Friday, April 28, 2017

Cramming at the YMCA

Since I didn't want to go a whole week without practicing before I had my lesson, I found a rink that had a Friday evening public session that I could go to right after work. It's at the YMCA in Boulder County and I've never been there before so, thankfully, Dustin was willing to go with me so I didn't feel so alone. They have one rink that they use for figure skating, hockey, and recreational skating and you can tell that it gets used a lot. The ice was riddled with ruts and was pretty scary to skate on. Yikes!

Backspins - These are still pretty inconsistent. I'm at least getting a few revolutions in a one-foot position but I am rising up on my toe pick a lot which is effectively stopping the spin every time. I was able to do a couple in the crossed leg position but that threw off my center of gravity and they didn't really go anywhere. These still need a lot of work.

Loops - Once I worked on backspins for a bit, I started working on the loop jump. I was determined to land this jump today and, as a result, I fell quite a bit. As I always say, if you aren't falling you aren't trying hard enough. The bruises were worth it because I successfully landed a number of loops! I had to focus on feeling the turn happen with that deep outside edge just before the jump and it pretty much takes care of itself. I don't think I'm getting much height but at least the rotation is happening and I can just polish it from here.

I worked on some other stuff but it was a crowded session and the ice was not the best so I'm not sure about the quality of anything. But, it got done and I feel like I won't disappoint too much for my lesson tomorrow.

*Achievement Unlocked: Landed my First Loop Jump*

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