Ouch, my knee!

I've been having trouble the last couple sessions getting my feet under me. The problem seems to be a weak left knee. It's the same knee that I dislocated several times as a teenager. It has always been a small problem for me, but for the last month or two, it's become a bigger problem. I did something to it several weekends ago when I surfed multiple times in a weekend. I don't know what I did, maybe just too much exeercise. But that weekend it swelled up, and it's been weak since then. It was bothering me yesterday at G's, but it wasn't stopping me. The TH was getting into the waves nicely and I was fighting my weak knee to do what I needed it to do. After two successful (but not great) rides, I decided to paddle deeper where the wave was more exciting. The first wave I went for sucked out before I got my feet all the way set and I lost control. My left foot kinda stuck to the board as my body fell and I strained my knee. I heard some noise (maybe in my head) but it wasn't painful right away. Still, I knew I did some damage and paddled back to where the waves were a bit easier. I got to my feet on another wave but after than just rode them on my belly. My knee felt okay at rest, but when swirling my feet to swing the board around, or just to stay balanced while sitting, my knee complained. I took a wave in and made the walk back down the beach careful to not put to much stress on the knee.

By the time I got back to the car, my knee was starting to tighten up. Still not painful at rest but sensitive to movement I took a single does of ibuprofin and made my way home. An hour and a half later, getting out of my car in my driveway and my knee wasn't cooperating. I'm keeping up the low-dose ibuprofin and trying to maintain mobility in my knee by walking around. But I'm also sitting at my work-from-home desk and I have a ton of work to do. I know I have field work, but nothing scheduled yet because I've been busy with office work. I hope I'll be ready to surf this weekend, but I'm not so sure this 46-year-old body will repair that quickly. So it's possible the three-day weekend will be non-surfing. Sounds like a good time to go canoeing!

Don't forget the lessons

 I went out to G's with JB last weekend. I brought my 6'0" because I wanted to try it after having ridden the TH so much lately. I had a terrible time. I couldn't get into the wave before the thump, and I don't have the skill to get in under it on this board. After an hour+ of trying, I went in having never ridden a wave. I walked past R's and looked at Funboards. Went back to R's where the waves looked better. I think I could have had a decent surf there if I wasn't already tired. I rode one on my knees because I couldn't get my feet under me in time. I finally made it to my feet and rode a pitiful left. I rode it to the beach to call it a day.

I had forgotten the lesson I learned at G's, bring more foam. The wave has a soft part just before the thump. With a big enough board I can get in at the soft part and be on my feet ready when it thumps. Without that foam it's just a nightmare. (Alternatively, less foam makes handling the thump a little easier, but I'm far out of shape for that.) So this weekend I plan to return to G's, this time back on the TH.

And there was another issue besides picking the wrong board; being out of shape. I've had a stressful run of weeks at work and missed opportunities for getting away from my desk for a walk. I have been out on a few field days, which at least gets my body moving, but apparently it isn't enough. So this week I forced myself for a few walks, did a few squat reps (just bodyweight) and thought about doing some push-ups. I also thought about how skateboarding is a good way to strengthen my knees and legs. I looked to Utube for inspiration and instead found an affordable "surfskate" option. The WaterBourne surfskate and rail adapters are supposed to make skating feel more like surfing. For $100 shipped, I thought it was worth the experiment. It arrived yesterday and I put it together and got a little skating in. 

It's certainly a work-out because there's not much room for straight legged riding. Kicking is difficult with the extra height of the board and the introduced loose feeling. The recommended approach is to instead use the adapter advantage and pump to generate speed. I tried and just barely could feel anything. My feet and legs were tired after just a few minutes and I stopped to get back to family duties. It's worth more trying, although I wasn't blown away at the feeling of it. If it gets me out of the house, it's worth it.