Surf/Bike Duathlon - Mixed Bag, Mixed Results, Mixed Outcomes

9-25-11

Sunlight begins to burn off the morning's grey gloom, with a little sparkle. Long Beach, N.Y.

One thing's for sure, with a biz trip upcoming, I'll be taking this weekend off sports to recover from the delayed reaction to last weekend's overabundance of neck torquing physical activity — a Surf/Bike Duathlon. Oh, did I forget to mention golf with my 15 year old younger son? That, too. In essence a Surf-Bike-Golf triathlon, but spread over two days. OK that doesn't count. (P.S. While laugh at the notion that golf is even a sport - just ask Camillo Villegas what he and others do to keep in shape and play their best.)

Plenty of vertical profile in this ride. Helps to tweak the y-axis and squish the x-axis a bit. But this shows why those hills felt like cycling up and down crags. Ok, mostly just 70-100 foot bumps in the road, but 12-15% grades make for a lung-burning grind.

As for the surfing, I passed on Long Beach — no point in going somewhere crowded if you haven't surfed in 13 months and you want to have a chance of catching a wave.After a quick bite to eat on the road, I decided to take the Northern State to the Wantagh (instead of the Meadowbrook) and head further east.

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The conditions didn't disappoint. Almost perfect. Nice size without being threatening — which is to say as perfect as it gets. Waist to occasional head high, but generally ideal longboarding waves. Only one problem, the main break was an extremely long paddle out. I'd forgotten the high price this beach demands in paddle power to get to the outside and maintain a position there, between rides.

So it was, then my that my surfing that "first day back" involved about 100% paddling and 0% wave riding.

Yes, you read that correctly: zero. Not even a belly ride or a knee ride.

After a 13 month layoff, my arms faded near the outermost break. I made it alright, but sat and took a rest, got rebuffed by a couple of cycles of whitewater, drifted back into a sucking eddy of current, and the next few paddles were futile attempts to regain the outside.

Never mind; it was a good dues-paying workout for the arms and shoulders. Nothing hurt much on the day itself, a pain in the neck here, some tingling there in the fingers. I've had much worse.

Mikedabaker's van waiting patiently for its master to return in the Tobay lotUh oh. Crowded LB lineup. Time to head further east I think.

One of the finer aspects of the call of the ocean, wind or waves is that we often run into old buddies, and this day was no exception. A long time surfer, one-time hardest-core windsurfer and Long Island Mountainbiking icon Mikedabaker, arrived just as I was contemplating wrapping it up. His presence motivated me to do one last paddle out.



The lack of actual surf rides, however, left me craving some more exercise.

Once back home, Gordon was not up for golf that day, and Robby had too much homework. Frustrating way to end a staycation. Chuck had a bad back, and what little more abuse my body would take I figured there was no point in squandering semi pain-free physical currency back on solo golf. If I was trying to improve my game maybe. But at this point in the injury/recovery cycle, we're just talking having some fun with the kids or a friend.

With one day left before returning to publishing's cycle of deadlines, more stress-reducing exercise was imperative.

Ah, almost forgot — do I hear the road bike was calling? THis would also be a sore test of the neck. A few weeks ago I spun out 10 miles, with only moderate repercussions. A great little ride, but the neck discs were definitely aggravated. Then came rain, and more rain, pain, and thoughts of riding subsided.

Feeling emboldened now, I would try to stretch the miles about 10-20% to build the base. Final tally: 11.75 with plenty of hills thrown in, and a doozy of a climb to finish.

No immediate signs of neck trouble immediately after, ditto the day after that and the day after that.Oddly the lower back was stiff -- not my usual problem aree. It usually goes away in a few days. Maybe some exercised-induced asthma following the surf, but the general neck/arm/shoulder was OK.

... until Wednesday, when the wheels fell off the bus -- lower back cleared up but neck and arm issues unexpectedly returned with a bit of a vengeance.

Will have to dial it back. I see ibuprofen and a chiropractor visit in my future.