Last week was National Pairs Camp and our rink was hosting it so, instead of being able to attend my regularly scheduled contract sessions, the rink scheduled drop-in sessions for the whole week. I used the last punch in my punch card for Tuesday's lesson so I planned to skip Thursday's practice and skate today at the Sport Stable during a public session. The ice was really bad since they have a habit of not running the zamboni between sessions but I was there so I was determined to make some progress despite the crap ice.
Although I worked on some free skate stuff (jumps, spins, program, etc), I mostly focused on Silver Moves, particularly backward three turns.
8 Step Mohawk - I just did the CCW side and I did things slooooowly, taking my time on each step to get a better feel for things. The outside mohawk is feeling a bit better but I still cannot add speed to it yet without feeling like I might topple over. I'll work on the CW side next time.
Forward & Backward Cross Strokes - I think my forward cross strokes have slightly improved once I put Christoper's corrections into place but I'm still not sure if they are quite right yet. They feel different than how I was doing them before but who knows. The backwards cross strokes still feel impossible. All I'm able to do is step backwards onto my toe pick instead of my edge. I'm sure the answer to this is bend my knees more but ugh, this feels alien.
FO-BI 3 Turns - Breakthrough! I haven't done a back inside 3 turn in 13 years but today I was determined to do one! Per Christopher's suggestion, I started with some back 2-foot turns and then transitioned into doing it on one foot. Since my right leg/ankle/foot is stronger than my left, I only worked on the RBI. At first, I was putting my foot down after the turn but after a few minutes IT HAPPENED! What?! YASSS! And then my muscle memory kicked in from 13 years ago and I was able to do the RBI turns with no problem! My husband took a video of me doing the LFO-RBI 3 turns and I've posted it below as proof that I did them! wOOt!
FI-BO 3 Turns - I just worked on the LFI-RBO 3 turns today because I still don't have an LBO yet but I focused on placing the 3 turns better on each lobe. These feel unstable and shaky but they are getting worked on so no complaints.
Consecutive Outside & Inside Spirals - I feel like I'm getting more comfortable doing these in the full pattern but my left leg is still so unstable that I'm having a hard time extending my right leg above hip height. This is just one of those things that the more I do it the more confident in them I'll become so I have to make a point to work on them each time I practice. This is the only one of the Silver Moves that I can do in its entirety. Sigh.
Forward & Backward Power Pulls - Although I tried the forward power pulls, I can't seem to get enough power or pull to make them happen. I tried doing slaloms and then lifting one leg but I was unsuccessful. I have a better feel for the backward pulls but they tend to fizzle out the farther I go down the rink.
So progress was made today! I know my backward 3 turns are in me somewhere, I just have to pull them out. I imagine once I get over the fear hurdle, they will come back to me pretty quickly like they did today with the RBI 3 turns. It's funny how I wasn't terribly frightened of them 13 years ago. I struggled a bit with them but they didn't terrify me. Now, it's all about fear. I just feel more fragile now, especially after coming back from an injury. But staying in my comfort zone will prevent me from moving forward and progressing as a skater. It might take a while but I'll get my backward 3 turns back. ALL of them! I mean, I've already managed to get my RBO and my RBI turns back so I'm already halfway there, right? 😁
Sunday, June 16, 2019
Tuesday, June 11, 2019
Well, it's a start
Lesson today and we got right to work on Silver Moves. I'm really glad we aren't wasting any time getting to work on these because I can already tell this is going to take me a looooong time to get anywhere close to where these need to be. But, they will get there!
FI-BO 3 Turns in the Field - We started with these because I had posted a video of me attempting these on Facebook and he noticed a lot that needs correcting. One of the main things is that I am not placing the 3 turn at the top of the lobe but, instead, I'm getting about 3/4 of the way through before attempting the turn. I'm also not checking properly and need to remember to keep my free foot close to my skating foot. No extensions! After all that, we worked on the backward 3 turns in isolation. I'm able to do an RBO but the other three haven't been attempted in quite some time. Lot's of anxiety working on these with him today! I really just need to put my big girl panties on and do it. I've done them before a long time ago so I know I can do them. I just need to get myself to try. Hey, I have padded pants. If I fall, I fall. It's all part of learning. Anyway, they need to get worked on because they are part of Bronze Compulsories (both BI 3 turns) so I need to get on it if I'm going to possibly skate at the Bronze level for the Colorado Springs Invitational in September.
Eight Step Mohawk Sequence - We looked at the required steps and we talked about arms for a hot second. I should be switching arms on the 3rd and 6th step. We chose one of the hockey circles and began counter-clockwise and just kind of went through it slowly (I mean, it's not like I have any other choice but to go slow at this point). The struggle was real! This whole thing just feels unnatural. This will take a lot of work.
Forward and Backward Cross Strokes - I thought I at least could do the forward cross strokes but, as it turns out, I am totally not doing them correctly. I can't even wrap my brain around how to do them the right way. When he demonstrated it, it made sense. When I tried it again? Garbage. This is just one of those things I need to get a feel for, I guess. Don't even get me started on the backward cross strokes!
We ran out of time so we stopped there. He reminded me how much I struggled with the Circle 8 and how that ended up being one of my best moves on the test. I just need to be patient with myself and take my time with these. There is a lot to learn and much of it is a challenge for me. But...I like challenges! I can do this!
FI-BO 3 Turns in the Field - We started with these because I had posted a video of me attempting these on Facebook and he noticed a lot that needs correcting. One of the main things is that I am not placing the 3 turn at the top of the lobe but, instead, I'm getting about 3/4 of the way through before attempting the turn. I'm also not checking properly and need to remember to keep my free foot close to my skating foot. No extensions! After all that, we worked on the backward 3 turns in isolation. I'm able to do an RBO but the other three haven't been attempted in quite some time. Lot's of anxiety working on these with him today! I really just need to put my big girl panties on and do it. I've done them before a long time ago so I know I can do them. I just need to get myself to try. Hey, I have padded pants. If I fall, I fall. It's all part of learning. Anyway, they need to get worked on because they are part of Bronze Compulsories (both BI 3 turns) so I need to get on it if I'm going to possibly skate at the Bronze level for the Colorado Springs Invitational in September.
Eight Step Mohawk Sequence - We looked at the required steps and we talked about arms for a hot second. I should be switching arms on the 3rd and 6th step. We chose one of the hockey circles and began counter-clockwise and just kind of went through it slowly (I mean, it's not like I have any other choice but to go slow at this point). The struggle was real! This whole thing just feels unnatural. This will take a lot of work.
Forward and Backward Cross Strokes - I thought I at least could do the forward cross strokes but, as it turns out, I am totally not doing them correctly. I can't even wrap my brain around how to do them the right way. When he demonstrated it, it made sense. When I tried it again? Garbage. This is just one of those things I need to get a feel for, I guess. Don't even get me started on the backward cross strokes!
We ran out of time so we stopped there. He reminded me how much I struggled with the Circle 8 and how that ended up being one of my best moves on the test. I just need to be patient with myself and take my time with these. There is a lot to learn and much of it is a challenge for me. But...I like challenges! I can do this!
Sunday, June 9, 2019
Feeling Unstable
I was so anxious to get started on Silver Moves after passing my test, that I went back to the Sport Stable for a public session. They actually ran the zamboni before the session began so the ice wasn't crap (for once!). Honesty, I have no idea what I'm doing with Silver Moves. I don't know how to do most of the elements on this test but I just kinda wanted to feel things out and get a baseline measurement of my capabilities. The baseline was low, ya'll. Oh, so very low!
Eight Step Mohawk Sequence - Well, I memorized the steps so I know how it's supposed to go but, oh man, this was bad! Particularly disgusting was the FO mohawk. This felt unnatural and kinda scary. Garbage.
Forward and Backward Cross Strokes - The forward cross strokes felt okay enough but the backward cross strokes felt very steppy. I was having a hard time finding my groove with this and I'm sure I looked laughable. Yuck.
FO-BI 3 Turns - Did not attempt at all because I haven't attempted a BI 3 turn in like 13 years. I might need someone to hold my hand on this. Awkward.
FI-BO 3 Turns - Only attempted on the LFI-RBO side and even then it looked unstable at best. Trash.
Consecutive Outside and Inside Spirals - I'm actually proud of myself for doing the full pattern! Spirals are scary and I'm by no means the best spiraler out there but I did the thing! Brave.
Forward and Backward Change of Edge Pulls - The backward power pulls seem easier than the forward ones but these were still awful looking. Rotten.
So yeah, these are a straight disaster. There is a lot of work to be done for sure. This test is such a step up in difficulty from Bronze so I know it's going to take a while to master. I'm giving myself a two year deadline but won't be hard on myself if it takes longer. This is tough!
Eight Step Mohawk Sequence - Well, I memorized the steps so I know how it's supposed to go but, oh man, this was bad! Particularly disgusting was the FO mohawk. This felt unnatural and kinda scary. Garbage.
Forward and Backward Cross Strokes - The forward cross strokes felt okay enough but the backward cross strokes felt very steppy. I was having a hard time finding my groove with this and I'm sure I looked laughable. Yuck.
FO-BI 3 Turns - Did not attempt at all because I haven't attempted a BI 3 turn in like 13 years. I might need someone to hold my hand on this. Awkward.
FI-BO 3 Turns - Only attempted on the LFI-RBO side and even then it looked unstable at best. Trash.
Consecutive Outside and Inside Spirals - I'm actually proud of myself for doing the full pattern! Spirals are scary and I'm by no means the best spiraler out there but I did the thing! Brave.
Forward and Backward Change of Edge Pulls - The backward power pulls seem easier than the forward ones but these were still awful looking. Rotten.
So yeah, these are a straight disaster. There is a lot of work to be done for sure. This test is such a step up in difficulty from Bronze so I know it's going to take a while to master. I'm giving myself a two year deadline but won't be hard on myself if it takes longer. This is tough!
Friday, June 7, 2019
Bronze Moves in the Field - Test Recap
Test Day!!!
I got to the rink early enough to skate on one of the early morning freestyle sessions. This really helped calm my nerves and get everything loose. I ran through the entirety of the test and everything felt as it should so I spent the rest of the time working on some jumps and footwork for my Star Wars program. When the session was over, I had about 15 minutes to wait around until it was time to get on test ice for my official warm-up. I spoke with Christopher for a bit and then it was 8:00am and time for our warm-up to begin except...the judges were running late! They had not arrived yet and the lady who had all of the test forms had also not arrived so, myself and the first tester actually had more than a 10 minute warm up. I think it might have been 15 minutes? During that time I ran through everything and we made some last minute adjustments. At this point, I just wanted to take the test and be done with it. The judges were finally ready and then I had to wait a bit more for the first tester to finish. Then...showtime! The video is below and I am putting each of the judges comments and scores in italics under the recap of each move.
Perimeter Power Stroking - There was one bobble (hello nerves!) on my second lobe but I quickly recovered and was able to finish out the rest of the move with no issues.
Judge Victoria - Forward stroking = pretty good power. Backward strong stroking. Score +1
Judge Lee Anne - *no comment* Score 0
Judge Karen - *no comment* Score +1
Forward Power 3 Turns - This went as planned. I have been working on improving the transition going into the second half so it has more power and doesn't look like I'm walking the steps. This gave my bad side more power so I was able to do 3 lobes on both sides with no problem. This has been my most troublesome move but the extra time I spent improving it made a difference!
Judge Victoria - Good flow and strength of turns. Score 0
Judge Lee Anne - *no comment* Score +1
Judge Karen - Excellent control throughout. Score +2
Alternating BX-BO Edges - Christopher told me to make it BIG so I took up the whole rink! One little bobble on the 4th lobe but nothing major. I thought this went well.
Judge Victoria - Nice flow. Good strength of strokes. Score +1
Judge Lee Anne - *no comment* Score +1
Judge Karen - Nice extension. Score +1
Forward Circle 8 - This is my best move out of the bunch so I really wanted to do it well to make up for any points lost elsewhere. This went exactly as practiced and felt pretty damn good!
Judge Victoria - Edges (unreadable) both inside and outside. Score +1
Judge Lee Anne - Excellent control. Score +2
Judge Karen - Very good edge quality. Score +2
Five Step Mohawk Sequence - At one time, I thought this was my best move. It ended up being my weakest. It was a bit scratchy as noted by one of the judges and I didn't feel like I had good flow. But, it was passable. I'll take the judges criticism to heart and work on some of these things. Of course, this is all stuff Christopher has told me to improve all along but I just haven't been able to. Back to the drawing board on this one.
Judge Victoria - An even softer skating knee would have been nicer. Score 0
Judge Lee Anne - Often stepped onto flats, not edges. Score 0
Judge Karen - Good bilateral ability. Some scratchiness. Score 0
Final Scores
Judge Victoria - Score = +3 Pass
Judge Lee Anne - Score = +4 Pass
Judge Karen - Score = +6 Pass with Honors (!!!)
I got to the rink early enough to skate on one of the early morning freestyle sessions. This really helped calm my nerves and get everything loose. I ran through the entirety of the test and everything felt as it should so I spent the rest of the time working on some jumps and footwork for my Star Wars program. When the session was over, I had about 15 minutes to wait around until it was time to get on test ice for my official warm-up. I spoke with Christopher for a bit and then it was 8:00am and time for our warm-up to begin except...the judges were running late! They had not arrived yet and the lady who had all of the test forms had also not arrived so, myself and the first tester actually had more than a 10 minute warm up. I think it might have been 15 minutes? During that time I ran through everything and we made some last minute adjustments. At this point, I just wanted to take the test and be done with it. The judges were finally ready and then I had to wait a bit more for the first tester to finish. Then...showtime! The video is below and I am putting each of the judges comments and scores in italics under the recap of each move.
Perimeter Power Stroking - There was one bobble (hello nerves!) on my second lobe but I quickly recovered and was able to finish out the rest of the move with no issues.
Judge Victoria - Forward stroking = pretty good power. Backward strong stroking. Score +1
Judge Lee Anne - *no comment* Score 0
Judge Karen - *no comment* Score +1
Forward Power 3 Turns - This went as planned. I have been working on improving the transition going into the second half so it has more power and doesn't look like I'm walking the steps. This gave my bad side more power so I was able to do 3 lobes on both sides with no problem. This has been my most troublesome move but the extra time I spent improving it made a difference!
Judge Victoria - Good flow and strength of turns. Score 0
Judge Lee Anne - *no comment* Score +1
Judge Karen - Excellent control throughout. Score +2
Alternating BX-BO Edges - Christopher told me to make it BIG so I took up the whole rink! One little bobble on the 4th lobe but nothing major. I thought this went well.
Judge Victoria - Nice flow. Good strength of strokes. Score +1
Judge Lee Anne - *no comment* Score +1
Judge Karen - Nice extension. Score +1
Forward Circle 8 - This is my best move out of the bunch so I really wanted to do it well to make up for any points lost elsewhere. This went exactly as practiced and felt pretty damn good!
Judge Victoria - Edges (unreadable) both inside and outside. Score +1
Judge Lee Anne - Excellent control. Score +2
Judge Karen - Very good edge quality. Score +2
Five Step Mohawk Sequence - At one time, I thought this was my best move. It ended up being my weakest. It was a bit scratchy as noted by one of the judges and I didn't feel like I had good flow. But, it was passable. I'll take the judges criticism to heart and work on some of these things. Of course, this is all stuff Christopher has told me to improve all along but I just haven't been able to. Back to the drawing board on this one.
Judge Victoria - An even softer skating knee would have been nicer. Score 0
Judge Lee Anne - Often stepped onto flats, not edges. Score 0
Judge Karen - Good bilateral ability. Some scratchiness. Score 0
Final Scores
Judge Victoria - Score = +3 Pass
Judge Lee Anne - Score = +4 Pass
Judge Karen - Score = +6 Pass with Honors (!!!)
Thursday, June 6, 2019
Second Tester!
Ok, test day is tomorrow, ya'll! Yikes! I finally got my time slot for the test and it looks like I'm the second tester of the day. Another skater and I will get on the ice at 8:00am for our 10 minute warm-up and then I get off so she can skate her Junior Moves (adult). I am scheduled to go on right after her. I really wish they would have had me go first, though. I feel like, compared to her, I'm going to look like garbage no matter how well I do. I know I shouldn't feel that way...but I do. Sigh. I plan on dropping in for 45 minutes on the early morning session (7:00-7:45) so I can get properly warmed up and do some last minute spot checks. I didn't do that last year and I think it would have benefited me.
This morning's session was crowded as usual but it seems as though the Thursday session has just slightly fewer skaters on it so I was able to get some work done. I ran through all of my field moves for the test but after 30 minutes of that I really just wanted to work on other things. I'm ready to be done with Bronze moves! They are getting stale. I won't talk about the work I did with moves today only because it's pretty much where I left them last time. They are solid and I am ready for the test!
Jumpz - I spent a lot of time on the salchow today. Months ago, I was obsessed with fixing my toe loops and, since those are fine now, I really need to work on getting my salchow less spinny. I worked on making the 3 turn more straight and checking it better so I'm not relying on the momentum from that to get around on the jump. I also focused on making sure my free knee is up so that my free leg is in an h position. This all seemed to slow my salchow down a bit. Not a lot, but a bit. Progress. I also looked at my loop jumps today because I really want to get better at crossing my free leg in front on the second loop jump when I do it as a combo. Not much progress here but it got worked on. Finally, flip jumps. It's been a while since I've done any because I've been so consumed with the test. I'm happy to report that I'm still not scared to do them and, in fact, I think the time away from them was beneficial because they just felt better over all. Notably, I felt like I was launching a bit more from the toe pick instead of feeling like I'm taking off two-footed.
Spinz - I had some really good ones today! I started off by looking at my attitude spin coming out of the toe loop (aka the ending of my free skate program). The first one I did was perfectly centered so I just rode it out as long as I could. I don't know how many revolutions I got but I felt like I was spinning forever! Nice! I did some more attitude spins before moving on to sit spins. These were just okay today. I think part of the problem is that I stopped doing squats because 1). they are boring and 2). my right knee is crackling. As a result, my sit spins didn't feel as low as they have been lately but at least the spinning part is happening. I don't want to go back to doing as many squats as I was doing (I got up to 200+ a day!) but I think I should at least do 75 as part of my off ice warm up. It helps my ankle mobility at least. I dabbled in some backspins but was too afraid of doing camel spins on a crowded session.
Miscz - In the last 10 minutes or so, I wanted to just work on some new things. I tried my hand at the 8 step mohawk and miserably failed. I know the steps in my head but putting them to ice was a bit of a train wreck. Following that bit of suck, I added to it by trying backward cross strokes and I think I just looked silly so I moved on to BI 3 turns and botched them as well. Silver Moves are going to be hard! I am not good at this! lol.
This morning's session was crowded as usual but it seems as though the Thursday session has just slightly fewer skaters on it so I was able to get some work done. I ran through all of my field moves for the test but after 30 minutes of that I really just wanted to work on other things. I'm ready to be done with Bronze moves! They are getting stale. I won't talk about the work I did with moves today only because it's pretty much where I left them last time. They are solid and I am ready for the test!
Jumpz - I spent a lot of time on the salchow today. Months ago, I was obsessed with fixing my toe loops and, since those are fine now, I really need to work on getting my salchow less spinny. I worked on making the 3 turn more straight and checking it better so I'm not relying on the momentum from that to get around on the jump. I also focused on making sure my free knee is up so that my free leg is in an h position. This all seemed to slow my salchow down a bit. Not a lot, but a bit. Progress. I also looked at my loop jumps today because I really want to get better at crossing my free leg in front on the second loop jump when I do it as a combo. Not much progress here but it got worked on. Finally, flip jumps. It's been a while since I've done any because I've been so consumed with the test. I'm happy to report that I'm still not scared to do them and, in fact, I think the time away from them was beneficial because they just felt better over all. Notably, I felt like I was launching a bit more from the toe pick instead of feeling like I'm taking off two-footed.
Spinz - I had some really good ones today! I started off by looking at my attitude spin coming out of the toe loop (aka the ending of my free skate program). The first one I did was perfectly centered so I just rode it out as long as I could. I don't know how many revolutions I got but I felt like I was spinning forever! Nice! I did some more attitude spins before moving on to sit spins. These were just okay today. I think part of the problem is that I stopped doing squats because 1). they are boring and 2). my right knee is crackling. As a result, my sit spins didn't feel as low as they have been lately but at least the spinning part is happening. I don't want to go back to doing as many squats as I was doing (I got up to 200+ a day!) but I think I should at least do 75 as part of my off ice warm up. It helps my ankle mobility at least. I dabbled in some backspins but was too afraid of doing camel spins on a crowded session.
Miscz - In the last 10 minutes or so, I wanted to just work on some new things. I tried my hand at the 8 step mohawk and miserably failed. I know the steps in my head but putting them to ice was a bit of a train wreck. Following that bit of suck, I added to it by trying backward cross strokes and I think I just looked silly so I moved on to BI 3 turns and botched them as well. Silver Moves are going to be hard! I am not good at this! lol.
Tuesday, June 4, 2019
It's all up to me now!
Today was my final lesson with Christopher before my test on Friday. It was another crowded session but he promised me he would skate along with me as I did my moves to keep me from running over children, or vice versa. Even still, it was nearly impossible to move around the rink with so many littles.
Power Perimeter Stroking - He seemed happy about me doing a better job staying true to the axis (I still have my moments, though!). I'm also consistently getting on the FI edge right after the crossover on the forward strokes so that's nice. He would like to see a bit more emphasis on the BI edge on the backward strokes, though. Other than that, things look fine here.
Power 3 Turns - He reminded me to count the steps in my head because I have a tendency to rush the back crossover. When I remember to count, things even out a bit more and I'm able to extend things out a bit.
BX-BO edges - Well, this just felt too dangerous to do as a whole but from the few lobes I was able to do, he seemed to like them enough. He pointed out that I'm extending for too long on the final step. Extend enough to return to the axis, then step forward, then present.
Circle 8 - We couldn't do this in the middle because it was a right proper zoo over there so we did them at the end of the rink using the middle part between hockey circles as my starting point. I did two circles and as I was returning to center, a little girl appeared out of nowhere and stood.right.there! I skated over and stood next to Christopher and we just kinda stared at her and had to laugh a little at how impossible these sessions are. Once she moved, I started again. According to him, this is by far my strongest move so, if I botch things up elsewhere in the test, I might be able to make up some points here. Let's hope anyway. At least I won't have little girls standing in the center of my pattern!
Five Step Mohawks - We spent a bit of time on this. I think my flow was off today (probably because it was so distracting) because some lobes were stronger than others. I just need to remember to count, keep my feet together on each step, twist my body properly on the 3rd step (I either twist too much or not enough), and don't cheat my lobes. You know, details.
At the end of our lesson, he mentioned that he thinks I'm much more prepared for this test than I was for my Pre-Bronze test a year ago. I think I've grown a lot as a skater in this past year and I'm much stronger and confident now so that makes a difference. He reminded me to stay calm, trust myself, and exude confidence. I know what to do, I've trained for it, now I just need to go out there and show the judges what I'm made of :)
Power Perimeter Stroking - He seemed happy about me doing a better job staying true to the axis (I still have my moments, though!). I'm also consistently getting on the FI edge right after the crossover on the forward strokes so that's nice. He would like to see a bit more emphasis on the BI edge on the backward strokes, though. Other than that, things look fine here.
Power 3 Turns - He reminded me to count the steps in my head because I have a tendency to rush the back crossover. When I remember to count, things even out a bit more and I'm able to extend things out a bit.
BX-BO edges - Well, this just felt too dangerous to do as a whole but from the few lobes I was able to do, he seemed to like them enough. He pointed out that I'm extending for too long on the final step. Extend enough to return to the axis, then step forward, then present.
Circle 8 - We couldn't do this in the middle because it was a right proper zoo over there so we did them at the end of the rink using the middle part between hockey circles as my starting point. I did two circles and as I was returning to center, a little girl appeared out of nowhere and stood.right.there! I skated over and stood next to Christopher and we just kinda stared at her and had to laugh a little at how impossible these sessions are. Once she moved, I started again. According to him, this is by far my strongest move so, if I botch things up elsewhere in the test, I might be able to make up some points here. Let's hope anyway. At least I won't have little girls standing in the center of my pattern!
Five Step Mohawks - We spent a bit of time on this. I think my flow was off today (probably because it was so distracting) because some lobes were stronger than others. I just need to remember to count, keep my feet together on each step, twist my body properly on the 3rd step (I either twist too much or not enough), and don't cheat my lobes. You know, details.
At the end of our lesson, he mentioned that he thinks I'm much more prepared for this test than I was for my Pre-Bronze test a year ago. I think I've grown a lot as a skater in this past year and I'm much stronger and confident now so that makes a difference. He reminded me to stay calm, trust myself, and exude confidence. I know what to do, I've trained for it, now I just need to go out there and show the judges what I'm made of :)
Sunday, June 2, 2019
Feeling Stable
My test is this Friday and I need some extra time on the ice so I found a freestyle session at the Sport Stable. Initially, I thought I would only be able to make the 4:00pm public session but, as luck would have it, my schedule opened up and I was able to attend the 2:00pm freestyle. Cool!
After my off-ice warm up, I met another adult skater in the lobby who belongs to one of our neighboring clubs (and she recognized me from Sectionals!). It was nice to know that I would be sharing the ice with another adult skater. Can I just say what a rare luxury this is? It was so nice to skate with someone who respects space and is observant of their surroundings. I've been skating with small children for so long that I forgot how much I can accomplish when I don't have to spend most of my time dodging kids who don't look where they are going. Lovely!
Before getting on the ice, though, I was quickly reminded once again why I rarely come here. The ice is dangerous! They didn't seem like they were planning to zam the ice before my session and, when the zamboni guy saw me waiting by the boards to get on the ice, he approached me and said that the zamboni was leaking hydraulic fluid and he can zam the ice if I want but there will be oil on the ice. Ok, so, it's not really a choice then? I either skate on uncut ice or skate on oily ice? I'll take my chance with the torn up ice, thank you. So, yeah, the ice was rough and snowy but it was better than skating on an oil slick. This place is so beyond terrible. Just when I think they can't disappoint me more than they did the last time, they outdo themselves. Bravo!
Anyway, I took this as a challenge. If I can perform my test moves on crap ice, I can certainly do well on test day with decent ice, right? After my on-ice warm up, I started with the Circle 8. As rough as the ice was, I was able to do several rounds that I think would be passable. The ice was so bad that there were a few moments where I barely made it back to center but, I did. Seriously, if I can make this move happen on terrible ice, I'll be fine for the test! I ran through the whole test several times just as I would on test day and everything feels fine. I'm feeling pretty good about possibly passing.
Since the session was nearly two hours, I had plenty of time to work on some other things as well. I did a few complete run throughs of my program and then I did some work on cleaning up sections of the program. I dabbled in some alternating 3 turns on the blue line (the 4th move from the Preliminary mif) and those were pretty terrifying but it's a good exercise to get the feeling of the twist your upper body needs to do to return to the axis. I think this helped my power 3 turns a smidge! I also started work on a couple of the Silver moves, namely the FI-BO 3 turns, forward cross strokes, and consecutive outside spirals (I didn't do the inside spirals). I feel like Silver moves will be the death of me. Sigh.
One thing I did today that was pretty amazing (and I didn't even realize it until I got home) was that I did loop jumps on this ice! The last time I did a loop jump at the Sport Stable, my leg broke in two places but today, I just...did them. I did so many and I didn't even think about what happened last time I did them here! I really feel like that's progress!
But seriously, readers, if you live in the Denver metro area and you are tempted to skate at the Sport Stable for whatever reason, stay away! You'll probably die here (or at the very least break bones). This has been a public service announcement :)
After my off-ice warm up, I met another adult skater in the lobby who belongs to one of our neighboring clubs (and she recognized me from Sectionals!). It was nice to know that I would be sharing the ice with another adult skater. Can I just say what a rare luxury this is? It was so nice to skate with someone who respects space and is observant of their surroundings. I've been skating with small children for so long that I forgot how much I can accomplish when I don't have to spend most of my time dodging kids who don't look where they are going. Lovely!
Before getting on the ice, though, I was quickly reminded once again why I rarely come here. The ice is dangerous! They didn't seem like they were planning to zam the ice before my session and, when the zamboni guy saw me waiting by the boards to get on the ice, he approached me and said that the zamboni was leaking hydraulic fluid and he can zam the ice if I want but there will be oil on the ice. Ok, so, it's not really a choice then? I either skate on uncut ice or skate on oily ice? I'll take my chance with the torn up ice, thank you. So, yeah, the ice was rough and snowy but it was better than skating on an oil slick. This place is so beyond terrible. Just when I think they can't disappoint me more than they did the last time, they outdo themselves. Bravo!
Anyway, I took this as a challenge. If I can perform my test moves on crap ice, I can certainly do well on test day with decent ice, right? After my on-ice warm up, I started with the Circle 8. As rough as the ice was, I was able to do several rounds that I think would be passable. The ice was so bad that there were a few moments where I barely made it back to center but, I did. Seriously, if I can make this move happen on terrible ice, I'll be fine for the test! I ran through the whole test several times just as I would on test day and everything feels fine. I'm feeling pretty good about possibly passing.
Since the session was nearly two hours, I had plenty of time to work on some other things as well. I did a few complete run throughs of my program and then I did some work on cleaning up sections of the program. I dabbled in some alternating 3 turns on the blue line (the 4th move from the Preliminary mif) and those were pretty terrifying but it's a good exercise to get the feeling of the twist your upper body needs to do to return to the axis. I think this helped my power 3 turns a smidge! I also started work on a couple of the Silver moves, namely the FI-BO 3 turns, forward cross strokes, and consecutive outside spirals (I didn't do the inside spirals). I feel like Silver moves will be the death of me. Sigh.
One thing I did today that was pretty amazing (and I didn't even realize it until I got home) was that I did loop jumps on this ice! The last time I did a loop jump at the Sport Stable, my leg broke in two places but today, I just...did them. I did so many and I didn't even think about what happened last time I did them here! I really feel like that's progress!
But seriously, readers, if you live in the Denver metro area and you are tempted to skate at the Sport Stable for whatever reason, stay away! You'll probably die here (or at the very least break bones). This has been a public service announcement :)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)