Believe It or Not . . .

I had a good session. Yes, the wind was killing everything. It was so cold and EVERYBODY knows I hate the cold. There was way too much texture in the water for my taste. It was simply a nasty, ugly day at the beach. But, hey, I don't get a chance to surf on the weekends often, let alone do a weekend surf early in the morning. Since I don't live anywhere near the beach, I usually have skates or my bike in the car in case the waves aren't cooperating. Today would have been a perfect day for a different workout. I, however, was so preoccupied with getting in the water today that it never occurred to me the waves might be less than ideal. I got to the beach, saw what was ahead of me, and proceeded to spend a good 30 minutes talking (and waiting for the conditions to improve). Then I spent another 10 minutes getting psyched up. Normally, I get that wetsuit on, throw the contacts in, pay for parking, and I'm gone. I worry that I might miss something if I spend too much time piddling around in the parking lot. Today, I did everything much more slowly. I didn't want to go home (figuratively) empty-handed. So, with a little prodding from Grace (who reminded me that I had my wetsuit on, thus I was already committed—my rule, not hers), I got in. The ocean was blown out. The waves were closed out. It was cold. And it was just what I needed to clear my head. I'd only been in for about five minutes when I caught a nice right, saw it closing out, turned the big log abruptly and went left, then moved up toward the nose for an almost "cheater five". For me, it was the wave of the day. This was another day of firsts. I've never been able, before today, to handle windy, blown out conditions. I've seen others catch waves on such days. I, on the other hand, always had a hard time spotting a wave in the midst of all that chop. I was finally able to make heads and tales of such conditions today. Apparently, I've gained yet more wave knowledge over the last few months. I got at least five rides today. I think, too, that having a big, heavy board helps. I wasn't getting tossed around like others I saw on funboards and shortboards. This was the session I needed. It didn't matter what the conditions were. All that mattered was that I get wet and deal with some of my demons.