hesitantly put on my wetsuit, walked with Candace down the beach to her co-worker's house, picked up a couple of boards and headed back to the beach near where we parked. Several surfers were out. The sets were small, but pretty...prettier than I've seen in a few months. Candace directed me to the part of the beach I would surf, and I picked up my board and paddled out. Candace had asked me what I wanted to work on, and I told her that I wanted to concentrate on knowing when to start paddling and also on turning. We had a brief discussion and when we made our way out into the water. Candace paddled close to me and gave me some tips on when to start paddling. One piece of advice she gave me was to keep my feet together when paddling out. I hadn't thought about it much, but Candace claimed by keeping them together it would help my core strength. I'm not sure I can explain why, but it made sense to me, and it's something I'm going to think about every time I go out. I started catching waves right away. I missed quite a few too. Candace explained that the waves weren't very strong, so they might be a little hard to catch, but because I'm used to weak waves in Galveston, I'm not sure I missed any more than I would have at my home break. I had at least two outstanding rides, partially from some of Candace's advice about how to turn. All in all, it was a blast. And, it wasn't very cold once I was in the water. But when it was time to get out of that wetsuit to go back to the hotel, I WAS FREEZING. Fortunately, Candace offered to drive me to my BART station, so I didn't need to call a cab.  I wish the waves had been a little bigger, but, all in all, I had a blast! And, not only did I get the opportunity to run across the Golden Gate Bridge during my run, but I also got to surf in northern California! (Oh, and I got to see two of my surfing chicas from Chica Brava while in San Fran!!)Who knows? Maybe I'll surf again next year when I go back to run in San Fran again. In fact, I'm pretty sure I will.

Reconnecting with Roxanne

Friday waves were a little
disorganized, but at least we
had enough wind for them.

What a spectacular weekend! I had the opportunity to participate in all of my sports. The Gulf is still pretty flat, but, on Friday, rumor had it there were a few waves. Actually, the "surf dude" called me early on Friday and said that the waves were not bad, verifying the rumor as fact. Of course, by the time I made it down at around 2:15 p.m., the wind had shifted and it was kind of mess. But, hey, I can't complain: WE STILL HAD SURFABLE WAVES! I loaded Roxanne as soon as I got home from work and headed to the island. I drove down the Seawall looking for the best spot, and the waves were better around 36th Street, but because of summer crowds, there was no place to park. So, I drove back to 45th.

I paddled out in the rip current and immediately caught a wave. My timing was good and the ride was spectacular. Of course, I struggled after that. The waves were small and weak AND a little jumbled, so reading which waves to go for was difficult. The "dude" came out to surf with me about 3 p.m., and he made it look easy. It had been a little over two weeks since I had been out, and although that doesn't seem like a long time, when a person is still figuring out the intricacies of a new sport and on a new board, practices means everything. The "dude" caught three waves to my every one. At one point, he said that I wasn't paddling for waves soon enough. I know he's right. I almost always wait a little too late. Part of the problem on Friday was that a few of the times I paddled for a wave, the wave would fizzle out before it made it to me, leaving me worn out and deflated. So, I would wait until I could tell that the wave would make it almost all the way to me, which is way too late. I saw B lose waves, but I could also tell that he had a sixth sense about which waves would stay together until they made it to him. I caught several more waves, but missed several too. I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I know I still need to practice; in particular, I'm still looking down rather than out when I surf. I HATE THAT! Also, about every third ride I have an awkward pop-up that leaves me feeling like a bird with peg legs struggling to find my balance. I'm able to salvage the ride, but I hate that it happens. I'm very successful turning my board to the left because I'm a goofy-foot, but I also need to practice going right. Oh, there's just so much for me to learn and practice! I hate it that this summer has been so flat.

I heard the waves returned briefly on Saturday, but Saturday is my run/ride day. And, since I have a half marathon coming up soon, I need the cardio. I was hoping to surf again today (Sunday), but it was too flat. In fact, B had to cancel his lessons. The forecast is dismal for the rest of the week, but I'm hoping that changes soon.

Books! I'm looking for a new surfing book to read. The hardest part about choosing surfing books is making sure that you choose one that actually shares valuable information and isn't just a lame story. One of the best I read so far was "The Wave" by Susan Casey, which I read about two years ago. I haven't found another really good one since. But, who knows... I'll just keep looking.  I'll have a little bit of time to do just that. I've been spending a lot of the evening hours watching the Tour de France. It finished today (a Brit won!), so I'll have some spare evening time once again.

The Flatness Continues...

I didn't get to surf this weekend. This time, though, it wasn't because of not having enough time; but, rather, it was because there were no waves! We are in the middle of the summer doldrums, which means the Gulf is flat -- at least, in Galveston it is flat. Last year during our drought, we had waves because the wind was constantly blowing out of the south. However, this year we are having a lot of rain and, with the rain, light winds that blow in from the north and west. It's just not blowing hard enough to cause any wave action. Of course, a couple of my surf buddies are blaming me because the flat seas began just about the same time I bought Roxanne, my new 9' Walden surfboard. The only positive thing -- if there could be anything positive -- is that I'm doing more cardio workouts.

I realized on Thursday night that I wouldn't get to surf on Friday. Surfline and SwellInfo both gave dismal wave reports on Thursday night for Friday. They were correct. Not only was it raining, but it was flat. So even though I don't mind surfing in the rain (as long as there is no lightning), I also had nothing to surf. Since I realized it on Thursday, I was able to plan to attend the 5:30 a.m. spin class at the gym. I would have rather had a workout in the waves, but when that isn't possible, I take what I can get. On Saturday night I scoped out the report for Sunday and again saw "flat" as the forecast. In fact, when looking at a week ahead, I see "flat" through next weekend. I'm so bummed about that. Of course, since getting my new board, I want to surf even worse than before. It's been two weeks since getting to surf, and I'm itching to get Roxanne in the water.

Bella sends wishes to the future baby

Fortunately, I have been able to run and attend spin class. Rain and other commitments have kept me off the bike. I was able to get in a 9-mile run before the rain on Saturday fortunately, but I was unable to ride because of another commitment: a shower for my nephew's girlfriend who is seven months pregnant. I didn't feel so bad about missing the riding though, because by the time I finished my run it was pretty damp out. I didn't get rained on during my run, but it was raining by the time I made it home.  The two showers -- baby and rain -- kept me from cycling Saturday, but that's okay. It was okay that I just got to run. The 9-mile run was a success for me since I have a half marathon in just two weeks. The baby shower for my nephew's girlfriend was also a success. In fact, I thought I'd share something that happened at the shower. All the guests were asked to fill in a wish list that would eventually be given to the baby when she is old enough to understand the wishes. One of the guests was the 7-year-old grandchild of another guest. At 7, I was amazed to find out that not only could she read, but she could write. She turned in her list with all the others (I snuck a photo of it). Not only do I agree with her list that I hope the new baby respect her family, but I also hope she gets shoes. That one made me smile. I didn't write it on my list to the baby, but I should have written that I hope she grows up to be a surfer. We need more surfer girls!