Skid Row

Still haven't had time to make it to the pro shop to get my blades sharpened so there was a lot of skidding happening today, especially on my edges. I won't get a chance to get my sharpening done until after my lesson on Saturday. So, my lesson should be interesting :-/

Movez - Per usual, I ran my moves test. I got my edges back under control again with the proper arms. I think I was just overthinking and I lost my mind for a bit. All better now, though. Spirals are feeling much better now that I'm making it a habit to stretch more. On my crossovers, I felt like I was extra scratchy on the CW back crossovers. I think it's a knee bend issue. I need to sit more and lean forward less. Waltz 8 felt fine. Just a little scary because of the skidding. Nothing special to report about perimeter stroking. It's about the same as always.

Programz - That damn lunge. My lunge epiphany and my thoughts about fixing what was wrong didn't translate well to the ice at all. It's still a mess. I ran through the sections of my program and replaced the lunge with a spiral and it feels so much better. I doubt Christopher will be accepting of the replacement if I ask. The whole point is to challenge me. If I replace an element I am not performing well with one that I already know how to do, how am I learning anything? I get it. But I also want to pass the test. I'll ask. The worst that happens is he says no. When I was taking my skates off after my session I was speaking to another adult skater friend and he agreed that lunges are the devil. When he said "the trailing leg just acts like a rudder and I'm all over the place" I could have hugged him. Finally, someone who gets it! I just can't make my lunge straight despite working on it. This is frustrating! Anyway, the rest of the program is just fine. I need to figure out a way to slow down before the final spin since I'm entering it from forward crossovers and not backward crossovers. Hooking into a spin on my bad leg at forward speed is terrifying.

Jumpz and Spinz - These got worked on in the context of my program but I did practice some on their own. Again, I worked on trying to slow down enough to make my final one-foot spin less scary. The two foot spin is a non-issue so I didn't spend too much time on that. Waltz jumps felt good as did my half flips but my salchows were so tiny today. I attribute that to the pain I've been experiencing lately. I think I'm twisting a lot on my left leg which exacerbates the pain. But when I remember to do a proper three turn and hold that BI edge longer without rushing, it doesn't hurt as much. So, you know, when I do it properly it hurts less. Duh.

Testz - This is happening! I registered for both tests on May 11th and gave the RMFSC all of my dollars so there's no backing out now. Fingers crossed that I don't break more bones or something between now and then :)

Countdown to Test Day: 22 days and 3 more lessons with Christopher