Surf Sesh August 24, 2023

 Had an AMAZING session!  The waves were still small and choppy, but had more power to them.  I for real caught a green wave, but my foot placement was wonky, and, TBH, I got a little scared by the feeling of dropping in.  

But- the white waves were great, and also gave me some opportunity to feel the drop and get more comfortable with it. Had two legit, real, long wave rides in the whitewater. On the second one I even was able to do a little right turn-on my backhand!  I feel like I really turned a corner last night- I feel I'm making significant progress!

Next step- work on more controlled finishes- my first wave was okay, but the second one with the turn ended, ahem, kookily.

time surfed: 40 min

total time to date: 4 hours 9 min

Surf Sesh August 23, 2023

 The waves were still small with choppy conditions, but less mushy.  My paddling and board control felt really strong.

Working on my front foot position when standing up.  At the end of the session I felt pretty dialed in! AS silly as it sounds in tiny little waves, I did feel like I had better commitment to the waves.    

It's sometimes hard to maintain a wave count while out there- the focus is on mindfulness, not numbers, but I think I did 3 or 4 good ones!

Times surfed: 39 min

total time to date: 3 hours 29 min

Surf Sesh August 22, 2023

 The waves were tiny, choppy, and mushy.  Stood up on 2 green waves, but was behind the wave so went nowhere!

Got a few "sort of waves," and one decent whitewater wave.  Had one really clean pop-up but was off balance so.....WIPEOUT!

I found myself being a bit cautious in the shallow whitewater, didn't want to fall is the shallows.  The lack of propulsion from the weak waves made it harder to stay up and riding.

Time surfed: 34 min

Total time to date: 2 hours 52 min

Surf Sesh August 21, 2023

 For various reasons I was out of the water for a whole week! It felt good to be back. The waves were tiny but clean.  I stood on 2 green waves- but was behind the wave so got nowhere! I got up on 3 white water.  I need to work more on angling my front foot the right way.  I'm bringing it up and landing it pointing right at the nose!

Time surfed: 32 min

Total time to date: 2 hours 16 min

Sharing Stoke

 I had a great time in the water last Thursday, and I didn't even surf!  I spent some time volunteering with Equip for Living's Equip for Surfing event- providing adaptive surfing experiences.  

I was paired up with a surf instructor from the local shop, and we worked with participants who did not have mobility limitations.  It was such a great time helping people have fun in the ocean.  There is so much to be said for adaptive and therapeutic surfing- it can create new neural paths that can help with depression, anxiety, PTSD and addiction.  It's great exercise, but also an exercise in mindfulness. It releases endorphins and creates a sense of accomplishment. It exposes one to the beauty, joy, and benefits of the ocean, and it's just darn fun! 

I am looking for all the opportunities I can find to volunteer for programs like this, it was such a great time, and everyone had fun!

Surf Sesh August 14, 2023

 I was so excited to get out in the water Monday night that I forget to set my timer until I had been out the back for a while.

The waves were teeny tiny and weak.  I caught two green waves and even stood for a moment!  Caught two good whitewater waves.

Time surfed: 30 minutes

Total time to date: 1 hour 44 min

Surf Sesh August 12, 2023

Beautiful dawn patrol session. Waves were small, hardly any one was out. A little sore where I got banged up, but still a successful session. Caught one green wave. Didn't stand up all the way, but rode it drop knee. It's gonna take some time to get used to the drop.

Got three good white water waves! My back foot is doing a wonky thing during the stand up, leaning sideways. Need to work on getting that back foot square under myself. All in all though, a day of stoke!

Time surfed: 28 min

Surf time to date: 1 hour 14 min