spring forward

i have never in my life looked forward to the clocks moving.. forward. less sleep, more daylight? not goth friendly. however, this time there were benefits to be reaped.. one more precious hour to be out in the ocean!

initially today, it seemed like it might not matter. i woke up tired and sore with a big list of chores to get done. i checked on linda mar and it looked like a freakin' ant pile! yikes! so i decided to just go about my day, do as much as i could and get some downtime. luckily, the tides were on my side forecasting a low tide at around 7 so getting there at 4 seemed ideal to avoid crowds and the 1 pm high tide that generally turns LM into a lake in my experience.

it was sunny and WARM out in the east bay. i was somehow shocked when i made the turn on the freeway and saw a thick layer of fog over the coast. the 2nd parking lot was roomy and the cooler, grey atmosphere definitely spoke to my preferred beach aesthetic even though my wax was softened from the heat. the crowd had definitely thinned and the presence of rental shop boards was nil. my arms were sore just waxing my board but the waves looked small and i could actually see some lulls.

of course, the lulls subsided as soon as i tried to get in the water. i had been defeated at my last attempt at getting outside at LM and it initially seemed like it would repeat. the channel i initially saw shifted and i pretty much got smashed and experienced a hellish turtle roll gone awry that saw me dragged underwater and pushed like i'd just caught a wave in shitty bizarro world.

then i finally got smart and decided to just walk down the beach to the calmer side and like magic, a light lull came and i was able to paddle outside. it took some time but yay! in fact, a long lull came but the water was REALLY choppy. choppier than i think i ever experienced for being outside the breaking waves. i focused on feeling steady in the sitting position and tried my best to sit without using my hands to hold the board and got my longest time sitting up without falling so far! in fact, it was almost a meditative state.. so incredibly peaceful, away from all technology and things, just looking out in the water and then back into the foggy coast. everyone else was sitting much further in so it felt like for a minute, i had the ocean to myself.

waves started coming again and i decided i should work on trying to finally catch one. i experimented with my positioning on the board but the closest i came was sorta feeling like i caught one before falling back off it.  i was feeling hesitant getting back around people and never really put myself in a great spot for the waves, i think. again, i think it's time for me to consult someone more knowledged to figure out why i can't even get on a wave and i'm glad i am.

i wasn't really tired but i started having that "feeling futile, time to go" feeling and when i got to my car, saw i'd logged a solid hour and a half. nice! especially since i'd been out the day before. my arms and shoulders feel worked! so glad i got in the water again. it really does recharge my soul.

of note:
-at one point i was entirely surrounded by wavestorms. christ, people! of course, they were mostly better than me. i tried to tell myself i'd probably paddle better on a giant hunk of foam too but probably not.
-it's nice to be around people who aren't that good at surfing.
-putting my weight forward on the board was notably helpful to punch through white water without getting blown off. i still got blown off a lot though.
-the board bag greg gave me has made lugging my board up to my apartment much more pleasant
-i got my wetsuit on REALLY quickly and without a plastic bag! i think it's stretched some. it was really flushed when i got out too :( body, contour into a smaller size soon!