Not to sound conceited, but I am typically really good at sports. They're my thing…I played collegiate and professional soccer, ran track and played basketball in high school, have run three marathons and several half marathons and have successfully picked up tennis, racquetball, golf, skiing, etc. I am really not intimated about playing any sport.
With this background, I figured that when I tried surfing, it might be a little rough at first, but then I would go on to be – in the worst case scenario – at least a decent surfer. Saturday morning I went out to La Jolla Shores, where the waves were decent but not overwhelming like last week's waves at Solana Beach, to continue to improve my surfing skills. Unfortunately I was slow to get in the water because the zipper on my wetsuit was stuck. It was stuck so badly, I flagged down a stranger to get some help. Neither he nor his sister could get the zipper to start, so then I had to take my wetsuit almost completely off and fix the zipper. For those of you who've never put a wetsuit on, this is quite a frustrating task. I decided not to hike all the way up to the bathroom with the longboard and stood right on the beach dealing with the dilemma.
I finally got the zipper started and my wetsuit all done up and ready to go. I went out in the ocean and stood in the water for a bit, waiting for my body to adjust to the freezing water. Even with a 4mm wetsuit, it was still cold. I was able to paddle out, no problem and then sat on my board, looked around and decided to just go for it. A couple of waves passed me by, and I ended up turtle rolling under a large wave. When the wave hit me, I realized that this really wasn't fun and I was already exhausted from the "Ramp It Up" session and run earlier in the morning.
As I decided to head to the beach after probably 20 minutes in the water, it occurred to me that maybe surfing just isn't my thing. I am frustrated and want it to be fun already. I'm not saying I'm quitting yet but my enthusiasm level has waned considerably. Next time I surf, I need to not work out before hand and make sure surfing conditions are good. To be continued…
