Spicy/Sour Lessons & Practices 5/5-5/11

Spicy/Sour Lessons & Practices 5/5-5/11

A new week of skating is among us. Let us all know about your Spicy(good) and Sour(bad) lessons and practices.

Re: Spicy/Sour Lessons & Practices 5/5-5/11

Spicy:-Did some good run throughs of the Quickstep, even though I almost crashed into both Ashley AND Paul(the cute boy). Oops!
-Really nice axels tonight, and 1 nice, but tight 2 loop
-Had a good lesson. My coach really enjoys my interpretive. I joked with her about getting my facial expressions patented (sp?) and she laughed at that.
-Did a pretty good run through of my interpretive, even though I slipped doing hop forwards after a bracket and totally spun out on my knees. I got up and kept going though, and it was good after that point. My coach laughed SO hard at me.
-Got a nice compliment about the interpretive from Paul on the session. He told me it was really dramatic, and he enjoyed it. We got to talk for a bit which was nice. I LOVE skating with boys!

Sour:-Knees felt tight and sore after skills and dance
-Had to do 3 turns like on the European both ways
-Stroking was really confusing with this weird edge exercise, didn't understand it at all
-Can't do 2 sals anymore

I guess that summarizes my session from tonight. Hopefully I'll be able to jump tomorrow!

Re: Spicy/Sour Lessons & Practices 5/5-5/11

This was a GOOOOODDDDDD couple of days!! Subtitle?: Sometimes its a really good idea to open your BIIIIIGGGGG mouth!

I had a lesson late yesterday afternoon along with one this morning as my coach is away this Thursday (my usual second lesson), and we again tackled the two foot spin. I finally let her know something that was bothering me. I can do the spin fairly well its own or as part of my short elements skate, but its the last move before final pose in my Freestyle program, and after a minute and a half of strong skating, I'm tired, and it just goes wonky because I'm so worn out. She looked and me and asked if I wanted to put it in earlier...

Well, we reversed the spin and forward pivots in the program, and put it all together in this morning's lesson. Now, my first element is the two foot spin, stroked into with a lean from a forward position. Bingo, like magic, it looks much better and I'm hitting 3 to 5 revs pretty much every time, with no problem completing the moves after it that go into the spiral. Since we cut out both the spin and the back crossovers going into it at the end, we added in a lean into 3 forward pivots near the end where the crossovers were and then forward skating with dramatic arms into a side stop, then hit the final pose on the last beat. The difference was amazing. Not only was the spin better, but now my program ends on a jazzy and strong note instead of petering out. Most importantly, psychologically, its great: I get my toughest element out of the way first, and the judges see a strong ending with one of my strongest elements (the pivots) instead of my weakest one. I feel so much better!! Now, I'm not going through the whole program thinking, "I have to hit the spin, I have to hit the spin." What a relief!!

Worked on the footwork program, too, and its in good shape. I'm keeping up with the music nicely in both programs, and I still have about 8 hours of practice before the competition on the 17th to finesse things up a bit. I'm really looking forward to this one--I feel much stronger and more sure on my blades. This is so much fun!!! Spicy meatballs, no sour!!!! :rollin:

Re: Spicy/Sour Lessons & Practices 5/5-5/11

Yazmeen, that's awesome about your program. Nothing's better than feeling comfortable when you're skating, especially with competitions around the corner. Keep up the great work! Best of luck in your competition!

Spicy:-Great run through of the interpretive. Got nice comments about it from the adult skater on my session. We chatted a bit as well which was nice, since I have such respect for adult skaters.
-Landed 2 sals for the first time in a week. They were tight, but on one foot. 2 loops nice too.
-Did my solo today too! Nice run through without the jumps

Soursychopathic lutz in my solo run through. Weird take-off and weird landing. I'm lucky to have held onto it.
-Fell HARD on a 2 loop.
-Knees ached during stroking. Too much forwards skating=PAIN, PAIN, PAIN!!!!!

Not spicy, yet not sour:-Spins session very interesting. Former Canadian senior men's competitor turned coach ran the session. He was quite a character, a lil on the flamboyant side. Nice brown eyes. Made the bad spinners demonstrate what not to do. Thank goodness I'm not a bad spinner.

That's it for me for skating this week. It's a good thing, cuz I'm very tired. I get to start a new job instead! Fun fun fun!

Re: Spicy/Sour Lessons & Practices 5/5-5/11

Yazmeen - Excellent solution to your program problem! It is vitally important that you feel good and comfortable with your program; after all, you're the one who has to skate it! Glad you and your coach have found the right combination to bring more zing into your program. You're going to wow them on the 17th. What kind of competition is it?

Sari - The 2sals are back! The 2sals are back! I was just going to ask you about your other post where you said they were gone. Sounds like the knees are really giving you a bit of trouble. I'm not familiar with the syndrome you mentioned. Is it hereditary or what causes it in the first place? Gosh, you have to work through a lot of pain, just to get out there. I sure admire your tenacity in doing so. I think you might really benefit from Pilates. Once you're doing it (right), it tends to take the pressure off of sensistive areas (back, knees, hips) and place the workload onto the "power belt" or abdominal area. You get some fab abs (depending on heredity, they can look cut, like mine do), and during skating you are reminding to use those powerful muscles to help hold yourself together. It's especially helpful on things like the camel, flying camel and the lutz.

Speaking of lutzes, I loved your description of the "psycopathic lutz." I know EXACTLY what you're talking about. Every once in awhile mine goes absolutely goofy. It's all in my head, but it is the weirdest sensation. I have it on film, and it is definitely loony tunes at times.

What's your new job?

For me, SOUR: I haven't had a chance to skate yet this week. We have a big trade show we're running next week, and I won't get on the ice until tomorrow for my lesson. So I'm rather bummed out. And no skating at all next week because of the show. Also, my wrist is not regaining flexibility as quickly as I had hoped, and it aches all night long, disturbing what little sleep I'm getting.

SPICY: Lesson is tomorrow (yay) and I'm also planning to skate Friday afternoon. That will pick me up! In the meantime, I can live vicariously through the two of you!

Re: Spicy/Sour Lessons & Practices 5/5-5/11

Cinderella, no more living vicariously through me this week. I'm done with skating, well at least until next Monday. Have fun with your lesson tomorrow, and on Friday. I wish that I still had skating left this week, but no can do, since I start my new job tomorrow. I'll be working at the Beer Store as a part-time cashier to save money for university. All my friends are jealous too! I'm nervous about starting tomorrow, but I should feel better about it once I'm there.

Yes, my 2 sals are back! They're really tight and swingy on the landing, but they're clean and on one foot! That's all that matters in the grand scheme of things. I just hope they decide to stay in town.

I have no clue if my knee disease is hereditary. I don't think it is. It's caused by constant strain to the knee muscles. My doctor said it's a good thing I skate, because if I played volleyball or basketball, I'd have to quit. Skating is "less strenuous" than the aforementioned sports. Obviously he's not a skater. I need to go see him to discuss getting knee braces to relieve some of the tension and pain. I would like to try pilates, but I haven't got around to getting a video of it yet.

Oh! My coach booked my evaluation for next Monday. She got a judge to come in that doesn't particularily like me, so if I get a good evaluation, I should have no problem passing the test. My mom should be able to come and take pics, since my dad is off, and he can get my brother from school. I'll let you know how it goes next week.

Happy Skating!

Re: Spicy/Sour Lessons & Practices 5/5-5/11

Thanks Cinderella and Starshine. Its a local ISI competition, the one my home rink holds. I'm competing at Freestyle 1 level, and the program described is my Freestyle program. I'll also compete Footwork, Elements, Interpretive and Stroking. I've been told I have more competition than the friend who defeated me in Elements and Free in March--supposedly there are four women signed up, at least for the Free. Should be interesting!!!

starshine--good for you on the 2 sals. I'm finally developing a decent single. Take care of those knees.

Hope your lesson goes well, this week, "Cindy"

Re: Spicy/Sour Lessons & Practices 5/5-5/11

Spicy -- Got my new skates, Jackson Freestyles. It was odd to skate in them, so coach and I decided to just work on lots of stroking and stretches today.

Sour -- Worked on spins, my loathsome enemy. I did, however, figure out what I was doing wrong--I end up getting pigeon-toed sometimes when I spin which stops me and makes me stumble or crash.

Hot Cha Cha Spicy Practice

Sour: I was so bummed yesterday when I had to cancel my lesson because I had to let someone go from our office.

Spicy: But I got to practice this afternoon and just skated all the stress and frustration away. Even though I was delayed because of work, I got in an hour and a half of some smashing skating. My axels were on, I practiced split jumps that were getting some great height (but alas, not yet at 180 degrees!), and it was just totally fun! I love when you have days like this.

It's been interesting to see what everyone's been up to this week. I'm heading off to a major trade show our company is running and may be out of touch until next Sunday. Hope everyone has a good week.