Scratchy or Smooth! Practice Apr 30 to May 6

[Rusty Blades]

In light of a so-so practice this morning, this week will be about what's smooth and what's scratchy!

After a weekend on my feet and up a ladder (taking down the rink lights) my calves were REALLY stiff this morning and took a full half hour to loosen up.

Worked on a whole bunch of stuff this morning - a lot of backward edges (so-so), backward glides, RFO spiral (so-so), forward XO's both ways (not bad), and even went back to some to practice some forward edges (FO's were good, FI's were so-so).

Worked on my weakest turns (left foot and CCW) and noticed something strange..... I started hitting the LFO 3-Turns (with right foot lightly on the ice for balance) and they were SILENT, left no snow on the ice at all, and seemed ever so much smoother than my RFO-3's. When I looked at the tracing on the ice, they don't have a point like my RFO-3's but like a little tiny oblong loop. Actually had to sit down with a piece of paper to figure out what I was doing - I'd like all my 3's to be that smooth!

[flo]

Smooth: Skated as a guest in Mika's rink's shows Saturday and Sunday. There were other soloists, and the kid and adult performance troups. It was really well done, and the adult number, which Mika was in was beautiful.

I'm happy I was able to do the show with only a few hours on my new skates. The program is also new (as in a work in progress) and will be my next year's interp number.

New skates are doing well so far. I'm getting use to the new design and have tried everything but doubles. There's a few differences with the dance boots, and it will just take practice to adjust. I haven't had a pair of boots that fit in over two years, so it's a nice change.

[Petlover]

Smooth: Some of the kids were working on jumps the opposite way, asked me if I could do that (I always jump CCW). I showed them my CW waltz jump and CW toe loop, and they were impressed! These are kids doing doubles and triples, so it's really neat that they not only included me, a 50+ year old adult in their play, but liked what I did!

Scratchy: It's Monday, that says it all.

[Isk8NYC]

Smooth:
Practice for the Pro number on the show went very well, after a rocky start. So far, so good.

I'm soooo glad I started practicing a few months ago - we were flying on the ice during parts of the routine. I kept up with the leader and the person following me wasn't tailgating. Whew!

Rocky:
I foresee lots of toe steps in this routine - my favorite. :roll: :roll: How does one run on toepicks so quickly and smoothly?

Hit the click of death on back crossovers - the leader started earlier than I expected (she left out a move) and my foot was numb from standing in skates on the ice too long. Went down with a thump. No injury, got right back up and took my place in line again. Next few runthroughs were fine.

Wet and Wild:
The few guys we have skating are hilarious. It's mostly wild hockey players and one/two figure skaters. One of the funnier moves was having a 6'5" hockey guy climb the glass and imitate King Kong swatting planes. Quite a bit raunchy, too, can't repeat why - take my word for it, the routine would be rated "R" if they were left to their own devices. Good thing there were no parents/students watching the practice.

ETA: We're practicing on "dead ice" and the published schedule doesn't *really* show what the ice is being used for, so everyone's very curious about the "Ice Theatre" that's taken so much time.

Last year, one of the participating coaches kept interrupting the practices and trying to re-choreograph "his way." He wasted a lot of time arguing during practices and I really didn't like anything he put into the program. (Lunge circles with our faces in each other's backs? Yuuuuuuck!)

This year, he's sitting it out for some reason, but he came to the practice, pulled a chair up to the glass, and watched.
It was unnerving. Just hope he decides to stay on that side of the glass. *crosses fingers*

[black]

Not posted for a while so a little catchup. I have started lessons with a different coach on a less crowded patch session and it seems to be going okay so far. Been going through the SkateUK1-10 levels + signed off the bronze passport (freestyle). :)

Currently working on the silly Salchow :frus: - keep jumping too soon, not letting the blade curve round enough and under rotating. Also need to get the free leg slightly higher on the backwards spiral. The teapot + spin are truly sorted!! ;) 8-)

[icedancer2]

Smooth: Had my first lesson today since I broke my foot - my friend suggested that since neither of us had had any coaching in a while (she was on a break) that maybe our coach would agree to doing it as a semi-private. I agreed although we skate a different levels, and it was fun! My coach can always find interesting stuff to work on. She started with that new Adult Pre-Bronze Move - neither of us needs to test it, but the coach wanted to try it on us because she is trying to learn what that move is all about and it was good for both of us because we have different strengths and weaknesses on our turns, etc., that needed to be worked out. Then we worked on some BI edges.

She wanted to know what we wanted to work on and I suggested working on the Foxtrot Mohawk - my friend is just learning it, I can do it pretty well, but since I broke my foot, everything is harder. She broke down the step and we worked on it and then we worked on the whole dance. My coach was able to make a dance that I have done for years and made it interesting, and my friend went from hardly knowing the dance to doing it very well!!

It was good to get my mind off the foot and onto working on some technique again, that is for sure.

Scratchy: The ice was crap again. Why can't they make it right every time? Oh well, maybe if I'd gotten there earlier it would have been better, but I kind of doubt it. Also their inability to turn on more lights (it's always kind of dim in there) is unbelievable to me!! I think they are causing more hazards for us akters! [gripe, gripe, gripe, gripe, gripe].

More to come on Wednesday I hope!

[looplover]

Scratchy: I can't seem to rotate all the way and land on one foot w/this lutz. I know it's totally mental/fear. I almost did it once today - then I got on the harness but somehow it felt more awkward, then I tried it and had a weird power fall.

Last lesson today with beloved coach before I move :cry:

Smooth: Almost have the sit spin back, loop is higher

[doubletoe]

Smooth
After taking two weeks off (and losing 5 pounds) with the flu, I got on the ice for the first time on Friday evening for just 45 minutes. Then yesterday (Sunday) I skated for 3 hours! I am surprised that I lasted so long!
AND I got my reverse sitspin back yesterday! I've always hated that RFI edge entrance, but as soon as I started doing them on the line, they started behaving! :)

Scratchy
I sure am rusty on those Intermediate MIF after shelving them for 4 months! Ugh. And today my hips and butt are definitely reminding me that they hadn't skated for awhile! :p

[Terri C]

Smooth:
My backscratch spin, my toeloop, salchow.

Scratchy:
It seemed for a bit this afternoon that I lost the loop mojo. I hope this won't happen on test day. Two runthroughs and still no clean program.
Found out that I will not be eligible for the newly formed high freestyle session on Wednesdays- it's only for skaters that have axel and above. Then again, if the ice is chewed up by then, what good would it be to skate on it.
Icedancer, I hear ya about the crappy ice- they never want to cut the ice at my rink when it needs cutting!

[PattyP]

Smooth
After taking two weeks off (and losing 5 pounds) with the flu, I got on the ice for the first time on Friday evening for just 45 minutes.

Hey doubletoe, glad to hear I'm not the only one who's been off since AN. I've skated a total of 5 minutes since I got back. I aggravated the heck out of the lace bite problem I'd been having and it still hasn't cleared up. I received acupuncture today in desperation for a solution (I hate needles). He told me to take another week off. Crap.

Glad you are feeling better...where did you have 5 pounds to lose?? You must have been pretty sick. I'm just getting fat not skating. No, the running alone is not enough. :cry:

[jazzpants]

Smooth:

One foot spins, sit spins, back sit, backspin to a point. Did the ISI FS 3 spin for yuks. Wasn't so bad...
Tried the loop. Seems to be okay when I wasn't tired.
Footwork was okay.
I managed to finally eek out some a teeny weeny RBO3's (my bad side.) My LBO3's are still there too! YAAAAY!!!! :bow:
Spirals - At least I'm looking more like a plank! Now I have to curve the torso and lower it!!!Scratch:

Camel
Flip jump sucked. I think I was getting tired then.
This pose-pose thing that I'm supposed to do at the end of my footwork sequence in my program is very embarassing!!! Primary coach would NOT change it. He agreed with hubby in saying that I need to watch "Chorus Line" and "West Side Story" and not watch "The Bird Cage" with Robin Williams. :twisted: :P :lol:Doubletoe: Glad you're starting to feel better... at least well enough to do 45 minutes.
PattyP: Hope you'll find a solution for your lace bite problem.
Terri C: RATS!!! That SUCKS about the FS session!

[SkatingOnClouds]

Scratchy
backspins have gone on another holiday. The way I'm twizzling, my backspin needs its own passport.:twisted:
In fact I didn't have a good spinning weekend at all.

Smooth
Jumps ! I'm doing lutzes again! This is my final element to come back after that 20+ year break. I still chicken out as often as I jump, and I still tense up too much to do them in front of my coach, but I am landing them. YAY!

Flips improving to the point that I can do flip/loop combination now. Not all the time of course, but getting it more often.

Scratchy
technical competition this weekend. I'm not competing, as they didn't offer an Adult division and I'm not skating Elementary (an Aussie test level). So I get to help at the rink on the night, as well as support my Darling Daughter.

Of course all the kids practising for the competition make the figure skating club session I go to on a Wednesday night way too scary and chaotic for me to practise. So I miss a skating session this week.

The good news is that this is the perfect opportunity to send my skates off for sharpening (separation anxiety already) so they'll be nice and sharp when I do skate on the weekend.

[Bill_S]

... I aggravated the heck out of the lace bite problem I'd been having and it still hasn't cleared up. I received acupuncture today in desperation for a solution (I hate needles). He told me to take another week off...



I had a bad case of lace bite about two years ago, and someone mentioned that the problem might be broken-down tongue padding on my skates. After I sent them in for new foam, I was CURED!

This might not be so in your case, but it's something to check into.

[jskater49]

Scratchy - had to get up at 3:30 am for the 5:30 am ice in Des Moines. You know, I don't mind getting up at 4 - but 3:30 just seems like it's still the middle of the night :??

Smooth - Once I got on the ice, I was feeling okay. Went through my moves - very small crowd at that hour so I didn't have to dodge anyone. I think my power 3s on my bad side - that is my left ones are almost as good as my right ones were when I started. My good ones are pretty close to passing, I think. I still need to figure out intro steps and getting to the next side. The intros to a lot of these moves are really challenging for me because I still don't feel comfortable doing 3 turns in that direction. I'm kind of weird in that I spin ccw but I prefer to turn clockwise. So my mohawk or 3 turn is good, not depending on which leg, but which way I'm turning.

I did some magnificently cheated on both ends toe loops off my waltz jump. Why is that under smooth? Because for me to have enough flow coming out of my waltz jump and then to have enough guts to jump, albeit pre rotated is really quite an accomplishment and I'll take it!

j

[Mrs Redboots]

Smooth: Compulsory dances are going well.

Scratchy: Have very little to do when I'm alone on the ice.

Smooth: Coach has given me a workout routine to do when I'm alone on the ice (as in, not with Husband, not as in "only me" - I wish!).

Scratchy: Coaches have gone on holiday for a week, as has Trainer. Trainer was buying euros and didn't get in before I had to leave, so I didn't get my stretching session. Hope they all have a great time.

[phoenix]

Scratchy: I have a strained/pulled hip flexor that has been really bothering me. Went to PT yesterday for it--after beating me up for 1/2 hour (YOWCH!!) my PT guy gave me exercises to do, including one that I'm supposed to do every hour! I'm already failing at that schedule, but I did do it several times throughout the day. I have to be kneeling on the floor to do it, so not the easiest thing to explain when at my office!

He said I could still skate, so long as the pain is minimal, and to skip anything that aggravates it--which removes choctaws & brackets from my repetoire for awhile.

Smooth: So yesterday did an experimental practice--skating hard but only 1/2 hour & nothing 'twisty', and my hip feels all right today, so I think that's going to be the way to go. I have today off anyway, so tomorrow I'll go for a full hour & see what happens. It will do me good to work on basics (stroking/edges/3 turns/twizzles) for a few weeks anyway.

[Rob Dean]

Smooth: It wasn't really, but I'll count it as such after last week. I put my helmet on and cautiously went out for my lesson yesterday. The fiesta is still a mess, but could't expect much different after injuries and no practice for a week.

Rob

[PattyP]

I had a bad case of lace bite about two years ago, and someone mentioned that the problem might be broken-down tongue padding on my skates. After I sent them in for new foam, I was CURED!

This might not be so in your case, but it's something to check into.

Thanks for the tip Bill!

Unfortunately mine started while breaking in new boots. Maybe I should try skating in my old boots until it completely clears up. I should also try to find a way to get extra padding in there. I used a gel pad to get through AN, but it isn't working anymore.

[Petlover]

Smooth: The end pattern on the Rhythm Blues is really feeling good now that I'm finally doing it right. I also had airtime on the salchow, coach was really pleased.

Scratchy: The knee bend on the 1 foot spin entry just was not happening today - oh well, there's always tomorrow.

[Emberchyld]

Scratchy: I was looooow on the magic skating fairy dust today.

For some reason (and this happens so randomly), I felt like I was right on the very front of my blade the entire time, as if my boots weren't on right. So EVERYTHING was scratchy!

Except for my scratch spin *lol*. I still can't get the whole stepping into the circle thing right from back crossovers. I know what I'm supposed to do, but I can't get my foot to go that way in my spinning direction-- CW.

But
Smooth: Wierdly enough, I can go into the prep and actually had a few revs on the scratch spin in my non-spinning direction. I think everyone on the ice must have thought I was crazy because I kept alternating between the two directions one after another, trying to figure out what's going on with my CW entry. I'm nearly tempted to use the CCW turn to pass Freestyle 1 (I think it's 3 revs that I have to do?) and then work on CW to actually get lots of revolutions, but I know that would be cheating.

Of course, I coooooould just change my spinning direction for good, but I get so many more revs CW (even though my jumps are CCW)!

[doubletoe]

Hey doubletoe, glad to hear I'm not the only one who's been off since AN. I've skated a total of 5 minutes since I got back. I aggravated the heck out of the lace bite problem I'd been having and it still hasn't cleared up. I received acupuncture today in desperation for a solution (I hate needles). He told me to take another week off. Crap.

Glad you are feeling better...where did you have 5 pounds to lose?? You must have been pretty sick. I'm just getting fat not skating. No, the running alone is not enough. :cry:

Hi, Patty! No, I didn't have 5 lbs to lose and was really concerned that I was losing valuable skating muscle. The flu sure takes weight off fast, but I sure wouldn't recommend it! :(
I am so sorry to hear that this lacebite thing hasn't cleared up at all. I forget, do the tongues of your boots have a plastic strip on the outside to help prevent lacebite? And do your boots have a notch in the lace area? Both of these features can help lessen lacebite. I think it's possible to have your boots modified and it won't cost that much if you have it done somewhere like Willie's in West Hollywood. I'm actually going there this Friday to get one of my boots reinforced in the ankle. They do great work, are very reasonably priced and could probably make any modifications you like, including adding additional padding to the tongue and/or covering the inside of the tongue with leather (which one of the guys there told me he recently did last week for a customer). The number is 323-463-5011.

[doubletoe]

[B]Smooth
Jumps ! I'm doing lutzes again! This is my final element to come back after that 20+ year break. I still chicken out as often as I jump, and I still tense up too much to do them in front of my coach, but I am landing them. YAY!

Flips improving to the point that I can do flip/loop combination now. Not all the time of course, but getting it more often.


That's so exciting! Congratulations!! :bow: :D

[Sessy]

I just scratched up my elbow and got blisters on my feet...

... From doing half-loops, toeloops and hydroblades on inner edges (for that sit spin!) on roller skates! Yeah baby! I'm back in the game! 8-) 8-) 8-) 8-) 8-)


SkatingonClouds, you rock!!!!! :bow:

[Sessy]

Do you guys know the stuff PartyFeet? It's gelly/rubbery cushions (rubbery filled with gel) and they're sticky and re-washable and re-usable. They're sold in grocery stores and shoe stores here in the Netherlands and they're a pretty new thing but they ROCK. Except you need to get the ones for the foot cushion, not for the heel, since the heel ones are too small to use for skaters.

Anyway you can stuff them anywhere in your skates and you won't get blisters. Just do stuff them inbetween your socks/tights and the skates, because while you can put them on naked skin without any problems (they do stay on), it just feels like you've stuck your foot into a dead jellyfish or something. Really really icky and distracting, even though your foot doesn't slide with it or anything.

The pads are also only a few millimetres thick, so you barely notice them. I'm thinking you could probably use them for lacebite too.

[PattyP]

I think it's possible to have your boots modified and it won't cost that much if you have it done somewhere like Willie's in West Hollywood. The number is 323-463-5011.

No, I don't have either the plastic strip or notch.

Thanks doubletoe! I will give them a call. I'll try anything. At least I'm not skiing anymore. I think that's where I did the most damage to that area.

[Scarlett]

[QUOTE=Emberchyld;320016Of course, I coooooould just change my spinning direction for good, but I get so many more revs CW (even though my jumps are CCW)![/QUOTE]

You might want to consider changing your spinning direction to match your jumping direction. It will make things so much easier in the long run especially when you start doing loops and above where you are backspinning in the air. The fact that you can spin in both directions is then just an added plus.

[Terri C]

Scratchy:
Me when coach asked for me to do my five minute program warmup for my test in two weeks!
Backscratch did not have enough revolutions.
Am quite frustrated over the sit, as I have busted my butt, left thigh and then some to get it to recognizable position and today as I'm closing in on test day, it decides to misbehave!

Smooth:
Jumps, including the loop!:D

Any ideas on how to handle the test nerves the next two weeks???

[doubletoe]

Scratchy:
Me when coach asked for me to do my five minute program warmup for my test in two weeks!
Backscratch did not have enough revolutions.
Am quite frustrated over the sit, as I have busted my butt, left thigh and then some to get it to recognizable position and today as I'm closing in on test day, it decides to misbehave!

Smooth:
Jumps, including the loop!:D

Any ideas on how to handle the test nerves the next two weeks???

Don't worry, it's good that you are nervous and messing up now. If you get "pre-stressed" then your body will be sick and tired of being stressed by the time you step on the ice for your test and then you won't be nervous when you take your test. Also, everyone skates terribly in the week leading up to the test or competition, but then it all comes together when you need it. It's just your mind's way of getting all of the mistakes out of your system. I know it sounds hokey, but both of these rules of skating have turned out to be true for me just about every time!

[doubletoe]

No, I don't have either the plastic strip or notch.

Thanks doubletoe! I will give them a call. I'll try anything. At least I'm not skiing anymore. I think that's where I did the most damage to that area.

You might also try calling up your boot mfr. (Harlick? I forget) and asking what modifications they have made to boots to solve lacebite problems. . . then just have Willie's do it. ;)

[jazzpants]

Scratchy:
Brackets! Can do FO brackets but still have a heck of a time doing BI brackets. Hmmmm? Could it be b/c I can't even get to the back of my heel to make the turn??? ;) (And of course, I can't do a BI3 for the same reason???) :twisted: :frus:

Smooth:
Finally made secondary coach take a look at my camel spin. In one lesson, she's already making some progress on the spin part of the camel and got me to get more consistent spins. (I wasn't even consistent with the spins before that!!! Lost the spinning part last month and was :frus:trying to get it back...) Now to get INTO a nice spiral position and I'll have a camel too!!! :mrgreen:

[Rusty Blades]

After an exasperating day at work, I decided to spend most of tonight’s session on left 3-turns and all CCW turns (including Mohawks), which I did. In lesson, coach and I worked on troubleshooting my right 3-turns as well, trying to get my free foot to behave and stay out of it! She also suggested I work on two-foot alternate turns (CW & CCW) to get used to the hip twist.

Smooth Everything is coming along slowly....

Scratchy everything except inside 3's!

[Emberchyld]

You might want to consider changing your spinning direction to match your jumping direction. It will make things so much easier in the long run especially when you start doing loops and above where you are backspinning in the air. The fact that you can spin in both directions is then just an added plus.

:D I should... it drives my coaches nuts that I jump one way and spin the other (I only jump CCW thanks to the fact that I can't land on my left leg... I don't want to think what will happen when I get to a CCW jump that has a left foot landing!)... but I'm such an instant gratification kind-of gal and love the fact that I can get sooooo many revs CW.

Buuuuut, I definitely have to consider this change, especially with the whole crossover entry thing... :frus:

[Isk8NYC]

Got stuck late at work, but I forced myself to scoot over to a rink and put in 45 minutes of practice. Haven't skated at this rink in years - the ice was very nice and there were only three skaters. I was (of course) the only adult. Better than wasting two people's time tomorrow morning since I lost out on my Sunday morning skate.

Scratchy: Pretty much everything: MITF, loop jumps, camel spins.

Worst of all, I appear to be "double tracking" all of my right outside edges. (B&F) When I look at the tracings, I see a faint second line from my inside edge. Sharpening? Alignment? Who knows? :frus: :frus:

Smooth: Surprised myself by centering most of the spins, even a (pi$$ poor) layback. The ones I blew were technique errors.

Jumps other than the Loop were okay and seemed higher than usual. Dunno why - maybe the ice.

Emberchyld - keep your current spin direction AND learn the other way, too. It's a cool trick that one of my students is able to do -- instead of a change-foot, she does a change-foot-AND-direction! She starts on her "weaker" side, which is CW for her, then switches to a forward CCW spin. Since you're comfy with the jumping and landing CCW, start practicing spins that way, too.

[Rusty Blades]

I agree - keep both spins!

I used to be able do some spins both ways and do some basic jumps both ways to (many moons ago!). When I started re-learning spins just recently, my coach had me start with a CCW 2-foot spin (which she assumed was my "normal" direction). When I turned around and did it opposite foot and opposite direction, her face lit up and she said "We'll keep them BOTH!" There are benefits to being ambidextrous (ambi-foot-rous?) LOL! :mrgreen:

[Skittl1321]

Tuesday lesson was just all scratchy. I'm not sure anything went well. During LTS teaching I was fine in my skates, but afterwards I got this incredble pain on the side of my left calf/shin (it's not really either, but both) there is no bruise, but I feel a bump (husband doesn't) and it still hurts this morning- occasionally I can't even put weight on it. That definetly bothered me during my lesson.

My spinning stinks! And it frustrates me so badly. I just cannot fan kick and for some reason now I can't even center a spin. It's like I'm regressing.
My backspin is going nowhere.

I learned the last pre-bronze mitf pattern- the mohawk to get back facing the right way to do the 3 turns is incredibly confusing. I learned it on the short axis, and have no idea how I'll get it to fill the long axis, I could barely do it on the short one.

My waltz eight is getting better. For some reason my coach has decided during the crossover figure eights I have to pick up my foot on the backward crossovers- I've never done that before, and it's really thrown me off. I thought that was an ISI thing? USFSA basic skills (at two different rinks) both taught it with the foot pulling across. Here's hoping it will pass- but he's had lots of students pass standard track tests, and that's what he teaches all of them.

Only good thing- my jumps might be improving. And the show this Saturday (although my skating stunk) was lots of fun and I got tons of compliments on my smile.

[jskater49]

. For some reason my coach has decided during the crossover figure eights I have to pick up my foot on the backward crossovers- I've never done that before, and it's really thrown me off. I thought that was an ISI thing? USFSA basic skills (at two different rinks) both taught it with the foot pulling across. Here's hoping it will pass- but he's had lots of students pass standard track tests, and that's what he teaches all of them.




Funny you should mention that - my coach is going over some basic stroking and crossovers with me today and she was lamenting that in LTS you start with the foot pulling - what that does is make you too dependent on putting your weight on both feet and you need to be comfortable putting most of your weight on the back edge. She told me mine weren't bad, but she'd like to to work on picking up my foot, just to make sure I've got more weight on that edge.

Smooth - I'm just so excited during this month I get a HALF HOUR OF freestyle coaching every week. I can afford it because we are at different rink and the ice is cheaper.

So she starts out reviewing basic stroking which I'm not bad at - she said I've got good posture, good power, but I could get more power if I would extend to the fullest...I tend to just extend a bit and then switch, she wants to completely extend and get the most out of my pushing.

Forward crossovers "These are acceptable for a lower level skater but you are no longer a low level skater" Woah - some good news in that bad news I think. I tend to put my foot down way crossed over, she wants me to set it down just in front, and let the under push finish the crossover. Which means more knee bend and keeping my hips square -I tend to twist my hip. She had me do this against the board so I could make sure my hip stayed square.

And the back crossovers...wants me to practice picking up my foot for above reasons.

Scratchy We went over my spins program. She liked my transistions and just fancied them up a bit with some arm movements to give it attitude. But my spins were not there. Yesterday I could spin. Not today.

We reviewed the back outside pivot again. What's good is that I'm much more secure on the right back outside edge (thank you Moves - really practicing your moves does help!) I can get set up in the position, but putting my pick on the ice, I just don't like that feeling.

This is good and bad - the last year I've really just been reviewing and improving things I learned a long time ago, so I haven't had to deal with the discomfort of learning new things. The good is that I'm ready to move on to learn something new, the bad is I forgot how hard that is for me, how long it takes for me to get comfortable with something. It's kind of frustrating.

j

[liz_on_ice]

smooth - my program runthrough during my lesson was good - I never nail it when my coach is watching, but this was almost decent: jumps airborne, spin spun, footwork crisp. I even skated it to the music, what a concept!

scratchy - my totally lame salchow. We worked on it a whole bunch though, and I think I finally have the feel of how it's supposed to work. Don't ask me how I was doing it before, I think I said it was totally lame. Unfortunately the zamboni chased us off the ice before I could really let it fly. We'll see how it goes at the next practice.

[tidesong]

smooth- worked through spins... layback got a break through... of all things!!! haha

axel and double salchow are still on the higher side of 50% landing rate... yay

scratchy- did a zhang dan fall on a double sal... bruise on inside of knees... haha lucky nothing worse than that, my two hands also helped to break the fall.

not much progress on double toe. worrying but... ok its only one session, maybe next week will be better.

[herniated]

Scratchy: Skated yesterday, everything was SCRATCHY! Got my blades sharpened and they are TOO sharp!:twisted: And I'm slipping on my left outside edge. Fell 4 times in 40 min. on stuff I normally could do blind-folded.So I got off the ice.:giveup: My coach will bring my skates to the sharpening guy tonight. This usually does not happen, my skate guy is good but... somethings wrong.:frus: AND... I compete in about two weeks. Not good timing.

Smooth: I didn't break, strain, sprain or bruise anything. A miracle.:)

[Mrs Redboots]

Funny you should mention that - my coach is going over some basic stroking and crossovers with me today and she was lamenting that in LTS you start with the foot pulling - what that does is make you too dependent on putting your weight on both feet and you need to be comfortable putting most of your weight on the back edge. She told me mine weren't bad, but she'd like to to work on picking up my foot, just to make sure I've got more weight on that edge.

My coach likes me to practice them like that from time to time for similar reasons. Especially clockwise - I do find it difficult to get all my weight over my left hip. (Dammit, I carried a child on that hip for three years, of course it sticks out! Okay, that was well over 20 years ago, but we needn't go into that!).

[Petlover]

Smooth: Finally! A 1 foot spin that was 100% correct in front of coach! Of course, it was the only one out of 4 that was perfect, but the others were much closer and coach was pleased.

Scratchy: It was the last time I will see Looplover before she moves to NC, I'm happy for her but sad for myself. I will really miss her, she is a lot of fun.

[Isk8NYC]

Scratchy:
Before I pulled a muscle in my back doing loop jump attempts, I came really close to a few landings. Switched entrances several times, without confusion.

Sand in my egg salad: (Both Scratchy and Smooth)
After the muscle pull, we kept working on jumps. Toe loops were okay, I need to stay on the edge more. Salchows were going well...until I did a really big one, twisted the pulled muscle, and doubled over in pain mid-air. My coach said it looked like a Flying Camel. Once I caught my breath, I called it a day and went home in search of a hot shower. (Man, did that Salchow feel huge - what a thrill!)

Smooth:
Forward crossover circles were better, back ones are getting there, but I am definitely not on a clean outside edge.

Did one pattern of the Prel Spirals - not too bad. I'm actually standing up in between spirals, then entering properly.

Back spins were excellent - did a bunch in the open "axel" position and pulled out of them.

[Scarlett]

Scratchy:
Went to the rink that is quite near my house but I really don't like. I was reminded today why I don't like it. The front desk staff is thoroughly unhelpful and the skaters on the session were anti-friendly. Blah.

Smooth:
I was on today for some reason. Did multiple clean scratch spins, managed the best sit spin I have attempted in a while and did 3 clean loops. I was so busy dodging the other folks on the mostly empty session that I gave up and went home after 40 minutes.

[doubletoe]

Scratchy:
Before I pulled a muscle in my back doing loop jump attempts, I came really close to a few landings. Switched entrances several times, without confusion.

Sand in my egg salad: (Both Scratchy and Smooth)
After the muscle pull, we kept working on jumps. Toe loops were okay, I need to stay on the edge more. Salchows were going well...until I did a really big one, twisted the pulled muscle, and doubled over in pain mid-air. My coach said it looked like a Flying Camel. Once I caught my breath, I called it a day and went home in search of a hot shower.

Yikes! How is your back feeling now? Hope you've got some Advil on you. . . ;)

[doubletoe]

Emberchyld - keep your current spin direction AND learn the other way, too. It's a cool trick that one of my students is able to do -- instead of a change-foot, she does a change-foot-AND-direction! She starts on her "weaker" side, which is CW for her, then switches to a forward CCW spin. Since you're comfy with the jumping and landing CCW, start practicing spins that way, too.

I agree! If you can do a spin on one foot, followed immediately by a spin on the other foot in the opposite direction, that is a feature that will count toward raising your spin a level under the new judging system. :)

[Isk8NYC]

I agree! If you can do a spin on one foot, followed immediately by a spin on the other foot in the opposite direction, that is a feature that will count toward raising your spin a level under the new judging system. :)
Oooo. I love validation.

One note about this change-direction combo: you can get really dizzy spinning in the "opposite" direction and you could lose balance on the "correct" spin. (Guess how I know? My shoulder's still healing.)

Yikes! How is your back feeling now? Hope you've got some Advil on you. . . ;)I keep Advil in my skate bag, so I took some right away. I ended up going in to work very late so I could take a hot shower with the massage head. It's still tweaked.

So now I can't put my left arm behind me (shoulder injury) and I can't reach forward or across with my right arm (back injury) - I'm a mess. And I'm trying to figure out where I can get in a quick skate tonight. Have to work on the Show program. AOSS - I've got it bad. LOL

[doubletoe]

Scratchy:
Brackets! Can do FO brackets but still have a heck of a time doing BI brackets. Hmmmm? Could it be b/c I can't even get to the back of my heel to make the turn??? ;) (And of course, I can't do a BI3 for the same reason???) :twisted: :frus:

Hi, Jazzy! I don't know if these will help you, but here are the little tips that helped me on my BI brackets. I will assume you're doing LBI bracket, OK?
- Pushoff: From RBI edge, do a tiny little swerve/change edge on the right foot to help you push off onto the LBI edge. Keep looking in the direction you're coming from (i.e., to the left) after you push off onto the LBI edge and keep the free leg in front. After a second or two, bring the free foot to the heel of the skating foot. Wait for the bottom of the lobe, and gradually turn your head to face the inside of the lobe you're on (straight, then slightly to the right). Once you hit the top of the lobe, bend the ankle and turn. When I think of turning just 1/4 turn, I stay on pattern better. Trying to turn 1/2 turn makes me over-turn a little.

[jazzpants]

I agree! If you can do a spin on one foot, followed immediately by a spin on the other foot in the opposite direction, that is a feature that will count toward raising your spin a level under the new judging system. :)Does this work for vanilla one foot spins, or does it have to be something like a camel or a sit spin? Hmmmm? I'm tempted now to learn CCW one foot spin...just to freak out my coaches!!! :twisted: :lol:

I'll try your bracket tip! ;) (This bracket thingie that I'm trying to do is something that my NYC coach taught to me and he thinks it should be EASY for me to get. Ummm... well... I'm still determined to get it by the time I see him come Christmas.)

[looplover]

Smooth: Finally! A 1 foot spin that was 100% correct in front of coach! Of course, it was the only one out of 4 that was perfect, but the others were much closer and coach was pleased.

Scratchy: It was the last time I will see Looplover before she moves to NC, I'm happy for her but sad for myself. I will really miss her, she is a lot of fun.

Aw thanks Petlover! You did great today and I'll miss you too! My movers are two hours late so maybe I'm not going.

Scratchy: movers are 2 hours late, but that's off topic. For some reason my fear of flips was back this morning and I didn't do one. Will miss Petlover my skating buddy!!!

Smooth: Petlover witnessed my one perfectly centered sit spin of a bunch of attempts, I think I am getting used to my new blades that have a decent rocker. I have been focusing on my upper back and chin and that seems to do the trick. Did some bad ones after that but that one was good. I think my coach missed it though!

[myste12]

Smooth: I finally did a catch foot layback with enough revs to actually count, and I didn't even fall over from dizziness afterward! This spin might just be a reality for next year. Now, I've got to get a sideways variation in there too, and I'll have a level 2 layback. Maybe a level 3 if I can pick up speed on the catch foot part...

Scratchy: I'm trying to skate faster into my jumps, and it's really messing with my mind. I can't seem to keep the technique correct when I'm moving faster. Sigh. This is going to take lots of work.

[icedancer2]

Smooth: The ice today! Even though I got to the session pretty late, the ice was nice and I could feel the flow so much better!! I wonder what the difference is... it is a mystery to me...

Noticing that the PT exercises I am doing for my foot/balance are helping my wayward right hip (I need to put my weight over my hip more for the balance exercise and it must be strengthening the muscles I need to skate right, which is fabulous!) and I can feel it when I am doing moves/edges, etc., especially on the right side. My coach is pleased and so am I! I guess breaking my foot and being off the ice for 2 months was good for something.

Was able to do more today, but the ligaments of the affected right foot still hurt and I am scared to do anything like one-foot turns, etc., at any speed, but I had fun today anyway!

Scratchy: Mid-back has been hurting more since I have been skating/working more - what is up with that? Still doing PT exercises and yoga for that, but it is not helping, although it feels fine when I skate. I think I must quit working, driving, etc., and just skate all of the time. That is probably the solution...;)

Now where is that Advil?:P

[LilJen]

Have been so very busy with work, house, garden, dogs, and prepping for pre-bronze MIF test so I haven't checked in. Here's a doozy of a "scratchy," though: I broke my ankle on Monday.

Yep. Skating. Doing nothing in particular. Trying to just noodle around the last few minutes of a session, since it was just me and a coach & young student. Somehow I got on my toepick and must have just collapsed on it, because it just isn't that easy to break both your tibia and fibula in a heavy-duty supportive skating boot.

Yesterday morning I had plates and screws put in and am recovering now at home. So much for the testing. so much for the ice show (now my synchro team has lost yet ANOTHER member, waah!) in June, so much for walking the dogs and mowing the lawn and taking out garbage and a host of other household tasks. And so much for skating for a while. The memory of hearing that pop!/crack! is creepy enough to me that I will be very hesitant to get back on the ice too soon after the cast is off. (Fortunately we have many helpful friends and neighbors who are generously stepping up to the plate.)

So, see y'all in a practice thread this summer?

[Debbie S]

I'm so sorry about your ankle, LilJen! I hope you heal quickly. Just don't spend a lot of time in 1 position while you're recovering, to prevent clotting. Do you start PT soon? As long as you follow doc's instructions and do your PT exercises and such, you should be fine. At least you have a lot of "helpers" around you - you don't want to push yourself too much.

[doubletoe]

Ugh! I am SO SORRY about your ankle, Lil Jen! :cry:
But I know there are others on this board who have been through the same thing, so they should be able to encourage you about life (i.e., skating!) after breaking an ankle. Get well soon!! :)

[doubletoe]

Does this work for vanilla one foot spins, or does it have to be something like a camel or a sit spin? Hmmmm? I'm tempted now to learn CCW one foot spin...just to freak out my coaches!!! :twisted: :lol:

I'll try your bracket tip! ;) (This bracket thingie that I'm trying to do is something that my NYC coach taught to me and he thinks it should be EASY for me to get. Ummm... well... I'm still determined to get it by the time I see him come Christmas.)

It will count for any one-foot spin, but I think the reason people tend to do the change of direction combo with camel spins is because they rotate slower than other spins so you're less likely to get dizzy and/or out of control on the exit of the first spin and entrance to the second one.

BTW, the bracket I was describing assumed you were doing them on lobes on the Gold MIF pattern: RFO bracket to LBI bracket. That's the only way I've ever really practiced them diligently so it's the only way I know how to describe them, LOL!

[Emberchyld]

I agree! If you can do a spin on one foot, followed immediately by a spin on the other foot in the opposite direction, that is a feature that will count toward raising your spin a level under the new judging system.

Oooo. I love validation.

One note about this change-direction combo: you can get really dizzy spinning in the "opposite" direction and you could lose balance on the "correct" spin. (Guess how I know? My shoulder's still healing.)

:D Yay! Well, inspired by all of the cheers of "keep working on both sides":

I went to freestyle at a rink I've only skated at once before. REALLY hard ice that let me hear all of my Scratchiness. But because of how it all ended up, I'll consider most of today:

Smooth: 1 hr working only on BO3s and scratch spin from both directions.

BO3's-- by the end of the session, I actually managed to pull them off, both directions, and continue gliding afterwards! Wooo!!!! Considering that I started the session totally unable to do any, this was majorly smooth.

Scratch spin... still cruddy entry from xovers. most involve me practically scraping to a halt on my toepick and then trying to push into the spin. The good of spinning both directions-- as soon as I do one, I switch to the other, so I didn't get dizzy at all. I know now why I can't get into the entry for my CW spin-- my left leg drags behind me :??. Great entry on my CCW, with virtually no rotations/travelling vs bad entry on CW, but I actually pulled off a nice, centered spin and my first real scratch spin.

Constant repetition and sheer stubbornness will do wonders! Thank you everyone for inspiring me to keep working on both sides!

Oh, and Isk8NYC-- take care of your back! Those nice stick-on heat patches did wonders for me the last time that I had a similar pull... at least you don't feel it as badly.

[Scarlett]

Lil Jen

Sorry about the ankle. Here's to a quick recovery. (I would insert the champagne smiley here if I had any clue how to do so).

[Morgail]

Heal that ankle up soon, LilJen!

Smooth:
-Back 3s (all of them) felt good by the end of the session once I remembered the tips my coach had given me :halo:
-Camels are feeling more steady. Now I can get 2-3 revolutions (verrry slow) about 75% of the time.
-I had fun playing with the back camel even though it doesn't really spin yet.
-Power pulls were decent today.

Scratchy:
-Ugh - I got SO frustrated with the lutz today. A girl on my session landed hers (with cheers all around) and I actually felt jealous. I can't believe I was jealous of a 12 yr old girl :oops: I had to remind myself that she's 12 (and I am definitely not 12), and I have no idea how long she's been working on the lutz. I've only been working on it for 2-3 weeks, so there is no reason I should be getting frustrated with it already. Sometimes I think I expect myself to progress more quickly than is possible.

[chowskates]

Smooth: Axels have been good this week

Scratchy: haven't yet figured how to do A+1Lo+1T, followed by 2T followed by 2S (properly landed, of course) all within a space of 30 seconds!

[Sessy]

Have been so very busy with work, house, garden, dogs, and prepping for pre-bronze MIF test so I haven't checked in. Here's a doozy of a "scratchy," though: I broke my ankle on Monday.

Yep. Skating. Doing nothing in particular. Trying to just noodle around the last few minutes of a session, since it was just me and a coach & young student. Somehow I got on my toepick and must have just collapsed on it, because it just isn't that easy to break both your tibia and fibula in a heavy-duty supportive skating boot.

Auch. Those toepicks are a source of injury to everybody it seems.
Good luck with everything!!!

[Rusty Blades]

OH JEN! So sorry to hear about your ankle! Major BUMMER!

It is amazing how many of the sprains, breaks, and other abuses happen when you're doing "nothing in particular"! One of my friends (a fairly high level skater) had a spiral fracture of his leg doing a simple forward 3-Turn. I sprained my ankle last summer doing a stupid back change-of-edge! T'AIN'T FAIR! Skaters should only have injuries they can BRAG about! Oh, I broke my leg working on my triple axel. 8-)

Scratchy! My usual quiet session was anything but quiet! The place was packed with hockey players and hockey parents when I arrived at 6:20 A.M.!!! Since I didn't feel like doing my warm-up amid the hockey parents, I found a quiet area of the foyer and at least did a stretch. We normally take to the ice at 7 a.m. but at 7 the hockey team was just leaving. By the time the flood was finished it was 7:15 before we got on the ice.. I HATE disruptions to my morning routine - I am not awake enough to deal with them!

The old legs were pretty stiff and wobbly this morning, I guess from all the skating this week and an improper warm-up. When coach arrived we worked on the spin entry.

Smooth: Then we worked on the spin & jump exit (RBO, free foot back) - that's going to take some practice to get comfortable! But I love learning new things (or old things in a new context).

[Mrs Redboots]

Does this work for vanilla one foot spins, or does it have to be something like a camel or a sit spin? Hmmmm? I'm tempted now to learn CCW one foot spin...just to freak out my coaches!!! :twisted: Well, I do a plain vanilla bi-directional spin, except I can never quite manage 3 revolutions on each foot (usually about 2.5) and I hate spinning so seldom practice it. Friend of mine who is doing Silver this year although she can no longer jump is hoping for a Level 2 on a combination which is a 3-rev backspin, followed by a 3-rev forward spin in the same direction and finished with a 3-rev forward in the other direction. My backspin isn't reliable enough to try that yet!

I broke my ankle on Monday. Oh, poor you! Sending huge healing vibes your way. Hope you recover quickly.

[Petlover]

Aw thanks Petlover! You did great today and I'll miss you too! My movers are two hours late so maybe I'm not going.

Scratchy: movers are 2 hours late, but that's off topic. For some reason my fear of flips was back this morning and I didn't do one. Will miss Petlover my skating buddy!!!

Smooth: Petlover witnessed my one perfectly centered sit spin of a bunch of attempts, I think I am getting used to my new blades that have a decent rocker. I have been focusing on my upper back and chin and that seems to do the trick. Did some bad ones after that but that one was good. I think my coach missed it though!

Looplover's sit spin was awesome! My coach and I were lucky enough to see it, and we loved it!

Smooth: Had 3 really good 1 foot spins! Also, I'm working on a lunge to an attitude for part of the ending to my Artistic program, and it actually worked well, can't wait to show coach tomorrow morning. The words to the song are "I get down on my knees and I will pray", so the lunge will go to the on my knees part, and as I come up in the attitude, my hands will be in a prayer position.

Scratchy: The other 15 1 foot spins were not so good, oh well....I also leaned too far into the circle on one of the spin entries and my left foot slipped off the blade - ouch!!! However, I know what I did wrong, so I didn't do it again.

Yay, tomorrow is Friday!!!!

[dbny]

(((((LilJen))))) Hope you heal quickly without complications!

Scratchy:
Everything. After cancelling my lesson last Friday because I didn't feel well, on Sunday I felt much better. Then Sunday night I started feeling terrible, and have had a miserable cold all week, that has just flattened me. NO skating at all except for teaching, which is my only outing each day. Fortunately, colds, unlike broken ankles, are usually over in a week, so I'm hoping to be back on track soon.

[xofivebyfive]

SMOOTH!- I LANDED MY AXEL! I can't believe it! I was on a public session and was doing waltz-backspins and decided to just go for it, and I did and I landed it! I was so surprised that I kind of collapsed and fell down, but I did it! Oh man I'm so happy!

Scratchy- Uh. I think I have two stress fractures now. One on each ankle in the same place. Going to see an orthopedist next week to make sure it's not some kind of bone development problem.(It's probably from tying my skates around the ankles too tight.)

Oh, and I might have lyme disease. 8O

[coskater64]

Well, got a shot on Monday, and it came with a large bruise on the front of my socket and hip flexor. No jumping until next Monday, sigh...

Figures seems to look like an 8 and are getting a little better, dances are doing okay and it just is really sore. Will go see doctor while in Germany who is supposed to be very good and can maybe help with copious hip snapping while doing spirals on right leg.

All things considered not so bad...8O

[jskater49]

SMOOTH!- I LANDED MY AXEL!

Congratulations. That is quite a milestone!:bow: :bow:

[blackmanskating]

SMOOTH!- I LANDED MY AXEL! I can't believe it! I was on a public session and was doing waltz-backspins and decided to just go for it, and I did and I landed it! I was so surprised that I kind of collapsed and fell down, but I did it! Oh man I'm so happy!

Scratchy- Uh. I think I have two stress fractures now. One on each ankle in the same place. Going to see an orthopedist next week to make sure it's not some kind of bone development problem.(It's probably from tying my skates around the ankles too tight.)

Oh, and I might have lyme disease. 8O

Congrats!!!! I know you wanted to tell everyone. That's an awesome accomplishment!!! I remember that feeling very well. Always remember that moment because it helps you on those days when the axel isn't quite coming together. I remember when my coach "tricked" me into doing my axel. He had me doing waltz jumps but I had to click my boots together in mid air. Then he told me to cross my feet instead of clicking them together. Next thing I knew, I did a clean axel.

I'm sorry to hear about the stress fractures. I've been blessed not to have had any major injuries except a slightly pulled hip flexor. I am scared to death of getting hurt. That may be what's holding me back from landing some of my doubles.

Lyme Disease??? 8O What causes that? :??

[herniated]

LilJen - Heal up quickly! Sorry about the break, I've been there too.

Smooth: The blades are much better today after the skate guy redid them. (Is that a word? 8O Oh well.) My jumps are back and I didn't fall!

Scratchy: I'm still tentative on them though. :frus: My program (that I'm usually comfortable with) was at best average today. All that falling kind of shook my confidence. Coach said to me, It wasn't you it was the blades! Helped a litttle.

[Morgail]

SMOOTH!- I LANDED MY AXEL!

Congratulations!!! That's great:D
Hope you don't have another stress fracture though, or Lyme disease!

I pinched the nerve in my left foot again...ouch. We all need to stop hurting ourselves :frus:

[Scarlett]

Congrats on the axel!!!


Lyme Disease??? 8O What causes that? :??

Lyme disease is a syndrome caused by the bite of an infected tick. The tick transmits a spirochete which usually causes a bulls-eye rash, flu-like symptoms, lethargy, and muscle and joint aches. If treated early, it can be sucessfully treated with doxycycline or amoxicillin for a 21-30 day course. If untreated or if you just happen to be one of the unlucky few, it can cause a permanent arthralgia.

[doubletoe]

SMOOTH!- I LANDED MY AXEL! I can't believe it! I was on a public session and was doing waltz-backspins and decided to just go for it, and I did and I landed it! I was so surprised that I kind of collapsed and fell down, but I did it! Oh man I'm so happy!

Scratchy- Uh. I think I have two stress fractures now. One on each ankle in the same place. Going to see an orthopedist next week to make sure it's not some kind of bone development problem.(It's probably from tying my skates around the ankles too tight.)

Oh, and I might have lyme disease. 8O

Wow, the good and the bad are equally intense for you right now, aren't they?! But congratulations on the axel!! I will never forget the moment--and the exact date--that I landed my first one! May you have many happy landings to come. :)

[Sessy]

Pulled a rib muscle on the stretches for the bielman. Au. :??

[Mrs Redboots]

Count me on the sick-list, I'm afraid; the excessive tiredness of the past three days wasn't laziness after all! Woke up this morning with the long bones in my legs aching like anything, also my pelvis, and I know from experience that this means a minor virus has struck. It will pass, and I hope to be back on the ice, if not tomorrow, then Sunday.

I don't think Husband was too sorry not to have skated this morning - he could have gone down alone, but chose not to.

[Rob Dean]

Lyme Disease??? 8O What causes that? :??

What Scarlett said...but also be aware (as I live in MD too) that Maryland is a Lyme Disease hotspot. I pay special attention to insect repellent if I'm going to be anywhere that might include ticks ...

Don't know if it's scratchy or smooth yet: Off to my lesson this morning...stole time to get in some practice, so we'll see if it's helping that fiesta...

Rob

[jskater49]

Scratchy - Ugh - this getting up in at 3 am is either going to make me strong or kill me and right now I'm thinking it's going to kill me. Thankfully it's only till June.

Back to basics - since freestyle coach got me started on improving crossovers, that's what we worked on with my dance coach who is now kind of my moves coach. She tried to get me to do this excersize for the underpush where you don't pick up your leg, just keep pushing and I just could not even close to do it and so she says "Well work on it" Um, okay. She's a little less experienced and I don't think she really knows what to do with people has helpless as me. My freestyle coach would have broken it down until I could do it. BUt that's what she gets the big bucks for.

I really want to have nice crossovers so I'm committed to working on these everytime I skate, even though it's not fun and doesn't feel good, I'm know it will be worth it when my crossovers don't give me away as a "low level skater"

Backward perimeter crossovers. I am just going to have to work on back inside edge excersizes first everytime I work on these because I tend to forget what that is supposed to feel like to get over on that inside edge right away.

Started on mohawks and ran out of time just as she was saying "you are rushing your left mohawk" Yup.

Tried to practice picking up my foot in backward crossovers and clicked my blades and went down. So much for that. Worked some more on the forward crossovers and quit 10 minutes early. Just too darn early!

j

[Terri C]

Scratchy:
The part of the ice where I did backscratch after backscratch spin!
First program runthrough: the other rink that I went to this morning has this strange policy that skaters for the most part put their own music on :roll: . Doing this inables me from doing the first two elements in my program, which I refer to as "Hail Mary" elements (backscratch and loop).

Smooth:
Warmup spins were all nice and centered.
Second runthrough of program-one of the other skaters was nice enough to put my music on for me and I had the cleanest program I've had all week!:D
Doubletoe is right- after the nerves have been plucked enough, your body has a tendency to get so mad it cannot take it anymore and this morning that is exactly what happened!

[jazzpants]

Let's see...

VERY Scratchy: Rink is closing Sunday afternoon for the ditch repair!!! :cry: (But we need to get rid of that ditch! It's annoying not being able to warm up with my Bronze moves pattern. :x ) My next lesson with primary coach is at a rink across the Bay Bridge (Oakland) ... and I will make the best of it by getting some nice BBQ for hubby and cheap gas before I get home. ;)

Scratchy:
Well, the footwork is smooth and speedy but primary coach still wants even MORE curve into the footwork (as in he wants BIGGER curves and strokes and such.) So more practice this week.

Smooth(er):

He also gave me some arms for more of the footwork and it's helping me in getting better power into the move. NOW I'm starting to cook with gas here!!! :mrgreen: (I could imagine when I get the bigger curves how I'm gonna look with the new footwork and it's a very pleasant look!) :D
The "pose-pose" at the end of the footwork sequence is looking less like "I'm a little tea pot..." And at least I got the mechanics of it to work.
Camels are spinning again and I can do this consistently... so now I have to work on the position to get this spin.
Backsit - primary coach sees progress and he's all excited b/c he's seeing that I'm closer to getting the backsit. 8O (But I will definitely work on my regular backspin so I get and STAY on the BO edge, b/c that's my weakness on that backsit.)

[blackmanskating]

Lyme disease is a syndrome caused by the bite of an infected tick. The tick transmits a spirochete which usually causes a bulls-eye rash, flu-like symptoms, lethargy, and muscle and joint aches. If treated early, it can be sucessfully treated with doxycycline or amoxicillin for a 21-30 day course. If untreated or if you just happen to be one of the unlucky few, it can cause a permanent arthralgia.

Wow sounds pretty serious!

[phoenix]

Scratchy> Well, add me to the injured list. Wed. I lasted 15 minutes, & got off the ice due to hip flexor pain; way too much! Cancelled my lesson, & haven't been on the ice since except to teach. So there goes my testing on the 19th, & possibly the pro-am in June, depending on how quickly this heals. I haven't done anything the past 2 days to let it calm down, & tomorrow I'll start some very gentle stretches & exercises. I actually have to take a student through his Rhythm Blues test tomorrow, but I should be able to get through that. 2 patterns of Rhythm Blues is a little different than 6 patterns of Killian!

Smooth>Nothing really. :cry:

[xofivebyfive]

Congratulations. That is quite a milestone!:bow: :bow:

Congrats!!!! I know you wanted to tell everyone. That's an awesome accomplishment!!! I remember that feeling very well. Always remember that moment because it helps you on those days when the axel isn't quite coming together.



Congrats on the axel!!!


Wow, the good and the bad are equally intense for you right now, aren't they?! But congratulations on the axel!! I will never forget the moment--and the exact date--that I landed my first one! May you have many happy landings to come. :)

Thanks you guys! I was getting so upset about all my bad luck with illnesses and injuries and this was really just what I needed to get me back in the happy zone. LOL.

Congratulations!!! That's great:D
Hope you don't have another stress fracture though, or Lyme disease!

Me too! 8O

Scratchy> Well, add me to the injured list. Wed. I lasted 15 minutes, & got off the ice due to hip flexor pain; way too much! Cancelled my lesson, & haven't been on the ice since except to teach. So there goes my testing on the 19th, & possibly the pro-am in June, depending on how quickly this heals. I haven't done anything the past 2 days to let it calm down, & tomorrow I'll start some very gentle stretches & exercises. I actually have to take a student through his Rhythm Blues test tomorrow, but I should be able to get through that. 2 patterns of Rhythm Blues is a little different than 6 patterns of Killian!

Smooth>Nothing really. :cry:
That stinks! I really hope it starts to feel better soon. Being injured is so frustrating, especially when you have something important coming up soon, like your test or your competition.(I got my stress fracture back in December, just two weeks before my first ever competition. 8O)


Scratchy: I was supposed to get up and go skating this morning at 6, but I was so happy because I actually slept straight through the night, for 6 hours(haven't done that in about 8 years.) so I wanted to sleep for 3 more hours before I had to go to school. And now I'm regretting it, but it's probably for the best.

[doubletoe]

Okay, everybody, just STOP injuring yourselves, would you?!! 8O . . . NOW!!

[Isk8NYC]

SMOOTH!- I LANDED MY AXEL! Cool - my heartiest congratulations. I remember my first axel - Warinanco Park/Union County Skating Club 1986. I was so psyched! I lost it a few weeks later after a car accident and it took another month to get it back. Hang onto yours for me and be careful!Oh, and I might have lyme disease. 8ONot so cool. Take the meds and be a good patient!
Okay, everybody, just STOP injuring yourselves, would you?!! 8O . . . NOW!!Okay, boss.

Scratchy: Didn't try anything fancy, in the interest of taking it easy and letting my back heal. Still, I couldn't afford to miss the pro practice for the show number, so I iced my back 5 times today before I went, then stretched gently before I skated. So far, so good.

I really have a mental block on doing back crossovers on a straightaway. I feel as if I'm going nowhere slowly, but I'm keeping up.

Smooth: Remembered all of the steps and I was (mostly) on time. I'm now on the end of the crossover line instead of the beginning because they changed the choreography. Yawn.

[Scarlett]

Smooth - Had a decent lesson today. Managed to make real progress on the flip and the sit spin...though neither was completed cleanly.

Scratchy - Just watched the video from the figure skating competition I was in last month. Yuck! I barely leave the ice when I jump, have no speed, and am way heavier (weight-wise) than I realized. I have a lot of work to do.

[sk8pics]

Liljen --So sorry to hear about your broken ankle! Ow, you broke both your tibia and fibula?! I only broke my tibia, but then the bones also separated a bit. How many screws do you have? Are you allowed to put any weight on that foot? {{hugs}} I just had my screws removed, so I'm in recovery mode (also from a nasty virus, blech). But in a couple of weeks I'll be back to the gym and hopefully back skating around the end of the summer. Good luck to you, and be sure to do everything the doctor and your physical therapist tell you to do! And be sure to move around as much as you can, you don't want to end up with blood clots like I did!

[Emberchyld]

Scratchy: I was finally on the way to being injury-free... just a week or so longer for the muscle pull on my left leg to heal... and yesterday, I heard that dreaded pop in my right leg. I think it's my hamstring again,this time looooow in the muscle.

And yet, I'm STILL debating getting on the ice for my lesson tommorrow. I didn't work so hard on the backwards 3-turns and scratch spin entries all last week to sit out this class!

[WannabeS8r]

Today, my jumps (toe, loop, flip, lutz with not much flow) were okay for the most part, except the salchow which feels very awkward. It is! It's like a... 3turn into a waltz; that's so messed up! 8O Actually, at first I was like majorly freaked out that I couldn't do a sit spin and backspin. I had done it okay (sitspin) and rather centered last week, but this morning it's all over the place. Really inconsistent. Some times when I try, I do the sit spin okay (low position, like 5-6 rotations) but other times I just screw up, travel all over the place, and loose all my momentum. Back spin just stinks. I can never get more than 3 centered revs from the basic entry. However, from the scratch-change-scratch it is more centered, and slightly faster. But STILL. Haha, I was all devastated the fist hour, but then I was like "I can do this! :twisted:" (Thanks to Laura, hehe) and by the end of the 3-hour session I managed to do a few good sit spins. Scratch spins were in bloom by the middle of the session, thankfully! But then I got tired and just did some spirals. I guess spins just don't come to me all that easily. Oh, yeah, my waltz jump got better, I finally fixed my technique (permanently, I hope)! Today was a good skate, especially since I stayed for the public session afterwards. I was very, very tired by the end!

[Terri C]

Smooth:
Wore the dress for my freeskating program that I will be taking my Bronze freestyle test in. I hadn't worn the dress since May Day last year, so felt that it was necessary to wear it to get used to it again. Forgot how much I LOVE this dress!
Second half of program on runthrough and the sitspin.
Found out about our summer ice: 7-9am and 4-6 pm Monday- Friday with some Saturdays. Will be able to skate mornings on my days off and when working evenings and I will not have to go to other rinks to skate this summer!



Scratchy:
The very beginning of the program- backscratch to loop jump. I practiced this over and over after runthrough.

Right now, I know I have a passing test in me. I keep telling myself over and over that I need to "settle" and take my time. I have a week and half to get my body and brain to cooperate!

[CaraSkates]

Scratchy:
Lost 30mins of practice time Friday due to hockey tournement. Thankfully they combined Cardio/Jr. Cardio for this week or we would have missed a class.
My MITF class ended last week, it's not being run again till August. :cry: I loved that class.
Pre-Juv Power Pulls are not working - it doesn't help that the last set (Left Backwards) is my worst. I need more rip and knee bend.
Smooth:
Pre-Juv MITF are starting to feel really good. 5-step moehawk flows now, just need to remember to keep nice deep edges on the last two steps to keep the lobes even. Even the 3-turn patterns feel good. Now I just need to work on speed.
Backspin was surprising good this week, actually all my spins were. 2sal felt awesome in my lesson Tuesday, didn't actually land any but I actually felt the rotation in the air for the first time and I was almost the whole way around.

[Mrs Redboots]

Smooth: Back on the ice. Mohawks are improving. Husband landed at least one really good flip that I saw, and I saw a very good spin from him, too.

Scratchy: Still not quite 100%, so not really fit for hard work. Mostly pottered today and helped Husband - who had forgotten he's supposed to be doing solo dance in Estonia as well as couples' dance and Free! Oops....

[Isk8NYC]

Get well soon, LilJen, Emberchyld, and (of course) sk8pics!
Good luck all you test-takers and show skaters!

It's depressing how empty the rinks are on weekends now that it's May. The communions/weddings/softball games just suck the skaters right out of the rink! One of my rinks had their skating show last weekend. Their last session was today - six kids out of 100 attended. None of them were mine, and I knew my private students weren't coming. What a waste of ice!

I know that, once my back has finished healing, I'll be happy that the "ice weather fans" are gone for the season.

Scratchy: Didn't try any jumps higher than a salchow, for fear of twisting that back muscle again. Waltz and toe loop were okay, salchow was iffy.

Smooth: Spins were okay, nothing too challenging. Spirals were steady, but not too high.

[Petlover]

Smooth: 4 out of 5 one foot spins were actually good! Also, my loops felt great.

Scratchy: Still way too much blade noise on the lunge. I will work with coach on that tomorrow.

[jazzpants]

Congrats to xofivebyfive for landing her axel! YAAAAAY! (BTW: I've seen your off-ice video and I knew from looking at the latest ones that you're gonna get that axel on ice!!!) :bow:

Terri C: remain focused on what you have to do skating wise for the program. Don't worry about the dress! Don't think about the fact that it's a test! Don't worry about the judges!!! Just the program, what you have to do in the jumps, the spins and footwork -- it's ALL about the skating!!! :P

Get well soon, LilJen, Emberchyld, sk8pics AND ISk8NYC!!!

I know that, once my back has finished healing, I'll be happy that the "ice weather fans" are gone for the season.This is when I really REALLY miss my weekend rink! If Berkeley Iceland were still opened now, the "cold weather fans" would be out and about and I would be enjoying nice open ice and starting practice with my FS program...

As it were...

I went to Oakland today. Obviously the "I'm not in a nice neighborhood" alarm went off... But it had a few advantages: 1) my friends from Berkeley Iceland are skating there... 2) I had an early dinner date and this rink fits the timing, 3) cheaper gas price and 4) since my personal trainer beat me up royally again last Friday night and my poor shoulders are paying the price, the hottub at the nearby branch of my health club comes in QUITE handy! :bow: (Don't know if it has Epsom Salt in the hottub but my shoulders SUUUUURE felt great coming out of the gym...:mrgreen: )

Scratchy:

Camel spins are still not in position, though I am definitely getting a better spin entry now!
Backspin on a true BO edge... :frus:Smooth:

But still I'm starting to get the camel spin... so I'm hopeful that I will meet my skating goals for this year.
Hmmm... whatever I'm getting on the back squat... er sit spin is still there. I am at least squatting now, that I know...
The "Shhhh... don't tell my trainer I did this" dept.: (He told me Friday night that I'm not supposed to push myself by doing jumps. Then again, I didn't push much after the one hour mark and opted for doing edgework, so I wasn't totally bad... ;) )
Loops and flips came for the party!!! YAAAAY!!!
Waltz jumps, Salchows are nice. Toe loop is still there.
Footwork is getting there.
I can't believe that I'm starting to get the forward power pulls on both feet. And even the evil back cross strokes are starting to come around too!!! (My forward cross strokes are already pretty good.)
Starting to get RBO3's too, though they are still kinda clunky and scary!!!