After all the carbs I had Saturday, I needed to make an amends with my body. Thank goodness, we do our long runs on Sunday, so I ran for a little over two hours in the Ala Moana/Kakaako to Aloha Tower Marketplace area.  As I wandered the parking lot in a daze, classmates David Kansaku and Kyle Unten (who had run Tantalus) pointed me toward the water. Our other running friends, Burt, Muriel, Rex, and Kat, had discovered a free longboard paddling demo by Tropical Blends. (Maile and Val came later.) 

You’ve surely seen this phenomenon out on calm waters: People standing on surfboards and paddling back & forth along the beach. You need to have good posture & balance and a good, strong core to do this well. According to longboard paddling champ Candice Appleby, women seem to take to this sport faster than men do because of their natural posture.

I wasn’t going to try it, because I am really really really NOT a water person, and am by no means athletic. I am just not into water sports, period. But then David said that this sport is a workout for your entire body—your quads, your butt, your arms, your abs. He has a friend who works out like us, but could not shed weight beyond a certain point. He took up longboard paddling, and managed to shed those last extra pounds. Well! That sounds like me and my poundage, so I thought I better give this free demo a try after all.  

I finally got to the water, with Rex helping me. Not sure why the Tropical Blends staff didn’t come along to add their two cents; maybe they thought Rex’s instruction would be enough. He was pretty good about making me be “one with the board” before standing up, and being specific about how & where to place my feet and focus my eyes.

As you can see, I managed to stand and I did manage to paddle toward the reef a bit. Once I started to move, I did feel more confident, even though the wind caused little waves to lap up and make the board wobble. A Tropical Blends staffer paddled past me and said, “Is that board working for you?” And all I could say was, “I don’t know! This is my first time and I’m so scared I’m about to pee in my pants!”

One thing I did not expect was how the wind affects you.  At one point, the wind was blowing and I was trying to paddle as best I could, but the board was not moving! I’m not sure what happened, if the wind picked up and caused a larger wave, or if I paddled too hard, or a combination of both, but in a split second I found myself falling off the board!

From there I had to figure out how to get back on the board without being able to touch bottom.  After some struggling, I managed to flop myself (think of the recent stinky whale carcass) onto the darn thing, and had to figure out how to get myself into a kneeling position, which would be even harder.  I did do it, but had to start paddling on my knees because I couldn’t figure out how to stand from there.

At that point, Rex had already started swimming out to me.  He coached me back onto my feet and served as my “outboard motor” as I attempted to paddle to shore.  It seemed like I would be doing OK, so he gave the board a little push to propel me, which of course caused me to topple backwards and back into the water!

I flopped myself back on the board and Rex decided we’d try to go tandem.  Bad idea.  We capsized yet AGAIN. This was not a good day for someone who does not dig water sports and relies heavily on hair products. Besides which, if you suddenly find yourself swallowing water three times, you start to wonder what the bacteria count is in those parts!

Val & Maile had a much easier time as the wind had died down by the time they started paddling. The verdict? I can honestly say it is a neat sport and probably more fun with more friends in the water. I don’t think I would do it again since I’m not a water sports kinda gal, but I think my running friends are all turned on to it.

One last note, I’m glad I was wearing my Kiss Me Mascara for this! (Remember my previous blogs on this?)  After running for two hours and falling into the ocean three times, my mascara still held up. I decided not to Photoshop my red eyes since that’s how they should really look after a dunking!

Tropical Blends Surf
907 South Queen Street
Honolulu, HI  96813
593-0211
www.tropicalblendsurf.com
(Free longboard demos are not offered on a regular basis; check with the store or website for the next one.)