What's the first thing you should do with a few days off? Hit the beach, obviously. I broke out my EPIC V12 and took a quick road trip out to Charleston, SC during my break after trials. Cloudy weather; beautiful waves. Charleston was getting hit with some thunderstorms and rough winds leading to decent sized swells traveling North-South along the beach of Isle of Palms, my favorite coast line in Charleston. After a long and grueling winter of training on flat water and in a cold weight room, there is nothing more freeing than hitting the beach with my ski. It truly feels like home again.
It's funny how everything happens on a bigger scale in the ocean. The waves are bigger; the boats are bigger; the water's wider; the paddles are longer; my smile is bigger. I swear I put in more effort on that paddle in the ocean than any flat water workout, without even noticing it. I played, surfed, sprinted for waves, and found myself back at the beach hours later completely exhausted- yet, more level-headed. There is something very peaceful about chancing a wave versus chasing an competitor. The ocean is my happy place.
I spent hours doing laps in the waves that day. On my last half hour, in the middle of a big ride, I looked around to see I was in the middle of a big pod of dolphins doing the same thing I was: surfing. I was very thankful for the trip. It cleared my head and rebooted my body for another few months of tough flatwater training. I think it's crucially important to have an reset button for when life gets mentally tiring. I call mine: a 4h road trip to the beach.
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