Weatherwise it's been HOT and humid here... Monday I was skating through the mist.
As for skating...
HOT! Spirals! I've been pretty loose this week, and my spirals have been great! All that work on the camel spin paying off in other places.
Cold as ice: Can't get the loop jump yet. I have been close for weeks and up to this week have been slowly inching forward. I've lost my fear of it, but I think I've shifted from productive practice to overworking it- reinforcing the reasons I can't quite get it rather than moving forward.
Icy: One foot spin, until my coach made a small correction with my left arm and where I was looking. Then it came together better.
Hotsy totsy: Both programs look pretty solid for competition this weekend, and I'm more comfortable with the figure I'll be competing. I feel pretty good about the whole thing, so I just will try to skate my best.
Working hard on my change-foot-spin. Finally, it's coming together. I'll be working extra hard to improve this element to get ready for the State Game. I can do the back spin by itself. The problem is the transition from the forward spin to the back spin. Strangely enough, the transition from back to forward was very smooth.
Also worked on putting a program together. My coach will spend some time this weekend to choreograph a program for me. I can't wait to see how it looks. So far, I think I'll have these elements in my ISI FS3 program:
mohawk/chasse step seq into FS3 step seq into salchow
Half-lutz/toe loop sequence
I/O change-edge spiral (maybe)
FI spiral- Inside SE - change foot spin sequence
BO spiral into BO pivot
MITF stuff here and there.
My coach hates stroking into elements. She said she'd use lots of MITF elements to link all the required elements together. I like that idea a lot. We'll see. I'm excited.
Hot: Well, not much at this round of tryouts.........see below for details.
Cold: 20 minutes into tryouts, the girl leading the line that I was in fell, causing all of us to fall as well. Being on the end of the line, I got the worst end of the bargain, which caused my arm to be sliced really deeply about an inch below the elbow. I was rushed to the hospital where I got 5 stitches. I should be back to normal in time for the next tryout in 2 weeks, and I would have gone back if we weren't at the hospital for longer than the tryouts lasted.
I'm fine! I just wish it didn't take so long in the emergency room so that I could go back to skate. It just hurts a little now, but that just comes from using my arm as normally as I can. Thanks for your concern!
Hot: I'm starting to get inside 3's on BOTh sides finally! Hurrah! My teacher taught me the 5'step Mohawk pattern that I've been hearing about,so now I get to struggle with back outside 3's too, which is not as bad as I'd thought! Also she taught me something she calls the "pantyhose step" because Peggy Fleming did it in a pantyhose commercial years ago - isn't that funny! and also a sort of quick series of mohawks that turn into spins on the ice...I'm starting to feel like I'm really getting somewhere with my skating.
Cold: Haven't gotten the skates sharpened all year (and still waiting for the infamous not-purple skates)...so, since I had to get my son's skates sharpened Saturday, I got mine done too. Aack! I feel like I'm sticking to the ice! After a while, I could do about 1/2 of what I was up to before. I am thinking dark thoughts that involve my metal nail file before I try to skate on them again! I practiced a lot of T-stops hoping to wear them down.