Hello or goodbye: lessons/practices 22 May-28 May

[mikawendy]

In honor of some of the television shows who had their final episodes this past week: West Wing, Will & Grace, That 70s Show...

Hello:
Got some good moves practice done today and had one really great sit-scratch--very centered, and faster than I've ever done a scratch spin. It probably felt faster than it was (it always does), but still, it was faster than my norm.

Goodbye:
Had a moves lesson yesterday on really crowded ice. Very frustrating, especially the back crossovers!!

[Isk8NYC]

Bumping this up.

[jazzpants]

Goodbye: To energy! I ran out of gas and just couldn't skate well enough to keep up the energy. Plus, of course, this IS social skate!!! I just concentrated on refining my mohawks, my intro 3 to my power 3's, and speed going onto my intro mohawks. (There's always something to practice or work on.)

The other thing unfortunately I had to say goodbye to (well, postpone) was my test session! (Why does EVERYONE want to see me at my BUSY time instead of all the other times I had free... well, not that FREE! I was practicing alot... but...) :frus:

Apparently the test chair did create the new test session and put me on right RIGHT AT THE TIME I got the news that I'm flying out to NYC that same exact weekend! AAAACK!!! 8O (Apparently the test chair also didn't count into effect that there are coaches out there who also had a competition to go to about 70 miles away right afterwards...like my primary coach, either, since primary coach says "I'm already too busy as is with another competition that same day." (So I'm also doing him a favor too.) Secondary coach is also pushing to change my schedule thru her contacts. (You see... changing the test schedule to the test chair is like changing the Bible!!!) We're gonna try for early July now! Never mind that I also have an absolute drop dead deadline at work and I now have extra incentives to get it out of the way early. I also have two engineers who are leaving the company too, so I would like to pull the project out before they leave the company. (And no, I can't reschedule the event! And no, I can't decline either. It's rare that my in-laws wants us out in NYC enough that they would arrange for free plane tickets for us!)

Can you say the Bermuda triangle??? :frus: :giveup:

Hello:

Well... BED!!! Too tired!!! http://www.cosgan.de/images/smilie/muede/f055.gif
If I'm lucky, my wonderful Chelsea Piers coach, Mr. "Skating's Next Star." (well, in my book anyway...) :D We're trying to arrange a lesson. :mrgreen: Found out poor guy's knees left and said goodbye to him after the show though, so he's not skating much. :cry:

[beachbabe]

Hello: Landing double toe and sal most of the time. Landing double loop about half the time. Didn't land any double flips and didnt even attemp double lutz's. Hardly worked on spins at all.


Goodbye: Pesky double flip, I keep losing it..then it comes back...then i lose it again. Moves were horrible...i have lots of work to do.

[kiwibabe]

Hello: I am working on my first progam and I reckon I can do about 80% of it. Its lots of fun and i'm practicing hard. Learnt how to do a drag today, my bottom is killing me. Three of us are doing theatre on ice for club champs to "mahna mahna" by the muppets, its heaps of fun.

Goodbye: I need to be able to do a waltz jump and a spiral for my program and both scare me :cry: The waltz jump is coming along better than the spiral, I tend to splat on the ice doing a spiral and my head hasn't forgotten it.

[cutiesk8r43]

Hello:
worked on some double salchows and axels were good

Goodbye:
bruised my hip. layback is not working

~Cutie;)

[tidesong]

Hello:
7 double salchows please stay and dont leave me ever again
Outside to inside edge flying camel
back pancake
SPLIT JUMP (coach fixed it last lesson and its still there during practise yay)

Goodbye:
double toe and double loop, where were you?
flying sitspin ... can fly or sitspin, just cant do both together lol
Low stamina, I dont even need to attempt a program I do a few jumps in a row and I'm so winded.

[mintypoppet]

Hello:
Just a generally good skating day - things felt easier than they have before, even if they still look awkward.
I passed SkateUK; passport here I come :D

Goodbye:
Keep putting my free leg down when going from cross rolls into an outside mohawk.
My right boot's either too loose and my foot slips, or too tight and it hurts. My RFO edges are still comparatively poor, so I hope that with more practice on them, the boot will break in further.

[jazzpants]

Hello:

I had my moments of glory on the back crossovers on the end pattern.

Goodbye:

I had my moments of going "DUUUUUUH!!!" this morning during my lesson. I was just "mentally checked out." Also, I was trying hard to dodge about 16 other skaters at the rink, including a couple of them who is NOT watching where they're skating and are in their own little world. (And no, they're NOT little kids but very BIG and TALL adults!!!) :roll:

I also felt slow and sluggish this morning and I just didn't want to move. The times I had my glory moments were when I don't feel as sluggish and can move around very quickly.

I also found that I need to do some adjusting on my moves pattern, particularly on the alt. back crossovers. When I do go fast now, I'm running out of room to do the end patterns now. EEEEK!!! 8O

I stepped out funny on my power 3's to the BI edge and my sciatic nerve did NOT like that!!! Had to stop the pattern and hold off 'til the back and leg pain subsided and I have feeling in my legs again. DOH!!! 8O (Don't worry! I'm okay now!!!)

[Tessa]

Haven't been on the ice in 2 weeks due to schedule problems. So I was a little trepidatious (is that word? hee. it is NOW) about today's lesson. It was nice to see some other adults at the session too.

Hello: got a new understanding of the pesky toe loop. Instead of doing a toe waltz my coach and I are trying to get an actual jump. I'm trying desperately to erase years of bad habits. Progressed with this new arm position, and this understanding progressed to trying a loop from backward x-overs rather than a three turn, and this jump might actually happen this way sometime in the near future.

Goodbye: we are working on pre-juv moves now. I cannot! get the power x-overs, esp. the backwards one. My head does not want to turn and I don't want to shift and swizzle. Extension? No. Oh and threes in the field. Need I say more -- they're more of a BUH-bye.

[Terri C]

Hello:
Had a great lesson today with secondary coach (Primary coach is at PSA Conference). Moves are getting better, as I work with all my might to keep my knees bent when they need to be. I really want to re-take and pass the Bronze moves test this summer!! Also got a complement from a former AN Champ Gold winner on my speed- I did almost take out one of his skaters on lesson while practicing moves!

Goodbye:
Was only able to skate a hour, this month, our lovely rink management decided to cut the freestyle 30 minutes for puck shooting!!:roll: :x

[dbny]

Goodbye:
I was hoping for a lesson today with a new coach, but she didn't have time.
I have no energy and no strength, which is the logical consequence of spending much of the winter sick and not practicing when I wasn't. There is sooo much I need to begin working on again, but I really do need a coach and the prospect of a lesson to push me.

Hello:
At least I got to a freestyle session today! Fellow adult skater told me I have beautiful crossovers, which was very nice to hear. I did put myself through one round of Prelim F XO's, which seemed to go well - good speed, large circles, very secure. Too bad I was totally winded by it! I also did a couple of lengths of B cross strokes, discovering that they are no longer so secure as they were, but at least I can still do them.

[Rusty Blades]

HELLO!! With a week off the ice (due to the holiday weekend) it felt like I hadn't skated in MONTHS! I wasn’t sure how tonight’s session would be but it turned out well. My backward one foot glides are getting WAY better and modest backward stroking works well now - not quite on backward edges yet though. My right forward one-foot is working like gang busters - I can stay up on the right foot for the longest time and slalom around from edge to edge with half descent posture (most of the time). I worked on my poor left forward edges a lot, looking for the difference and found it! My left leg and ankle does not have the rigidity of my right leg and I really have to focus on “tightening it up” and keep my body tight to get left edges - then it all comes together 8-) I also played around with two-footed turns some and flirted with one foot turns - not quite yet.

It appears the 7 day “recovery period” helped my skating a lot.

GOODBYE! Unfortunately, there is only one more session in Spring Skating :cry: Saturday will be my last lesson with a wonderful coach (until fall) and I have to wait until 4 July to skate again - with a new coach at a new rink. I hate saying goodbye to people, even if it is only until fall. That will be my 4th rink since January. I hope there will be SOME familiar faces at Summer Skating!

[gt20001]

Hello

First off i finally got my new skates and got to start using them this week. They are the jackson hinged skates. (after an 8 week wait)

After getting these skates i no longer scratch my toepicks at all while skating backwards ( coach is thrilled she said it used to feel like fingernails on a chalkboard to her she couldnt stand my scratching toepicks)

The extra easy knee bend has improved my split falling leafs, waltz jumps and overall skating. I can also for the first time hold out my back halves of the forward 3 turns i used to have a hard time holding that backward especially inside edge on the outside 3's.

I am getting a beautiful toe point (when i can remember to do it with the extra backward bend)

Coach finally fixed my half lutz today

Finally figured out why i was so tired all the time had a thyroid problem got medication and can now make it through my program much better than ever before

Goodbye

Well since the new boots i have somewhat lost my spins again i had just gotten them a couple of weeks before last competition pretty good and having trouble adjusting i think to the new blades and finding the sweet spot.

That dreaded toe loop i am trying to learn and it is literally kicking my butt and totally eluding me. ugh

Leg muscles are killing me with new boots since when landing the jumps i dont have the boot to help catch me my muscles are doing so much more work and my ankles are feeling the extra strain as well since they were in concrete before and are now taking alot of the impact.

[BatikatII]

Hello:

New boots (Gam 95's with MK professional blades) are finally beginning to feel slightly less painful - heels still end up numb though and my feet ache all along the underside. I think they will be great once they are properly broken in. Blades are a vast improvement on my old ones. I can do back edges with out toepick noises - they run really smooth and fast and while I am still getting used to them I can tell that in the end they will improve my skating.

Jumps are coming back slowly though I think it shows just how bad my old blades were that I am having to relearn technique particularly on my loop jump. Managed 3-jumps in both directions, toeloops both directions and even a few salchows in both directions (this is the scariest jump to do in the 'wrong' direction.) Did a walk through of my programme which I had just finished choreographing before I got the new boots. Stupid time to get them really so close to a competition. Could do most of the footwork and linking moves though it felt very different with these boots and blades but could not do Flip or Loop both of which I had been reasonably confident on in the old boots.


goodbye: well literally for a week as I'm off to Iceland for a week from Monday so that's even less time to prepare for competition. Somehow I dont think I will be retaining the trophy this year!

[jazzpants]

Goodbye: To skating and gym for a few days... I took a nasty bash on my RIGHT knee and got a nasty cut (but not nasty enough for stitches...) Probably bruised up pretty bad too. Was doing 5 step mohawks and was trying to dodge a little beginner kid who fell RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME and tripped over her!!! 8O I don't think I've cut any tendons and stuff since I can still bend my knee a little, though obviously I can do any deep knee bends at the moment.

WeirFan06 was there to bandage me up!!! (Thanks WeirFan06!!!) :D

Joke of the day: The person who was testing along with me joked about my upcoming test session. "Now remember... no refunds unless for medical reasons accompanied by a doctor's note!!!" :roll: :twisted: :lol: :P (This was AFTER I got bandaged up...and the guy is a skating club officer!!!) I'll try and make an appt. for a doctor to look at my knee but until then, I'm not going skating or anything probably for the week. (Which is just as well anyway... I really need to rest up anyway!) :giveup: :cry:

It's gonna be a BAAAAAAAD summer. (Lesson learned! NEVER skate at our after school low FS session!!! WAAAY too many little kids!!!) :x

[Debbie S]

Ouch, jazzpants! I hope your knee feels better soon! I agree you should go to the doctor, just to rule out anything bad that might get worse if you don't take care of it now.

Munchkins.....:roll: :frus:

[jazzpants]

Ouch, jazzpants! I hope your knee feels better soon! I agree you should go to the doctor, just to rule out anything bad that might get worse if you don't take care of it now.

Munchkins.....:roll: :frus:Well, I think for now I'll stick with WeirFan06... she's an RN. ;) And she thinks if I don't bend my knee too much and keep things bandaged up that I should be fine in about a week or so.

[gt20001]

Goodbye

Goodbye to skating as well for me for a few days early on in the session today i was working on a spin and it was going great and i fell backwards and when i did my right foot came up and the heel of my blade slammed into the middle of the front of the bone on my lower leg and it hurt pretty bad all through the bone not just where i hit it, i took a break and tried to work through it just taking it easy today avoiding jumps and it wasnt working very well.

Hello

Frustration since everytime i turn around SOMETHING is trying to take me off of the ice. I just want to scream. :frus: :frus: :frus: :frus: :frus:

[pennybeagle]

Hello:
Flying sit spins are back. Flying camel with layover is working 50% of the time. Double sals are starting to actually happen some of the time. The icky mohawk in the Foxtrot is feeling less icky. Learned the counters from the novice moves. In fact, everything was good except...

Goodbye:
The evil test session, in which I touched down TWICE during the Intermediate moves (once on the CW mohawk-back 3 end pattern and once on the slide chasse, of all things) and failed. One judge must have been looking somewhere else when the touch-downs happened, though, 'cause she passed me somehow by 3 tenths. Go figure. The other two failed me by two tenths. Gah. Well, I guess that means I was close.

At least I got some good feedback, and I got plus points on many of the moves by all three judges. All of the judges liked my power circles and brackets 8O One of them really liked my back double threes, and two did not. And none of them liked the two moves I fell out of. I got docked three tenths by one judge for that slip on the slide chasses. Ouch. (This being the third time I'm testing that particular move--Silver, Gold, and now Intermediate--you'd think I could do it in my sleep, but I guess not)

And for the Ten Fox... well, the day before the test session, the test's dance partner had an accident and ended up with a "minor" head injury that required stitches. So there were no dance tests. Fooey.

[tidesong]

@pennybeagle: Moves are hard! At least you managed to get some feedback and that not all was bad :)


hello: Very similar to tuesdays skate except with lesson as well, double salchows just working like never before. Usually the feeling i get that tells me ok, you're going to hold this edge for a split second and fall... well that rarely materialized, for once I was on my feet most of the time after a double salchow. I say the ice was great... now to see me do the same feat on bad ice before I wake up from this dream.
Coach was pretty happy but had to remind me about competition nerves..
Then spins were also how I like them to be, which is decently nice. So we moved on to work on toe loop :frus:

goodbye:
I kept kicking in and rotating forwards at first, then I managed to kick out more, but then I got stuck and couldnt even rotate.
I guess the one saving point is that I am finally not slipping off my toe pick anymore (used to give really bad falls when i did that)

Also went through step sequence my left backward inside three turn keeps losing so much speed... really need to work on that

not quite either:
Ran through elements in program and ran out of breath, didnt remember to do it three times in a row, must really push that next time.

[Terri C]

Jazz,
Youchie ouchie , OUCH!!
Hope you feel better soon!

Hello:
Working on backsit... moves were okay, but I seemed tired from skating my brains out on Wednesday and Monday!

Goodbye:
Summer is here and so are those lovely condensation bumps that form on the ice with the humidity. I almost took a tumble when I hit one doing a mohawk on the five step.

Going to gym today, then the rink and gym tomorrow!!!

[jazzpants]

Jazz,
Youchie ouchie , OUCH!!
Hope you feel better soon!

. . .

Summer is here and so are those lovely condensation bumps that form on the ice with the humidity. I almost took a tumble when I hit one doing a mohawk on the five step.Yeah, my "speed bump" was probably 'ol... 7 years old? :roll:

I'm okay. Am limping around and taking it really easy right now. Well, at least I don't have that much swelling. WeirFan06 told me to put ice on it (Yeah, I know. Obvious advice...:roll: ) and so far it's worked out well. Not that much swelling and so far, no bruising (or rather maybe the bruising is underneath the band-aid... :lol: ) but definitely limping at the moment.

Relaxing in bed... what a concept!!! :P Maybe I should shoot for getting a good night's rest too!!! :lol: (Yup, folks! Definitely I was burning the candles at both ends... this is probably a blessing in disguise...)

Good to hear the moves are coming along okay, Terri...

ETA: Ummm... now I'm starting to see the bruising outside of the bandaged area... Oh, dear! 8O

[SkatingOnClouds]

HELLO:

been skating really well. Coach gave me a good tip which is helping centre spins. As a result I did a few good ones today, including a scratch and a sit spin.
Good to be landing flips again, even if they are a peculiar variety. even landed a couple of loops on running edges today.

Feels so good to be making real progress. My goal was to regain all the elements I had 20 years ago, by the end of this year. Today I was thinking that is not unrealistic to believe I could do it much sooner.

Goodbye:

So of course I am now going to be off the ice for a while with injury.

I've had a hip/hamstring problem for a few weeks. First something "went" when I pushing off into the take off edge for a waltz jump badly, left hamstring at the top. Then I landed on my left buttock, right on the bone. Then I did it again. Now it hurts like crazy if I wrench or jar it. It has been gradually getting worse, this week hasn't taken much to hurt like heck.

Today I fell, didn't even land on that hip/buttock, but it was agony. I guess I am going to have to force myself to stay off the ice until it is healed. But I don't want to miss a minute of ice time, I don't want to lose all the progress I have been making. So frustrating.

[Rusty Blades]

Hello! Today’s skating went well. In the first hour I worked on forward edges, backward one foot glides, and two-foot turns - all are considerably improved. In a brief lesson in the first hour we went over forward edges and I actually managed to pull some LFOs together in front of my coach (after figuring out where the problem was since last session). In the second hour, I worked primarily on backward one-foot and backward stroking. I seem to be progressing faster with backward than I did with forward. In the second lesson, the coach had me do some backward stoking on the circle - which was TERRIBLE because I never get to practice on the circle because the ice is too busy! When we moved to the corner and started doing BO edges on a smaller circle (standing start, push off onto a BO edge), I started getting them fairly quickly! It was encouraging :mrgreen:

Goodbye! LITERALLY! It was the last session for "spring skating school", a time to say goodbye to some more new friends :cry: I hate saying goodbye and it's goodbye to the third club I have skated with since I started in January.

Goodbye No more skating until Summer Skating School starting 4 July :cry:

Goodbye It's too wet to work on the rink I am building in the back yard :cry:

I WANNA SKATE!!!!! 8O