Spin Drunk

Lesson today! My week was busy and I didn't get a chance to practice at all since my lesson last week so I really wasn't sure how today would go. I wasn't terrible but I also wasn't my best. Skating over the summer is hard with all of the holiday closures and drop-in sessions due to competitions. As much as I want to get better skill wise over the summer, I always seem to stagnate. Oh!!! And today marks my 2nd Break-a-versary! Two years ago I broke my leg and today I got on the ice and did the things without breaking again. Success!

Programz - Before my lesson began, I had plenty of time to warm up. I did my warm-up laps and edges and then moved right into jumps and spins because I needed to run my program today with music if I have any hopes of testing this program soon. As soon as I felt ready, I put my music in the queue and got my sash on. Overall, it went well. No falls and I ended on time. The only snafu was my final spin when a little girl got in my way and wouldn't move so I had to abort. The new footwork fit in nicely with the music and everything felt comfortable. Minus the spin at the end that didn't really happen, if I had skated this program for the judges, I think I would have passed. Mind you, I wouldn't pass with honors, but I think I got the job done. It still needs more speed and confidence and I think it will be good.

Lessonz - Once my program was done, I started in on Silver MIF. I was working on the backward cross strokes when Christopher got on the ice. I'm still not bending my knees enough nor am I pushing off of that outside edge with enough power so the move tends to lose speed as I go down the ice. We briefly looked at the forward cross strokes and those are okay when I remember to slide my free foot across rather than step it across. We worked on timing and placement of the free foot for a bit before moving on to FO-BI 3 Turns. I did both sets down the length of the ice as he wanted me to but I'm still having issues with turning too soon or too late. We spent some time working on placing the turns at the top of each lobe. As frustrating as it is that I'm having an issue with this, I'm at least happy the the BI 3 turns are happening. There were just a few where I put my foot down after the turn but, considering a few weeks ago when they weren't happening at all, I'm really pleased with this progress. He gave me an exercise where I practice the turns on a hockey circle and hoooold the exit edge to try to keep it on the circle as best as possible. Easier said than done. Next, he asked me what my intentions were for testing Bronze FS and I told him I was planning on testing in July but, even though the registration deadline is this Friday, our club still hasn't made registering for the test possible on the website so I expressed confusion over whether or not the test this month was even happening. He told me it's a moot point anyway because he has a commitment that takes place on same day as the July test session so he can't be there. So, that settles it. I'll be testing in August. I'm okay with this. I was feeling a bit of pressure and anxiety about the July test date so August gives me more time to prepare. We went over to the boards to review the requirements for the Bronze FS test and I panicked a bit when he pulled up the old test requirements that had skaters doing a backspin. We quickly found the current requirements (without the backspin) but the damage had been done. He smelled fear and when he smells fear, he makes me do the thing! I reeled off a decent enough backspin but, as usual, it was flamingo'd. He gave me an exercise where I start the spin from a complete standstill and that allowed me to cross my leg over a bit better. I'm to practice it this way until I can consistently cross my free leg over. Sigh. Stupid backspin! I got pretty "spin drunk" doing backspins today, though. I don't usually get dizzy with the forward spins but the backspins always make me feel off kilter. We also discussed changing my jump combination in the program from the waltz-falling leaf-half flip to a waltz-toe loop-toe loop. He asked me to try it and, even though I've gotten better at fixing my single toe loops, when I put them in combination, I cheat them. So, something else to work on.

Next week, per my request, we will begin choreography for Bronze Compulsory Moves. Starting this now will give me a good two months of practice with it before I'm supposed to compete in September and I need all of the practice I can get. I was mostly worried about the BI 3 turns but those are getting better each time I do them and now I'm less worried about those and more worried about the sit spin. I still feel like my sit spin is just not low enough to be competitive and I'm still having problems with centering. I don't have high hopes for making the podium at CSI but I at least want to skate cleanly. And, testing in August is cutting it pretty close if I'm supposed to skate Bronze in September. I suppose, if I don't pass, I could always "skate up" to Bronze. All of this is stressful!