Wednesday Night Practice

Looks like Wednesday nights at APEX are a descent time to go! There were only about 15 people on the ice even though it was a public session. There were a number of figure skaters working on moves and stuff so it was nice. Almost felt like a freestyle session :)

Movez - I worked a lot on edges and they are starting to feel more like they used to. Because I've been off the ice for so long, my initial pushes on the backward edges are pretty weak but that will improve with time. My BI edges are actually better than they were before (odd) and I found myself doing the proper arm and head movements that Christopher wanted. I think maybe I was overthinking them before. Moving on to Waltz 8, I was having a bit of difficulty coming back to the center because my lobes were of unequal size. I'll need to fix that. Forward and Backward Crossovers are getting there. I'm having some issues on the transition. This wasn't a problem before but it is now. Fear is getting in the way and it's kinda pissing me off, to be honest, because this is one of the least scary things I'm working on. Stupid mental blocks. I also spent some time on some Bronze moves namely the Forward & Backward Power Stroking. I worked on flow and pretty arms. Why do I feel like the bronze test will be easier than the pre-bronze?

Jumpz - Still plugging away at those waltz jumps and salchows and they are still very low and small but they are happening so, you know, I cannot complain. The last time I worked on salchows, I did them from a standstill. This time I practiced them from backwards crossovers. I still need much more of a strong check coming out of that three turn. I spent some time at the boards with the toe loop. Honestly, the thought of picking in with my left leg is terrifying. I don't know how I'm supposed to overcome this. :(

Spinz - Holy smokes my spins were terrible! I could not find my center to save my life. Ugh, just ugly. But I did realize how in need of a sharpening I am. Skidding all over the place! I'll drop my skates off at the Pro Shop after my lesson on Saturday.

I took a break for water and Kelly Clarkson's "Stronger (What doesn't kill you)" was playing and it was a nice reminder that I still need to keep fighting to recover. I know my efforts will pay off eventually. This isn't meant to be easy but if anyone can do it, I sure as hell can :)

Competition Musings

So, the 2018 Denver Invitational is coming up in March and I was just poking around looking at their announcement. I don't know, I mean, I feel like I could totally handle participating in the Adult Pre-Bronze Compulsory Moves and I would get some competition practice, regardless of how I place.

Singles Compulsory Moves Requirements: 

• Elements can be performed in any order, as a program, without music 
• No extra elements may be added. Each element may only be attempted once 
• All events will be skated on ½ ice 
• This event is judged using 6.0 
• Entrants in Compulsories may enter any level at/above that which they qualify but may not skate down 
• Entrants may enter max 2 Compulsory Moves events

Adult Pre-Bronze - 1:15 max

 - Backward Crossovers (min 5 consecutive)

 - Waltz Jump

 - Forward Upright Spin (min 3 revolutions)

 - Forward Outside Spiral

Before my injury I could have done these in my sleep but now it's a bit more challenging as I learn to skate again. I think this would be a neat way to work out all my test jitters, too! Besides, where else will I get to wear my new club jacket if not competition ;) I'll talk to Christopher about it on Saturday. 

Link to Entryeeze for my reference

Salchow wow!

I practiced over the weekend and my goal was to attempt a salchow. After warming up, I decided I was comfortable enough to try one from a standstill. It was low and slow (mostly low) but it happened! I did about 4 or 5 of them from a standstill and landed each one but my leg started to hurt so I called it a day.

Little by little, I plan on adding jumps back into my repertoire. I need to keep my expectations low, though. I'm a different skater now so I no longer have that "I'll just fling myself in the air and hope I land it" mentality. I'm a lot more cautious. I know in time as I gain back my confidence I'll get a little more daring, but for now I just want to play it safe to avoid aggravating my injury.

Getting my salchow back is a big deal, though! It means I can practice my Pre-Bronze Free Skate test as originally planned (with the waltz and salchow being my two required jumps). That's exciting! I'm back with Christopher for lessons starting this Saturday so I'll have him take a look and see what he can polish up.

I'm planning on testing on April 13th :)

So, I guess I'm committed now, huh?

I just spent my monies on a skating dress so I have something to wear when I test. So I guess that means I really am going to test now because if I somehow can't, that dress will haunt me from my closet...FOREVER 😆

Stupid Holidays

I'm sorry I've been MIA lately but the holidays get busy, as you know. I have been going to the rink, though, so don't think I'm broken again ;)

Not much to report back on except I had an absolute AMAZING practice the last time I went to APEX. It was a busy public session but they were kind enough to put cones out so I had the entire center rink to myself and it was glorious. I was actually able to work on Pre-Bronze MIF and threw some Bronze MIF in there just for kicks. Obviously, I still have some catching up to do but progress is being made.

I didn't go crazy with jumps. I'm still just doing waltz jumps and side toe hops but I've been working other jumps on the floor and I think I might be ready to transition them back to the ice soon. I was especially worried about the salchow since my left leg is still really hurty but it gets less so each time I do one in my apartment. Now, I just need the confidence to attempt them on the ice without being so tentative.

Spins were pretty spot on. They were consistently centered and after one spin I did, I actually had applause afterward! I mean, granted, even the basics look impressive to people who are just there to skate around with their friends but still, HUGE confidence boost!

Surprisingly, nothing hurt too much during that practice. I've been stretching more and working on improving the dorsiflexion in my left ankle so I think that has been helping a lot. I'll do my best to keep up with it because if this is what brings me back to feeling more like me, then it's worth it :)

As promised, I want to make my official return to the ice now that it's January. This means going back to lessons and contracting with my rink for freestyle ice time. I'm still settling things with Christopher since his schedule has changed slightly but it looks like my old Thursday morning lessons might move to Saturday mornings. I picked up a contract and as soon I get things finalized with Christopher, I'll turn it in and get back on home ice. I cannot wait!

Oh! And I suppose I should talk about goals now that it's a new year and all that.

Skating Goal 1: Pass Pre-Bronze MIF and Free Skate tests. This is a carry over goal from last year since I couldn't test back in August like I wanted to for obvious reasons.

Skating Goal 2: Start preparing for Bronze MIF test. I'm still undecided about the Bronze Free Skate test but I know I definitely want to test through all the moves tests.

Bonus Points Skating Goal: Learn and possibly test the first three ice dances (solo, of course). You know, if this is a thing I can do, I think I might want to try to do it :)

Back to the scene

The Sport Stable had an afternoon weekend session and I thought it might be a good thing to skate there this weekend and return to the place where I broke my leg. It's all part of that thing where you do a scary thing and then once you do it, it's not so scary anymore. Kinda like that first fall.

However...oh my god their ice was awful! But I wanted to check this off my fear list so I got laced up and got on the ice. After a few warm up laps I did a two-foot spin and immediately caught a rut then I tried some edges and caught a rut. The ice was so dangerous and I wasn't about to risk getting hurt again but I at least wanted to land a single jump just to be able to say that I did. The last time I jumped at that rink I had to be wheeled out on a stretcher. I just wanted to cancel that out and land a jump even if it was just a tiny waltz jump. So, I did and then left.

I really don't see myself skating there any more in the future. The public sessions used to be so empty and now they are not. The ice is progressively getting worse and worse. Their main focus at this rink is hockey and the ice shows it. I couldn't find a smooth spot at all! From now on, Apex and my home rink (the Promenade) will be my only options. Even though the Stable is much closer to my house, it will be worth the drive to skate somewhere else that has better ice and, you know, not get hurt.

Finally, a Fall!

Yup! I fell. I finally got that first fall out of the way and honestly, it feels awesome! I was practicing a waltz 8 and just before the step forward and back to center, I got too far back on my blade and down I went. I sat on the ice for a bit trying to figure out if anything hurt and since nothing did (except my pride because I fell on something so easy), I gave Dustin a thumbs up, got back up, and skated some more. He told me that my skating dramatically improved after that fall. It was like I had much more confidence afterward! Ugh, I'm just glad it finally happened and I can move on from here.

Spinz - I actually worked mostly on spins because it was a crowded public session and there were a lot of little kids with walkers whose parents weren't keeping an eye on. I claimed a spot near the center and just spun. For the sake of variety, I worked quite a bit on backspins and I was pleasantly surprised to discover that I don't need to start from scratch with these. I was able to get 3-4 revs in the flamingo position and do an almost proper exit. So yeah, there's that :)

Jumpz - I did a couple of waltz jumps but I was in a lot of pain so I didn't want to do too much. These are just so tiny now. I have zero ups. I need to work on stretching more because right now, I can barely bend my knee over my ankle and I need to be able to do that to get a good take off and any kind of height.

Movez - Again, really crowded session so there weren't many opportunities to work on MIF at all. I did all four edges and waltz 8. I think the reason I fell on the waltz 8 was because I was too busy looking around trying not to run into anyone that I wasn't focused enough on where my body parts were.

I think it may be time to look for freestyle ice. The Sport Stable (where I broke my leg and where they had virtually empty public sessions) is no longer an option because they changed their schedule and now only have weekend evening sessions or REALLY early morning public sessions. I can't practice during a cosmic skate (nor do I want to) and I'm not enough of a morning person to get up that early on a weekend to skate on their crap ice (seriously, hockey ruts everywhere!). I might have to contract for freestyle ice with my home rink or with APEX when the next contract comes out. If I'm contracting, I might just get in touch with Christopher and tell him I'm ready for lessons. Eeeep.