Sunny/Stormy 1 May - 7 May 2005 [Archive]

jenlyon60

05-02-2005, 09:11 AM

Sunny because it's sunny right now, stormy... well they are calling for a chance of storms later today...

anyways.. it was Tango day.

Sunny: Large chunks of the dance are definitely better and stronger, and for the most part, the partnering is better. We choreo'd the ending for Pro-Am... another dip. So I get to dip on the intro and dip on the ending...

For much of the lesson, coach and I had the ice all to ourselves.

Stormy: We did a 2-pattern sequence to the music and the 2nd pattern reeked royally. Very little flow from right after the cross-roll RFO3 through to the end of the dance. Said to coach that we need to do a lot of 2-pattern or 1 1/2 pattern sequences, because normally a 1-pattern sequence with exit is pretty good.

MusicSkateFan

05-02-2005, 09:30 AM

Sunny: Skated on Saturday at rink where New Years Adult competition was held. Quiet freestyle session! no more than 5 skaters on Ice! I had great moves workout! My back crossovers were great! I got to do power 3's...all aspects of bronze moves went well. Worked on jumps...those were good. Only tried a couple of combos.

Stormy: It was a 45 minute drive in the rain to get there! My skates are holding me back....new ones to come soon but not in time for Adult Workshop on Saturday :cry:

Skate@Delaware

05-02-2005, 10:13 AM

Sunny: got to skate on Saturday!!! Scratch spin was back!!! Even did some waltz jumps!!! Get to skate on Saturday again at the Adult Edge Workshop-hopefully I won't look like a doofus (unless my back stays cricked, then I won't be able to help it). I even found a 'skate' dress at a thrift shop (or it will be a skate dress when I get done with it.

Stormy: nerve compression on foot started burning/numbing after 1.5 hours so at the end of the session I was ready to get off the ice; I've got to fix something in my skate for it. Lower back was also acting up-get to see the chiropractor today (Monday) to correct it. I have a feeling it was all the junk I've been moving/cleaning/tossing out at home on Wednesday, because it didn't start hurting until Thursday.

MusicSkateFan--don't feel bad-I've got no moves and no jumps! (I've been told waltz jumps don't count :cry: )

jenlyon60

05-02-2005, 10:26 AM

Flo and I managed to start new "how goes it" threads at almost the same time!!!

Rob Dean

05-02-2005, 10:34 AM

Sunny: Yesterday's lesson was a good one. I'd had time since the last one to memorize the pattern for the Dutch Waltz (gotta start somewhere :) ) so we had a chance to work a little on the presentation of the moves, and to try out the Canasta Tango as well. On the other hand, it needed to be a good one...

Stormy: ...as we got word on Friday that the rink we have been skating at was permanently closing as of yesterday, with dismantling to begin today. :cry: :cry: That leaves us no prepared fallback position, so I have no idea where or when the next lesson will be.

Rob Dean

flo

05-02-2005, 10:52 AM

oops! Good timing! 8O

Isk8NYC

05-02-2005, 11:37 AM

I waited to see which thread to post on - glad we came to an agreement - LOL!

Sunny: Looking forward to show practice this evening. I'm going to try and go early so I can see the other groups' programs.

Stormy: Still faking those footwork steps. Ah, well. My skates gave me some stupendous arch cramps last week. I'm going to try and warm up my foot muscles better before putting on my skates tonight. Any stretching tips?

Mrs Redboots

05-02-2005, 01:49 PM

Sunny: Got our test papers sent off, so all should be in line for Thursday. Coach will confirm later - hope it is, because if it isn't, we won't be able to test until next Winter.

Runthroughs mostly okay, once I slipped on my RFO3 and didn't make it, but mostly they went well. Coach incredibly picky.....

Stormy: But after Thursday, we only have 4 more lessons before we have to compete the thing at Bracknell! We're away for a fortnight and have 2 other competitions to prep for. MAJOR PANIC because test dance is 1 mn & competition 1'30", plus it has been dumbed down to the max for testing.

So I think that as husband is only working for his level 4 moves in his private lessons, and isn't ready to test them yet, we'll grab his private lesson "for the duration" and get his coach to work on the free dance with us, then use our 30-minute lesson with our normal coach to work on the compulsories. Plus I am going to have to do a 2-minute cut of my Interpretive music and get that choregraphed before we go, even though the MC only requires 1'40". Sheesh, why can't there be a bit of joined-up thinking here, I don't think Barbara always realises how awkward things are for the UK contingent....

Sunny again: I almost forgot - I actually spun on the sweet spot of my blades! And husband and I were playing with the "last 30 seconds" of our free dance (we've decided to change it from last year's version, which didn't work very well), and he actually managed to lift me, although from a standstill....

Plus I think we'll get Xavier or Lionel to give us a private lesson during the MC Camp.... maybe it won't be so awful, after all..... and if we come last, that'll be no change there, then!

kiwibabe

05-02-2005, 03:10 PM

Sunny Had 1 1/2 hours of lessons last night, 1 hour figure skating and 1/2 hour learning to ice dance for the first time. My mohawks are getting much better, my inside edges are pretty good too. Had lots of fun with husband trying to learn dutch waltz.

Stormy I had missed the previous group lesson as I was overseas and didn't learn how to do outside edges until last night, the coach was grumping at me for not doing them properly. Learning the dutch waltz, which uses outside edges so I was doing pretty badly, luckily husband kept me upright and we didn't fall over. I can't do 3 turns to save myself.

Isk8NYC

05-02-2005, 04:02 PM

kiwibabe's post reminded me of my chuckle for the day:

I just checked out my profile on USFSA.org, and looked at my registered tests. Now, I tested in the 1980's, so I didn't expect anything to be on the page. I burst out laughing: it shows I passed the DUTCH WALTZ! It's funny because there weren't any freestyle tests passed, which I don't think is accurate since I competed freestyle. It's hilarious to me because I never liked Dance! I don't even remember taking the test!

Terri C

05-02-2005, 07:11 PM

Sunny:
Had lesson today- coach says that there is improvement on the power perimeter stroking. Spins were not bad.

Stormy:
Coach told me that between the power perimeter stroking and my salchow, she sees where I have a hard time trusting a back inside edge. She suggested practicing back edges, which I did, that took away any chance of running a program. Or, I should really say, I'm just not that motivated to do my programs- heck I have 4 months until Peach!

skatemex

05-02-2005, 07:17 PM

Sunny
I did my first test yesterday and passed, it was very easy . Only forward and back cross overs in both directions, bunny hops, spirals forward and backward in all the edges, pivots, 2 foot spin, slides and all the stops.
I'm also very happy with my coach, he's really nice and patient.

Stormy:
I'm learning the axel, but I can't rotate it enough, the best has been one quarter cheated, it seems like I'll never get it.

iskatealot

05-02-2005, 07:25 PM

Stormy: Literally! it is the second on may and we had snow and hail today.
Also I landed my axel a couple times but haven't been able to repeat it.

Sunny: I LANDED my axel a couple times!! Im also testing Keats Foxtrot on wednesday!

dbny

05-02-2005, 11:12 PM

Sunny:
I found out today that the costume company can supply mine in time for me to be in the coaches' number in our show on 5/21, so I wrote out my check and stayed for the rehearsal.

Stormy:
I'm in the @#!%*# coaches' number. Almost the first thing that happened to me at the rehearsal was that I took a tremendous flop on the little dancy steps, which look easy, and probably are, if you are under 50 and have some turnout. I went straight down with a huge thud and one of those jolts right up my spine to my skull. Didn't even think about my right wrist until a friend asked me about it, having remembered that I broke it on a similar fall several years ago. Right arm is sore, but everything seems OK. I took 600 mg of ibuprofen right away, and will probably spend some time on a heating pad later. Another fun thing about this is that everything they are doing is too fast for me. My coach (one of the best skaters in it), said to me afterwards, that I would pick it all up. Yeah, right, maybe if I had three months instead of three weeks. Anyway, starting at 3 PM, I had skated for 1.5 hours for myself, had 40 min off, then taught for 30 minutes and had another 30 minutes off before rehearsal. I had to stop at the supermarket on the way home, which of course, was in the rain. And I had to cook dinner for hubby when I got home. It was just finished when he came in at a quarter past 11. At least I should sleep well tonight :roll:.

jazzpants

05-03-2005, 02:10 AM

Sunny:
Went to weekend rink and it wasn't as crowded today! HOORAY!!!

Stormy:
The Zam was down for the count and I was skating on CRAPPY ICE!!! They did finally get the Zam running again... just as I was taking off my skates to go to the gym!!! :evil: :frus:

Also, not much energy in me to skate. I didn't even want to go to the gym afterwards but I need all the gym time I can get.

jazzpants

05-03-2005, 02:22 AM

Sunny:
Much smoother ice and the rink wasn't that crowded tonight so I got some good practice in. Still could get the right amount of speed vs. consistency on the power 3's.

Stormy:
Watched primary coach took a nasty spill on his butt/back. He had to sit in the penalty box until he was able to skate and was escorted off the ice to go home. :cry:

Mrs Redboots

05-03-2005, 10:06 AM

Oh dear, Jazzpants, I do hope he is okay. Please give him my best wishes.

My husband landed on his hip today, which hurt. He frequently lands on his bottom, which he doesn't mind, but took a minute or two to recover from his hip fall - he's working on outside Mohawks and cannot keep his feet underneath him. Not too surprising, really, since his sticks his bottom out and looks at the ice while he's doing them..... He has wonderful speed & flow most of the time, far better than mine (some of you would be very jealous of his alternating 3s, I know I am), but his posture is disgraceful for an ice-dancer!

Anyway, Sunny: My boots are so comfortable now I barely notice them! I am loving the responsiveness of my new blades, too - I just bend my knees an inch more and they shoot off way faster ("I told you that!" said my coach. "Yes," said I, "but until now nothing happened when I did it!")

We ran through our free dance a couple of times. It's okay - it'll have need to be, the test is definitely on for Thursday morning! Husband and coach are both convinced we'll fail, but I am optimistic. Anyway, if we do, at least we'll get some feedback - and it's only level 1, when you think what they do pass at Level 1.... well, we'll see.

Stormy: My Interp.... I don't like it! I mean, I do - I love the music, and what I'm trying to do, and some of it's fine, but the beginning is awful. I'm going to have to rechoreograph it, I think, or get my coach to help me. I do want to keep the twizzles if I can (I can do a beautiful double RBI twizzle, and it's the only double twizzle I have), but I am not sure they are working.... Some of it's working just fine, though.... and if I'm going to do a 2-minute version for this country, I shall have to get it up and running before I go to the Mountain Cup, as I won't have a lesson between then and the first competition I want to do the 2-minute version at!

I think I shall be a much happier woman on 27 June!

jazzpants

05-03-2005, 10:49 AM

Oh dear, Jazzpants, I do hope he is okay. Please give him my best wishes.I will. And no worries... he'll be okay. I did noticed that he went around the rink with the person that escorted him off the ice... just went around with the friend and talking afterwards right before getting escorted off the ice. And I did see him walk out of the rink with the friend, so I think with some ice he should be okay. (Or at least I sure hope so... I have a makeup lesson today with him!) :P

Good luck on your test!!! Pass or not, at least you'll get feedback from the judges.

Isk8NYC

05-03-2005, 04:12 PM

Stormy: I'm in the @#!%*# coaches' number.

Good news, bad news, who knows? Be of good cheer and just fake it. Remember: when I tell you to try the little steps on the wall, I mean it.

SUNNY:
Practice went all right last night. They rearranged the group again and because the choreographers are in it, they've stopped watching the other skaters. We're getting near the end of the program.

Other than the "dancy little dance steps", I'm doing well with the routine. Speed's not an issue - it's the artistry. Did a couple of great back spins as well as a sit spin.

STORMY:
Have to work on the artistic arms and motions. And the deathly dance steps.

Terri C

05-03-2005, 06:42 PM

Stormy: ...as we got word on Friday that the rink we have been skating at was permanently closing as of yesterday, with dismantling to begin today. :cry: :cry: That leaves us no prepared fallback position, so I have no idea where or when the next lesson will be.

Just curious, where is this?

Sunny today:
Moves rocked on lesson today, as did my scratch and sit spins and salchow!

Stormy:
Coach #2 asked me to try a chage foot spin today- I haven't done one since my ISI days!
I also felt that my toe loop was a little off- Coach said it was good, but it didn't feel right. i told her I noticed that the jumps are backsliding because of moves!

Rob Dean

05-03-2005, 06:55 PM

Just curious, where is this?

Benfield Pines Ice Rink in Severna Park, Maryland. There are other rinks around, so I've got places to practice; so I am sorrier for the rest of the regulars there than for myself; one teary teen mentioned that she had been skating there since she was two at the last session on Sunday, and the sale was finalized in the middle of a lesson etc. session, just a few weeks before everything was due to go down for maintenance anyway. What difference would three weeks have made to the buyer? It seems gratuitously cruel. Anyway, I am on hold for lessons until my coach is in with another rink. :cry:

Rob Dean

Figureskates

05-03-2005, 07:15 PM

Ran through all the elements for the pre-figures test.

Sunny: Edges forwards and backwards A-OK. Figure eights Ok except for a curious little wobble on my left leg when I shift my foot from back to front. Coach sez standing up straighter should solve the problem. I do OK on my right and she sez my back is nice and straight.

Stormy: Waltz 8. Ok except in the transition from backout edge to forward outside edge. Too scratchy and I don't open my hips up enough.

NCSkater02

05-03-2005, 07:29 PM

Ok, I did the Wow! or Woops! thread so I'll just say on this one

I skated today!

:D :D :D :D

Only 14 weeks off ice. :roll:

cutiesk8r43

05-03-2005, 07:34 PM

Sunny: I skated today and my coach was in a good mood and I landed my axel! :D yaaaaay! :D thanx everybody for your advice! it helped.

Storm: my program is still a little shaky :roll:

jazzpants

05-04-2005, 01:55 AM

Edited to add: Welcome back on the ice, NCSkater02! :mrgreen:

Sunny:

The majority of the moves are stable or getting better...

Power 3's are stable but still slow. When I try to go fast, things fall apart, so my coach says to go slow until I get my technique consistent... This could be a while... but he reassured me that I'm much better than 6 months ago on this move!

5 step mohawk... except for the two RFI mohawk hops on the second half of the move, he's happier with the move... he did occasionally have to remind me to make my edge deeper and curvier on step 4. I didn't seemed to hop on the first half of the move.

The rest of the moves are fine except for back crossovers on the end patterns, so I made my coach work me on this for a good portion of the lesson. Things got better over time... but I gotta practice some more.

There were only two storms today though...

Stormy 1:
I took a tumble today. Primary coach immediately yells "YAAAAAY!!!! Jazzpants fell down again!!! YAAAAAY!!!" before asking if I was okay... (and before I had a chance to say "I'm gonna kill you for this someday, but you're injured now...) I'm okay. Knee is slightly bruised but I could still skate...

Then he yelled out to his Gold Men student "Now if we could get <Gold Men student's name> to fall too!" (Yelling out loud intentionally so <Gold level student> WOULD know he's razzing him!!!) Alright, so I got a Gold level man who's an even bigger chicken than me...

Then another fellow skater (former student of my primary coach but now skating with another coach) mentioned after the session that he thought it was humorous that I fell -- he thought he'd never see the day that I take a tumble in front of him...(Oh, brother!!! :roll: )

Worst part, I wish I could say that I fell from doing something spectacular but...I fell from running over the orange cones laid out for public session!!! :oops: (Which ironically is one of the things I'm dead afraid of having lessons during public sessions. Guess I got that fear taken care of now!!!) :P

Stormy 2:
Primary coach said that this morning was getting out of bed "like he's an old man." He was in such pain getting out of bed. He also had a hard time sleeping b/c he sleeps on the side where he's hurt. (OUCH!!!) :cry: But he did say that he's already feeling a little better than last night. :D But until next week, he'll probably teach me from the penalty box. I feel so bad for the guy... :(

Mrs Redboots

05-04-2005, 06:00 AM

I skated today!Oh, I'm so glad! Welcome back!

Sunny: We had an extra lesson this morning for a last run-through of our free dance before we test it. Actually, we did a couple of pretty good run-throughs, I felt - the music had slowed down, it felt as though we had hours of time to do everything, my 3-turns were good...... coach still thinks we'll fail. I don't - when you see what does pass Level 1.... well, it depends on the judge, but even dance judges are out to pass you if they can!

In my private lesson I did a run-through of my Interp - coach likes it as it is, but wants me to change the placement of some elements. Suits me.... also told me how to make the first twizzle work properly, which transforms it. But there are still 5 unchoreographed seconds.... I do something different every time!

Stormy: Am going to have to get a 2-minute version up and running before we go away; I was thinking of leaving it and doing it as an "interpretive" rather than "artistic" at Bracknell, but it's 1'30" plus or minus 5 seconds there, and my programme is 1'37" long. Plus I'll need a 2-minute version for a couple of other competitions I want it for...

Back chassés are hopeless still! But my changes-of-edge rocked!!!! I do like my new blades now.

Tonight we are going out dancing again at Tashakat's old rink. We are not going to do the class, though, as we don't want to be tired tomorrow. However, the test won't be until late in the session - 10.00 probably, or a little later - so we needn't rush!

coskater64

05-04-2005, 08:27 AM

This week is short only 3 days to practice but, I really need the rest.

Stormy: That double toe, fully rotated w/out footcross very perplexing. Continue working on the Jr. moves, the left choctaws are still not solid from inside to outside edges I have to step on a flat first especially on the first left of each set. Having trouble w/ the end pattern on the foxtrot, quick enough and tight enough.

Sunny: the double sow has become much easier landing about 2 out of 3 and apparently are very large in height an distance. The double loop apparently has found its pivot I'm off about 1/4 of a revolution and I am learning to do it faster w/ similar results. Had help on the European timing and made my dance coach very happy, the 3's and timing are good apparently the extension still needs work but I don't need a count of 9 any more. Yeah.

Overall, a good short week. My figures for mountain cup are ghastly.
I hope no one laughs.
:D

flo

05-04-2005, 09:55 AM

Stormy: Rob Dean - sorry to hear about Benfield, come join us at Ice Club of Baltimore. We're very adult friendly.

Sunny: Skated in my new skates last night at the public session, just trying to get some time in them. I could do all spins but a back sit and I didn't even try the flying spins. I did up to a flip - didn't attempt a lutz yet, hopefully tonight. Counters and brackets are ok.

Partly cloudy - I have the camp this weekend in PA, should be interesting in the new skates.

Mrs. Redboots - sounds like your blades are settling in! Go for it!

Mrs Redboots

05-04-2005, 10:06 AM

Overall, a good short week. My figures for mountain cup are ghastly.
I hope no one laughs.
:DNobody will laugh - I can assure you, the judges will have seen worse..... including people sitting down on the ice in the middle of their figure, which I don't think was part of the plan. Anyway, I admire you for trying - I keep saying I'm going to, and I can do FI and FO 8s that resemble sort of bulgy ovals rather than circles - but I still can't get all the way round a serpentine without putting a foot down..... so I haven't ever entered! Lots of the UK crowd play with figures now, and say they're going to enter, but only one of us ever does!

windsor

05-04-2005, 01:17 PM

Sunny: Skated today for the first time in a while. It was so nice. There were only a few other people on the ice and I was able to put in a CD that I've been wanting to skate to for a while. It was amazing - once I put that in suddenly I was deeper in the knees, not so scratchy on my toepicks, everything was just better. I didn't even care what anyone thought and just kind of played around with the music and had fun. So nice. :D

Stormy: Tried and tried to do an Ina Bauer or a Spread Eagle, but I'm afraid I'll never do one. My hips are very closed. I danced for years, but, apparently, my turn out was more from the knees than from the hips. :cry:

jenlyon60

05-04-2005, 01:43 PM

Sunny: My "dreaded 8's" in CCW direction were better today.

Stormy: Tango. Now that it looks like I'm going to re-test it on the 15th (11 days from today), what had been a much improved dance went to hades in a handbasket today.

dbny

05-04-2005, 06:33 PM

Ok, I did the Wow! or Woops! thread so I'll just say on this one

I skated today!

:D :D :D :D

Only 14 weeks off ice. :roll:

Congrats! I saw your other post, and commiserate with you on how hard it is to come back after a serious injury.

Stormy:
Everything hurts worse today than yesterday! Got my blades sharpened yesterday, and felt like a fish out of water on the ice today, which was especially bad during the hour that I had to teach the tots. I was really exhausted today too, so I didn't stay too long after my lesson.

Sunny:
The sharp blades issue had begun to fade a bit by the end of my lesson. We spent the entire lesson on the show moves that I have most trouble with. Did I mention that I will have to line up next to my coach in this show? Who wants to be compared with their coach, for heaven's sakes 8O. Anyway, it turned out that she hadn't seen my fall at all and so didn't understand why I was so leery of those little dance steps. She actually got me doing a somewhat modified (for my lack of turnout) version of them. The thing that worked for me was when she described it as limping! We covered a few other things in the show, and ended by revising my entry moves very significantly. She is pals with the choreographer, so I think it will be OK. Best of all, I told her how I had been feeling about her comments re my being in the show or not, and of course, she was extremely supportive. It was all my own stuff, that she had unwittingly been feeding. Once again, my coach has proven to be a wonderful motivator and morale booster :)

jazzpants

05-04-2005, 08:47 PM

Sunny: Had a nice comfy somewhat emptier session to skate on. I did power 3's slower and did this neat little foot trick that my primary coach suggested yesterday. Definitely helped in making sure I get my foot in the right place.

Stormy: Should have checked my VM... secondary coach couldn't make it to the rink. Had an emergency errand to do. So no lesson.

Also, later on the day, I got hit with a case of either stomach flu or food poisoning. (I suspect it's the latter...) Mr. Jazzpants is also home with the same, but mine isn't as severe as his. (He's still sick. W/o giving out too much graphic details, I'm feeling MUCH better now, thankfully...) :cry:

Mrs Redboots

05-05-2005, 06:21 AM

Also, later on the day, I got hit with a case of either stomach flu or food poisoning. (I suspect it's the latter...) Sounds like it, since you're now feeling better - horrid thing to happen! Hope you are both recovered.

Sunny: We passed our Free Dance! Only just, but a pass is a pass.... The judge said we were fine for level 1, but we needed to increase our speed across the ice, increase the complexity of the dance, and stop looking so tentative if we wanted to take it up any higher. We knew that.... mind you, we'd spent all winter dumbing the thing down.... but then, it wasn't our choice to test it on 10-day-old blades, either (we didn't know, when we got the blades, that we would be testing today!).

Anyway, that's over with!

Stormy: I tripped in the middle of the step sequence! I have never tripped in that dance before! But I was able to rescue it, and we carried on as though nothing had happened. The judge told us we had too many stops - I suppose he thought that trip was a stop, as we only have one in that version of the dance! Ah well....

Oh, I totall forgot - social dancing last night. First sustained dancing I've done with the new blades (feet hurt too much last week!) and it went really well. More speed across the ice than before & better edges.... did bottle out of one 3-turn in the Prelim Waltz, but only one. Only worrying thing was that I kept skidding on the inside edges on the Golden Skaters' Waltz - this may be Husband, not me, as I didn't skid on the identical steps in the Rhythm Blues, which I danced with another partner. Hmmmm.....

Right, test over, now to focus on competition! I did stay on the ice for a bit after the tests were over (they finished very early - it's lucky we got there an hour earlier than the earliest we thought we could possibly need to be, as we were on within 20 minutes), but didn't do much other than one run-through of my Interp.

max

05-05-2005, 06:44 AM

Sounds like it, since you're now feeling better - horrid thing to happen! Hope you are both recovered.

Sunny: We passed our Free Dance!

Congratulations Annabel. Onwards and upwards.

LoopLoop

05-05-2005, 08:45 AM

Sunny After a fairly rough couple of weeks since nationals, the pair elements are clicking back in, including the split twist. One of my coaches gave me a new training suggestion yesterday: do a sitspin and change feet as many times as possible. So I did one with FIVE changes of foot and only stopped then because I was dizzy!

Stormy Still no consistency on the flying camel. I'll do one good one then four or five bad ones. :frus: And still two-footing 90+% of my axels. Oh well, sooner or later I'll get it back for good.

crayonskater

05-05-2005, 10:21 AM

dbny

05-05-2005, 11:04 AM

Sunny: We passed our Free Dance!

Congratulations to you both!

phoenix

05-05-2005, 11:31 AM

Sunny: Much better than last week (couldn't get much worse......). I'm skating my dance pretty consistently now & he's having me work on the little extras, more extension, longer holds, point toes, smile, etc. I still have a month before testing, so I'm feeling not too bad about it over all.

Started working w/ choreographer on my new program, which is a relief because the competition is starting to loom on the horizon! So hopefully we'll finish it in another few sessions & I can seriously get to work practicing it.

Stormy: I get SO out of breath working on my dance. I don't recall having this issue w/ other dances to this extreme degree, so I don't know if it's just this dance, which I totally struggle with much more than others, or if I'm just so badly out of shape, again, possible, or if it's something like a touch of cold weather asthma. My coach scoffs at this last suggestion, saying my lungs just aren't trained enough for multiple patterns so I don't get enough air. It's like, I'm breathing really hard but no air is getting through. He looks at me with deadly serious eyes & face and says, "In Russia, nobody has asthma." :giveup:

Skate@Delaware

05-05-2005, 11:51 AM

Sunny : No lesson this week, but not a bad end to the season. Since starting in February with private lessons once a week, I have:

Backward and forward crossovers
Basic stroking
FO/FI/BO/BI edges, which are getting close to 'testing' (not that I plan to).
A good T-stop.
A lot more speed and flow.
A hoppy little retarded waltz jump, but one I can do out of backward crossovers.

Not a bad start. My coach thinks I'll have all my singles (excl. axel) by the end of the year. I think he's a bit optimistic, but we'll see. 8-)

Stormy
The rink closes for the summer and today was the last day. Off to the gym for me for the summer; no more skating till September

What a nice way to end the season! My rink has closed for the summer also--we start working out on Sunday. Our gym class instructor is also a skating coach with a B.S. in Phys Ed so I'm sure we will get a good workout, geared to improving our skating come September. She likes to do 'plyometrics' which is what I need because my jumps barely get off the ground! :oops:

Keep us posted on your progress! Make sure to vary your workouts.

Terry

samba

05-05-2005, 12:33 PM

ANNABEL YOU PASSED, WITH NEW BOOTS AN ALL......WELL DONE

CONGRATULATIONS :bow:

jazzpants

05-05-2005, 01:34 PM

Sunny:

CONGRATULATIONS, ANNABEL & ROBERT!!! YAAAAAY!!! :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow: :bow:
http://instagiber.net/smiliesdotcom/kao/chika/chirol_krackr.gifhttp://instagiber.net/smiliesdotcom/kao/chika/chirol_oiwai.gifhttp://instagiber.net/smiliesdotcom/kao/chika/chirol_krackl.gif

Stormy:
Not skating for the next couple of days...or much of anything for that matter... Yeap! There's something going around and I don't want my coworkers getting it. I was barely able to take in food w/o throwing up yesterday. So I'm staying home today and working from my computer at home. :cry:

Melzorina

05-05-2005, 02:12 PM

Well done Annabel!!!

Thin-Ice

05-05-2005, 03:00 PM

Sunny: We passed our Free Dance! Only just, but a pass is a pass....

:D :D :D CONGRATULATIONS!! And remember, they never ask "How much did you pass your test by?" they just want to know "What level are you tested through?"... and you should feel especially proud because I recall you said your coach said you would not pass.. and you said you would!! Hurray, the skater knows more than the coach (for once!). :D :D :D

flo

05-05-2005, 03:31 PM

Mrs. Redboots - Congrats!!!!!

cutiesk8r43

05-05-2005, 06:46 PM

sunny:Had my first dance lesson! :D it went great
stormy:didnt have any luck with my axels :(

Isk8NYC

05-05-2005, 07:33 PM

Congratulations, Annabel and Robert! That's a wonderful accomplishment!

Sunny:
Had a good team practice today. We did off-ice dancing (butt shaking, really) after the on-ice run through. I'm still clumsy, but at least I know what I'm doing.

Shaky:
My feet hurt! I made the mistake of wearing dress shoes at work, then I drove to the rink late (car trouble), and had no time to stretch my arches and legs. I had arch cramps within minutes of getting on the ice. Had to adjust the skates twice. I'm going to lower the foam on the insoles - they're pressing on my instep too hard.

Still hate those ditzy dance steps. I'm resigned to toe taps.

Mrs Redboots

05-06-2005, 06:42 AM

Thanks, all! I must admit I wouldn't have chosen to test in 10-day-old blades (the boots are fine now, although I haven't done up the top hooks yet - was going to, but decided to wait until after the test; might try this afternoon, if I skate) that I'm still rocky on! Nor would I have chosen to get there at 8.30, not expecting to test until about 10.00 at the earliest, only to find that all was done and dusted by 9.00! Ah well..... we passed.

The big snag is that the judge said, quite rightly, that we needed more technical content in it. We do have a little more technical content in the longer version (and I'm hoping we'll get at least one lift in it, although they aren't compulsory for adults, but the others have them so we'd better!), but not a great deal, and what is worrying me is how do we put in more technical stuff that we can actually do while at the same time increasing our speed???? Hmmmm.....

blue111moon

05-06-2005, 07:24 AM

Congratulations, Annabel! A Pass is a Pass - take 'em any way you can get 'em. That's the way I feel about my Silver Figure Test - if I'd been a judge, I wouldn't have passed me but the real judges were either less critical or very kind or both and gave me the passing mark - barely.

As for last night's skating:

Mostly Sunny: I did the Interp program straight through, with costume and props and it worked! Several people who hadn't seen it before told me they liked it, my coach kept calling me and my costume "cute" (which is a description I haven't heard in several decades). So I guess I'm set for the club show on Saturday.

Partly Sunny: the free skate program - the first half is pretty good but then I fall behind the music and can't catch up and everything ends up in strange places and looking rushed. I did land the salchow-loop in the right place and on time but the rest is pretty slap-dash.

Stormy: figures. Why - oh - why did I think I could learn loops from scratch in six months? We've gone back to doing them on two feet just so I can get the feel of the lean over the outside edge. And the change threes have gone south or north or somewhere far away.

The only positive side of figures is that the hockey shop guy found a pair of brand new figure blades somewhere and they are the same make and size as the ones I have which date back to the early '80s and are worn down past the tempered steel part now. I'm hesitant to change blades this close to Mountain Cup but I think those blades will be calling my name when I get back.

slusher

05-06-2005, 12:37 PM

Congratulations Mrs. Redboots!!!!

and also congratulations to crayonskater for a hoppy waltz jump. You've got something to look forward to for next year!

Sunny Went to rink for usual skating lesson. Diva kid skater #1 was there with skatingmomfromhell. OK, stay out of their way. Then Diva skater #2 shows up with three coaches and proceeds to take over rink, tape player and all available oxygen. Diva skater #2 is a really good skater and deserves diva space. Although that left me relegated to the end of the rink, it was just great great fun to see skatingmomfromhell try to outglare three coaches who totally outclassed her. Electric atmosphere !

Stormy
I have blade problems. My skates are off to the skate guy, hopefully I won't need to buy new blades. I had a bad sharpening a while back, and although it got corrected, my coach thinks I've got different rocker points on each skate. That could explain a lot of things if it's true. I'm skateless until they're back from out of town.

Mrs Redboots

05-06-2005, 01:13 PM

Sunny: BlueIIIMoon, I'm really looking forward to competing against you again this year - I see we're on Saturday afternoon again! My Interp is still in the "I don't like this and I'm never going to get it right!" stage - I do like it, but it's not quite what I want yet. And I haven't finished the costume, either. Well, most of it, but I still have to finish one BOOTCOVER!!!! So no dress rehearsal as yet.

Stormy: But I am disappointed to see that yet again pre-Bronze dance is just us, and Other Woman and her husband. Come on, you American & European dancers, and the rest of the British Level 4 & Under crowd, where are you all???? Mind you, those I saw at Adult Nationals would have (with one exception due to age) left both of us standing, so perhaps it's just as well. And, who knows, maybe we'll manage to take a dance off Other Woman and her husband this year? We very nearly did last year, very nearly.....

NickiT

05-06-2005, 03:07 PM

We passed our Free Dance.

That's brilliant Annabel. Huge congratulations to you!!! I bet you feel a great sense of achievement - I know I do when I nail another test! :bow:

Sunny
It was my third lesson with my new coach today and it went well. I finally managed a clean programme run-through for her. Not that I've messed up that much before but I've missed the odd jump here and there! I guess I'm starting to feel more relaxed in her presence. I was so worried that having a new coach after all these years was going to make me nervous, but I only had a few mild nerves on the first lesson with her.

My camel-sit resurfaced today too though it wasn't at it's best in my programme. It's amazing how once I start working on change foot camels I suddenly have no probs doing a camel in the first place though my back camel leaves a lot to be desired!

New coach has taken over the role of jumps class coach so we got back to that today. I worked on all my jumps with no problems and finished off with some decent cross-toe spins.

Stormy
I can't think of anything stormy from today. Yay!!!

Nicki

dbny

05-06-2005, 04:23 PM

Stormy:
Someone please tell me that the reason I still feel like the world's biggest klutz is because I got my blades sharpened on Tuesday. Today was a little better, but I still can't stop well except for the T stop. I use the F and B one foot snowplow all the time, and I feel almost crippled without them. Even two footed B threes feel impossible now.

Sunny:
Not much. Hubby made me show him some of the show moves today and made me practice the things I'm afraid of very slowly and build up the speed. I think until the blades wear down a bit, I'm not going to feel very confident.
FO threes have not regressed.

Terri C

05-06-2005, 06:15 PM

Stormy:
First of all, it is stormy here in Virginia Beach, we are in the midst of a northeaster!

I dragged myself after work to our club ice session. Didn't do much- as the freestyle portion is only 50 minutes long and afterward we have a stroking class that I will not do. It occured to me that I need to suggest to the club board (and I'm a board member) that the classes need to vary a bit.

Sunny:
My spins! I had a centered forward scratch and a steady sit! I'm also planning a day trip to DC on Sunday to do some skating there for a change of scenery and a "day getaway."

jenlyon60

05-06-2005, 06:54 PM

Sunny: Tango was better today. Coach and I did a couple 2 pattern run-throughs to the music and on one run-through, other than accidentally kicking coach right after his quick rocker, the 2nd pattern was actually better than the first.

Coach #2 commented afterwards that one of my bug-a-boo spots was much improved. I credit the improvement to tenacity and working on the Paso and Starlight (both of which have a similar cross-stroke).

Stormy: My left ankle has been swollen lately. Started out it seemed to be mostly afternoons, but yesterday/today it has been more swollen and slightly painful (albeit not sore when shoved into a skating boot). The swelling is right around the ankle bone. So I put some ibuprofen gel I brought back from my London trip last fall, and I have it elevated. Think I will try to wrap it or get one of those ankle compression bandages to see if that helps. Not sure what I dinged up or how/when I did it.

Mrs Redboots

05-07-2005, 04:59 AM

Back on the ice after our test, and a good long practice session.

Stormy: Saturday patch is always rather crowded, and collisions not infrequent - husband actually made physical contact with another couple, but luckily they were all strong enough to stay upright. As far as I could see there were only 2 elite couples this morning, but there were three adult couples! And, of course, hordes of free skaters.

Husband & I spent 90% of the time trying to rechoreograph our free dance, but with singular lack of success. We reckon we'll get a higher tariff if we do twizzles rather than 3-turns in one section - I'm more confident on my twizzles, but himself covers more ice.... and I can do BI twizzles better than FI ones, and his FI ones are better.... plus he likes to start on his right foot, and I like to start on my left..... oh well, we'll get there one day!

My back cross-rolls are dire - we spent a mighty long time just doing cross-rolls in waltz hold, but I'm not sure that we wouldn't be better to do changes-of-edge instead. We'll see.... lesson on it tomorrow.

The one time they put a Willow Waltz on, Husband's laces came loose, so we weren't able to do it!

Sunny: We actually managed a lift! Only we weren't moving - we seem to be able either to move, or to do the lift, not yet both! And later on we did a Fiesta Tango to the music and a Swing Dance, and both went well.

And in spite of me having written more "stormy" things than "sunny", on balance it was a good session and we got some solid work done!

Scarlett

05-07-2005, 09:09 AM

Congratulations Ms. Redboots!

Sunny - My salchow is back. I managed probably the best forward spin of my life and I can actually get 2 1/2 rotations on my back spin.

Stormy- My boots. Had to run off the ice twice to relace them. In order to get them tight enough to be secure I almost cut off the circulation to my feet. Even as I'm sitting here typing my arches are complaining. Time to make the call to the proshop.

Tessie

05-07-2005, 12:02 PM

Stormy - Changed my mind about doing a waltz jump while air borne nearly fell flat on my face. Waltz jump in general seems to have left me, My preparation and entry are fine (says coach) but for some reason I halt right when it's time to swing my free leg through. :frus: :??

Scary (I know it's not a category this week) - trying a loop jump for the first time. 8O

Sunny - Hmmm...

Melzorina

05-07-2005, 01:00 PM

Skating was sooo crap today. :evil:
I just had an off day. I could do most jumps, but my heart wasn't in it.

NoVa Sk8r

05-07-2005, 01:35 PM

My spins! I had a centered forward scratch and a steady sit! I'm also planning a day trip to DC on Sunday to do some skating there for a change of scenery and a "day getaway."Ooh, I hope to see you at Reston tomorrow ..

Isk8NYC

05-07-2005, 02:52 PM

Tessie - I l-o-v-e loop jumps. Mine seems to come and go these days, but then again, I haven't been practicing jumps. It's a fun jump, once you get the hang of it. Hope you "hang" one soon!

Sunny:
Taught a birthday party lesson, which was the usual madcap frenzy. The better skaters drift away, and one of the newbies takes a spill and gets hurt. Also taught a couple of kids from our group lesson program, just to be nice. Maybe they'll be in one of my groups another time and they'll already adore me!! LOL!

I MANAGED TO DO THE DIPPY STEPS RIGHT! It only took three weeks for me to master such a simple little thing. I think it took me less time to learn an illusion!

Stormy:

I actually skated very well, although my feet are still killing me from the skates. Perhaps the foam inside is heat-expanding? I had to take the skates off twice to relieve the pain. Maybe I should put some of the Parlor jell-o in them -- it couldn't hurt!

Fell out of a sit spin, but I have to say that regular practice is really bringing it back strong.

FrankR

05-07-2005, 03:18 PM

Hello all,

It's been a while since I posted one of these so I thought I'd go ahead and give it a try. Here it goes!

Stormy: I've been working on gold moves since about November of last year. However, I had put them on the back burner, so to speak, as Adult Nationals drew nearer so that I could focus on my freestyle elements in my program. So, for the past couple of weeks I've been working on them again. Some moves are far better than others. I still haven't gotten the hang of the brackets yet. So that pattern is still in disarray. In general, my forward power circles are better than my backward power circles, but my counter-clockwise back power circle is still feeling rough. My moves coach and I are still trying to break down my technique on my back crossovers so that they're not scratchy and both the pump and the under push are utilized fully. Needless to say I've frustrated him and myself a ton this week as I don't seem to be able to produce back crossovers that work like we want them to, on a consistent basis. On the whole, for a couple of weeks back on the ice after a big event it hasn't been catastrophic but let's just say I have plenty of work in front of me. :P

Sunny: The forward double three's have been working well just about on every session. (Phew! That's at least one move I can sort of do without too much trouble.) I've been putting in a lot of work on the back double three's. I can at least get through the pattern now so that's why this particular move is listed in the "Sunny" portion of the post. The turns can still be scratchy but considering how these looked Tuesday of last week it's a vast improvement. The inside slide chasse felt ok today. I'm trying to work on not doing the right back outside three too early before starting the slide chasses. I don't seem to have this problem on the left side, just the right. I think I was holding the RBO 3 a little better today. Let's hope that continues to improve. I have been working a little bit on freestyle. I usually devote at least 3/4 of each session on moves and the last 1/4 of each session I do some freestyle. I've come back from Adult Nationals determined to improve my spins and they're still a work in progress. However, I am trying some pretty ambitious spins! :lol: Right now, the big spin projects are a forward catch foot camel as well as a flying camel, catch to donut spin. The latter is coming along better than the former but I did manage to do the forward catch foot camel once today. I also tried Marna's idea of doing a sit spin and seeing how many times I can change feet. I have to say that I've never been great at doing change-foot spins. That's the reason I didn't even try one at Nationals. However, I was pleasantly surprised that I manged to do a sit/change back sit/change forward sit a few times so far. There's hope for me yet! :D I've been purposely staying away from working jumps too much because I tend to get a little carried away with them and stop working on everything else. Still I have managed to land axels consistenly (about three axels or so) in the last few minutes of each session. Today, I had a lesson with my freestyle coach and we decided to start working on doubles. I did many double toes and a few double toe/double toe combinations but they tend to get toe-axelly. :?? Urgh! There's another thing to fix. We started working on double sal. I managed to land one of these but the rest of my attempts were pretty sketchy. Still, I'm actually pretty pleased with what I've done so far.

So that's been what's going on with me. I hope everyone's well and happy mother's day to all the moms out there. :)

Frank

Terri C

05-07-2005, 03:41 PM

Ooh, I hope to see you at Reston tomorrow ..

Yeah, I'll be there! And how was your skating this week??? :)

Tessa

05-07-2005, 05:21 PM

Wahoo Mrs. Redboots!

Stormy: Had 2 awful falls. My right back inside three is horrifying and I had one of those very painful crashes down. Nice bruises on my elbow and lower back. Everyone at the office very impressed with elbow bruise and laughing at my old lady walk. My only question? Why did no one offer me an excellent painkiller (one of my co-workers eats them like candy)? I made it through though and feel much better today. Oh, then I caught another edge on the 8-stop mohawk -- that's actually where the lower back bruise came from I think.

Sunny: Not much -- really over tired this week from hectic business trip and missed practice -- next week will be better. I can do those horrendous back threes BARELY (which is good) while just practicing them but cannot transfer them into the field. Still enjoyed myself even with falls. Had a couple of okay spins.

FUNNY: I think I got the Dance Factory Outlet link from this board. Long story longer, my pain pill popping co-worker and I ordered the same dance pants for only $10 (she takes salsa). I wore them and towards the end of my lesson while my coach and I were trying to make my toe waltz into a toe loop I had one of those sit down falls, and totally ripped my pants! Up my butt. OMG. My coach felt bad for me but all I could do was laugh. They're not very sturdy pants but it was toooo funny. Couldn't wait to get to work and tell co-worker to not wear pants to salsa! We had a good laugh about that for the rest of the week.