On song or off-key (Practice Thread 17-23 December 2006) [Archive]

Sk8pdx

12-17-2006, 05:22 PM

Way to go Mr. Redboots!!! How very exciting to hear about your successes with flips!! -- oh, but the journey doesn't end just there. That is the great thing about skating, there is always something to dream and achieve. Ahhh. Desire is what feeds this sport of passion, artistry, and athleticism. Isn't it great?!

Off-key:
I am taking a break from skating today to nurse a few cuts and bruises. When working on Bronze MIF (backward power perimeter stroking) I must have caught a deep edge in a rut in the ice and fell hard (well, re-fell) on my right knee that is healing from last weeks flip attempts in jump and spin class.
Went to Seattle yesterday to skate with Casey. Practicing simple side by side waltz jumps, said partner decided to bail and not jump, and didn't cue me so I jumped right into him and took the brunt of the fall.

I was skating during a public session yesterday and some kid in hockey skates wasn't paying attention and ran into me. :twisted: I fell straight on my tailbone and elbow. I felt all the pain shoot straight up through the crown of my head for at least a half a minute. THEN, I was exploring a little with catch camel spins and cut my finger. Hard to believe, all that bleeding everywhere for such a tiny little cut.:??

On Song:
Backspins are improving at a snails pace but I can see progress. Pairs practice went very well in spite of the fall. I always feel challenged and fulfilled in skating pairs. Even basic elements like simple waltz jumps, and stroking are improving. Overall for the last days skating, It was all wonderful. :) now... on to those Bronze MIF for my test in Jan...

Rusty Blades

12-17-2006, 06:45 PM

On-Pitch: Not my singing! LOL! But my backwards is coming along great! Already faster on backward stroking than frontward and WAY smoother backward. Now I just need to deepen the backward edges and get the back cross-overs.

Not even in a bucket: Barely 3 months to my first competition and I still don't have any good one-footed turns! Might have to use some choreographic slight of hand to hide that :roll:

DallasSkater

12-17-2006, 07:22 PM

Sk8pdx: Sorry about the falls. I think the tail bone ones are the worst I have had so far but fear the skaters chin you guys talk about.. hmmm..will you still be making fun of my crash pads now? giggle. I have worn my knee pads since the one experience in hitting it so hard I saw stars! Now all I feel is cushy-ness!

On Song: The Christmas LTS recitals are complete. The first was Tuesday night and I was surprisingly calm prior to taking the ice. I had wondered if I might get "stage fright". But I barely remember the first night and left the ice wondering if I had actually done all the elements! Partner took pictures but no video of that one.

Friday night was by far my best one. I decided that I needed to be emotionally more present for the whole thing. I hit all elements but thought I might have done a 1/2 flip where a toe loop was supposed to be. I watched a video back and found that I had just invented my own little 1/2 flip/toe loopey thing...lol. I knew I had done something funky but was not quite sure. One waltz jump was a bit funky too in the landing but I was pleased to just keep moving. Friday was also the most fun since it was also the freestyle class number that included the pinwheel that whipped the end girls pretty fast. We did not quite end as straight as possible and the music ran out before we did but it was a blast and most enjoyed by my invited friends. Partner told me later that one little girl could not get hooked in and was racing the wheel for a while then just hooked to the other side...I remember the audience laughing at something....giggle.

Saturday mornings performance was a slight disaster. We had not even a second of warm up time. I know I have mentioned before how I simply cannot skate without at least a few minutes (more like 20 minutes or so) to get my feet to stop aching. I muddled through it but simply did a 1/2 flip in place of the toe loop as I knew I would fall otherwise. I was unable to hold the edge of the tiny waltz jump landing by letting my right arm wander around so sort of stepped out of it which looked really poor.

One of the coaches that I like teaches a beginners/advanced adult LTS came up to me after my performance and asked me to skate with her skaters since they were supposed to have 11 and only 3 actually showed up! They were to go on in only 5 minutes. I was scared because although it was pretty basic, I had never even seen their program and was expected to just go out there and follow. I am not experienced enough but she was desperate. I did it when she explained that the program was done in a line and I could just figure out what to do when the person in front of me changed. So glad I did because it was a blast with no pressure of jumping or centering a spin. We basically started in a line and swizzled, stroked along the red and blue lines. It was adorable...I loved that tape the best...Each adult had such a look of determination and a bit of pride. It was just last January when that was about my level so it felt sentimental too! giggle. (ahhhh, my one year anniversary with my skates)

Off Key: Our rink had a ton of birthday parties during the only available ice today. It was likely my last time skating until I return from my vacation. I was bummed I could not find space or patience to deal. Stayed about an hour then headed to take care of the million details of the pre trip stuff!

Rusty Blades

12-17-2006, 07:54 PM

Well Done Dallas!

SpaMama

12-17-2006, 09:56 PM

Great job Dallas!

Wish we could have stayed and watched but was glad I was there to wish you luck, being your surrogate skate-mom and all!

Spa Mama

Sk8pdx

12-17-2006, 11:50 PM

Dallas: Way to go on the improvisation on your performance. (and happy skating anniversary!)

Nah, I won't laugh at you with your crash pads, Bubble wrap yes, crash pads, no. he he he!:lol:

Skittl1321

12-18-2006, 08:25 AM

On-song: well it was actually the 16th, but I wanted the chance to post it in a thread people would read. Our rink's ice show was on Saturday and it was AWESOME to watch. There were only a few truly good performances, but it was just so awesome to see skaters doing things that were at, or just above, the level I can skate at in a program and loving it. Watching the olympics is fun, but watching skaters perform things I could actually DO was a really neat experience. And I saw the adult synchro team perform for the first time and the team was just spectacular! Can't wait until the summer when I can join them :) Congrats to Courtenay who performed wonderfully!

Off-key: No ice time this week, and probably none next week. Guess I'll have to wait until the new year- unless I take my cousins skating over christmas, but then I'll have to skate in rentals, and I'm not sure if I could even do that anymore.

quarkiki2

12-18-2006, 08:46 AM

Many thanks, Jessi! The program for the show was mostly "On-Song", though I don't quite know how as they had blown a speaker early in the show and we could really only hear the music on half the rink -- D'oh!

Personally, I was a little tight because that left me to count the program on the half of the ice where we couldn't hear. I was concerned that my internal metronome would be off, but it wasn't and we managed to get into the cha-cha block on time and on beat --whew! DH said that we looked like we were having more fun than we had ever had at Christmas show time -- normally we're putting an almost finished or just-finished program out there and we look (and skate) scared, LOL! This year, the program's been done for a month and a half, so it's nearly at the level that we would compete it. Of course, we're off the ice nearly three weeks due to the holiday and the holiday rink schedule, grr...

Anyway, I had a "chopping broccoli" moment in the traveling circle (end of the program) when I clicked blades with another skater -- I was laughing as my feet tripped about underneath me, completely out of my control, but the momentum of the circle and the basket-weave hand hold kept me on my feet. At the beginning of the program, I only held my two-foot spin for two of the four counts -- don't ask me why -- I either spun reaaaallly fast or was thinking so much about counting the whole program that I exited early -- much more likely than me spinning super fast. Maybe one or two revolutions when I've been up to four or five in practice. Hit a nice spiral around the end (DH said) and he liked me and my partner because we "know how to sell a program" -- I said he was a dork and thanked him for the compliment.

Anyway -- to those who have yet to perform their holiday shows, break a blade!

Isk8NYC

12-18-2006, 10:52 AM

On Song:
My new skates are wonderful. Stiff, but wonderful.

Spins were great; didn't try any MITF stuff other than edges and three turns.
A few baby waltz jumps and toe loops were okay, but they didn't "feel" right.

Spirals rock! Any edge, any direction. Support is a beautiful thing.

Off-Key:
Back crossovers are tricky in the new skates, so that's a priority on my practice list.

An hour in the new skates was enough, so I switched back to my old ones during the ice cut. Very strange to go from stiff boots with one kind of blade to soft boots with a different blade.

After a few minutes, I adjusted and was able to jump and spin. Glad I did switch because my last two privates were beginners; didn't have to worry about the new skated getting kicked/cut or losing my balance while trying to hold the skaters up.

TimDavidSkate

12-18-2006, 10:58 AM

needs tuning:
December 17, 2006 ~ Sunday
1:05 to 1:15 Since I skated yesterday my body was still kinda felt warmed up and fresh. So I did a few strokes, crossovers, and edge pulls on my left foot.

1:15 to 2:00 2 Waltz jumps, 2 Salchows, 2 Loops, Flip, Flip/Loop, Flip/Loop, Lutz, Lutz/Loop! Phew! So relieved, but when I tried my second Lu/Lo attempt, thats when my head started playing with me again.

3:30 to 4:30 Felt rested so I did my same routine as the last session. Felt ok. But when I tried spinning, it all went to hell. Tried a couple of back spins and fell on my ### about 15 or more times. Same with my flying camel attempts, I just went splat, due to over-flying, I think.

4:55 to 5:30 Was a little pissed of myself, so I did back to back jumping passes with the lutzes and did very well. Improvised to christmas music again.

Sooooo sore and tired

Skate@Delaware

12-18-2006, 11:14 AM

On Song: Yesterday was performance #2 of our Nutcracker on Ice...and it rocked!!! I wish hubby was able to tape this show as it was the best! No one fell, all the numbers worked out splendidly and everyone was in the groove! I've put the word out for anyone that video'd to let me know and I can burn to dvd (that way I can get a copy).....

For my parts, I managed all my elements, even the waltz; waltz-salchow; which were right after a really nice scratch spin! Even our partnered spirals were good!

Off-Key: I went in to work late today...had a splitting headache, sore throat, and slight fever. I was wiped out when the alarm went off. I think I have performance exhaustion...usually hits the day or two after the show. Maybe some dehydration (again). Takes a day or two to bounce back.

I'm still finding glitter everywhere, but luckily I didn't put any on my face so didn't have to worry about getting it in my eyes (did that last year and a piece got under my contact). Told the girl doing the glittering I wasn't putting it on my face for that reason.

Hubby wants to skate tonight, but I don't-I'm wiped. Should be a slow day at work so I can rest.

jazzpants

12-18-2006, 11:19 AM

TOTALLY OFF KEY!!!

Oh, dear!!! I hope yesterday was just a bad day or something, since I had a lesson today but no loops, no flips and no camels! No energy either. I guess I was stiff, lethargic or something. (Either that or the brunch that sitting in my stomach... new place, good food too!!! :yum: )

On Song:

Speed is still there, though I certainly can push faster than that. (Friday was MUCH FASTER!!!)

Look forward to skating in NYC soon!!! I'm flying out tomorrow!!! :D

All of you that did Christmas shows: http://www.cosgan.de/images/smilie/frech/k020.gif

Petlover

12-18-2006, 11:37 AM

On Song: Hooray! I was back on the ice this morning after a week off due to bronchitis. 3-turns worked, spin was okay, edges were nice.

Off Key: I have no lung power and stamina whatsoever! One pattern of fiesta tango took every breath I had. Oh well, it was a really bad bout last week, and I am just glad it's behind me. By next week, my lungs should be pretty close to back to normal.

Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah everyone!

Team Arthritis

12-18-2006, 12:14 PM

On SOng:
Our Christmas Shows were fantastic. Special praise to my wife, boy is she tough. We did great in our pairs number and she's going in for arthoscopic knee surgery to fix her bad meniscus tomorrow! I'm lucky.

Off Key:
got up at 5 for the early skate, thought, hmm I wonder how many people will be there the day after our shows. OOPS no AM session today so back to sleep just as the alarm went off. Oh Monday, lovely Monday.:roll:
Lyle

icedancer2

12-18-2006, 12:18 PM

WAY Off-Key: The ice at the rink where I go to ice-dance at the social session on Sunday. So brittle and weird, I felt like I couldn't skate anymore and hardly did any dances!!! Mostly socialized. My coach was tired and opted out of my lesson (we have this deal that if either of us wants to bag my lesson, it's okay -- I save money and he gets much needed rest) -- I figured since I couldn't skate anyway, why bother with a lesson because it's not like I could do anything!!

The funny part about this is that I've gotten spoiled now by my regular rink where the ice has been FABULOUS for the last two weeks ever since some of us decided that we wouldn't go there anymore if the ice stayed as crappy as it was, and it looks like the management finally heard us!! They have also been doing killer business on the weekend public sessions for some reason. They have no idea why the sudden popularity in recreational skating, as they do absolutely no advertising and run a really inefficient business -- could it be the new Starbucks drive-through very close to the rink????

Couldn't go to that rink this morning because my battery was dead when I went out to start and so had to get a jump, get a new battery, etc., etc.

On song: Hmm, 4 more days until the solstice and then the days will start to get longer again, which here in the rainy (and somewhat dangerous if you have been listening to the news from around here) Pacific NW is really a godsend, because having the sunset start at around 4 in the afternoon is a real bummer.

Skating-wise there is no song -- who knows if I can get those Bronze Moves ready through the holidays (sorry sk8pdx, it might not happen for me in January!).

Mrs Redboots

12-18-2006, 01:12 PM

On song: Hmm, 4 more days until the solstice and then the days will start to get longer again, which here in the rainy (and somewhat dangerous if you have been listening to the news from around here) Pacific NW is really a godsend, because having the sunset start at around 4 in the afternoon is a real bummer.I can't wait! Here, it's pitch dark by 4:30 pm, and it's lovely when the days start getting longer. Although if you look here (http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/astronomy.html?n=136&month=12&year=2006&obj=sun&afl=-11&day=1), it's extraordinary how, although the days get a little longer, the sun continues to rise later in the mornings for a couple of days, and then sunrise stays at 08:06 for a whole week before going back again.

I expect your days are like ours - some days it seems as though the sun simply hasn't bothered to rise at all.

coskater64

12-18-2006, 01:44 PM

Well it still isn't as easy as it used to be, but it seems ok. doing all my singles very easily and spins are good. I do have the occasional position that just brings a tear to my eye, trying to avoid them. Making it through 3.30 plus program with only 6 jumps.8O

doubletoe

12-18-2006, 02:01 PM

On Song
Had my first lesson in 7 months with the ice dancer who had helped me on the details of my program choreography. I think her new input has solved some problems and cleaned up the look of the section I was having trouble with (now I just have to get the corrections/changes into my body and start doing them WELL, LOL!)

Off Key
My double salchow is still nowhere to be found. I landed one nice one yesterday, but then the moment was ruined as soon as I looked at my landing mark and saw that it wasn't clean. In trying to get it clean, I just made it fall apart completely after that. I'm trying to completely change the entrance to my toeloop, which makes the single awkward, never mind the double. Back to square one. Sigh.
The flying camel was erratic yesterday, too, even though I was so sure I had fixed it earlier in the week. And, as always, the change foot part of my combo spin remains cursed whenever I do it in my program, even if I nail it in practice.

LilJen

12-18-2006, 04:40 PM

Fussy, curmudgeonly comment from snobby musician: shouldn't it be "in tune" rather than "on song"? Anyhoo. . .

In tune:

Finally a lesson today after so many weeks of sucky schedules, illness, and owies. Got some very detailed tips and critiques on some of the pre-bronze moves, which really pleases me. I have renewed hope that my waltz blob-ish-thing on the ice will someday in fact look more like a waltz 8.

Ran through Dutch Waltz solo several times. I think my lobes are all kinds of different sizes, but at least i don't forget the steps, which is more than I can say for the Canasta Tango. Dance Buddy also taught me Rhythm Blues and Cha Cha today. not that I'll remember them, but at least I do know the steps that are unique to them and I can pull the patterns out of my folder & practice on the floor.

We're hopping in the car Wednesday and heading east, where several rinks will be open and within 1/2 hr drive of where we're staying, including one rink that has an Olympic-sized sheet (woo hoo!). So I can get some decent practice time in for the 10 days we're gone.

Off-key:

Not enough time to warm up before coach arrived! My fault--I was running late. But it did mean my BW crossovers looked pretty crummy! Ah well.

Found out that one rink will be taken down mid-Feb (old and warped, apparently) and won't be reconstructed until late summer!! Dunno what this will do for ice time all those months. I really don't need any more changes in the rink's schedule--it's been hard enough to rearrange my life around the current schedule!

I need bungee cords for my legs, because my free leg is always drifting away from my skating leg. Or maybe magnets on each ankle. Duct tape? And weights for my arms, which are tending to fly far too high, causing me to lose control.

Terri C

12-18-2006, 07:02 PM

On song:
My spins are back, finally!! Yippee!!
Jumps were all pretty much present and accounted for
Finally, finally, finally- we are now asked to wear the yellow sash when we do our programs and there is a file for putting CD's in line!

Off Key:
Did program runthrough for Bronze freestyle test- it was pretty bad that even though I fell on the loop, I also two footed my toeloop ( that NEVER happens!) and bailed the salchow. None of the spins were available for that either.

A funny moment today
Terri: " we can play with Silver moves today"
Coach: "I don't know what's on Silver moves"
Terri: "Eight step mohawk, forward and back crosstrokes, threes in the field, pre- pre spirals, and power pulls"
Coach: "Uh, we'll freestyle today"

Makes me think this next moves test will be a doozy!

mikawendy

12-18-2006, 09:04 PM

A funny moment today
Terri: " we can play with Silver moves today"
Coach: "I don't know what's on Silver moves"
Terri: "Eight step mohawk, forward and back crosstrokes, threes in the field, pre- pre spirals, and power pulls"
Coach: "Uh, we'll freestyle today"

Makes me think this next moves test will be a doozy!

Or maybe coach just wanted a week to review the patterns to make sure he/she was going to teach them with the correct focus for the adult test....

Sk8pdx

12-19-2006, 12:40 AM

... Hmm, 4 more days until the solstice and then the days will start to get longer again, which here in the rainy (and somewhat dangerous if you have been listening to the news from around here) ...Skating-wise there is no song -- who knows if I can get those Bronze Moves ready through the holidays (sorry sk8pdx, it might not happen for me in January!).

NOOOOOO!!! 8O don't make me go through this all alone! :cry: My primary coach thinks I am ready though. She just wants to see more power to make up for when I get nervous, so I can still pull it off and hopefully pass.It is going to be a very full test session.

Hey, we got lucky here in pdx after those awful wind storms. Parts of Seattle (especially on the east side) were without power for up to 48 hours.

vesperholly

12-19-2006, 01:03 AM

Off-key: Axel disappeared. :cry: The first few I do are rotated, but I'm sitting down. Then I get super frustrated and the rest are utter crap.

On song: Um ... I actually made it to practice today? I only skated two days last week. I'm sure that contributed to my Axelitis.

jazzpants

12-19-2006, 01:13 AM

NOOOOOO!!! 8O don't make me go through this all alone! :cry: My primary coach thinks I am ready though. She just wants to see more power to make up for when I get nervous, so I can still pull it off and hopefully pass.It is going to be a very full test session.Sk8pdx: You're NEVER alone... you got the whole skatingforums board cheering you on!!! http://www.cosgan.de/images/smilie/sportlich/n030.gif

So get going!!! :P :lol:

Casey

12-19-2006, 01:23 AM

On Song:
- Getting sore after practices recently. Not sure if that means I'm learning more or haven't been skating enough as of late, but it does mean I'm building some strength so it's all good. :)
- Loop timing is coming along really nicely - I'm getting more height and it's fun. :D
- I almost feel like I could do a double loop sometimes but it's really scary to try and I think that's what's messing me up. I accidentally overrotated so much yesterday that even though I swung the free leg out to try to stop it I landed nearly forwards and had a spinny fall. :P I think I need to start working on toe loops and salchows more which are horrible in comparison because those should be easier to double. The axel is too weird for me to even think about trying without coaching.
- Been getting up really quickly from any falls - as soon as I slow enough to catch the ice with a blade I get back on my feet and try to keep going.

Off-key
- Had a "toepick!" moment while skating really fast - went flying forwards face first - witnesses would later tell me that I was parallel to the ice while a couple feet above it - then landed on my chest and slid about 30 feet before I managed to stop and get back up. But it didn't really hurt anything (note, always always keep your knees and elbows and wrists up and the fall will never be too bad) and I kept skating. Declined the request for a repeat from another adult skater though. ;)
- I still have no power at home, and my regular rink is still dead too as far as I know. It's been nearly 100 hours now.

Thin-Ice

12-19-2006, 03:05 AM

Fussy, curmudgeonly comment from snobby musician: shouldn't it be "in tune" rather than "on song"?

It depends on which culture you're in... in the US, yes, it would be "in tune" but Mrs. Redboots started this and in Europe "on song" is the phrase used... kind of like on the east coast of the US, you stand "on line", but on the west coast you stand "in line". Isn't English a wonderfully flexible language, no matter where you're speaking it?

aussieskater

12-19-2006, 05:29 AM

In tune/On song (depending on where you are! :lol: )

Thanks to SkatingForum's support and sage words (especially the one about keeping warm - thanks Mrs RB!), we survived the Xmas show and remained on our skates. I even had someone come up to me afterwards and claim that (a) she hadn't realised it was me out there, and (b) that we did something "impossible" (to wit, a counter turn in a supported teapot. That one cost me in particular a *lot* of falls, so it was nice that it was appreciated!)

We reviewed the video this afternoon and for first-timers who haven't been dancing 12 months yet, it wasn't really all that bad. Obviously, there were things which could be vastly improved (self - bend knees! stretch free leg! don't look down! stop shaking with nerves! DH - bend knees! don't toepick! get lower!), but overall we were reasonably pleased with how it went. So many thanks to our ever-patient coach, and to you guys! :D

Off-key

School holidays have started, so the ice has effectively ceased for a month or more. :?? :cry:

flo

12-19-2006, 10:04 AM

On song: Had a great time teaching last night. The kids were really excited and ready to skate!

Off key: It was the last lesson of the set.

Isk8NYC

12-19-2006, 10:25 AM

flo - didn't know you taught. Good for you (and the kids)!

Off-Key:
I gave a private lesson last night to one of my favorite students. She was much less distracted this week because her Mom (not Dad) was the Parent in Attendance. Her mom gave her "what for" because the kid complains constantly about her skates not being tied properly. She must have them retied at least three times during the half-hour she's on the ice.

To add to her misery, she chose to wear those little tennis socks (no pompon) which made her skates too tight. She usually wears thin knee highs. So, she complained about foot cramps continuously.

I recommended she join my Saturday group class. They're her age and level, plus I've coaxed all the whining out of them. It would be really good for her to be with other kids and to feel challenged to keep up with a class.

On Song:
Wore my new skates, which felt a bit big. I ordered cotton laces, so hopefully that will help me tie them tighter. Still, my edges were more secure, crossovers were so much easier, and my beginner jumps were pretty good.

dbny

12-19-2006, 11:03 AM

On Song:
Went to the rink this morning for my own practice only, and did actually manage to work a bit more than usual, which was even noticed by one of my adult skater friends.

FO threes are getting sooo very close to being checked properly, and I've got the little half turn needed for the step forward to the next three on the FO alt three pattern.

I've been scared of FI threes forever, but today, all of a sudden, the LFI three just started to feel very secure, and some of that transferred over to the RFI three.

I'm now getting 3 to 4 revs on my one foot spin pretty much every time I try, and getting less dizzy too. Mind you, these are piddling, slow little spins from a F pivot, but it's a real advance for me.

Finally, the RFO three felt good enough for me to try the Prelim power three pattern on that side, and I was actully able to do it, including the step forward after a real (not abbreviated) BXO. I am still slowing myself down, but I'm thrilled that I can even do this move right now.

Off Key:
Nothing today, except that I need to push myself harder.

Mrs Redboots

12-19-2006, 11:11 AM

(Actually, I don't get quite the same meaning from "on song" and "in tune".... quite.... not sure how to explain it, though).

Anyway, today was mostly on song. We had our couples' lesson, as usual on a Tuesday, and as we hadn't done any work together before it started, we had to start with our usual warm-up of forward skating in open Kilian "And I really want to see some lean". That was satisfactory, so it was runs round the circle, which weren't. At least, they were relatively okay in Kilian hold, but reverse Kilian was another story. Then we spent most of the rest of the lesson working on first chassés and then swing rolls in waltz hold, and then finished with a look at the Willow waltz.

After the lesson, Husband had a few minutes before his train, so we worked on skating backwards in Kilian, which is coming. At least we can move now - time was, we barely could. But I still find I'm not getting a really good push on to my RBO edge, and my LBO edge, although it has a reasonable push, is actually a LB flat.

After he'd gone, I worked on my dance moves, which are coming - I have my test papers and must send them in; husband has his, too, so either we'll fax them (safest, this time of year) or use one envelope. Don't know when the test will be - as late as possible, we hope. And I'm neither expecting nor expected to pass, but it would be horrible to let the deadline go by and not even try! You never know.... and they are improving.

I also ran through a solo Fiesta Tango (slow, but reasonable) and Willow Waltz (I got through it; at least, one pattern) before getting off.

Off Key: Runs round the circle in Reverse Kilian, especially clockwise. I find anti-clockwise more difficult, but in clockwise, it's really hard to get where I should be to enable Husband, who finds these hard, to do them. Finally we decided to remember to think "ribcage", not "shoulder", and that helped.

looplover

12-19-2006, 01:54 PM

on song:
Started learning pre-bronze patterns in preparation for my switch to USFSA...zero tests down, four to go, AN 2008...:D

Has second interview for job that is literally a three minute drive from my rink (this doesn't count as a good skating practice but it will beget good skating practices)

off key: my back inside edges stink! also, I can barely do a T-stop, and I have some ugly spirals! I like my jumps this week though. Back to basics. Also lost my gloves.

Casey

12-19-2006, 02:32 PM

- I still have no power at home, and my regular rink is still dead too as far as I know. It's been nearly 100 hours now.
Current ETA for power restoration from the power company is Friday, which will be a week and a day. Of course their previous ETA was today, and before that yesterday, so who knows really.

Sk8pdx

12-20-2006, 12:04 AM

Off Key:
Worked with coach on Bronze MIF intensely today. specifically the alternating back XO's to Back edges. and power 3's. 3 turns are so scratchy! and I am not getting enough power on the crossover into the next 3 turn, stepping too early on the axis, throwing the whole thing off! :frus:

On Song:
Well, at least 5 step mohawk is pretty decent.
I practiced loop and flip off -ice. I am beginning to sense some of the timing and rhythm going into the jump. Now,:?? if I could just get the rotation and the spring off of the right foot...

Casey:
Wow! 8O still no power yet??? Good thing you are skating to keep warm. :P

Jazzpants:
Thanks for the good cheers!8-)

Rob Dean

12-20-2006, 07:57 AM

Off key: It's been an off-key sort of week in general. I'm supposed to be working on the APB Moves patterns with the intention of testing soon. Unfortunately, the LFI3 is just not getting any better. :frus: My coach had me starting to work on improving 3s some time back, and the other forward 3s (no back 3s yet) all showed significant improvement quickly. This one just doesn't get better, so we've spent most of the last couple of lessons analyzing tracings, resulting in having the blade remounted last Friday. That led to Monday's lesson being taken up by more tracing analysis. This apparently showed that the blade had been moved enough to make some outside edge moves difficult (where they weren't before) without allowing a clean inside edge in anything other than what feels like a very exaggerated position to me. I had a familiarization lesson with my new backup coach last night, so I decided to be dutiful and ask about this rather than play with dance patterns. That meant another lesson disappeared into the black hole of this problem--without getting in any of the other moves patterns and dance reduced to a five minute afterthought at the end of the lesson. :frus:
So, it looks like it's back to the skate technician for more work. Testing will have to be deferred for at least a month since the other patterns have had little or no attention (and are edge dependant anyway...) and dance keeps getting pushed out of lessons by moves problems. All of this also makes that intro to figures a little problematic as well...

On song: No comment. :x

Rob

TimDavidSkate

12-20-2006, 08:37 AM

December 19 ~ Tuesday
Needs tuning
Skated at Aviator Sports tonight. We were running late because of traffic so we arrived right at 6:53. I grabbed some pizza and red bull and chomped while putting on my skates. Since there was no warmup time so to me the ice was extra hard. Of course it took me a while to warmup. My friends of course were already to their double jumps. Well Angelo has a higher stake because of Nationals so there is less pressure for me. Anyways.... I botched my first few attempts at the flip and lutz... But when the zamboni was pulling in I managed to do a Flip, Flip/Loop, Lutz, Lutz/Loop back to back.

Rusty Blades

12-20-2006, 09:48 AM

Squeaks & Squawks! Only 12 weeks left to get this in shape for competition - YIKES! REALLY need to work on some high-speed turns (F/B, B/F) !!!!

Tuning Up Backwards is getting fast - need to get my deep backward edges to get the cross-overs. Also The rest of my skating is getting strong but I don't feel I can turn at that speed yet 8O

Hitting The High Notes! Last half hour was empty ice so I started working with my choreography on full-ice and rearranged parts to get better speed and coverage. I think it is going to be a nice program - for a tottering old woman! :roll:

icedancer2

12-20-2006, 01:10 PM

On Song: I went to another rink yesterday that has gone from a two-rink facility to a one-rink facility and I, for one, liked the changes!! It was more intimate somehow, and the ice was FABULOUS buttery, smooth, wonderful ice. I will go there again and maybe soon!!

Home rink was not so crowded today because they sold the public session ice to a group and so there were three of us (plus our coach) on the freestyle before that (sold) public and the ice was pretty good!! It's also pretty cool when an hour freestyle session ends up being three adult ladies doing figures for a half-hour and finishing up with Moves and Dance. Now THAT's my kind of session!!

Bronze Moves Update: The Forward and Back Perimeter STroking and BO Edge PAttern all feel pretty darn strong. And the 5-Step and Power 3s are getting more consistent BUT:

Off Key: Coach thinks those two moves need to be stronger NOW so I can skate them the way I'm skating them NOW on the test, if that makes sense. She said that she thought they would pass this way, but that I wouldn't feel good about presenting them before a panel if they were slow like this. She is right. I want them to be good, and feel good about doing them, because I know on test day I will be skating like an old, slow skater no matter what happens!

I'll give it two more days of practice before deciding... (sorry sk8pdx, you're younger than me!!)

Mrs Redboots

12-20-2006, 01:41 PM

Off key: I had a bad cramp in my left calf muscle when I got up this morning, and it was still very sore when I got to the rink; I was a bit concerned about skating on it, and massage wasn't helping, so I decided I'd put my boots on and see what I could do. Oddly, the second I stood up in my boots, the cramp vanished as if it had never been, and, touch wood, hasn't been seen since.

On song: Husband landed another flip - at the moment, they are landing about once in ten attempts, but this will obviously improve the more he works on them. This particular landing was very far from pretty, and had no glide at all, but it was a definite landing.

Together we worked on swing rolls and chassés in waltz hold, which are really flying now. Especially when we do the chassés in time to the Golden Waltz music, almost scary. And our swing rolls cover way more ice than they used. We also practised skating together backwards in Kilian; I'm still not getting on edges but we are flowing much better. So we attempted to upgrade that to chassés, but that was a failure. But doing a Mohawk, three edges, stepping to forwards, another three edges and another Mohawk seems to work, although Husband said that we needed to cross our feet, as in the Fiesta, before stepping forward, "as it is easier", which I thought missed the point rather.

Off key: My lesson was a bit disastrous; we spent most of the time working on cross-cuts, which were simply not working today. No matter what we did.... until after my lesson, when I did a whole lap of not-at-all-bad ones! Which I promptly told my coach, who was pleased.

Main problem is that I lurch forwards, and I find it very difficult to start with my weight far enough back. Really focussing on staying down in the knee during the last two crossovers across the rink helped enormously. Let's hope I can do that when it's wanted!

On song: But I did do one complete lap!

flo

12-20-2006, 02:39 PM

Isk8NYC - Thanks! I've been teaching for a bit. It's a blast.

Mrs R. Congrats to Mr. R on his flip, and you on your lap!

Tessa

12-20-2006, 05:29 PM

Off-Key -- back threes. Did I mention back threes? Any of them, take your pick; cruel, awful things. I wanted to keep doing them on the boards but nasty coach made me try them in the pattern.

On Song -- the first two pre-juvie patterns are progressing, but now it's time to start cleaning them up and that was a little painful (so sort of off key). For my last five minutes coach let me do freestyle instead of 5 step and spins were good. Coach complemented me on my power and my backspin.

plinko

12-20-2006, 06:29 PM

Off-key:

I don't know whether I need to quit my coach or whether my coach is just not interested in coaching me. I have a regular slot but for several weeks now the ice has been cancelled we get bumped for hockey, this is fine as I get notice of this. But what I didn't know until lately is that my coach has been scheduling ice to replace this, and I didn't get invited. So I've been skating for three weeks now without a lesson, this is not that bad because hey I'm an adult and am pretty focused with my own notebook of things to do, but there's a couple of competitions coming up and I haven't done a program runthrough in front of my coach in more than a month.

I'm going to say that I think I know why, it's because I told the coach that I couldn't afford a coaching fee at these out of town competitions and was planning on going on my own. I've put myself on the ice before, five out of seven times last year because the coach was tied up with other competitions or coaching obligations, but I've never before been the one to say that it was not necessary to be there. I'd gotten used to not having a coach last year and have a good pre-competition plan. I guess I've offended the coach in some way about this but at least it would be nice to actually have a conversation and find out what's behind the cold shoulder.

On Song:

I'm having some success with the flip sequence and have redone the end of my program to now include it which is rather thrilling and I'm having a decent attempt in program about half the time. This is good. I'd like to have more flow out of it, I land and stop, but it's leaving the ground so I'm happy. I just want to show my coach!

Terri C

12-20-2006, 06:42 PM

On Song:
The freestyle elements keep coming back,slowly but surely.
Coach managed to squeeze my lesson in despite my being late today- more about that is posted below.

Off Key:
Traffic from work to the rink was nothing short of a nightmare. I usually leave work around 3:25-3:30 ish and can be at the rink by 3:45 or so. Today with TWO major accidents on the freeways in my area (apparently one was fatal), I didn't get to the rink until 5pm and ice ends at 5:50. The freeway exit I take to get to the rink was closed and I found this out, oh about a hour after driving to get there. Can't people just take their time and drive the freakin car?! :frus:
Needless to say. I was so rattled, that my sit spin refused to show up for lesson.

Rusty Blades

12-20-2006, 09:16 PM

P.S.

On Song I did a perfect RBI 3 turn at speed this morning. I didn't intend to - it was supposed to be a Mohawk. (The only 3 turn I am close to is the RFO3!) What are the chances I could do that again if I wanted to? LOL!

Sk8pdx

12-20-2006, 10:33 PM

kateskate

12-21-2006, 05:14 AM

Back from my holidays!

In my whole 5 years of skating, this break has been the longest I have ever gone without skating. I've had a week off here and there but never over 2 weeks. Prior to today, 21 December 2006, my last skate was Sunday 3 December 2006. I never wanted to have a break from skating and in any event I was a little scared I'd forget how to do it if I took too much time off.

On song

I got to skate! I'm so happy!

Managed an ok willow waltz and 14 step surprisingly. Steps were ok. On the 14 step I need to make sure the back inside edge after the Mohawk travels towards the barrier rather than just stepping down. But he was generally happy. Worked on presentation points which means my feet must be ok ish.

Did some field moves drills. Dance teacher decided to start off with we would try the level 10 back inside loop exercise. Since I can apparently do loops! Hmmm. Well I have one in my free dance but I don't think that means I can do them. I was ok with my right foot. I even got two comments of 'Good girl' which is amazing!

Dance teacher then showed me the three turn rocker drill which is about level 8. Back crossover, right back outside three, left forward outside rocker then back crossover left back inside three, right forward inside rocker I think. Of course I struggled on the forward outside rocker. I wasn't getting my shoulder back after the turn.

I love field moves drills and it was fun to try them even though they weren't anywhere near right. Something fun to practise.

Off key

Even the bad stuff was fun today as I was just happy to be on the ice! But it wasn't a great skate.

My skates felt a little odd and I was a little shaky at first but after 5mins I was fine. Of course everything wasn't as polished or balanced as I would have liked but I didn't feel too strange. I warmed up just doing forward skating and edges and then some three turns in a figure of 8. I was going to start on bronze field moves turns but thought that was a little adventurous for the first day back so I did the interbronze outside 3s and inside 3s instead.

Dances were ok step wise but generally I need to present more. Teacher told me it was all a bit 'dance club' today. So we worked on head movements and lifting the dances. I wish this came naturally to me.

I was doing something odd on the inside edges. Dance teacher doesn't like me doing swing rolls so I have to do the edges with the free foot held behind and then together and then push. It takes more control I think as I cheat a little with adjusting my body position when I do a swing roll - no chance of that on a held edge. He said I was bringing my feet together at the top of the circle and leaving them together (but on one foot on the edge still) for the rest of the edge and that looked strange. I have to make sure I start to bring the foot in later and make it a continuous movement.

Ran through my free dance which was interesting. Very very under rehearsed. I got a little stuck on my twizzle sequence and was rather wild on the step sequence. Spirals were flappy. Ran through my tango which was disastrous. Forgot which way I was supposed to pivot at the beginning and then spent the rest of the time trying to catch up with myself.

Skating tomorrow again. Can't wait.

Skate@Delaware

12-21-2006, 08:22 AM

Off-Key: haven't been skating since the show ended on Sunday...not for lack of wanting to but I've been bit by the flu bug and am laid up until better. Spent 2 days in bed, am up today but only in short spurts. This bites because I have a comp Jan 15 with 3 new jumps and footwork and now I might have to withdraw if I'm not ready....:frus:

On-Song: this time gives me the opportunity to edit and burn the show dvd...

Kristin

12-21-2006, 10:20 AM

On-Song:
Well, it actually took place last Saturday (16th) but I wasn't online all weekend, so I thought I would post it today: I passed my Silver FS by all 3 judges! So my Christmas this year won't be a "white" one, it is a "SILVER" one! LOL! :D

Normally I lurk, but have really enjoyed reading about other folks' progress weeks in the past. Great thread & keep up the tireless work, everyone!!! :bow:

Wishing you & your family the best during this Christmas & New Year's Season! :D :D :D

Kristin

Isk8NYC

12-21-2006, 10:28 AM

CONGRATULATIONS, KRISTIN!

Warmed up in my new skates, took my lesson in my old skates, then switched back to the newbies for a bit of extra practice. How many times can I change skates in an hour and a half? LOL

On song:
My MITF are much improved, my coach even remarked that she was surprised at the rapid progress.

I still say figures were easier than memorizing all of these positions and checks. (Definitely slower, with more time to correct mistakes!) Ah well, I consider it professional development for coaching. ;)

Off-key:
The new boots are breaking in slowly, but surely. I even managed a few good back crossovers in them after my lesson.

Both pairs of skates need a good sharpening.

Hit a Bad Note:
I warmed up wearing my new skates and decided to not waste lesson time struggling to bend my knees/ankles. During the ice cut, I was switching back to my old skates when one of the other pros at the rink made a snippy comment about my taking off my new skates, then wanted to know why I even needed new skates, especially Klingbeil's. (Guess she didn't notice the lambswool pads I was putting on for my old skates.) I think she's just jealous!

B Sharp:
I broke a lace on my old beige skates, so I just changed both laces. Didn't feel like dying a pair of laces, so I put in white ones. Our Director laughed and said she did that for a few weeks last year - she called them her "bowling skates." :lol:

Kristin

12-21-2006, 11:55 AM

CONGRATULATIONS, KRISTIN!

Hit a Bad Note:
I warmed up wearing my new skates and decided to not waste lesson time struggling to bend my knees/ankles. During the ice cut, I was switching back to my old skates when one of the other pros at the rink made a snippy comment about my taking off my new skates, then wanted to know why I even needed new skates, especially Klingbeil's. (Guess she didn't notice the lambswool pads I was putting on for my old skates.) I think she's just jealous!

Thank you so much! I am very relieved to have this test done. Now the REAL work begins.....8O

Funny about the reaction regarding the new skates.....some people just don't understand things......:frus: :frus: :frus:

Skate@Delaware

12-21-2006, 11:57 AM

I think she's just jealous!
B Sharp:
I broke a lace on my old beige skates, so I just changed both laces. Didn't feel like dying a pair of laces, so I put in white ones. Our Director laughed and said she did that for a few weeks last year - she called them her "bowling skates." :lol:
She probably was jealous!

We had a skater in our show wear her new boots....with brown laces! So, white boot covers worked for the show and hid them well! It's weird seeing white boots with brown laces!!!

Way to Go Kristin!!!!

dbny

12-21-2006, 12:07 PM

Congratulations Kristin!

doubletoe

12-21-2006, 12:29 PM

Kristin rocks!!!: :bow:

jazzpants

12-21-2006, 02:05 PM

YAAAAAAY!!! Congrats, Kristin!!! :D (I know I said it on the other board too, but hey I don't mind saying it twice!!!)

ISk8NYC: Hey! You can always tell the woman that if she pays for your lesson to break in new skates that you would be happy to wear the new skates during your lesson! LOL!!! :twisted: :lol:

On song or In Tune:

(Okay, I can be a snobby musician too... :P )

Just FINALLY made it back from skating at Chelsea Piers!!! My NYC coach is as wonderful as can be.

Off Key:

We were essentially working on my loop jump!!! GAB-NABBIT!!! I wanted so much to land my loop clean in front of Emanuele!!! :x :frus: I think the other thing that Emanuele and I worked on were forward and back crossovers. Believe me, he and I have SOOOOOOO much to work on just on crossovers and mohawks. 8O 8O 8O He wanted me to set up FI mohawks as if I was doing inside spread eagle. (In fact, he and I sorta did an inside edge spin together today... or rather we tried to do one and I almost managed it.)

On Key (sorta...)
And if you think that's interesting... wait 'til 'ya hear about Tuesday. If Em can find an open harness, he's gonna put me on it! (My secondary coach would just LUUUUURVE to see THAT!!! :twisted: :roll: :lol: ) Okay, it's on key b/c I get to see Em again for another lesson. But not on key b/c I have to go on that dreaded harness again!!! 8O

icedancer2

12-21-2006, 02:15 PM

Oh, PUH-LeeZ, THAT is such a LAME excuse if I ever heard one!:P ;) :lol:

...Buttery, hmmm.? Wow, I haven't been to *that* rink since July. I will need to go visit. You should come to my rink and practice your moves as if you are taking the test.-- Then let me know what you decide. besides, I could use a critique...:halo: (my primary tried to get another judge to do a critique, but he was too busy for the holidays to do it.) The test registration isn't due until the 30th.. Plenty of time!:D

Well, lameness has a lot of to with why I am not taking the test!! (lame on many, many levels...):lol:

I will be happy to come down and critique you -- do you have my phone number? I will PM you so we can set something up.

icedancer2

12-21-2006, 02:24 PM

Off-key: for me it's all about the ice. So today I went back to my home rink where they had a two-hour public this morning and the ice was total CRAP and there was a group of about 20 kids, plus hockey lessons, plus, well, a good figure skater and a younger one, so that was okay. So I hardly skated and just basically socialized. Tried to teach my friend the 14-step and realized that I really do need a tall guy to skate with -- his arms were just to short to have a good bridge -- arrrgggh!

What kills me is that I WAS going to go to the rink with the buttery ice (I love that desciption) but decided against it because the weather forecasters were talking about freezing rain and I thought maybe I would get in trouble if I went to that rink. Wrong. There was no freezing rain -- I mean, how can it freeze at 40 degrees?

On song: having decided to not test moves makes me feel so free!!! Whoo-hoo! Who needs those Moves anyhow? It's not like I am competing or need them for competition!!!

Tomorrow I plan to skate early so I can dance with a tall guy with longer arms. Oh, what we do for our sport!!!:giveup:

Kristin

12-21-2006, 02:37 PM

Thanks to all for the congratulatory wishes!!!! :oops: :D You guys are making me blush!

You can do that loop, Jazzpants!!!! ;)

e-skater

12-21-2006, 03:18 PM

Skate@Delaware

12-21-2006, 07:04 PM

Everyone, get some skating in for me :cry: ....I'm still laid up with this stupid flu-bug (altho I have to go in to work tomorrow to pay everyone :x ). Won't be much good to do anything else. Keep ticking the days off the calendar to my next comp (Jan 15)-I'm going to have to make every minute count once I hit the ice again!

Altho today was a nice day and I got my new washer/dryer!!!! Front loaders and they are in my master bathroom-I've done 4 loads already (ok, ok, take it easy I know, at least I don't have to go up and down the basement steps!!!!) Woo hoo! No more missed dryer buzzers and wrinkled clothes!!!

jazzpants

12-21-2006, 07:13 PM

WOW!!! Looks like I have an addendum to my list.... I was SHANGHAI by the family to take my 3 year old niece to go ice skating. We were at the (what my MIL says was) world famous Jones Beach looking at the Christmas light displays. We then went in and took my niece to see Santa before passing by the ice rink. Niece was VERY intrigued by the ice and decided to go on. I didn't want to at first, mainly b/c I was tired, but b/c also I didn't have my own skates and the ice was like "river filled and smooth" according to the rink person later said. They didn't even have a Zam...and the last straw was... the ice skates not only had NO ankle support for me, but the blades were NOT SHARPEN AT ALL!!! The guy admitted that they don't even have "one of those handheld sharpeners!!!" (Dude, for the stuff that I saw on your blades, you'll need a LOT more than those handheld puppies!!! 8O :roll: ) The only good part is that the ice was so hard and so weird that I'm glad I didn't waste my good blades on THAT ice!!!

Let's just say all those factors made it VERY hard for me to skate around as is, but spin and jumps??? FAGGITDABOUTIT!!! :cry:

The good part is that it looks like my niece seems to like being on skates. Unfortunately the grown ups (even yours truly and you know how much I like to skate) had enough... So looks like we have a brand new 3 year old toddler skater who's looking forward to skating again soon. (I'll make sure if they do to pick a REAL ice rink and not just some strange outdoor one in a shopping mall... AND I will make sure that I BRING MY OWN SKATES next time!!!) Looks like hubby thinks my niece thinks I'm a hero b/c I actually went out on ice with skates on. (Mommy was going to go on ice, but given that she's "Mommy" and a kid needs her mommy more than her crazy auntie, I felt bad about it and ended up actually "shanghai"-ing myself for the job of helping her skate.) :P

S@D: Get well soon! My niece got to skate a little for 'ya since you're out... And WOO HOO on the new washer and dryer too! (I LOVE new washer and dryer. Just my thing....)

Sk8pdx: Be brave and go for that test in January! You can do it!!! :P

LilJen

12-21-2006, 07:36 PM

It depends on which culture you're in... in the US, yes, it would be "in tune" but Mrs. Redboots started this and in Europe "on song" is the phrase used... kind of like on the east coast of the US, you stand "on line", but on the west coast you stand "in line". Isn't English a wonderfully flexible language, no matter where you're speaking it?

Color me embarrassed. <culturally illiterate American slinks away with several bottles of shandy, takes the lift downstairs, hitches a ride on a lorry, which lets her off at the car park; she deposits herself in the boot of a car, and a fortnight later is discovered blotto, mad, and murmuring 'hemidemisemiquaver' over and over./>

On song/In tune: Finally arrived at my destination in VT, and I am SOOOOOO ready for a good, blood-pumping skate after 2 days of sitting in a car!

Sk8pdx

12-21-2006, 11:41 PM

Icedancer 2: Got your number girl, will call ya!
Jazzpants: Good or bad, pass or fail, I am still testing. Even for the sake of skating in front of judges/audience etc... I need to experience more performance and overcoming nervousness.

Off-key:
my salchow! it was so rushed today. I rushed everything. I just need to slow down and breathe. (I don't mean not to skate with speed and power, just concentrate on rhythm and flow a little better in a jump context). Secondary coach worked with me on loop jump today from a RFI3. and a little off ice as well. Progress is coming on my loop. but it isn't a real loop in my book until it is consistent. (and I would much prefer one from a mohawk entry. ooo, then when I get good, backward 3 turns. :) )

On Song:
Well, almost landed 2 good loops today. I just need to breathe and not rush the 3 turn entry (RFI 3). Worked on backspin as well. *think* "slow and steady wins the race". ...

Thin-Ice

12-22-2006, 04:43 AM

CONGRATULATIONS Kristin!!!

Have a merry "silver" Christmas! What a great gift to yourself.. and one only you can give yourself!!!:bow: :bow:

Skate@Delaware

12-22-2006, 09:58 AM

CONGRATULATIONS Kristin!!!

Have a merry "silver" Christmas! What a great gift to yourself.. and one only you can give yourself!!!:bow: :bow:
he he he! this made me think of adorning my tree with skating medals!!!! Ah, what will i think of next to occupy my time??? Went to the doc today and i have tonsilitis (glad it isn't strep but throat hurts just as bad). Should be feeling better in a few days but boy am I wiped out! Luv this one: drink plenty of liquids....yeah my throat feels like it's on fire and it HURTS to swallow (but I know I need to)...

Rusty Blades

12-22-2006, 10:34 AM

Off-Key: With empty ice after 8:30, coach and I decided to do lesson late today and work on the choreography so I had 1:30 warm-up and gawd knows I NEEDED it this morning! Everything was stiff and my balance was off :cry: I took the time to work on backward foot speed and all kind of turns and turn sequences (which sounds a whole lot better than it actually is! :roll: )

The ice was empty after 8:15 so I started into my program again to figure out the middle and end - I like the beginning I worked out Wednesday. Since I don't have a high-speed F/B turn, I substituted a one-foot stop (stepping off to a back edge) and that worked well. I also figured out what makes a nice ending. By the time coach arrived, I had been through the program 3 times.

The Whole Danged Symphony! I skated the program for my coach, to the music, the first time she has seen it, and her first comment was simply "WOW!" *** insert ear to ear cat-who-ate-the-canary grin here!!!*** Her second comment was "And we STILL have 11 weeks to work on it!"

After two or three more times through the program, working on little refinements here and there, we called it quits for the holidays but this GREAT BIG GRIN wont be going away any time soon. After working my a## off for a whole year, everything seems to be coming together! :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

(P.S. I can't believe I was ready to pitch my skates in the trash a month ago!)

Team Arthritis

12-22-2006, 10:45 AM

*** insert ear to ear cat-who-ate-the-canary grin here!!!*** Her second comment was "And we STILL have 11 weeks to work on it!"

After two or three more times through the program, working on little refinements here and there, we called it quits for the holidays but this GREAT BIG GRIN wont be going away any time soon. After working my a## off for a whole year, everything seems to be coming together! :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

(P.S. I can't believe I was ready to pitch my skates in the trash a month ago!)

http://www.cosgan.de/images/smilie/musik/n025.gif
Lyle

LilJen

12-22-2006, 01:49 PM

Part 1 of the VT/NH area rink reports while we're out here for Christmas. I've never been to any of these places before so it should be interesting to see.

Today: Riley Rink, Manchester, VT. Nice facility--but can you say MEAT LOCKER??? Very, very cold inside; I think the walls are merely sheet metal so it almost might as well be an outdoor rink (it's about 20F out today). However, GREAT to have the Olympic size ice. It nearly made up for the gaggles of teenagers--who were either swooping all over uncontrollably or standing in large groups. The cold made the ice rather hard, which, while it did make it tougher to hold edges, also meant the ice wasn't nearly as chewed up as it is at home.

On song:
Good practice on waltz 8s, which are coming along, and all four consecutive edges. Did a decent (I think) string of waltz jumps. Oh, and I did several runthroughs of the canasta tango, so I think I finally have the dang thing memorized. Though I suspect my slide chasses look odd--must ask coach.

Off key: Timing is off on the half-flip jump--I think I'm picking before I even bend my skating knee, so duh! I get no height at all. I still can't manage more than 3-4 revs on a two-footed spin. But it is *some* progress, at least, from the summer.

Sk8pdx

12-22-2006, 03:03 PM

Rusty Blades: Yaaaay!!Way to go!!! So wonderful to hear about your progress and celebrate with you. Hey, btw, any updated pix of your backyard rink?

S@D: I hope you are feeling better soon. :cry: Maybe a little ice cream might help your tonsilitis. The thing that crossed my mind was a huge Jamba Juice (if you have those in Delaware or any other place in the mall you can get smoothies). It might help ease the pain. :)

On Song:
Well, I woke up feeling so fatigued today. I took the day off work and stayed in bed for an extra hour folded in half with my kitty while taking delight in her soothing reverberant purring fluffiness. Decided to take in a peaceful day of non-skating to rest. However my busy mind is still arranging plans to meet my skating goals for the next year. There is always skating going on in my heart and soul. Will get back to work during jump and spin class tomorrow...

Happy skating everyone!

doubletoe

12-22-2006, 03:19 PM

The Whole Danged Symphony! I skated the program for my coach, to the music, the first time she has seen it, and her first comment was simply "WOW!" *** insert ear to ear cat-who-ate-the-canary grin here!!!*** Her second comment was "And we STILL have 11 weeks to work on it!"

Woo hoo!!! The ole' girl's still got it! :lol:
Way to go, Rusty!!!

doubletoe

12-22-2006, 03:44 PM

Well, I woke up feeling so fatigued today. I took the day off work and stayed in bed for an extra hour folded in half with my kitty while taking delight in her soothing reverberant purring fluffiness.

Good kitty! :D Apparently, purring has healing powers, which is why injured cats actually purr (something that always baffles humans). Ever since finding that out, I have tried to coax my kitties onto my sore quad muscles whenever I've skated too much, he he.

Speaking of sore quads. . .

On Song
Today was a half day at work, so I figured nobody would notice if I took off another half day and didn't go in at all. ;) So I played hookey and skated from 7:45 to 10:45 (including a 40-minute lesson and 2 program run-throughs). I think we made some progress figuring out my new toeloop entry and double sal setup, although the proof will be in the landing. Also, even though my spins were very weird outside of my program, they behaved very nicely during both program run-throughs, which was very encouraging. (Let's hear it for muscle memory!) I stretched for about 45 minutes after my long practice, and got very close to a full split on my "bad" side. Woo hoo! just a little further. . . I can taste it. . .

Off Key
My axel was all over the place this morning. Ugh! And when I tried the splits on my "good" side, I was sort of rocking from right to left to get down a little further (I was almost there) when I felt a pop in the hip socket right under the glute of my front leg. Oooookay, that was weird. It didn't hurt or anything, so I'm hoping it was just like one of those chiropractic adjustments where tension got released from the joint. :roll: I suppose my "bad" side is now my "good" side!

Skate@Delaware

12-22-2006, 06:38 PM

Get well soon! My niece got to skate a little for 'ya since you're out... And WOO HOO on the new washer and dryer too! (I LOVE new washer and dryer. Just my thing....)
Yay for her!!!!!

The Whole Danged Symphony! I skated the program for my coach, to the music, the first time she has seen it, and her first comment was simply "WOW!" *** insert ear to ear cat-who-ate-the-canary grin here!!!*** Her second comment was "And we STILL have 11 weeks to work on it!"
That is fantastic!!!!!!! and you still have tons of time to tweak it!!!

I hope you are feeling better soon. :cry: Maybe a little ice cream might help your tonsilitis. The thing that crossed my mind was a huge Jamba Juice (if you have those in Delaware or any other place in the mall you can get smoothies). It might help ease the pain. :)
Hmmmm not sure what a Jamba Juice is but I did have a milkshake today and it helped and some plain soda later on. Can't have too much milk due to my lactose intolerance (why did Rita's close for the winter??? I could use an Italian ice!!!)

I have been placed on Z-Max, and I'm not sure how my system is going to handle it. Not to go into great details but I am staying close to the bathroom....and I did end up losing my yogurt that I choked down:cry: so I guess it will be a waiting game from this point out.

It hasn't helped that I've hardly had anything to eat since Tuesday and am barely keeping hydrated....This really bites!!!

Ok, I'm done whining. Hopefully, I will feel much better by Christmas!

jazzpants

12-23-2006, 11:50 AM

Rusty Blade: MEOW!!! Pffft, pffft!!! :mrgreen: (Congrats to you!!!)

S@D: This is what a Jamba Juice (http://www.jambajuice.com/) is...

On song/In Tune:
FINALLY got to skated at the new Aviator rink yesterday and had the skatingforums meetup!!! Happy to meet everyone who was there. Got some nice spin entry tips from ISk8NYC too, thank you!!! (It was helping a bit on the camel spins for me. :D )

Off-Key:
My skating!!! Couldn't spin much... well, backspins anyway (I did maybe a couple!) Couldn't jump! Even my speed drill of skating around the ends of the rink to build up speed to do a simple waltz jump or salchow went KAPUTZ!!! :giveup:

On song/In Tune again:
REST DAY TODAY!!! I get to be LAZY in my bathrobe and fuzzy slippers!!! :D