Not Too Shabby

 Today was my second to last practice before I leave for Cody so I tried to pack everything I could into the one hour that I had. 

Bronze MIF - I ran through the two elements that I'll be competing with, the Circle 8 and the Forward Power 3 Turns. Both of these moves were my two highest scoring moves when I took the Bronze Moves test a year and a half ago so I'm not particularly worried. I do them as I have always done them and they are pretty decent. 

24 Program Challenge (17/24) - I mean, mathematically speaking, I'm not going to be able to finish the challenge. Despite running my program every time I was on the ice, I missed a whole week of running it during the week that I was preparing for my dance tests and I missed this past Saturday and Monday when all of Denver shut down due to a blizzard (we got 27 inches of snow!). But....I ran my program a lot! More than I ever have in the past! And today? I ran my best program to date! Ugh, it felt hella good! I'm ready to show those judges what's up, lol. 

Rhythm Blues - I ran my two dances in the order that I will be skating them at the competition so RB was first up. It went well. Dammit, I just cannot remember to smile though! I've got body expression for days thanks to Christopher's choreography but I've been hiding half of my face behind a mask for so long that I'm not sure I remember how to smile on demand. 

Canasta Tango - I tried more facial expression this time trying to be all sassy at the beginning but that's where it stopped. Once I got started with the pattern, no smiles. I really hope this changes at the competition. Christopher won't be there to remind me though so....who knows what I'll do.

Overall, this has been one of the best practices I've had in a long time. This is a competition of firsts and lasts, though. My first out of state competition, my first ice dance competition, my first time competing in MIF, my first competition without my husband, and my first competition without a coach. This will also be my last time skating my "Fix You" program, and (hopefully) my last time competing at the Preliminary level for Solo Dance since I hope to pass my next three dances before I compete again at the Colorado Springs Invitational. So, yeah, it's bittersweet.