I paddled out last Saturday despite a nagging pinched nerve in my hip. Nothing serious, but super annoying. I then caught a couple of mellow rides across the sandbar before running into dry rock on the inside, obliterating the nose of my 9'2 Vec Longboard Performance Quad! I took it as a sign to get out of the ocean and rest my body, instead of grabbing another board and heading back out. You gotta know when to rest.
There have been plenty of waves so far this spring. The wind has been an issue in the afternoons, but there's been a lot of windows in the mornings to surf. I'll finish out March with a solid wave count over 130 rides... which has proven to be way too much for my bones to handle without being in better shape. So the goal now is to continue rehabbing my lower back and hip, while building up my core a little more. I've added a few pounds in the belly over the last six months, accentuating an already most excellent dad bod. But that puts extra strain on my lower back, and when I'm popping-up on 130 waves in a 10-day period, with a weakened and tired core, I'm just opening myself up to aggravating something. Being older is fun... waking up each morning it's always a potluck of aches and pains!
The bigger story here is that I've broken yet another board, and one that gets a lot of mileage in the summers when long-period storm swell comes calling. So I've already hustled it off to be repaired in order to have it back in-time for Cape Verde season. As we transition to a la nina weather pattern this summer, there could be an above average number of storms moving close enough for landfall this year on the east coast. The Vec HPLB Quad handles the walled-up stuff at our beach breaks better than most other boards, so it's a must-have in my quiver for this summer. As we approach April, the surf forecasters are calling for more action in these parts. So while I'll likely not hit the numbers I did this March, there should be some quality days to get in the water. If you're in the area, drop me a line, and let's share some waves. OK, I hope everyone is doing well, and you're surfing where you are! Cheers.