Disgusting, Yet Fun

Once I put my foot in the water, I was regretting my decision to go in today. The water was brown!! While stretching on the shore, I kept throwing my fist in the air and saying, "Brown is beautiful!" (Think Black Panthers and Brown Berets). Yep, I was talking myself into it. But then I got in and got a good look at it. It looked pretty disgusting. That didn't make me turn around and get out. I have a rule: once my wetsuit goes on, I'm committed. Period. So, in I went, trying not to breathe too deeply and wondering what would happen when I finally got my hair wet. I ended up having a good session. I always have a good session after a long hiatus from surfing. I don't know why that is. It may be the fact that I obsess about, dream about, and salivate over surfing when I can't get in the water. Then, when I'm back in the water, I feel like I'm home. It's strange. It wasn't one of my epic sessions. However, I did have a breakthrough. I don't usually remember my waves. Today I remember the first one and the last one. The breakthrough was on the last one. I finally did what I think was a drop knee turn. It probably didn't look like one to anyone else. I was going frontside on a left. It was a pretty long ride. I saw that the wave was going to closeout eventually. Now usually, I end up getting slammed by the closeout and thinking (as I come up for air), "Oh, that's where I should have tried a drop knee turn." My brain still doesn't quite keep up when I surf. I think that's where much of the learning curve comes in. You can do a thing physically, but you can't get your brain to make your body do the thing at the right time. Anyway, the wave was going to close out in front of me and my brain told me, "Doadropkneeturnnow!rightnow!nownownow!" So I awkwardly bent that back knee, badly put weight on that back leg, and actually turned back away from the closeout. I know it was ugly to watch. It had to be. It felt anything but stylish. Who cares? I did a drop knee turn . . . finally! My first wave was simply a good ride. Again, I went frontside, found the trim, then crouched to get better leverage (while doing a slight rear hand drag), and took it all the way to the beach. I wasn't thinking about walking. I just wanted to enjoy the ride.

I hope I don't get sick. The water tasted horrible. I did my best not to get much of it in my system. I didn't spend too much time underwater today. Didn't swallow any or suck any into my nose. So far, so good. I won't be able to surf this weekend. That's why I went in today. It had to be done. Now I'm frantically trying to dry my wetsuit (yes, in the dryer since it only lasts for one season anyway) before anyone comes home. In other words, I'm trying to hide the evidence. The wetsuit is in the dryer. The Cinch Sac is outside drying. I'm not sure what to do with the wet swimsuit and rashguard. I'll have to hide them somewhere. Do you see the depths to which I'll sink for surfing?