Retired Surfer!
I took three surfing lessons last week. One was a land lesson and the other two were in the water. Land lesson – good. The first water lesson went OK. I had some problems getting some balance on the board while paddling. The first time we went out, I was exhausted by time we got out there to the point where I wondered if I wanted to go back in knowing that I would have to paddle out again. But experience with kayaking told me that exhaustion was due to bad technique rather than it really being that difficult and better technique would come around with some practice. Sure enough, by the end of the first water lesson, I could tell that balance and paddle technique were improving. I was not able to stand on the board, but catching the wave like a boogie boarder was very exciting. By the end of that lesson, I was starting to feel sore in my lower rib cage and I was wondering if I had pulled a muscle or bruised my ribs. I hadn’t been hit by the board so I was confused about why the pain was occurring. When I talked to some surfers I was happy to hear that everyone experiences that pain in the ribs from being on the hard surface and it will eventually go away as you get tougher.
I could barely sleep that night because anytime I moved the pain was excruciating. I was sure that I was not going out again. But a day later the pain was down enough that I gave it another shot and the instructor, Hydro, provided me with a softer board. I was in pain from the start of that lesson, but my technique had improved a lot and I was able to feel how to catch the waves so I stuck with it. Unfortunately, before the two hours was up, I was really hurting and we called it a day. That was Friday morning. I have been pumping Advil ever since and I am still in a lot of pain Sunday night. I haven’t injured my ribs before, but everything you hear about making every movement painful is very true. I am a lot better now and will probably be normal by Wednesday, but I am still incapable of doing most physical activities. I was going to go rock climbing again yesterday and I had to laugh at that thought as I was trying to figure out how to sit up from bed without screaming. Laughing, sneezing, coughing… ouch!
If I was living in a nice surfing place (Sonoma County has great surfing if you don’t mind 10 degrees celsius temperatures, nasty currents and great whites), I would definitely want to persevere through the pain that supposedly goes away. But since I don’t, I am retiring from this sport. I had a lot of respect for the difficulty of surfing before I tried it. That respect has multiplied greatly now that I have made my attempt.
Tags: Central America, Mexico, North America, Travel
vagabondrick
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