Aug 2, 2007

cross training. the surfy way.



last friday - as on every friday ...
i had a choice: 3 miles or yoga.

so, i went surfing.

i had a surfing lesson 2 years ago ... and remembered, that, in addition to being fun as shit - it was hard & a kick ass workout. so i totally figured an hour of surfing would suffice. plus, when the hell else was i going to get to substitute surfing for a run? ah. like never, dude.

so me & my bff suit up, get our shore review & hit the waves. our instructor was my cousin who owns a surf shop with his brother. the very same shop where they hand out red bulls like they are candy. if you are ever in rye beach, nh ... you must go.

so we're floating. we're floating. and my cousin is regaling us with tales of his travels all over the world ... runs a surf shop in the summer & the rest of the year, travels to points south where the waves are big to teach surfing. in my next life, i want his life.

so he chats, and then suddenly, pushes the board - with you on it - and yells "paddle, paddle, paddle!!!!!" and then "pop up! now! up!" you got it you got it! oh! not so much!

my favorite was when he'd spy the next wave & right as he pushed you off into the surfy unknown - will i get up or won't i? he'd say, "this is it, this is your wave" ... dude. that's a lot of pressure. this may not be my wave.

i resist the urge to ask how long it usually takes people to get up the first time. i remember the last time i did this & it took me 30 minutes to get up. that was the first & last time. and i was drop dead exhausted.

now, i didn't have my watch on, although i have to admit i was tempted to wear my heartrate monitor - just out of curiosity ... you know, in that would the effort match a 3 mile run sort of curiosity. but i'm gonna guess that about 20 minutes into lesson i got my first wave in. am sure my heartrate would have registered off the charts - the excitement & sheer joy was an absolute blast.

i got a few more in after that ... and my cousin left the boards for us to keep using ... i stayed in & got a couple more -- could have done it all day. totally channeled my inner surf girl.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

you look good.

Unknown said...

Oh man, I can NEVER introduce you to my husband; he LOVES surfing and has tried to get me to do so on several occasions (he might want to run away with you!!!) Mind you, if we lived where the water is warm, I might consider it, but the frigid waters of the Washington hold no appeal.

zanne said...

you don't need warm water if you have a wetsuit! give it a go!

Vickie said...

Too much fun! I love the ocean and the waves. I doubt I could surf--couldn't even water ski!