Like Watching Hair Grow

I just feel like I haven't been making any progress lately. Like, I know I'm making progress over the long term since I'm a long way from where I was a year ago, but sometimes the gains are so small that it just feels like watching hair grow. Frustrating.

Off Ice Trainingz - So, I started the 30 day squats challenge and I'm currently on day 16 (a rest day, thankfully). I'm doing about 150 squats/day right now and, by the end of the 30 days, I'll be at 250. I already feel stronger in my legs but man, it's not the most enjoyable thing to do. Oh, and I had to stop stretching because I feel like I have a strained hamstring on my right side so hopefully by letting it rest, it will start to feel better. I'm still doing some light stretching before I get on the ice so I don't injure myself but it's not as intense as I was doing for the past month. I've added some other off ice exercises that involve balance and strengthening my core but I'm so early into this whole endeavor that it's difficult to imagine results. When I got to the rink today I did my typical off ice warm up but I was determined to run two laps instead of one and I'm really proud to say that I did! I mean, I feel like dying but I did it. A year ago I couldn't run at all because of my injury and now I'm able to jog for two laps! That's something, I guess :)

Warm Upz and Edgez - Once I got on the ice, I began with my on-ice laps. It's a lot more interesting now that I've added variety and I have a routine. I did all of my forward and backward edges on a line before beginning two sets of the Circle 8 (which felt lovely today).

Spinz - I should have warmed these up a bit because the first one out the gate felt like it traveled clear across the ice. Yikes. So I returned to an older exercise that Christopher gave me where I do spins from a standstill all the way down the blue line. These got better the farther down the line I got. When I remember to keep my left arm out in front and hold that entry edge, I can eek out a decent spin. I worked on camels a bit and I started to get frustrated because this is where I really feel like progress isn't being made. I've been working on these for a bit and I'm still only getting 1 revolution on average. Every now and then I get a 2nd one but it's usually pretty slow and it's always forced. Annoyed, I moved on to backspins and these were also a disaster. I can do about 5-6 revs in the flamingo position but I know that's not proper so I've been trying really hard to get that leg crossed in front. Again, 1 rev is about all I can muster. Sigh.

Jumpz - After warming up all of my single jumps, I spent some time trying to work on technique. I just can't for the life of me get my salchow to stop being so spinny. I envy those skaters who have nice long drawn out salchows. So pretty. Yet, I just can't make it happen. Flips were gross looking today and I had a couple of falls on my loop jumps which typically doesn't happen. Everything was sloppy.

Footworkz - This is starting to look better. I've got a bit more flow now and it's working really nicely as a lead in to the loop jump. I hope Christopher agrees because when I put this where he initially intended, things start to fall apart.

I think part of my problem is that I have had one lesson in the last month and a half and I'm feeling a little lost. I need feedback, good and bad. Without it, I feel like I'm running a treadmill. I'm trying really hard but I'm getting nowhere.