They're so shitty. But I'm really the only one to blame. Basically, I've had ankle issues (on my left ankle, I'm goofy so it's my back foot) for probably 5 years. Nothing serious. Just minor annoyances. This finally caught up to me in early 2020. I surfed through it like always, but right around May or June, things really took a turn for the worse. I went to a physical therapist and things improved, but still not enough to surf....
What I have is a high ankle sprain. It takes FOREVER to heal. The fact that I ignored this minor injury for so many years has made it a way bigger issue than it should have been. I went to a doctor at the beginning of October. He basically said that it will take up to 3 months for it to heal. In the meantime he told me to do lots of lower body exercises to get it strong. While not ideal, I figured, "well, all things considered it's not too bad. I'll still get to surf for most of the winter."
We're now in January and it's been firing. I have surfed a handful of times, but honestly it's done more harm than good with the ankle, so I stopped. I can probably longboard, but I think I still need to wait it out to be able to shortboard. I'm hoping not too much longer.
This marks probably the least amount of time I've ever surfed in a one year span. The fact that I'm stuck inside like everyone else really makes things feel way worse. I can't go surfing, which is pretty much the only outlet I have that I can still do cuz of COVID.
I'm not really asking for advice or anything. If you have any, I'm willing to listen. But really this is just more of a rant. I hope you guys are scoring.
On the bright side, it's been so obnoxiously crowded that I feel like I'm not missing out quite as much. I've surfed Ocean Beach SF a handful of times on the big firing days (taped my ankle up) and it was PACKED. I had no idea so many people were willing to eat sh!t and paddle out for 40 minutes just to catch two waves. The points down south are even worse, although I have noticed a handful of days that looked manageable and really fun.
Word to the wise: if you have an injury, take care of it early. It might mean 2 weeks or a month out of the water, but it's a hell of a lot better than almost a YEAR out of the water.
What I have is a high ankle sprain. It takes FOREVER to heal. The fact that I ignored this minor injury for so many years has made it a way bigger issue than it should have been. I went to a doctor at the beginning of October. He basically said that it will take up to 3 months for it to heal. In the meantime he told me to do lots of lower body exercises to get it strong. While not ideal, I figured, "well, all things considered it's not too bad. I'll still get to surf for most of the winter."
We're now in January and it's been firing. I have surfed a handful of times, but honestly it's done more harm than good with the ankle, so I stopped. I can probably longboard, but I think I still need to wait it out to be able to shortboard. I'm hoping not too much longer.
This marks probably the least amount of time I've ever surfed in a one year span. The fact that I'm stuck inside like everyone else really makes things feel way worse. I can't go surfing, which is pretty much the only outlet I have that I can still do cuz of COVID.
I'm not really asking for advice or anything. If you have any, I'm willing to listen. But really this is just more of a rant. I hope you guys are scoring.
On the bright side, it's been so obnoxiously crowded that I feel like I'm not missing out quite as much. I've surfed Ocean Beach SF a handful of times on the big firing days (taped my ankle up) and it was PACKED. I had no idea so many people were willing to eat sh!t and paddle out for 40 minutes just to catch two waves. The points down south are even worse, although I have noticed a handful of days that looked manageable and really fun.
Word to the wise: if you have an injury, take care of it early. It might mean 2 weeks or a month out of the water, but it's a hell of a lot better than almost a YEAR out of the water.
