Go Figure

 Busy day on the ice today! I was worried that I would be sore since I did my weekly cardio sculpt Pilates class on Monday night and my previously torn calf muscle has been sore ever since. Maybe I pushed myself too hard and aggravated it? But today was a 1 out of 10 on the pain scale so I was feeling pretty good to go full out on my elements. 

Figurez - One of my adult skate friends caught me practicing my Circle 8 last week and suggested that I join her at a local weekly figures class at a different rink. I'll be competing my Circle 8 in March at the Cody Spring Classic so I could use some focused instruction on figures so I signed up. Besides, I've always wanted to try it. Coach Julie scribed my circles for me (since I'm a noob) and I warmed up with FO and FI circles before we dove into the lesson for today. She wanted all of us to work on a change edge and demonstrated what to do with our free leg and how to keep our arms. I spent the next 45 minutes doing RFO-RFI and LFO-LFI. Oddly, my bad leg was my better leg. Go figure. I was so focused on the outside edges that I never switched over to doing this on my inside edges. Oh well. It was a neat class and I'll go again. I can only go every other week because of my work schedule but I can definitely see how this is going to help my overall skating. 

Lessonz - My figures class was early in the morning so I had some time to go home, shower, and drink some coffee before heading to my home rink for my regular lesson in the afternoon. Christopher seemed pleased when I told him about the figures class. He agrees that it will benefit my skating. Yay for coach approval. I asked to work on just Preliminary Dances today since the test is in 3 weeks. We worked on some alignment issues with my shoulders but overall, these are looking really nice, especially my Rhythm Blues. I'm ready to kick some ass on this test!

24 Program Challenge (3/24) - After my lesson, I had some time to warm up my jumps and spins and put my music on to run my program. I think this was the best run through I've ever done! My camel spin got the revolutions and I was able to get into a really nice scratch spin to finish it before moving to my footwork. The final spin was lovely and I ended on time. As self-conscious as I am about everything when I run my program, forcing myself to do it no matter what is really helping with the consistency as well as the nerves. 

I booked my hotel for the Cody Spring Classic in Wyoming! It's a five minute drive from the rink I'll be competing at so it's super convenient. And, as an added bonus, I discovered that there is a public library right next to the rink. I can't wait to poke around in there. I've never been to a Wyoming library. But on the sad side, there isn't a stand-alone Starbucks in all of Cody. There's a Starbucks inside of the Albertson's but we all know that's not the same. Corporate Starbucks > Licensed Starbucks. 

Slow Clap

 It was a good session on the ice today! I think I pretty much worked on everything that needed work. I'm pooped! Mostly, I'm proud of myself for getting out of my head enough to run my program on my own. 

24 Program Challenge (2/24) - After about a 15-20 minute warm up, I ran my "Fix You" program with the music for the first time since October. During my warm up, I did moves, ran through all of my jumps and spins, and ran a few sections of the program to make sure I remembered them correctly. Then, I grabbed my phone, plugged it in and set up my music, and got into position. It was messy. I'm not gonna lie. I guess that's to be expected since I've neglected it these past few months. But everything got landed and the spins spun. I just didn't end on time like I wanted to. That's an easy fix. It was scratchy and unsure. You could tell I was rusty. But...I did it! When Christopher got on the ice for our lesson, he said he heard my music so he knows I ran my program (yay!) and asked if I would like to work on the program today or wait until our next lesson on Friday. I told him that my first run through was hella sloppy and I would like to run it again today with him watching. 

The second run through was a little better. He still had every reason to pick it apart and pick it apart he did! We worked on the camel spin using the theraband*, the flip jump, and the ending (loop jump into the scratch spin). He said my scratch spin looked "cautious." It's a nice spin and it's getting more than enough revolutions but he would like to see me bring it in tighter to gain speed throughout. I went out to the center and reeled off a really nice one with the fancy little backspin/pivot thing and pretty arms. I looked back at him and he was slooow clappping. I got a SLOW CLAP from my coach! Yay! He seemed pleased! So now I just need to do that every time, lol. 

Dance Testz - Today I registered (again) to take all three Preliminary Dance Tests on February 19th. I was bummed when my test session in December got cancelled but it gave me another couple of months to really spruce them up and become more confident. So, because I had extra time, I registered to take all three at the Standard level. May the force be with me :) 

*So clearly my issues with the camel spin are mostly in my arms because when I was using the theraband, it forced my arms to stay still (no swatting flies) and the spin felt instantly more comfortable. Maybe I should be practicing more with the theraband? 

The 24 Program Challenge

 It's been a week's worth of practices and lessons and, although it went mostly the way it always does, there was one moment that got to me. A brief moment of what I interpreted as disappointment from my coach. He might have been just teasing but it was a reality check. I need to get over some of the insecurities I have as an adult skater. 

It was during our lesson yesterday when we had just finished up working on Silver Moves. He asked how my program was coming along and I admitted that, although I have been running sections of it, I have not run it in its entirety with the music. That's when he said "Do you even want to compete because it seems like you're making excuses not to." Ugh. It killed me. I explained that I'm super shy about running my program because it pales in comparison to some of the more advanced skaters on the ice. He assured me that it's a beautiful program and I skate it well. There is nothing to be shy about. I know all this, yet...it's hard being an adult skater sometimes, especially when you have anxiety like mine. So, I promised him I would do better to get over these stupid insecurities. He wants me to run my program at least once during every practice. So, I'll do it! No excuses. I don't want him to think I don't want this. 

The 24 Program Challenge - So, here's how it's going to go. I compete at the Cody Spring Classic in late March (from the 20th-22nd). If I skate three days a week like I normally do, that means I have 24 practices between now and then. That's 24 programs that I need to run. This blog will keep me accountable and hopefully by mid-March, my program will be as solid as it was when I last competed back in October, maybe even better. 

I'm sure he's not actually disappointed in me but his comment lit a fire under my ass. I can't keep comparing myself to some of the younger skaters. They've been skating their whole lives and I started as an older fumbling adult. They learn quicker and bounce back faster. It's not the same. I can only compare myself to who I was yesterday. It's pretty badass that I'm in my 40s and I'm doing what I do. I should be proud of that instead of being shy about the skills I don't yet have. One of my skating goals for this year was to leave fear behind in 2020 and so far I'm not doing the best job at that. I need to really work harder to not let things get to me so much. I need to stop overthinking everything. It's stupid. 

To end this post on a good note, I am starting to seriously prepare for my dance tests in February (oddly, I'm not shy about running pattern dances with the music during my practice sessions. Maybe because the skills are the same no matter who skates them). I asked Christopher if I should register to test these at the Standard level rather than Adult 21+. He says he thinks I am good enough to pass at the standard level. So yeah, I'm gonna test standard. What?! I'll try to go as long as I can at the standard level and if things get too tricky, I can always switch to Adult 21+ . I really wish I could take the confidence I have with dance and transfer it over to freestyle. That would be nice, huh?

Hello Progress!

 This week's lessons went well. Lots of dancing. Lots of working on other stuff on my own. 

Preliminary Dancez -  We ran all of these with the music and they are in pretty good shape. I'm ready to test them and get them done already. I have my eyes set on February 19th for testing. Christopher would like me to wear my dance dress to one of our lessons next week to get the feel for the longer skirt. There might be a bit more drag so it's good to get a feel for it now than to have be a surprise on test day. 

Pre-Bronze Dancez - I worked on these quite a bit on my own and today I was able to do the Cha Cha and the Swing with the music. This was actually the first time I have felt like I knew the dances well enough to skate them to music and I surprised myself! It wasn't awful! Yay! The Cha Cha felt really good. Like, to the point where I would feel okay maybe testing it? The Swing felt good overall but an odd thing happened when I skated it to the music. My RBO swing roll got wonky in the arms. I think part of it was anxiety about so many people on the ice while I was doing it. That always makes me nervous. It was hard to focus on a good swing roll when I was trying not to run into a child. I did Fiesta Tango on its own without the music. I still don't feel 100% on this one so it might be while before I can set it to music. But, I know the steps and my timing is okay, just not up to tempo yet. 

Spinz - It was a good spin week! My sit spins are feeling more controlled and I'm getting lower into my position. My camels were inconsistent but overall they are feeling better. I'm hitting more than missing so there's that. Finally, my scratch spins felt awesome! Now that I'm able to find my center more consistently, I'm able to hold my free leg and arms out for a few revs before bringing it all in. It feels like I'm getting 10-12 revs pretty consistently when I was only getting about 8-10 before. Progress. Also, I'm able to finish camels and sits with a scratch spin rather than a basic one-foot spin so I know things are improving. It feels pretty awesome. I never considered myself a good spinner but lately I've been kicking some ass in the spin department. Yay!

Jumpz - I've been working a lot on my salchow-loop and it's getting better every day. I still feel like my free leg isn't entirely crossed on the loop but it's getting there. Flips are still meh. I've been doing that exercise where I do a half-flip immediately followed by a full flip and that seems to be helping with the technique. Finally, lutz jumps. The entry is fine but there is a lot of hesitation picking in for the jump. Once I jump, though, I'm landing it and my leg feels like it's crossed. I think I'm scared of the speed needed to really get into this jump. But, it's a work in progress and at least I'm doing it without fear. 

Getting Test Ready...Again

 I'm really hoping our club hosts a test session soon (Feb 19th was mentioned but a virtual session might happen sooner). So I'm back to running those Preliminary Dances again in the hopes that I can get them tested and out of the way soon. Per my request, we ran all three today. 

Dutch Waltz - This was pretty good. I didn't derp the steps so there's that. His only comment was that I have a bit of noticeable hesitation with that progressive right after those first swing rolls. We ran it again and I did much better. It's my bad side so of course I won't feel entirely comfortable with them but at least I shouldn't make my discomfort noticeable. 

Canasta Tango - This was good. I think we only ran it one time and then we moved on to the Rhythm Blues. The end pattern on this is just super fun and I love how secure I feel in my edges when I do it. Weee!

Rhythm Blues - He recorded what he could of this by propping his iPad up on the boards and from what he recorded, things look pretty good (especially the lilt step for some reason). We had some unison issues in other areas of the pattern but I'm chalking that up to the fact that it was a very busy session and not everyone was watching for our pattern and I was nervous that some of the really young skaters wouldn't yield right of way. I'm sure on test day when we have the ice to ourselves this won't be an issue and I can just focus on the music and the steps without trying to anticipate whether or not someone will be in our way. 

Midwestern Sectionals - Alas, we got news today that Sectionals is just plain canceled. So, it wasn't really clear what would become of the Adult Competition Series since Sectionals was to be the final event of the series. I'm guessing that the ACS will also be scrapped and they will just refund our entry fees and nobody wins this season. I'm personally disappointed because I was in the lead with the most points for my level. Since I am at the Bronze level, I can always go to Nationals in Rochester, MI (which they have postponed until June) although, to be honest, what's the point? It's a long way to travel and it won't matter for points for the ACS so I probably won't go to Nationals either. There are a couple of other competitions I'm considering for March. A bunch of the Unicorn Tribe skaters are talking about meeting up in Cody, WY for the Cody Spring Classic/Cowboy State Games. It's not terribly far but it's also not terribly close either. I would definitely have to take some time off of work but since it is scheduled for roughly the same time that Sectionals was, it won't be too big of a deal. PLUS! I'll have my other unicorn sisters to skate with so that should be fun! The other option is the Denver Invitational. Since it's local, I wouldn't have to take time off of work to do it and my coach will be there. If I go this route, I might just compete in Solo Pattern Dance? I don't know. I imagine I won't have anybody competing against me and it's no fun winning default gold (although dance will be judged ISI so it would be valuable to see how I fare score-wise). I honestly don't know what to do or where to go. My plan was to finish out the Series by skating at Sectionals and now that's just not happening. I didn't plan for alternatives. I'm not ready for my season to end prematurely either so...who knows.

Harness of doom revisited

 Recap of this past week's worth of lessons!

Camelz - We worked a bit on the entry. I'm still swinging my left arm on the entry which throws everything off so he gave me the challenge of leading with the left arm on the entry and then keeping it out in front for the entirety of the spin. I feel like it looks ridiculous but it works. Who knew?

Fiesta Tangoz - He asked to see me do one pattern alone and I did and it was fine. I obviously need to clean up some steps (bring my feet together immediately after the mohawk and have a bit more lilt on the end pattern steps). For the first time ever, we practiced the change of hold positions for the end steps. Ooooh, it feels weird but not nearly as scary as I had thought it would be. I think we are one step closer to partnering this. Progress. 

Axel Prepz - We went over to the boards and we did some basic Axel preps (I've been practicing the other prep exercises away from the boards - the waltz into backspin stuff). He went over the direction my toe pick should be facing on my take-off leg as well as making me do some little hops into a backspin. 

Harness Axelz - You know, you would think that if I know the mechanics of the thing and I know I can't get hurt because of the harness, that I could do an Axel or two on the harness. Wrong. It's just a hard jump with or without the harness. He did appreciate that I went full out with the power and he says that shows him I have the strength to do it eventually. But man, getting the lift and snap is really tricky. I know practicing backspins (with the crossed leg dammit) will help but I'm not sure how to get the snap quicker. I didn't land any Axels during our lesson but it was fun trying :)