Good exercise

I got a message Sunday morning that the beach looked good. JZ had family things to do and was possibly wishing to live vicariously. I rallied my mojo and grabbed my 7'5" Noriega. I know that any waves that need that much board are too much for me right now. The last few times I was in bigger waves I got winded quickly and my arms weren't strong enough to catch waves or battle the current.
I got to the beach and was pleased to see it was a reasonable size at the north end (4-8'), where it was also well shaped. I paddled out and the worst I faced was the middle bar which was shallow and hitting hard. I got lucky and found a pass through and made it out without much trouble. By the time I made it out I was winded, and far from where I wanted to be. I spent the entire time paddling south against the current. The good news is that I am in good enough shape that I could comfortably paddle against the current for awhile before having to take a rest. The bad news is that I only made it to the peak a few times, and didn't get any good waves any of those times.
I found myself hesitant. I was thinking I needed to be patient and chose the best waves to save my energy. By the end of the 3 hours of surfing I realized that waves I had let pass were the best waves, nothing better ever came to me. Hindsight, but also notable that in the past I have been more aggressive by chasing down any wave that came to me, good or not so good. (I do let obvious bad waves pass by.)
I also admired the beautiful sky, full of cirrus clouds flying high between storms. So many shades of grey and stark contrast from the sunny side of a billowy cloud to the shaded side. I also enjoyed watching others get good waves and smiling at others out there. I tried to be friendly and reassuring without being condescending. I have no right to be condescending given my present state of physical fitness and after not getting any good rides from three hours of being in the ocean. All this left me in a good mood and feeling like I can get into better shape and hopefully enjoy more rides next time.