Can it really be Monday again? Then it must be time to tell us about your great (incredible) and not-so-great (impossible) lessons and practices throughout the week. Be sure to stop here and tell us all about them so we can applaud your successes and your efforts.
Just wanted to pop in and say that I have 4 more days left until my ice hiatus is over!!!!:D
Happy Skating everyone!:D
INCREDIBLE - This morning I had a very productive skate. The highlight was I made it through my whole program three times (NOT in a row, but close together and without dying!) and then after the last one at the end of the session I skated endurance for 6 whole minutes with a lot of sweating but very little fatigue. Woo hoo, I think I'm finally making some progress there. Now if I can just complete all my fresstyle elements while I refrain from throwing up on the judges, I'll have it made in the shade next week!
Starshine - those four days will be gone in no time. And then, major fun city for you. I can't wait to hear all about the class.
Cindy, don't worry, you'll get a full report. It's 3 days of coaching madness, both on and off the ice. It's at a college about an hour away from where I live, but sadly I have to drive home each night instead of staying in a hotel. I'm really starting to get excited. It'll also be nice to see Paul again after not seeing him, or skating with him for a month. And once I'm done with the clinic, I'll get to start working on my assisted coaching assignment, helping my coach's students. I can't wait!!!
Congrats on those great run throughs! You're gonna be so ready for your tests! They're on July 18, right? Nonetheless, I think you'll do great! What kind of outfit are you wearing for your test?
Incredible - Well, today my coach showed me the back scratch which I got in about ten minutes. It wasn't as hard as I thought and now that I know the sort of thing I gotta do to rotate, it's a lot easier, although today I was very skittish with my jumps for some reason (I was very sleepy!). I won't be seeing her for two weeks as I'm visiting my mom. Coach is having me do loops on one foot. We worked for an hour today. Went through all the jumps--waltz, loop, toe, flip, salchow. All are doing well. Mohawk sequences were a pain, but I got it eventually.
Impossible - Mohawk sequences suck. Just so you know.Nothing too bad today. Not too many falls, thank goodness.
And good for you, Cindy! Yay for you! :D I want to work on a program once I get some jumps and stuff consistent... I haven't talked about that with The Coach(tm) yet...
<strong>-Lanie</strong>
I am so jealous of everyone that got to skate today. Our rink closed on Sunday and Monday. Good job on your run throughs Cinderella.
Lanie,
You and I are working on the same elements it sounds like. Any pointers for the loop? That was has ben dazed and confused.
Glacier -- can you do a back spin?Those helped me a lot just within about 10 minutes! And when you do the three turn, do NOT cross the feet, just keep the left foot OFF the ice in front, squeeze the thighs just a little bit, and just go for it.
Lanie,
I can do a backspin. For me it would be the right foot off the ice in front...I am a CW jumper, spinner. I had not put the concept of the backsppin to work on this jump though. I will work on that in my next practice. Thanks for the tip.
Glacier
Lanie - wow great job on the back scratch. When I do it, I do it quite well, but it is one of those things that sometimes eludes me. Like today, but then I just had my blades sharpened and spinning is always a kind of trip.
Glacier - good luck working on that loop. I agree with you and just hate it when the rinks are closed.
IMPOSSIBLE - At my practice today, I was struggling a bit with my back scratch because of the afore-mentioned blade sharpening. Also, I'm still struggling with "flowing" through my program rather than "forcing" through it. Even though I can tell that I'm gaining more endurance, I honestly cannot remember that it was ever this hard to do a program! Please, oh please, don't tell me that I've gotten "old"! :(
INCREDIBLE - Even though I didn't get a chance to put my music on, I ran through my program several times and mostly was pleased with it. I tried to work through the footwork sequences and get the arms in gear with the feet (sometimes successful, sometimes not), though at least one time I looked like a goose when you chase after it! I've been much happier with my spirals and jump combos. I decided in the car afterwards that I really need to work on the artistic side, and that when I skate on Thursday, I'm going to act like I am performing for an audience. I think I've been too self-conscious to do that, but what do I care what the little kids think? How else will I get a presence on the ice? So tomorrow (my day off), I'm going to recite positive affirmations in my head and see if I can build up my courage.
Speaking of courage and completely off-topic, I was totally bummed today by the death of those conjoined twins in Singapore. Those women wanted to be separated so badly they were willing to risk their lives. I felt incredibly sad that they were not successful. Made all my "problems" seem like smoke.
I want to write more but I have to be brief... more tomorrow as I plan to put in a full day of skating (after work, yowch).
Impossible: They redid the ice over the weekend, let people skate on it yesterday morning, then decided it wasn't thick enough and added another layer (or something? I'm not too familiar w/ how that stuff works) so it was a bit funky in places today. Oh yeah, and yesterday I went to skate and got turned away. Bah. But I got a coupon for a free skate.
INCREDIBLE: This deserves to be in all caps: I LEARNED THE WALTZ JUMP TODAY!!! Woohoo! I went with Tricia just for practice but Joy was there and came over to us after awhile and said "I'm bored, what are you guys working on?" and gave us an impromptu lesson - for free! It was great. She helped w/ back crossovers for a bit but then said "I think you guys are ready to learn the waltz jump." I'm surprised at how easily it came compared to some of the other stuff. I'm not really getting all the way around (well, "around," meaning I'm not getting a full 180 degrees - maybe more like 165 or something) and my setup is a little wonky (still skittish about deep outside edges) but STILL! It's my first jump, albeit a very basic one, and it was just the little boost I needed to get through the rest of the day (work, blah).
Okay, I'm off! See you all tomorrow!
Rachel<strong>STAR</strong>let - WOO HOO on the waltz jump, girl. In no time at all, you'll be a flying machine!
Great work!
Cindy, no, you're not old! Just wonky sharp blades don't help with anything..
Yay Rachel! The waltz is fun. Good for you! :D
<strong>-Lanie</strong>
<strong>Lanie</strong> - you sweetie, you. You get all the bonus points today!
CINDERELLA:
Aren't you the one that has the GOLD goal by - what? - the end of the year! We are never too old! IF you can dream it you can do it. Within reason..I will never land a quad, but I have no desire to! You can accomplish this goal that you have set for yourself. Some day are spiral days, and some are 'chasing goose days'...that mental vision of you doing that made me laugh out loud! You brought up a very good point though. I need to really focus on running through my programs like I am in the spotlight. I am so guilty of stopping or talking to my coach all the way through it. I need to stop that. Keep up the good work. One thing about getting blades sharpened it that it is always easier for me to get really deep edges afterward. Right now I am losing my back outside edges. I think that I need to have mine sharpened as well.
RACHEL: EXCELLENT WORK! I remember doing the waltz jump for the first time. It really felt like I was getting somewhere. It was liberating, and it was fun! If you want to challenge yourself, try doing them the other way when you get comfortable with the first way. Excellent work!
My legs are tired, my feet are blistered, and I really need a long hot shower, but I feel great! I skated for sooo long today. I'm becoming a tad obsessed. Hah. Anyway....
Basic Skills, Week Six
Impossible: Joy was out of town so we had Jim this week, and we worked on (among other things) a two-foot spin. He helped a lot with where to position my weight and balance and such but I still have a gut feeling I'm not going to be a very good spinner. It scares me more than jumping for some reason. But, though I'm not good at it, it's kinda fun to practice. So I guess that's something. Also I fell hard on my backside while attempting an inside three turn right in front of the skater boy (see below; I don't know what else to call him - his name is fairly distinctive and I want to make sure I can admire him from afar w/o anyone in real life knowing! haha) who was helping me w/ it. D'oh. Except then I realized that I've seen him fall dozens of times while he practices jumps, so oh well.
Incredible: Jim taught us a little alternating crossover pattern and I worked on that both forward and backward and I can tell just from doing it tonight that my crossovers are going to improve sooo much from it. Practiced waltz jumps, which are fun, but Tricia's are improving so much faster than mine so that's kinda frustrating. But I can do three turns and mohawks way better than her
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