I went to another Wednesday night public session at APEX and for the second week in a row they had bus loads full of middle school age kids. Last week it was the YMCA and this week the Boys and Girls club. Hopefully, next week will be empty again. Luckily, the monitors put out the cones keeping the kids at bay and away from the center of the rink. I split my time between moves and free skate test prep:
Movez - So many circles! Yeah, I spent a lot of time on just the RFO part of the circle 8. My goal was to find stability and not drift to the inside of the circle. I was able to get around a quarter of the way but then I did the arm switch and I drifted. However, two weeks ago, I wasn't even able to do that so progress is being made albeit slowly. I spent some time on the waltz 8 and am doing much better on making my way back to the center again. Having sharp blades really helps because I can lean into the edge more and not skid away from the center as I was doing before. I know my mohawks need work so I practiced the five step mohawk on both my good side and bad side down the blue line. Nothing too spectacular but I'm getting the rhythm of it and it's becoming more deliberate and less flail-y. I practiced edges where I could fit them in but I was sharing center ice with like five other skaters so it was tricky.
Free Skate - There were some dead moments where the skaters I was sharing the center with left for a bit of a break so I used that free space to run through the entirety of my Free Skate test, including holding the landings and presenting before moving on to the next element. Everything felt stable with the exception of my lunges which are drifting to the side (for lack of practice) and my two-foot spins which have never been as rotate-y as my one-foot spins. As much as I hate these two elements, I will need to force myself to spend more time on them to get them where they need to be for the test. I have about two and a half more months before test time so I think I can do it :) My jumps are still tiny. I fell a couple of times on my salchow because I'm rushing them....again. I don't mind if they are tiny but they should at least not be rushed. I'll have Christopher take a look on Saturday.
One note of pride: I fell more during this practice than I have since returning to the ice in November. This means that I'm not letting the fear of falling hold me back as much. I always say if you're not falling, you're not trying hard enough. This doesn't mean just fling yourself around all willy nilly, it just means that falling happens and you learn from those mistakes. You're moving around on slippery ice with knife shoes. Falling is a certainty. But skating timidly and with fear will never allow you to make progress. I'm happy that I'm allowing myself to fall again :)
Wednesday, January 31, 2018
Saturday, January 27, 2018
Saturday Lesson
Ooof, this one was rough. I hardly practiced this week and it showed. About halfway through our lesson, he asked if I had practiced. I was honest and told him that I was barely able to fit in one session and the quality of practice was lacking because the session I went to was so crowded. My coach shouldn't have to ask if I practiced, it should be evident. Embarrassing. Anyway, here's how my lesson went:
Circle 8 - He made a lot of corrections. My arms are all over the place and I wasn't bringing in the free leg and keeping it there so that was really throwing me off kilter. We worked on each circle individually mostly because I wasn't able to complete any circle I started regardless of what edge I started on. At one point I asked him "these will be the death of me won't they?" Why does everyone make this look so easy? Am I watching them after they have practiced it for a while or is it really just that easy and I'm the only one not able to make this move happen?
Crossovers in a figure eight pattern - I was able to complete the whole move but not without corrections from Christopher. My good sides are speedier than my bad sides so I either need to speed up the bad side or slow down the good side to make everything uniform. The swingroll/mohawk transition was improved from last week but it is still not where it needs to be for the test. We worked a bit on feeling that change of edge and bending the knees more on the mohawk.
Backward outside/inside edges: Since we looked at the forward edges last week, we focused on backward edges this week. He didn't hate them so that's nice. I need to slow these down as well. They are definitely picking up speed as I go down the line. On the BI edges, he made some corrections to my arm switch and head positions. Edges seem to be my least sucky move but I still need more work.
Those damn spirals: I think he knows now how much I hate this move so he makes sure to have me do them during every lesson. Well played, Christopher. Well played. As predicted, they were abominable. My left leg spiral was more of a shaky left leg arabesque and my right leg spiral was better but I wasn't able to maintain a flat and kept falling onto an edge of some sort. I need loads more stretching and practice off ice. Normally when I practice these at home, I'm holding on to something for balance. It's evident I need to stop doing that because, well, I have no balance when I try them on the ice.
Next week we will look at some of my pre-bronze free skate elements. Somehow, I need to figure out how I'm going to find a session I can practice at between now and then. The only solution I can think of right now is to buy a drop-in freestyle punch card at my rink and choose a weekday morning each week to get up and practice for an hour before work. That may be cheaper then changing my contract and having them charge a change penalty. The next contract starts on March 4th and I will be sure to add an extra weekday practice onto it so I don't have this problem anymore. I thought that just contracting for the session I have my lesson on would be enough because that's what I did before but much has changed in six months. The Sport Stable is no longer an option and Apex is not always the ghost town it used to be on Wednesday evenings. Ugh.
Circle 8 - He made a lot of corrections. My arms are all over the place and I wasn't bringing in the free leg and keeping it there so that was really throwing me off kilter. We worked on each circle individually mostly because I wasn't able to complete any circle I started regardless of what edge I started on. At one point I asked him "these will be the death of me won't they?" Why does everyone make this look so easy? Am I watching them after they have practiced it for a while or is it really just that easy and I'm the only one not able to make this move happen?
Crossovers in a figure eight pattern - I was able to complete the whole move but not without corrections from Christopher. My good sides are speedier than my bad sides so I either need to speed up the bad side or slow down the good side to make everything uniform. The swingroll/mohawk transition was improved from last week but it is still not where it needs to be for the test. We worked a bit on feeling that change of edge and bending the knees more on the mohawk.
Backward outside/inside edges: Since we looked at the forward edges last week, we focused on backward edges this week. He didn't hate them so that's nice. I need to slow these down as well. They are definitely picking up speed as I go down the line. On the BI edges, he made some corrections to my arm switch and head positions. Edges seem to be my least sucky move but I still need more work.
Those damn spirals: I think he knows now how much I hate this move so he makes sure to have me do them during every lesson. Well played, Christopher. Well played. As predicted, they were abominable. My left leg spiral was more of a shaky left leg arabesque and my right leg spiral was better but I wasn't able to maintain a flat and kept falling onto an edge of some sort. I need loads more stretching and practice off ice. Normally when I practice these at home, I'm holding on to something for balance. It's evident I need to stop doing that because, well, I have no balance when I try them on the ice.
Next week we will look at some of my pre-bronze free skate elements. Somehow, I need to figure out how I'm going to find a session I can practice at between now and then. The only solution I can think of right now is to buy a drop-in freestyle punch card at my rink and choose a weekday morning each week to get up and practice for an hour before work. That may be cheaper then changing my contract and having them charge a change penalty. The next contract starts on March 4th and I will be sure to add an extra weekday practice onto it so I don't have this problem anymore. I thought that just contracting for the session I have my lesson on would be enough because that's what I did before but much has changed in six months. The Sport Stable is no longer an option and Apex is not always the ghost town it used to be on Wednesday evenings. Ugh.
Thursday, January 25, 2018
The good and the bad of it...but mostly the bad
I feel like every time I have a good session on the ice it is followed by a bad session. I'm really struggling with finding time to practice. The last few times I went to APEX on a Wednesday night it was great! Only a few people on the ice. Last night, however, an entire sixth grade middle school class was there. I'm not kidding, there were about 100 kids on the ice. The one figure skater who is always there when I go kinda just looked at me and said "wanna share the circle"? (meaning the small center hockey circle). I mean, yeah, I guess we don't really have a choice but to claim this small space as exclusively ours and hunker down. There was no room to work on anything...but I tried anyway.
Jumpz - Tiny waltz jumps and tiny salchows are my life now.
Spinz - Still just plugging away at those one-foot spins with a spattering of two-foot spins. I'm not working on scratch spins right now until I can get more comfortable spinning on my bad leg. I did eek out some back spins. They were terrible but that's not anything new.
Movez - Yeah, no room to work on anything moves related but I did try to see if I can get the hang of the circle 8. I tend to get a quarter of the way around the circle and then I start drifting inside the circle. I'm on too much of an edge it seems. It might be an arms problem as I don't think I have my arms set up the right way. I watched some YouTube videos and it looks so easy. Why can't I do this? I also worked a bit on forward edges and tried to make them more shallow and slow. And finally, to be able to tell Christopher that I indeed worked on them, I did a couple of spirals. Oh! And I worked a bit on the swingroll/mohawk transition for the crossovers. That's getting more comfortable. At least the fear is gone now :)
At one point in my practice a girl skated up to me and asked me if I was a professional (bless her heart). Honestly, I think it was because I was wearing my club jacket because it surely wasn't my skills that impressed her. Maybe it was the pigtails! I rocked some cute pigtails last night hoping it would give me some spunk. They worked?
Jumpz - Tiny waltz jumps and tiny salchows are my life now.
Spinz - Still just plugging away at those one-foot spins with a spattering of two-foot spins. I'm not working on scratch spins right now until I can get more comfortable spinning on my bad leg. I did eek out some back spins. They were terrible but that's not anything new.
Movez - Yeah, no room to work on anything moves related but I did try to see if I can get the hang of the circle 8. I tend to get a quarter of the way around the circle and then I start drifting inside the circle. I'm on too much of an edge it seems. It might be an arms problem as I don't think I have my arms set up the right way. I watched some YouTube videos and it looks so easy. Why can't I do this? I also worked a bit on forward edges and tried to make them more shallow and slow. And finally, to be able to tell Christopher that I indeed worked on them, I did a couple of spirals. Oh! And I worked a bit on the swingroll/mohawk transition for the crossovers. That's getting more comfortable. At least the fear is gone now :)
At one point in my practice a girl skated up to me and asked me if I was a professional (bless her heart). Honestly, I think it was because I was wearing my club jacket because it surely wasn't my skills that impressed her. Maybe it was the pigtails! I rocked some cute pigtails last night hoping it would give me some spunk. They worked?
Monday, January 22, 2018
Back on Track!
Saturday morning was my first lesson with Christopher since my injury. It felt good to be back at my home rink on a freestyle session but it felt even better to feel normal again. Outside of some soreness, I felt pretty good. I had nearly a half hour to warm up so when he got on the ice I was ready to go. We talked a bit about goals and then we got to it. Today, he just wanted to work on Pre-Bronze Moves test elements:
Perimeter Stroking - too many strokes therefore not enough extension. I think he said no more than six strokes down the ice with really nice extensions. Don't forget to get on those outside edges! He wants me to enter the end crossovers with a little more speed and power than I currently am. We did both directions.
Crossovers in a Figure Eight - After I told him I was having some fear issues on the forward to backward mohawk transition, we spent some time at the boards working it out. When it comes right down to it, the issue isn't fear so much as the fact that I'm still having a difficult time with stiffness in my ankle so I'm not able to bend my knee as much as I should. Doing a swingroll into a mohawk is scary if you can't bend your knees! So, I just need to work on it some more and get those knees bent and it should be fine.
Edges - We only looked at the forward edges and there were two main criticisms - my lobes are too big and I'm going way too fast. I need to slow it down and make my lobes a wee bit more shallow. See, I always practiced them with big lobes because I know that one of the main criticisms with adult skaters doing edges is that their lobes are typically really shallow. I guess I overcompensated too much, lol. He would like me to take my time and be more precise, which lead into...
Circle 8 - Yes, I know, this is a Bronze move but he said that practicing this basic figure will improve my edges so I guess I need to work on this now during practices. It wasn't until I tried the circle 8 that I realized how little control I actually have over my edges. Ugh, this is tough!
Spirals - You know how much I love spirals, right (said with the most sincere sarcasm I can muster)? On my first attempt, I put my foot down on my left leg spiral because I'm still having balance/stability issues. I tried again and was able to make it cleanly down the ice but I was hella wobbly. Also, I need a stronger push when switching sides. These need work.
All in all, it was a good lesson. I don't think he was expecting much but I really do wish I had done better than I did. Everything improves with time, though. I asked him if he thought an April 13th test date was realistic and he said yes. That's cool. That's what I'll shoot for then :)
Perimeter Stroking - too many strokes therefore not enough extension. I think he said no more than six strokes down the ice with really nice extensions. Don't forget to get on those outside edges! He wants me to enter the end crossovers with a little more speed and power than I currently am. We did both directions.
Crossovers in a Figure Eight - After I told him I was having some fear issues on the forward to backward mohawk transition, we spent some time at the boards working it out. When it comes right down to it, the issue isn't fear so much as the fact that I'm still having a difficult time with stiffness in my ankle so I'm not able to bend my knee as much as I should. Doing a swingroll into a mohawk is scary if you can't bend your knees! So, I just need to work on it some more and get those knees bent and it should be fine.
Edges - We only looked at the forward edges and there were two main criticisms - my lobes are too big and I'm going way too fast. I need to slow it down and make my lobes a wee bit more shallow. See, I always practiced them with big lobes because I know that one of the main criticisms with adult skaters doing edges is that their lobes are typically really shallow. I guess I overcompensated too much, lol. He would like me to take my time and be more precise, which lead into...
Circle 8 - Yes, I know, this is a Bronze move but he said that practicing this basic figure will improve my edges so I guess I need to work on this now during practices. It wasn't until I tried the circle 8 that I realized how little control I actually have over my edges. Ugh, this is tough!
Spirals - You know how much I love spirals, right (said with the most sincere sarcasm I can muster)? On my first attempt, I put my foot down on my left leg spiral because I'm still having balance/stability issues. I tried again and was able to make it cleanly down the ice but I was hella wobbly. Also, I need a stronger push when switching sides. These need work.
All in all, it was a good lesson. I don't think he was expecting much but I really do wish I had done better than I did. Everything improves with time, though. I asked him if he thought an April 13th test date was realistic and he said yes. That's cool. That's what I'll shoot for then :)
Wednesday, January 17, 2018
Wednesday Night Practice
Looks like Wednesday nights at APEX are a descent time to go! There were only about 15 people on the ice even though it was a public session. There were a number of figure skaters working on moves and stuff so it was nice. Almost felt like a freestyle session :)
Movez - I worked a lot on edges and they are starting to feel more like they used to. Because I've been off the ice for so long, my initial pushes on the backward edges are pretty weak but that will improve with time. My BI edges are actually better than they were before (odd) and I found myself doing the proper arm and head movements that Christopher wanted. I think maybe I was overthinking them before. Moving on to Waltz 8, I was having a bit of difficulty coming back to the center because my lobes were of unequal size. I'll need to fix that. Forward and Backward Crossovers are getting there. I'm having some issues on the transition. This wasn't a problem before but it is now. Fear is getting in the way and it's kinda pissing me off, to be honest, because this is one of the least scary things I'm working on. Stupid mental blocks. I also spent some time on some Bronze moves namely the Forward & Backward Power Stroking. I worked on flow and pretty arms. Why do I feel like the bronze test will be easier than the pre-bronze?
Jumpz - Still plugging away at those waltz jumps and salchows and they are still very low and small but they are happening so, you know, I cannot complain. The last time I worked on salchows, I did them from a standstill. This time I practiced them from backwards crossovers. I still need much more of a strong check coming out of that three turn. I spent some time at the boards with the toe loop. Honestly, the thought of picking in with my left leg is terrifying. I don't know how I'm supposed to overcome this. :(
Spinz - Holy smokes my spins were terrible! I could not find my center to save my life. Ugh, just ugly. But I did realize how in need of a sharpening I am. Skidding all over the place! I'll drop my skates off at the Pro Shop after my lesson on Saturday.
I took a break for water and Kelly Clarkson's "Stronger (What doesn't kill you)" was playing and it was a nice reminder that I still need to keep fighting to recover. I know my efforts will pay off eventually. This isn't meant to be easy but if anyone can do it, I sure as hell can :)
Movez - I worked a lot on edges and they are starting to feel more like they used to. Because I've been off the ice for so long, my initial pushes on the backward edges are pretty weak but that will improve with time. My BI edges are actually better than they were before (odd) and I found myself doing the proper arm and head movements that Christopher wanted. I think maybe I was overthinking them before. Moving on to Waltz 8, I was having a bit of difficulty coming back to the center because my lobes were of unequal size. I'll need to fix that. Forward and Backward Crossovers are getting there. I'm having some issues on the transition. This wasn't a problem before but it is now. Fear is getting in the way and it's kinda pissing me off, to be honest, because this is one of the least scary things I'm working on. Stupid mental blocks. I also spent some time on some Bronze moves namely the Forward & Backward Power Stroking. I worked on flow and pretty arms. Why do I feel like the bronze test will be easier than the pre-bronze?
Jumpz - Still plugging away at those waltz jumps and salchows and they are still very low and small but they are happening so, you know, I cannot complain. The last time I worked on salchows, I did them from a standstill. This time I practiced them from backwards crossovers. I still need much more of a strong check coming out of that three turn. I spent some time at the boards with the toe loop. Honestly, the thought of picking in with my left leg is terrifying. I don't know how I'm supposed to overcome this. :(
Spinz - Holy smokes my spins were terrible! I could not find my center to save my life. Ugh, just ugly. But I did realize how in need of a sharpening I am. Skidding all over the place! I'll drop my skates off at the Pro Shop after my lesson on Saturday.
I took a break for water and Kelly Clarkson's "Stronger (What doesn't kill you)" was playing and it was a nice reminder that I still need to keep fighting to recover. I know my efforts will pay off eventually. This isn't meant to be easy but if anyone can do it, I sure as hell can :)
Monday, January 15, 2018
Competition Musings
So, the 2018 Denver Invitational is coming up in March and I was just poking around looking at their announcement. I don't know, I mean, I feel like I could totally handle participating in the Adult Pre-Bronze Compulsory Moves and I would get some competition practice, regardless of how I place.
Singles Compulsory Moves Requirements:
Singles Compulsory Moves Requirements:
- Elements can be performed in any order, as a program, without music
- No extra elements may be added. Each element may only be attempted once
- All events will be skated on ½ ice
- This event is judged using 6.0
- Entrants in Compulsories may enter any level at/above that which they qualify but may not skate down
- Entrants may enter max 2 Compulsory Moves events
Adult Pre-Bronze - 1:15 max
- Backward Crossovers (min 5 consecutive)
- Waltz Jump
- Forward Upright Spin (min 3 revolutions)
- Forward Outside Spiral
Before my injury I could have done these in my sleep but now it's a bit more challenging as I learn to skate again. I think this would be a neat way to work out all my test jitters, too! Besides, where else will I get to wear my new club jacket if not competition ;) I'll talk to Christopher about it on Saturday.
Salchow wow!
I practiced over the weekend and my goal was to attempt a salchow. After warming up, I decided I was comfortable enough to try one from a standstill. It was low and slow (mostly low) but it happened! I did about 4 or 5 of them from a standstill and landed each one but my leg started to hurt so I called it a day.
Little by little, I plan on adding jumps back into my repertoire. I need to keep my expectations low, though. I'm a different skater now so I no longer have that "I'll just fling myself in the air and hope I land it" mentality. I'm a lot more cautious. I know in time as I gain back my confidence I'll get a little more daring, but for now I just want to play it safe to avoid aggravating my injury.
Getting my salchow back is a big deal, though! It means I can practice my Pre-Bronze Free Skate test as originally planned (with the waltz and salchow being my two required jumps). That's exciting! I'm back with Christopher for lessons starting this Saturday so I'll have him take a look and see what he can polish up.
I'm planning on testing on April 13th :)
Little by little, I plan on adding jumps back into my repertoire. I need to keep my expectations low, though. I'm a different skater now so I no longer have that "I'll just fling myself in the air and hope I land it" mentality. I'm a lot more cautious. I know in time as I gain back my confidence I'll get a little more daring, but for now I just want to play it safe to avoid aggravating my injury.
Getting my salchow back is a big deal, though! It means I can practice my Pre-Bronze Free Skate test as originally planned (with the waltz and salchow being my two required jumps). That's exciting! I'm back with Christopher for lessons starting this Saturday so I'll have him take a look and see what he can polish up.
I'm planning on testing on April 13th :)
Thursday, January 11, 2018
So, I guess I'm committed now, huh?
I just spent my monies on a skating dress so I have something to wear when I test. So I guess that means I really am going to test now because if I somehow can't, that dress will haunt me from my closet...FOREVER 😆
Monday, January 8, 2018
Stupid Holidays
I'm sorry I've been MIA lately but the holidays get busy, as you know. I have been going to the rink, though, so don't think I'm broken again ;)
Not much to report back on except I had an absolute AMAZING practice the last time I went to APEX. It was a busy public session but they were kind enough to put cones out so I had the entire center rink to myself and it was glorious. I was actually able to work on Pre-Bronze MIF and threw some Bronze MIF in there just for kicks. Obviously, I still have some catching up to do but progress is being made.
I didn't go crazy with jumps. I'm still just doing waltz jumps and side toe hops but I've been working other jumps on the floor and I think I might be ready to transition them back to the ice soon. I was especially worried about the salchow since my left leg is still really hurty but it gets less so each time I do one in my apartment. Now, I just need the confidence to attempt them on the ice without being so tentative.
Spins were pretty spot on. They were consistently centered and after one spin I did, I actually had applause afterward! I mean, granted, even the basics look impressive to people who are just there to skate around with their friends but still, HUGE confidence boost!
Surprisingly, nothing hurt too much during that practice. I've been stretching more and working on improving the dorsiflexion in my left ankle so I think that has been helping a lot. I'll do my best to keep up with it because if this is what brings me back to feeling more like me, then it's worth it :)
As promised, I want to make my official return to the ice now that it's January. This means going back to lessons and contracting with my rink for freestyle ice time. I'm still settling things with Christopher since his schedule has changed slightly but it looks like my old Thursday morning lessons might move to Saturday mornings. I picked up a contract and as soon I get things finalized with Christopher, I'll turn it in and get back on home ice. I cannot wait!
Oh! And I suppose I should talk about goals now that it's a new year and all that.
Skating Goal 1: Pass Pre-Bronze MIF and Free Skate tests. This is a carry over goal from last year since I couldn't test back in August like I wanted to for obvious reasons.
Skating Goal 2: Start preparing for Bronze MIF test. I'm still undecided about the Bronze Free Skate test but I know I definitely want to test through all the moves tests.
Bonus Points Skating Goal: Learn and possibly test the first three ice dances (solo, of course). You know, if this is a thing I can do, I think I might want to try to do it :)
Not much to report back on except I had an absolute AMAZING practice the last time I went to APEX. It was a busy public session but they were kind enough to put cones out so I had the entire center rink to myself and it was glorious. I was actually able to work on Pre-Bronze MIF and threw some Bronze MIF in there just for kicks. Obviously, I still have some catching up to do but progress is being made.
I didn't go crazy with jumps. I'm still just doing waltz jumps and side toe hops but I've been working other jumps on the floor and I think I might be ready to transition them back to the ice soon. I was especially worried about the salchow since my left leg is still really hurty but it gets less so each time I do one in my apartment. Now, I just need the confidence to attempt them on the ice without being so tentative.
Spins were pretty spot on. They were consistently centered and after one spin I did, I actually had applause afterward! I mean, granted, even the basics look impressive to people who are just there to skate around with their friends but still, HUGE confidence boost!
Surprisingly, nothing hurt too much during that practice. I've been stretching more and working on improving the dorsiflexion in my left ankle so I think that has been helping a lot. I'll do my best to keep up with it because if this is what brings me back to feeling more like me, then it's worth it :)
As promised, I want to make my official return to the ice now that it's January. This means going back to lessons and contracting with my rink for freestyle ice time. I'm still settling things with Christopher since his schedule has changed slightly but it looks like my old Thursday morning lessons might move to Saturday mornings. I picked up a contract and as soon I get things finalized with Christopher, I'll turn it in and get back on home ice. I cannot wait!
Oh! And I suppose I should talk about goals now that it's a new year and all that.
Skating Goal 1: Pass Pre-Bronze MIF and Free Skate tests. This is a carry over goal from last year since I couldn't test back in August like I wanted to for obvious reasons.
Skating Goal 2: Start preparing for Bronze MIF test. I'm still undecided about the Bronze Free Skate test but I know I definitely want to test through all the moves tests.
Bonus Points Skating Goal: Learn and possibly test the first three ice dances (solo, of course). You know, if this is a thing I can do, I think I might want to try to do it :)
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