Why do I suck

[raf]

Agreed crtraveler.  I hope I'm never on automatic pilot. If you are, then its time to move on imo.

[linter]

In the winter here in RI i'm good for about 1.5 hrs tops.  when i fall twice for no reason in the span of 5 minutes while paddling in the flats on a glassy day,  stick a fork in me, jerry, i'm done.  naturally, i usually ignore those warning signs and spend the next hour falling and flubbing but at least i know what the issue is.

actually, it usually and piss-offingly takes me about 30 to 45 minutes to catch my first wave and get in any sort of groove.  sometimes this really upsets me and i have been known to smack my board with my paddle in frustration.  and to start shrieking like a girl.   and ...

well, enuf.

time to move on.

[suprbowl]

Thanks to all for your honest and humble posts. I've only been out in the surf twice so far. I'll know what to expect down the road. These posts also show that supping is definitely not cheating, or it would be a lot easier:)

[Dangerous Dan]

Been doing the SUP surf thing since May 2009 at the urging of my son who surfs everything and added SUP about six months before I did.  When I start falling, I go in and hydrate, rest a bit and paddle back out. 

I still suck...but boy do I enjoy it! 

Hope you all keep coming back for more.

[PonoBill]

Hydration is closely related to suckiness. It's hard to tell when it's a problem, and since you don't see an immediate benefit (takes about 10-20 minutes) people often dismiss it as "not the real problem". I've been paying closer attention to hydration again lately, and the muscle pain I had in my right side disappeared. Maybe it was headed out anyway, but I'm calling it a gift from drinking gallons of water.

Here's an old Ke Nalu article called Hydration = Balance. One of my better efforts at research. I knew NOTHING about this before I started working on the article.
http://www.kenalu.com/2009/05/hydration-balance/

[Six Feet and Glassy]

Yup. SUPing is another in the long of sports that are rewarding Because of the difficulties, not despite them.

And...Days like those are why God made BEER.  

I think Dave Kalama said something to the effect:  "Everyone Keep Sweeping.  We'll get this place cleaned up in no time!"

[blueplanetsurf]

Thanks PonoBill, I just read that article on Hydration.  Last year during the BOP in Hawaii I did not have any water in the Elite race and lost 10 pounds of bodyweight.  Since then I almost always pack water when racing and it does make a difference.

[linter]

oh, right, ponobill and water, forgot to talk about that.  after reading his piece, i upped my pre-session intake by a gadzillion percent, from not a drop to a liter or as much as i can stand.  (I hate water).  it really makes a huge difference.

[kneecap]

Hey Poppy- Was that you out on the swallow tail by the condos off south jetty?  If so, I paddled out on the green Nugg a little bit before you went in.  As good as that day looked, to me it was peeling along a little more quickly than I'm used to and I have to say that I was struggling a bit too most of the day.  I don't have any words of wisdom other than to say you are definitely not alone.  Some days I barely get my hair wet. some days I can barely stay on my feet.  The golf analogy really works for me as I had a brief span as a golf addict precisely because of the challenge.  SUP is similar to me.

Anyhow, whether that was you out on Friday or not, I'm usually running around O'side most every day I have off.  Green and white Riviera Nugg with a black O'Neill wetsuit.  My name's Chris- feel free to say hi and we can share some waves.

[surfnpoppy]

Well the last 2 days have been great. Saturday at Ponto was really good for me and today at O'side Pier was great for me. I will put the sucky performance on being overly cold last friday.
And underhydrated.
And just being a kook.

I was talking to Josh @ K5 today and he pointed one thing out about Gary's McNabbs boards.... Nectar's are not stand up paddle boards that you surf.... they are surfboards that you stand up paddle.... big difference..... I never thought of it that way. Even Gary Mcnabb says short Nectars can be traumatic to paddle but the payoff is they surf like performace surfboards.

kneecap... Chris... that could have been me the place is right and but I am not on a swallow tail my board is blue with black rails with white deck pad and I am in oneill blue and black wetsuit. If you see me out there paddle over and say hi! and if I am having a sh*t day and dropping f bombs feel free to smack me with your paddle and say.... you dope you could be at work right now.

[kneecap]

Yeah I was taking a look at those Nectars the other day at K5 as well and they look pretty hard to keep on your feet.  I'm definitely not ready for one of those but some day.  I'll keep an eye out for you.  It'll be good to have another local sweeper to talk to!

[crkrider]

I guess I could suxxx, but as someone who is beginning to worry young people in extreme sports venues, it's actually kinda funny. You might try and look at it as the great ongoing learning experience of life. Most of us are never going to have a board short named after us. The trick is be like Eddie, the oldest surfer in Barbados. Every wave is a blessing from the great mother ocean. And before her we are all but so much flotsam and jetsam.

[PonoBill]

Amen, Brother, amen. I started building Xtreme Geezer because I've seen way too many guys bowing out to the sidelines because they're getting old. Like there was some kind of rule that you should stop charging hard when you pass some certain age.

Screw that. No, really. Screw that.

I posted an article on Xgeez today about a company in northern canada that still flys DC3's commercially http://www.xgeez.com/2011/02/dc-3s-still-flying-commercially/. Imagine that, an airplane 75 years old that still flies every day. My race car is 51 years old. Some good things just go on and on.

The big trick is to treat every day, every adventure, as a blessing. I'm going to go hard until I can't go at all.

[surfnpoppy]

Bill.... I am your original extreme geezer except that I never stopped being active. At 58 I have a resting pulse rate of around 50 beats per minute. Have surfed, cycled, run and swam since I was a teenager (don't do the running much anymore) I weigh 4 lbs more now than when I was in high school. I excercise 6 days a week and still work full time at my business. Right now surf 3 days swim 3 days. Yesterday I did a dawn patrol surf session, 3 hours in the water and was to work by 11am and worked a full day.... life is good.

But I still suck, am still a kook at SUP surfing and get frustrated sometimes in the water. Part of my issue is I have these rules for SUP in my head. The #1 rule is "relax and enjoy" sometimes I forget that rule in the heat of the moment.

[SoCalSupper]

Well the last 2 days have been great. Saturday at Ponto was really good for me and today at O'side Pier was great for me. I will put the sucky performance on being overly cold last friday.
And underhydrated.
And just being a kook.

I was talking to Josh @ K5 today and he pointed one thing out about Gary's McNabbs boards.... Nectar's are not stand up paddle boards that you surf.... they are surfboards that you stand up paddle.... big difference..... I never thought of it that way. Even Gary Mcnabb says short Nectars can be traumatic to paddle but the payoff is they surf like performace surfboards.

kneecap... Chris... that could have been me the place is right and but I am not on a swallow tail my board is blue with black rails with white deck pad and I am in oneill blue and black wetsuit. If you see me out there paddle over and say hi! and if I am having a sh*t day and dropping f bombs feel free to smack me with your paddle and say.... you dope you could be at work right now.

well said about the Nectars-i love mine-still getting the hang of it 4 months into it-my 9x28x3-7/8 is not easy to paddle but man once it starts down the line it is so rad!....love yours Surfnpoppy-nice board!
oh and i had a i totally suck day today-keep suppin Chris-soon you will be shredding the smaller sups!