The Bracket Bar

Alright, I've been practicing all week but haven't updated for each practice so here is a synopsis of each day (as best as I can remember). 

Sunday - My phone was doing some weird things so I wasn't able to plug it in and play any of my music. Just as well, I had Gold Moves to work on. My Backward Circle 8 is making it around almost every time but I would still like a stronger push to make the circle bigger. Forward Power Circles felt pretty good today even on the bad side. My real issue is that I can either make the circle bigger as I go or I can make it faster as I go but I am struggling to do both at the same time. Backward Power Circles seem fine. Forward Double 3s are still icky (it's mostly that damn LBI3 where I put my foot down every time, ugh). I worked on Backward Double 3s. Those are trash. Speaking of trash, let's talk about my Brackets. FO and FI seem fine (although the FO brackets tend to scratch sometimes coming out of the turn). I tried the BO brackets at the wall and I just feel kinda hopeless about them. I couldn't even get them to work at the wall! That's so dumb! To round out my practice, I dabbled in some jumps and spins and worked on knee slides and the step sequence for my Free Dance. 

Monday Lesson - I asked Christopher last week to look at my Brackets for this lesson because I'm struggling so much with these. So he brought out "The Bracket Bar!" It's just the end of the pole harness that he holds onto in the middle and I hold onto at the ends. It's like training wheels for brackets! This was so helpful for the backward brackets because it turns out I can do them (neat!) but I have a huge fear block. They feel so unnatural (as brackets do) and it really helped to have something to hold onto for safety. And I think that's why I was struggling at the wall with these! With the forward brackets, I can practice them at the wall easily by skating toward the wall and at the top of the lobe where I turn, I can grab the wall for a little extra support. However, backward brackets are tricky to do at the wall because you would almost have to reach behind yourself to grab the wall at the top of the lobe. It's too awkward to work properly. I won't have a bracket bar with a coach attached during my practices so I'm really going to have to grow some balls about this and find the courage to work on them on my own. Sigh. We finished up the lesson with the rest of my step sequence for the Free Dance. I complained about the knee slide (because of course I will, I'm not a fan) but I told him I wanted to keep it in. So, after the knee slide, I push under, ballet jump, RFI3 into a backward stop thing, LFO waltz 3 into an illusion, progressive, RFO swing roll into a RFI single twizzle. So, the only thing left for this program to be complete is a transition into my final pose (which we didn't have time for). So yeah, I have a lot to work on. 

Tuesday and Thursday Mornings - I'm just gonna lump these two together since I basically worked on the same stuff each time. On Tuesday, I was brave enough to try a RBO bracket and it sorta turned? But then I couldn't do it again because fear came back. Stupid brain. My attempts on Thursday morning were terrible (but at least I attempted them!). Double 3s were as they are. Same thing with the Power Circles. The step sequence feels better (with the exception of the knee slide). Both of these sessions were at the Promenade and Christopher was on the ice each time so I know he sees me sliding around trying to make these knee slides work. I'm trying so hard on these and I'm just not getting them to work right. I get the first part of the slide (the LFO3 from forward to back) but then I need to switch directions and get back up and that's where it just stalls. It's embarrassing to have it fail so often. Sigh.

Turns and Choreography

There was no practice ice to be had on Sunday due to a hockey tournament that was happening at nearly all of the rinks around the Denver Metro area. I had a choice to not skate at all on Sunday or to slum it at a public session at the Sport Stable. I decided not to skate. No way I'm going to risk broken bones or getting run into by unruly pubic session people (both of which have happened to me at the Sport Stable). I decided on an early morning Monday session at Apex instead. 

Monday Morning Practice - This was a mostly quiet session. There were only four of us on the ice. All older teens and adults. I dedicated 45 minutes of my one hour session to Gold Moves and you would think I made some progress. I did not. My Backward Circle 8 and the Power Circles feel okay but everything else is still just so sloppy. I was pleased that my FO Brackets seem to be better but disappointed that the more time I spent on the Double 3s, the worse they became. My final 15 minutes were spent on spot checking my Free Skate and my Free Dance. My Flip jumps felt awesome today! I'm so pleased at how these have evolved. I used to be so scared of them, then I got over the fear but did them with poor technique for years. Now, I happily do them! Once I got a feel for the proper technique of them, I love working on them! I feel like my skills have a tendency to suck pretty hard for a few years and then I have an "aha!" moment and they are all of a sudden good. I wish my Gold Moves would follow that trend. It's been a solid two years with very little progress. I want my Gold Medalist jacket, dammit!

Monday Afternoon Lesson - Today was all about the choreographic step sequence in my Free Dance. That is the final element we need completed and then some kind of end pose and then I have a completed Free Dance! So far in my sequence I have a twizzle, chasse, progressive, swing roll, rocker, chasse, swing roll, outside mohawk, twizzle, knee slide, and ballet jump. Because it's a circular step sequence, I think he's probably going to add a few more steps to make it completely around to where I started. The thing I struggled with the most was the knee slide. I wore a knee pad for nearly two months and we didn't work on knee slides and the one day I decide not to wear it...we work on knee slides. My right knee is so bruised and sore right now. Ouch! We worked a bit on getting the correct edge on the Rocker before finishing up the lesson with Double 3s (which were predictably awful). I requested that next week we take a look at Brackets because those need some serious help too. Ugh, I have a lot of homework to do!

As the World Turns

Ok, I'm going to try to be better about updating this blog (keyword: try). I practiced this morning at the Promenade because I didn't want to deal with construction traffic over by APEX but, it turns out, there was construction traffic over by the Promenade too. I can't win. Anyway, I got there and the ice was pretty torn up (as it is at the Promenade) but I was still able to get some work done. My goal today was Double 3s. 

Forward Double 3 Turns - I need more speed and confidence on these for sure but where I'm really struggling is on the LBI 3. This turn was so easy for me on the Silver Moves test but now I'm struggling hard with it. I keep forcing the turn and putting my foot down. I know I should be taking my time, looking in the direction of the turn, and easing into it, but my body does what my body does. My brain has no say in the matter. So, I went to the hockey circle and just did turns. When I got tired of the forward doubles, I started to work on the backward doubles (but just the BO-FI side). So many turns today!

Brackets - It's been awhile since I've worked on Brackets so I spent some time on these as well. FI Brackets are coming back but I punk'd out on working on the FO Brackets. Backward Brackets were non-existent before and that is how they are now. I'll ask Christopher to work with me on these. It's still the one element from Gold Moves that I don't have under me yet. 

Power Circles - I did them. 

Backward Circle 8 - I did this too. 

I finished up with jumps and spins since I only had about 10 minutes left in the session. Camel spins are gone again. Figures.

2023 Colorado Springs Invitational Free Skate Recap

I haven't updated in about a week but I assure you I have been working hard during that time to make up for the lost ice time from when I was sick. This past week, I have been living at the rink running this program over and over until it was beautiful again. The day before competition day, I was feeling strong and had a clean run through so I tried to carry those positive feelings with me going into my event. 

15 Minute Warmup Ice - This is a new thing. Every time I compete, I purchase the 30 minute practice ice and it's always crowded and stressful. I spend more time trying to dodge people or make way for others that it's never a good practice. This time, I purchased the 15 minute warmup ice and it made all the difference! First, they made it "adult only" so I didn't have to dodge 6 year olds with no situational awareness. What a luxury! I got everything done that I needed to! I struggled a bit on my camels. The first one was nice and then as I did more, they got progressively worse. My final camel was good though so that was refreshing. Again, I was feeling very at ease and confident in my elements so I was feeling like my skating during my actual event would be the same. 

Silver Free Skate - I was the third one to go on so I did some breathing and visualizing while I was waiting for my moment. When it was my turn, I was announced and got into position for my routine. My music started and off I went. My opening Loop jump was BIG and floaty with arms overhead. It really set the tone for the whole thing. The one change I made since my last competition was I took out the Lutz and replaced it with a Salchow. My Lutz is just not good. It's never good. So why am I putting elements in my program that are not good? I know Christopher wants to challenge me and I'm okay with that but I don't think I should put something in a program if it still needs more time to cook, you know? So I did a nice Salchow and went into my camel spin (which was lovely for once! Wahoo!). The rest of the program was really nice as well. I did a nice strong Flip jump right in front of the judges and ended with a beautiful spin. Honestly, I don't think I could have skated it better! Very pleased!

Results - Ok, here's where it gets wild! I got off the ice and Christopher asked me what kind of score I expect from that routine. I said I would be pleased with anything over 19.71 since that was my personal best and would also mean that I passed my Silver Free Skate Test. After a couple of minutes, he flipped his phone around with the results and staring back at me was 26.12!!!!!! Holy shit! What?! Bonkers! I knew it was a good skate but I didn't think it was that good! There were things I would have knocked me on that the judges didn't (hello Toe Waltz) but the only thing I got dinged on was my combination spin (camel to scratch) and even that wasn't a huge negative GOE. So yeah, I passed my test, had a beautiful skate, and earned a new personal best! It was a good day! I ended up with a Silver medal and I'm so proud of myself I could burst! 

Afterthoughts - So what was different this time? I'm not sure. Everything was so easy that day. I usually stress out about hair and makeup but it only took me 30 minutes instead of two hours to get that done. I had time to drink a cup of coffee which I don't normally allow myself to do. I also didn't "zone" this time. I usually make time right before I put skates on to listen to calming music and visualize success but, this time, I didn't have my phone with me to play music on so I just...put my skates on and breathed. I didn't watch the skaters who went on before me and instead focused only on me. Repeating positive affirmations and telling myself that I'm going to kill it out there. Maybe it was all of these things together. I don't know. But I think I was overthinking before with all of my old rituals. Sometimes change is good. I feel like I have finally earned my place as a Silver-level skater! Doing the IJS Test Protocol to pass my Silver Free Skate Test was the way to go! Highly recommend!

Click here for video!

2023 Cup of Colorado Free Skate Recap

 Hello! It's been awhile. I really meant to update sooner but I got sick right after Cup of Colorado and it put me on my ass for a bit. Here's how the competition went!

Morning Practice Ice - I felt kinda weird. My skating felt as solid as it could be but my nose was unusually runny and I was pretty tired (which I chalked up to not getting a lot of sleep the night before, but that's typical for me before a competition). It was a 30 minute Practice Ice and Christopher was coaching two of us. Not a problem. We touched on everything and I felt pretty ready. 

Since my event wasn't until later in the evening, I went home and had a bite to eat and just generally chilled. I played some Mario Kart and hung out until it was time to get makeup and hair ready. I got to the rink about an hour and a half before my event and did my mental prep, stretching, and floor run throughs. I was exceptionally hot. Like, really hot. I didn't remember being this hot when I was there earlier that morning. Even when I got on the ice for my five minute warmup, I was roasting.

Adult Silver Women Free Skate - My five minute warm up felt good. I landed some solid jumps and my spins felt okay. Footwork was good. I ran the last 30 seconds with the 6 jumps and 1 spin and hit my end pose right in front of one of the judges with a look like "yeah, you saw that? Wait, it gets better!" So yeah, needless to say, I was feeling pretty confident that I would skate a clean program. I was introduced and I took my starting pose feeling pretty good (albeit still really tired and hot). My opening Loop jump was great with arms overhead and my camel spin camel'd. When I started my footwork, I was starting to feel the fatigue. I made eye contact with the same judge I eyed earlier and then promptly missed a step. I got through everything else. The Flip-Euler-Salchow wasn't the best but it got done and I felt really good about the Salchow-Loop combo and the final Flip. Finally, the last spin, the easiest thing in my program, ugh. I just couldn't center it even though I rarely have trouble on this element so it was not the solid, confident ending I wanted. I was awarded Silver with a score of 15.90 (a far cry from my personal best of 19.71). 

Afterthoughts - It was not the skate I wanted or planned for but it wasn't the worst case scenario either. Later, on the drive home, I told my husband that my throat was really sore but, even then, I thought maybe it was from cheering on my fellow skaters. The next day, I was dead. Absolutely sick. And for over a week after, I was the sickest I've been in about 5 years. I took a week off of work to recover but during that time I lost my sense of smell and taste and had really bad bouts of dizziness. I took a home Covid test that was negative and even went to get a test done at my doctor's office and that was negative but I swear, this was not a cold. I don't know what it was but it was awful. I slowly got my sense of taste back for savory foods and then a few days after I was able to taste sweet foods. I can even smell things now (yay). I think adrenaline helped me get through my event and then once my brain sent the signal to my body that it can relax, all hell broke loose. I'm thankful I got sick after my event but I'm now realizing that I was probably sick during my event too and that may have contributed to how my program went. I purchased the pictures from the competition and I look so pale and sickly in all of them. Ew. 

Final Prep

Cup of Colorado is this weekend and I feel pretty ready and have been working hard this past week or so making sure my program (and all of the changes) are solid. 

I had one very lucky day this past Sunday at the Y where I was the only one on the ice for nearly two hours! I ran my Free Skate multiple times and my Free Dance a few times as well. My lesson this past Monday was also okay. I lost my focus on my camel spins for a bit but was able to get back on track. Also the Flip-Euler-Salchow could be better. It's happening but I really need more power in the Euler. I have so much power in my Loop jump but I think with the Euler, I hold back more because I know I'm landing on the other foot. The few times that I've been able to power through it, I've performed it better. 

Starting orders came out this morning. I'll be first in front of the judges after the warm up!

I still have time to practice tomorrow and then Saturday morning I have practice ice at the competition venue. I'm also practicing off-ice by running through the program physically with the music and mentally by visualizing the routine. 

Even though I'm not the only one in my event, I know the only person I'm really competing with is me. I want to skate a program that I am proud of and I want to see progress in terms of my score. If I can get above a 19.71 I will have earned a new Personal Best. 

Let's get it!

IJS Test Protocol!

Whoops. I went another couple of weeks without updating. Sorry.

Cup of Colorado - The schedule is out! They have the Adult Free Skates happening at 6:00pm. Ew. And practice ice is scheduled at 8:00-something in the morning so, double Ew. So, I figure I'll do my practice ice in the morning, drive back home and nap maybe, and then go back for my event. I really don't want to be down there all day. Ugh. I'm struggling with the Flip-Euler-Salchow combo. Sometimes I get it and it feels great and sometimes it's just garbage. We'll see which version decides to show up on competition day. AND...more changes! Nothing too major and these changes were in response to me requesting the IJS Test Protocol for CSI. I'm just switching my single jumps and jump combos around in order to comply with the requirements of the test.

Colorado Springs Invitational - I'm registered! For the low low price of only $10, I added the IJS Test Protocol onto my registration so my Silver Free Skate event will count as my Silver Free Skate test. Two birds, one stone. However, this means we had to switch some things around in my program. If my Lutz was good, I would have kept my PPC as is but, as we know, I am a consistent Flutzer. So, for my three single jumps, I'll be performing a Loop, a Flip, and a Lutz (the Loop and Flip will be the ones that count for the test) and my combos will now consist of the Flip-Euler-Salchow and a Salchow-Loop. Since these are easy changes to make, I'll be skating these elements for Cup of Colorado too. Good thing I still had a couple of days left to make changes on my PPC for that. I did some research about IJS Test Protocol and saw that I can fall twice (worst case scenario) and still pass as long as I meet the minimum score of 16.80. Considering last year's CSI score with this same program was 19.71, I'm hoping I'll be fine. If not, our club is hosting a test session later in September and I can retest then. I've never done IJS Test Protocol before so I'm hoping this will be an easy way to knock this test out (I'm already in front of judges, Christopher will be there, I already have the day off, etc). 

New Free Dance - We added some more to the choreography and, with that, I think I'm about 80% through the program. We already have the edge element, two twizzles, a spin, and we are now starting on the Step Sequence. Looks like it's going to be a circular step sequence this time and we have about half of it complete. It's all coming together and once I get more comfortable with being "spicy" I think this program will be really fun to skate. I promised myself I would stone the dress once the program was fully choreographed so I guess I have to start planning for that now since we are getting close to a complete program. 

Cup of Colorado next weekend!!!!

Running on Ice

 Lesson today! 

I spoke to Christopher about the challenges I was facing with the toe steps and what I am thinking of doing instead. So I showed him the swing roll into the bracket and he gave me his blessing to keep it as long as I emphasize the change of edge between the outside swing roll into the inside bracket on the same foot. We worked on it for a bit to really slow it down and make sure it's a proper bracket instead of a rocker or 3 turn. The trick is to bring my free leg back in after the swing roll and take a second to change to the inside edge. An extension after the bracket looks nice too so I'll do that. 

We took a moment to look at the new jump combo and I told him that I'm not punking out on it and that I'm committed to challenging myself with this by officially putting it in my program. We stated by looking at an Euler-Salchow and then we added the Flip to it. A weird thing happens when I add the Flip - the Euler is under-rotated. Huh. I didn't think this was the case but in super slow-mo video it's clear that I'm under-rotating it by a quarter of a turn. Yikes. I blame anxiety. I'm so anxious about getting it right that I rush through it. If I take my time and make sure to not open up too soon, I can make it work. Also, landing the Euler with my left arm in front helps me to not rush the Salchow. There are so many moving parts to this combo but I think I'm getting the hang of it and can skate it well come competition time. 

He wanted to see the full program, so I got the sash on and got into position. The new step sequence was good and he complimented me on a nice speedy camel but things fell apart during the last 30 seconds (the dreaded last 30 seconds where I have six jumps and a spin and I'm already exhausted). As predicted, I bungled the new jump combo which got me in my head enough to bungle the Flip-Loop and the subsequent final spin. Basically, the last 30 seconds were a shit show. He asked to see the 3 jump combo again and I performed it well. Then he asked to see the final spin which was better too, proving that I'm capable of doing these things. I just need to get out of my head about it all and perform as I've been trained. 

We finished up by looking at the new Free Dance. I spoke to him about my concerns about timing with the spiral and the overall speed of everything so of course he wanted to see it. I put the sash on again and got into position and skated really well, actually. I guess I'm concerned over nothing. In fact, he was happy that I was finally holding the spiral for once. He said it was nice :) Cool. Moving on, he added a little bit more to the choreography. He added only 10 more seconds of choreography but since it takes me so damn long to learn new things, it ate up the remainder of the lesson. So, after the twizzle and backward spiral, I step forward into an inside spread eagle and two alternating half-pivot things, then a big dramatic wind-up move into running. Yeah, running. Ya'll, I've never tried running on my toepicks before. Christopher was shocked that I haven't ever tried it. I told him I didn't want to catch a toepick and he responded with "you can't catch a toepick if you are already running on your toepicks." He's got a point. So I tried it and it's scary but I'll keep it. So, I run on my toepicks for a few steps and then go right into a rocker. 

Overall, a good and productive lesson.

Hybrid Choreography

Practice this week was excellent. I feel like I've made a lot of progress on jumps, spins, and Free Dance choreography but not a lot on the new step sequence choreography for my Free Skate. 

Jumps - I've been working on the Flip-Euler-Salchow combo that Christopher had me try in our last lesson. It's not beautiful yet but I'm more comfortable with it. In fact, I think I got it to the point where I can put it my program and not have it be a total disaster so I changed my PPC for Cup of Colorado to add it in. Fingers crossed I don't mess it up. In my program run throughs, my muscle memory is so strong with the original 3-jump combo that I end up bungling the whole thing. However, when I'm intentional about it and remember that there is a change there, it works. The Flip-Loop combo at the end was nice and strong too. Also, my Flips in general have been pretty fantastic and, now that I can do them with proper technique, they are quickly becoming my second most favorite jump (my first love will always be Loop jump!). I had one Flip today that was so lofty! It just felt so damn good. Maybe someday, my Lutz will feel like that too. One can dream. 

Spins - Spins have been kind to me in practices. I am pleased with them. 

Free Dance - I'm getting better at skating this with speed. The music is so fast and I really need to meet my musical cues for max effect but I feel like I'm slowing everything down when I get to the catch-foot spiral. I'm counting in my head at least four seconds but it somehow feels like I need to rush it because four beats of the music is faster than four seconds (if that makes any sense). I have to consciously tell myself to hold the damn spiral twice as long as I think I need to. But anyway, the spiral is nice so maybe it's good to hold it. 

New Free Skate Step Sequence Choreography - Ugh. That pretty much sums it up. I have really tried with these toe steps but when I do them, I almost come to a full stop since I hesitate so hard. So, on Sunday, I spent way too much time figuring out what I can replace it with instead. I came up with a sort of hybrid between what Christopher gave me and what I am capable of doing but is still challenging. I basically took the toe steps out and replaced them with a RFO swing roll, change edge, RFI bracket. We'll see what he says about it. I'm not giving up on the toe steps as I still have them in my new Free Dance but they somehow feel more comfortable there than here.

Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes

 Lesson today! I told Christopher that I registered for Cup of Colorado and wanted to pick his brain about spin and jump changes. 

Spins - I told him that I wanted to do a Camel-Scratch combo for my first spin and an Attitude spin for my final spin. He asked to see both and I performed them well enough that he didn't ask to see more, he just gave his blessing for the change. Yay!

Jumps - I told him I wanted to switch my 3-jump combo to a Flip-Loop-Toe Loop since my Flip-Loop was pretty strong. That backfired! He suggested changing my last combo to a Flip-Loop (yay!) but then that puts me over my Loop jump quota so he wants me to do a Flip-Euler-Salchow for my 3-jump combo. NOOOOO! I hate the Euler! Even when it's done correctly, it's one of those jumps that just looks like a mistake. It's a "Wrong Loop." Ugh. But he wanted me to try it so I did. Most of my problem is I can't not think of a Loop while doing it so I end up landing it like a Loop. When I make a conscious effort to land on the left leg instead of the right, it works. But damn, I shouldn't have to think that hard on this jump. It just feels so unnatural. I promised him I would work on it as a potential combo. 

Footwork - He asked to see my Choreographic Step Sequence so I reeled it off for him. It was nice but he wants to change it to add some more difficulty. The beginning of the step sequence is admittedly sort of boring with just a couple of back crossovers and some pretty arms so he added some elements to the beginning part only. When I exit my Camel combo, I push under, do some clockwise toe steps, one back crossover with pretty arms, step forward into a Waltz 3, step forward again into a short Attitude glide, then pick up my choreography from the Ina Bauer and continue as usual. All of this stuff fits into the space that the previous two back crossovers were so it's...a lot in a short amount of time. It's not un-doable, I just have to rewire my brain to do the new stuff since I've been doing it the same way for the past year. 

After all of this, we didn't have time to run the program with the changes or work on new choreography for the Free Dance. This was enough. I have a lot of homework to do!

Feeling Strong

Practice this week was lovely! I had some really nice run throughs of my Silver Free Skate that left me feeling pretty confident that I won't embarrass myself come competition time. 

Jumps - I've been playing around with my 3-jump combo in my free skate. It's a Flip-Toe Loop-Loop but I have discovered that if I switch the last two jumps, the whole combo is more consistent. I'll run it by Christopher next time I see him. 

Spirals - I have never done so many forward catch foot spirals in my life! I've been scared of them but working on them so much has lessened the fear. I'm better able to get into them quickly without hesitation and the increased confidence has allowed me to really try to stretch up into them making them as pretty as the backward catch foot spirals I've been doing. 

New Free Dance Choreography - I've got it under control and am excited for Christopher to add on to it. 

Gold Moves - About where I left them. 

Spins - Spins have been great this week! I feel like when my spins are on, they are pretty nice but the consistency still needs work. I still have days where I just can't get any spins to work. Luckily, I have more days where they do.

More Choreography!

I did a double session this afternoon because I didn't get my typical Sunday practice in due to the Ice Dance Clinic. I'm just not built for double sessions. So tired. Oh, and I was at the Pilates Studio this morning too so, yeah. Dying. 

Nothing remarkable to report for the one hour of practice before my lesson session except that I lost all ability to spin. That's frustrating. 

Lesson - I was first lesson but I had been skating for an hour already so I didn't mind. I was plenty warmed up. He asked straight away how the new intro choreography looks and I told him truthfully that it's getting done but I feel so awkward. Nothing is muscle memory yet so my brain is working hard to try to remember musical cues and directions and stuff. I showed him what I had and he seemed okay with it enough to add on to it. So, after the intro, I do some back crossovers to gather speed for my first element which is the Short Edge Element. During our last lesson, he mentioned putting in the backward catch foot spiral but it seems this week he has other plans. Looks like I'm doing a LFO catch foot spiral. I've been working on these in practices, of course, but on my own terms and at my own speed. Now that I'll be doing it to music, I can't hesitate going into it or slow it down like I've been doing. I really have to go in with some speed and make sure I get on the outside edge (I've just been doing them on a flat). Then I go into a cross stroke with sassy arms, an Ina into a swing roll then a lunge into a LFO twizzle. We literally spent the entirety of our lesson on just this since it takes me so long to grasp choreography. However, I really like what we have so far. It's fun!

Ice Dance Clinic Recap

Today was the Ice Dance Clinic hosted by my club and it was a good time. I learned a lot, got to meet Keiffer Hubbell, and got lifted!

Effort vs Ease - We started with a discussion on effort vs. ease. Every element we do in skating must have a balance of both of these things. Too much effort results in tension (which can lead to injury) and too much ease doesn't engage the core enough to perform the element properly. I know this but having it phrased this way is something I'll remember and keep in the back of my mind when I work on the trickier elements like Double 3s or Brackets. Twizzles too!

Interpretive Choreography - Expression and how you interpret the music is huge in ice dance so we worked on exercises to help us really engage with the music. They were animal themed and the first exercise was to watch the Hummingbird Dance from So You Think You Can Dance (one of my favorites!). There are so many ways to interpret being a flower or being a bird that go beyond the typical movements. We were given some time to work on choreographing ourselves to music to tell a story. In this case, we are a hummingbird who wakes up hungry, finds the nearest flower to get a drink of nectar, but then gets chased by bears for some reason (kids came up with the story, not me). The final part of the story is the joy of freedom from finally escaping. After about 10 minutes, they asked for volunteers to skate their piece. I raised my hand knowing that they never call on the adults to do these things but...they picked me! I think this was the most expressive I've ever skated AND later when we were having lunch, Keiffer told me he was really impressed with my solo. Yay!!!!

Yoga - We did an hour of Yoga before lunch. 

Lunch - As per usual when we have a special guest, they end up sitting at the adult table during lunch. I can't blame them, kids can be a lot sometimes and it's nice to eat with people your own age. Lucky us because we got to ask him all kinds of questions. He was intrigued by our Alpha Unicorn Tau jackets so I made him an honorary unicorn and gave him a, AUT sticker. Welcome to the herd, Keiffer!

Off Ice Spins and Lifts - We met off ice after lunch to talk about dance lifts. He taught us two lifts that he was going to put us in. The first one is an inverted lift and the second one is a cantilever lift. He showed each of us how to get into the lifts and we each had a turn getting into the lift with him on solid ground before we took it to the ice. It wasn't nearly as scary as I thought it would be. 

On Ice Spins and Twizzles - We spent some time on ice working on twizzles with Brad and Spins with Keiffer and Brad. Let me tell you, partner spins are really weird and tricky. I was paired off with my friend Ruth and we struggled so hard hooking into the spin. My main problem is, as always, I'm impatient and if one person does something wrong, the whole spin goes to hell. I didn't stay in the entry edge long enough before the spin therefore, we weren't able to get it to work. Alas. 

On Ice Lifts! - I was slightly nervous about this but he's a champion ice dancer so, I trust him. He didn't drop me and I had a lot of fun. Here are pictures of me in both lifts. 

Super fun day and I'm very appreciative to my club for hosting this!

 

Break-aversary!

Six years ago, I broke my left ankle and fibula and thought for sure I was done with skating. Here I am six years later just having competed in my first U.S. Figure Skating Adult Nationals and getting ready to test Silver Free Skate and working on Gold Moves. I've come a long way and what better way to celebrate than to get on the ice!

I was at the Y today and it was really busy since a lot of local rinks are closed for the holiday weekend but I was still able to get some meaningful work done. Of course I worked on jumps, spins, and Gold Moves but I spent the majority of my time working on the new Free Dance choreography that Christopher gave me during my last lesson. It's just 20-30 seconds of the intro but it's tricky. It took me a few minutes to get my brain right on this but eventually I was able to complete it and even get it quicker. I really love it and it works better with expression so I think this will force me to be more expressive during my practices rather then just when it counts on competition day. 

Cup of Colorado - I just registered for my first competition of the new season. Usually, I start my season off with CSI in September but since I already have a well-established program, there's no reason not to start sooner. I've never done Cup of Colorado so I'm excited to see what kind of vibe it is. It's happening from August 18-20 so I still have time to polish my Silver Free Skate and get that Flip jump under better control. I have some video of my practice today and I did a single Flip and a Flip-Loop combo. Watching the video back, it looks like the launch is more powerful (which I can feel!) but it would look nicer to have less of an open position in the air. I definitely have that "h" position but in all of the videos I see of a nice Flip jump, the ankles are pretty close together even on a single. So maybe this is something I can talk to Christopher about. I mean, it's still a Flip jump but can I get it even better?

Ice Dance Clinic

Alpine announced that it is hosting an Ice Dance Clinic on July 9th with Brad Kleffman and Keiffer Hubbell (Madison Hubbell's brother!) so, of course I signed up. 

Looks like we'll be learning some Ice Dance technique, choreography, and an intro to lifts! Should be fun and there are other adults coming (although it's mostly kids). I'm guessing that this is mostly for people who are thinking about dance and want to try it out more than it is for people who are already competing dance but, what the hell, it's free and it's a good opportunity to work on dance for the day.

New Free Dance Choreography Begins!

Lesson today! Christopher finished cutting my music, adding in the changes that I asked for last week. OMG! It's AMAZING! It's fun, it's flirty, it's sassy! Now for choreography!

He threw some new elements at me at the start of our lesson to see what would stick so we worked on Ina Bauers, some spirals, and this other thing that I'm going to call the "Michael Jackson" where I skate, make a sharp turn and get up on both toepicks while I strike a sassy pose. Terrifying at first but I started to get the hang of it. He also mentioned that he really likes my backward catch foot spiral and may consider recycling that into this program (the judges won't remember that I used it in my previous Free Dance). 

We spent the rest of the lesson working on opening choreography. I think we got the first 25 seconds done. It's definitely sassy. There are really sexy glides and toe steps, a neat pivot, the Michael Jackson stop with a smize toward the judges, and some saucy crossovers leading into a maybe forward catch foot spiral. The music feels really fast right now (or at least the music is going faster than my brain can comprehend the movements). 

So now, time to order crystals for the dress and stone the damn thing.

Bonus Practice Day

I had an extra day off this week so I was able to squeeze in an additional day of practice! Yay! I needed it!

Gold Moves - Okay, so I realized that I have been spending a lot of time on the Forward Double 3s but completely ignoring the Backward Double 3s. I think I've been avoiding them because, even though I can do the turns, this move requires more speed and flow. So, I dedicated some serious time to doing these during my practices this week. I focused on the move itself rather than the speed and flow (which I'm hoping will come later once I'm more comfortable with everything). The placement of the turns on this move is quite different than the Forward Double 3s so I have to keep that in mind too. I was able to get one side of the move done (BO-FI) without a foot down but it was hella slow and the pattern was wonky. But hey, I worked on it. I worked on the other Gold Moves as well and I feel like they are improving. Still can't get those damn Backward Brackets done, though. Boo. 

Knee Slides - I worked on them. They are getting better but my right knee is so bruised. Good thing I never wear shorts because it looks gross. I was finally able to get a few where I turn and jut my left leg out without touching the ice with my hands so...progress. 

Spins - My broken leg sit spin really only seems to work if I do them from a standstill. I cannot seem to get it right from the windup yet. These feel a lot lower than my sit spin. I worked on camels too. No backspins. 

Jumps - I had some really nice and floaty Flip Jumps this week. Floaty like my Loop jumps! It feels so good to finally be doing this jump properly and my confidence in them is growing each week. These might be my favorite jump now (after loop jump, of course). 

Footwork - Speaking of loops, I worked on the BI loops down the length of the rink. The LBI loops are smaller than the RBI loops so I need to work on making those more consistent. I had a few RBI loops that were the proper size so I was pleased to see those tracings. I'm definitely getting more comfortable with these. 

Silver Free Skate - Run throughs have been going well minus the whole "I need to get used to my new Flip Jump" stuff. Should be in good enough shape for CSI in September, though.

Be Cunning and Full of Tricks

Lesson today!

I've been so busy at work that, believe it or not, I'm struggling right now trying to remember everything we went over. Libraries are so busy over the summer. My brain is mush. 

New Music - Christopher sent me his cut of the music I chose and I like it but I made a suggestion for changing it slightly. There is a really nice guitar solo in the music that I thought would be a lovely place for footwork so I asked if he could add that. I felt really bad asking him and it's my fault that I didn't just share my thoughts on what I wanted before he cut it. I hate that I don't speak up about stuff sometimes because now he has to edit the thing all over again. #worststudent

Gold Moves - We briefly looked at the Forward Double 3s. He really wants me to focus on looking in the direction of the turn when I'm doing my backward 3s. I know this but I still rush through them every time. 

Twizzles - These were broken today. Really struggled getting these done. 

Loops - Next up, he asked if I had been working on the Loops from last week and I was excited to show him the progress I made. Again, the LBI makes a small loop and the RBI just makes a circle. All of this can be remedied by, you guessed it, bending my knees more. Also, I've been using my free leg as a sort of training wheel for these but he had me do the RBI one with my free leg held crossed in front slightly and HECK YEAH! I made a loop!!!!! So now I have both my LBI and RBI loops. Of course, they need finesse and they are still a bit scratchy on my toepick but I did them! I was pretty excited so he showed me an exercise to work on them alternating down the length of the rink. It looks like the same thing from Junior Moves. Hopefully I can get them good enough to add to the new Free Dance. 

Knee Slides - I was able to make some progress on this as well but as soon as I get down and jut my leg out, I come to a stop. I want one of those dramatic knee slides that turn and then I get back up and continue with my program like a badass. Looks like I need more speed, an LFO 3 turn after getting down, and some knee pads (which I swear I'm going to purchase but I'm researching the best ones for me). 

Illusions - We touched on these a couple of weeks ago but turns out I've been practicing them wrong. The illusion comes on the exit edge of a forward 3 turn, not the entry edge. I tried it this way and I did one that was so good (for me) that it caught me off guard and I promptly fell on my ass. But anyway, now that I know the proper way of doing this, perhaps I can practice it without collecting bruises. 

Spins - We tried to end the lesson with some camel spins but the session was so busy, including three little girls all wearing the sash so I couldn't tell who exactly to look out for. I couldn't focus enough to get a proper entry for a spin. I don't trust small children on the ice. I've been run into before and really would not like a repeat of that. I did some really nice spins in practice so I was a little disappointed that I couldn't whip some out during my lesson. Broken leg sit spins are becoming a thing too so I kinda wanted to show him that I've made some progress there.

I think this is everything we worked on. New stuff is tricky but I'm excited to add some spice to my choreography.

Loopy

Practice this week went very well. I worked on all of the new things Christopher gave me during our last lesson and I dedicated a lot of time to Double 3s. 

Gold Moves - Forward and Backward Power Circles are finally starting to take shape (literally). I'm starting to get the hang of gaining speed while increasing the size of the circle. It's trickier than it seems, ya'll. All of the time I have been putting in with these has the added benefit of making my crossovers stronger overall so that's neat. Yay! Forward Double 3s are coming along too. I'm able to do the full pattern with minimal disruption but I'm still having random "foot down" moments. I skipped Backward Double 3s and went right into Backward Circle 8, which I only did twice. I still need a stronger push at the start of each circle but I'm getting around nearly every time now. Finally, Brackets. FI brackets are nice and controlled, FO brackets struggle but still happen, and backward brackets are just non-existent. Sigh. I feel like once I figure out the backward brackets, I can really start seriously drilling these Gold Moves in preparation for testing. Right now, I feel about 50% capable overall on this test. It sounds like a long time away when I say that I might be ready to test these in a year or two but I think I really need that time. But man, those backwards brackets are the things that are really holding me back right now, otherwise, I think I would be ready next summer if I put in the work. 

Loops - Christopher taught me BI Loops during our previous lesson and I think there's been some improvement this week. The RBI is still a big circle but I had some legit loops with my LBI. I did a few to make sure it wasn't a fluke but how cool to see that kind of progress!

Silver Free Skate - I've been struggling with the Flip jump combos lately in my program because of the new entry and also the new feel to my recently fixed Flip jumps. However, I ran my program at the Y on Sunday and everything worked! I think I'm finally getting used to my new and improved Flip jump. I've come a long way with these. Years ago, I was struggling with the fear of attempting them at all, then I started getting them done but with poor technique, and now I feel like I finally have a legit Flip jump that might at least not get negative GOE! It's been a journey!

New Things!

Lesson today and I was ready for it. I've had so much confidence lately. I think passing my test, getting my Flip jump under control, and spinning well has really helped me feel capable (and when I feel capable, I skate well). First of all, I had a huge fangirl moment when I got to the rink. It's National Pairs Camp at  the Promenade and there were some amazing people there. I got to see Chris Knierim, Timothy LeDuc, and Nathan Bartholomay! It was so cool to see them skate in person!

Lesson - I was first lesson so I did one lap for warmup and then we got right to work discussing the new Free Dance. I did an attitude spin for my Dance Spin element in this previous program and would really like to challenge myself this time. Last year, I was working on a catch foot camel spin and it just didn't come together in time to compete with so that's why we went with the attitude. But now I feel stronger and think I can make it happen. My camels are stronger, yes, but my back flexibility is not. I tried a few and only one of them worked. I spent a lot of time reaching back trying to blindly find my foot to grab. So...stretching. I gotta work on some back bends or something. He had me try what I'm calling a broken leg camel and he really liked it. I go into the camel and bend my free leg as if I'm going in for the catch foot but don't. It was nicely centered and it felt like a lot of revolutions. I don't know. He likes it but it feels like a mistake spin. I'll keep working on it. Next up was a broken leg sit spin. My sit spins were gross today because I really have not been working on them but I had one broken leg sit spin that was actually good! I did it slowly from a standstill on the blue line and he told me to go down so low that my "broken leg" drags on the ice. It was REALLY low! I think being able to anchor myself like that helps me get lower. Something else to work on. We worked on some Twizzles with different arm positions and that was about as expected. These are getting better but slowly. Finally, I told him I wanted to expand my turn vocabulary for this next Free Dance. My FI Brackets are a good contender so he had me work on those with an extended free leg on the exit edge. We touched on Rockers and he introduced me to BI Loops (my attempts were either just really big circles or backward 3 turns. These are HARD). 

Knee Slides - We talked about adding a knee slide so we worked on these for about 10 minutes. My old lady knees hurt to begin with so this didn't feel lovely. I think I got the hang of it but I'm reluctant to go down quickly because of the pain. Time to invest in knee pads, I guess. 

So, it was a good lesson and seeing amazing skaters on the ice helped inspire me as well. Yay for feeling fantastic!