Sunday 9/11/11

A somber mood filled the air this morning. We had been prepped for it for the past few days. It was the 10th anniversary of 9/11 and memorial services, memorial television shows, memorial op-eds and much more and reminded us about the horrific day 10 years ago when planes crashed into the World Trade Center in New York, in a field in Pennsylvania and at the Pentagon in Washington D.C. While I remembered and offered my thoughts and prayers to those victims, I paid homage to those victims in solitude, shortly before making my way to the beach. I experienced the beauty of it all before unloading my Senator 9'6" "Petal" and making my waves into the already crowded waves at about 7:50 a.m. Robin and Brian were already out. I had slept in because of my previous action-filled night (more info later -- see photo above).

The waves looked nice, but it was already crowded. I'm guessing that so many people had been disappointed in the waves lately that the first sign of any bump in the water had caused the all to pick up and make their way to the shore. Once I took the rip current into the line-up, I looked back, saw a wave and immediately caught and rode one in. I was inspired! However, my surf experience went downhill from there. I got in the lineup and waited my turn, but some of those guys stole every wave that made a ripple. One, in particular, was very annoying. I wasn't the only one who noticed. I shouldn't complain, though; I just need to get better at staking my claim to waves. Brian said that he saw me get to my knees, although I hadn't noticed I had done that. In fact, I felt like I had some of the best pop-ups of my surfing "life." I need to pay closer attention though and, perhaps, practice my pop-ups in the living room like I have in the past. I questioned Brian about it, and he said he only noticed that I ddi it once. I HOPE SO!  I stayed out about 3.5 hours. It was a good workout.

In another non-surfing note, yesterday, the Galveston Historical Foundation held their third annual Galveston Revival Race, with proceeds going to revitalization projects caused by Hurricane Ike (Sept. 13, 2008). I decided to run in the 10K race. I was a little nervous at first for being in a "race" per se, but had decided that I would run the 6.1 miles just like I had the two half-marathons I had run -- at my own speed.  The run was in the evening (7 p.m.), and it was quite warm. I finished second in my age category. I'm not sure how many were actually in my age category. I'll be looking at the "official" finish times once they are posted during the next couple of days to see my exact stats. I made a couple of tactical errors I think that might have made my run a little better, although I was surprised to have finished second. First, I probably shouldn't have cycled 65 miles in the wind yesterday morning. However, I love my cycling and hate to ever give that up. Second, I should have placed myself better at the start. I got mixed in with much slower runners and was "caught up" in a mass of others and wasn't to break free for the first couple of minutes. Third, I need to always to remember to hydrate a lot before a big ride or run. With that said, I'm still quite pleased. I think I finished the 6.1 miles in about 55+minutes. (I accidentally forgot to stop my Garmin when I crossed the finish line, and I'm not sure how much time had lapsed before  I stopped it.) I am very fond of Galveston. It might be one of my favorite places in the world. I know it sounds silly, but I understand why Glen Campbell sang about it. I love Galveston and all it has to offer ... especially the waves!

(Somber note: My dear friend Ray from the nursing home is probably dying. May you rest in peace Ray! You will be missed.)

Saturday surfing and another surfing ad

I knew after Friday's surfing session that I would be at the 43rd street jetty at least one more time this weekend. I was hoping that the howling north winds would die down just a bit and that waves would be perfect by Sunday morning. However, the north wind kicked up the waves on Saturday and the window for opportunity was going to be slim. I have a pretty tight training schedule these days. I have to...to be able to fit in all of the things I want to do!! People probably think I'm a little neurotic about this stuff, but really, I just want to have fun doing many different things. Therefore, I don't usually surf on Saturday because it is reserved for running (5:30 a.m.) and cycling (7:30 a.m.). This past Saturday, I completed at least part of my "regimented" training. I was able to run 6.3 miles, but realized during the run that any cycling would be treacherous because of the wind. It was blowing out of the north, which means that the ride would be going to the San Jacinto Monument -- not a favorite route for me. At best, it would be very difficult because, for some reason, the cycling group doesn't work well together during that particular ride to the monument. So, I opted for spin class, which was a good thing because as soon as I finished my run, I received a text from my friend Robin saying she was at the beach. She said that while the conditions weren't perfect, just about every other surfer was out, and that the waves were consistent and semi-big for Galveston standards. I finished the first spin class, loaded up "Sunshine" and made my way down.

Needless to say, by the time I made it to the beach, I was just a tad tired from running and cycling. I shouldn't use that as an excuse though. I was glad I brought my 8'1" board because it was so windy and unloading my two bigger board ("Pedal" and "Iris") would have been difficult. I definitely had to carry any board inside because taking it off and putting it back on the rack would have been treacherous. Either I or a passerby would have probably been decapitated. I need to figure out an easier way to hold it down while strapping it to the top. I spoke with Brian briefly and then paddled out. Brian thought the wind was blowing too hard to have a good surf session so he opted out of surfing, which should have probably been a clue. (He had already tried to discourage me.) However, Robin had been out as was T, M and Houston A, as well as N and B.  The wind and rip current was taking everyone west. Robin mentioned that she had gone out on the west side of the jetty and that getting out was easier there, but that she immediately got pushed halfway down the beach. She recommended going out on the east side. I did. That meant that I got pushed toward the jetty, making it a constant battle to get back to the center point between 43rd and 42nd (?). In the end, I paddled a lot, but I only caught two waves, only one in its formation -- the other being whitewater. I wish I had done better. There were several guys out catching everything they went for, as did Ang and T. I think M. caught several too. I just seemed to be having an off day. Oh well, I had done quite bit before actually making it to G-town, so I probably shouldn't complain. I'm trying hard not to be discouraged. I should definitely stick with just one or two sports on a single day.  There's always next time.

On another note, I found out this morning the new issue of The Parrot is out. I'm in a brand new ad with Brian. One of the writers did a wonderful write-up about taking a surf lesson from Brian. He's doing quite well with his self-marketing. The new ad is fun too! (Story on page 6 and ad on page 18. Note about the ad. It's under the regular surf story by Kris Hopkins. He's a local surfer who also attends UHCL. I wrote a story about Kris Hopkins for our university magazine. He was a fun "dude" to interview.)

TS Lee and the possibility of waves

Galveston-area surfers get a little excited when there's a storm brewing in the Gulf. Although we don't want any devastation for anyone, when something is churning in the Gulf we can at least count on waves. It's been so flat lately, that just about any ripple is appreciated. And, you could tell that everyone felt that way today. Brian convinced me yesterday to pack my board and surfing gear and take it to work today so that I could head straight to G-town when I got off at noon. So, when he called today at noon and told me that the current was way too strong and waves too rough and inconsistent, I explained that it was too late. I already had everything packed was ready to go.

When I arrived at the 43rd street jetty at about 1:30 for my regular Friday afternoon surf session, I saw in person what I had seen on the web cam (g-townsurf.com) and exactly what Brian described. But I was committed, so I unloaded and went out. I decided before entering the rough waves that I would stay on the inside and just catch the ones breaking closer to shore.  Because of the storm, the tide was being pushed to the shore making the tide higher than usual, even though it really wasn't high tide. The wind was blowing strong from the east, which meant that in order to surf without getting pushed into the jetty, we had to surf on the west side. Probably six or seven surfers were already out. Only one was doing what I was going to do and surfing on the inside. The rest were taking the rip current out and going to the outside before catching waves that seemed to offer rides lasting forever...or at least a minute or two. I was in awe. Brian paddled to the outside, but I remained intimidated by the roughness and stayed right where I was. All of the elements were in place, though, for me to catch some really long rides even if it was whitewater. I was on "Sunshine," my 8'1", so I enjoyed the practice. I had some terrific runs. I even managed to turn the board a little and stay with the wave down the line. However, I still have the problem of looking down instead of where I want to go. I mentioned that to Brian. He said I was being too hard on myself. He eventually had to leave after about an hour, but I stayed another hour and got a good two hours in of surfing. Rumor had it tomorrow the waves will be 8 feet. I find it hard to believe. However, the wind is howling and with the storm still out there spinning around (forecasted to go into Louisiana tomorrow), anything is possible. Hopefully, either tomorrow or Sunday the waves will calm a bit and, yet, still be out of the north so they will be clean.  I am glad I went today though!

"Beach Blanket Bingo" is on AMC tonight. I just saw a scene where a guy went out to surf, caught a wave and then, for some unknown reason, fell into it and bumped his head on a rock. A mermaid rescued him. I just did a google search for male mermaids and found that, according to a couple of sources (ask.com and Wikipedia...what sources! :-), mermaids in the male form are called mermen. (hee hee) I just hope that if I ever crash and hit my head on a rock, a merman will save me!