Oh Boy! What have I done?!?

[BuggieMom]

My daughter and I went to a session this morning, and every now and then I put on my skates and mess around with her. Nothing serious, mostly tag. Well, this morning, she tried to show me the Canasta Tango. Spurred on by some slight...I mean very slight...success at that, we moved to easy jumps. Now, I skated when I was a teen, nothing above a flip, and really bad sit spins, my dd passed me up a long time ago. So 24 years after I quit skating, here I am, 38 years old, painful knees and about 20 pounds overweight, and I am trying a waltz jump. Then a Salchow, a toe loop, a loop and a flip. I actually landed a few toe loops, and came really close to landing a flip (two footed, but not bad, they were my fav jump when I skated), no where close on the edge jumps, forget a loop. I always did hate loops! Spins? Forgetahboutit...total non-confidence there. My dd had a GREAT time being my "coach"! Why am I bothering to post about this??

I can't quit thinking about it!

I want to go back and try more. I want better skates. I want lessons. I had fleeting thoughts of competitions. And I want that skater's butt that was so discussed on another thread.
OMG!! What have I done?!?!
Is this a really DUMB thing for me to even be considering?!?
BTW...I am SOOOO gonna hurt tomorrow, I can feel it now...:giveup:

[Mrs Redboots]

Quite the reverse, it's possibly the most sensible thing you ever did in your life!

Welcome to the wonderful world of AOSS (Adult Onset Skating Syndrome). And the best sport ever!

[Isk8NYC]

Is this a really DUMB thing for me to even be considering?!?Nope, actually a very smart thing. Skaters make the best skating parents!

BTW...I am SOOOO gonna hurt tomorrow, I can feel it now...Take some anti-inflammatory (as recommended) for the next 24-48 hours and a hot bath/shower today and tomorrow. (An Epsom Salt bath is best, IMO.) You'll actually feel worse on Thursday, but it'll ease up on Friday.

Welcome to AOSS. You're in the right place if you have it baaaaad!

[jazzpants]

BuggieMom: Welcome over to the DARK SIDE and be assimilated to AOSS!!! C'mon! You know you want to do this!!! :twisted: :P :lol:

BTW: I'm 39, painful lower back and shoulders at times... and now about 7-8lbs overweight (from 15 lbs...) If I could do it... anyone can!!!

[SynchroSk8r114]

That's awesome! I wish my mom would come to the rink so I could show her a few things...I think she'd be great. But she's had two knee surgeries and is pretty hesitant to hurt them again. And I've even offered her my infamous knee pads! :D I say go for it. You're not out to make it to the Olympics - what do you have to lose? Best of luck!

[doubletoe]

DO IT DO IT DO IT DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D
Skating will make you feel more alive than anything else in the world, and without even realizing it, you will lose those 20 pounds (and get a great looking butt) in no time!

[BuggieMom]

I say go for it. You're not out to make it to the Olympics
I'm not?!?
Shoot....! :roll: :lol:
What good is a great butt if I can't go to the Olympics?!?

[SynchroSk8r114]

I'm not?!?
Shoot....! :roll: :lol:
What good is a great butt if I can't go to the Olympics?!?

LOL, go for it! You and your great butt make it to the top of the podium! :bow:

[garusha]

Awesome, BuggieMom! This is the way to live!

[Rusty Blades]

Well if you were doing all that after 24 years away, GET YOUR A@@ BACK ON THE ICE LADY! We need adult skaters. I was away 36 years and after a year I am just starting to get comfortable on backward edges and thinking about trying jumps again. Get back here while you've still "got it"! ;)

[blackmanskating]

Well if you were doing all that after 24 years away, GET YOUR A@@ BACK ON THE ICE LADY! We need adult skaters. I was away 36 years and after a year I am just starting to get comfortable on backward edges and thinking about trying jumps again. Get back here while you've still "got it"! ;)

Hahaha!!! I agree. Get out here and do yo thang ma!!! I'm 24 and I'm going to be skating as long as my body allows me to. I think you should do the same. You got a built in coach. You got it made. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. Just don't fall too hard!!

[dbny]

DON'T STOP NOW! As has already been said, those 20 pounds will come off. At 38, you're young compared to the ages many of us started (or returned) at. I'm 60, started at 53 and soooo wish I had started 10 years earlier.

[blackmanskating]

DON'T STOP NOW! As has already been said, those 20 pounds will come off. At 38, you're young compared to the ages many of us started (or returned) at. I'm 60, started at 53 and soooo wish I had started 10 years earlier.

That is absolutely amazing!!! You should be proud!!!!!!!!!!!!! :bow:

[Hannah]

Yay! Welcome!

[NickiT]

Hey, go for it! You will have so much fun and enjoy the challenge!

Nicki

[peanutskates]

congratulations buggiemom! :D

[Sessy]

I want to go back and try more. I want better skates. I want lessons. I had fleeting thoughts of competitions. And I want that skater's butt that was so discussed on another thread.

Welcome back to Heaven, girl ! :lol:

[BuggieMom]

Just don't fall too hard!!
That is the single best piece of advice I've gotten so far!:lol:
I'm 60, started at 53 and soooo wish I had started 10 years earlierWow! All I gotta say is :bow: :bow: :bow: Here I am a total chicken at 38...you rock!!!

Pain update: Well, I am a tad stiff! The worst is my right hip area, and some muscle soreness in my back. If Isk8NY is right, I'll feel worse tomorrow. I'm looking forward to that! I make my dd go through a whole stretch/warm-up routine before she skates, I guess that means I'll have to join her now...
Whenever I think about going back to the rink now, I get excited, but part of me is kinda scared. I am totally afraid of falling and breaking something! I mean, I understand that after 24 years off the ice I'll have some fear getting back on, but will I ever conquor it enough to really do anything? I can't imagine doing a lutz. That's just scarey! Now I know that is a little far in the future, and I may have more confidence by then, but right now, I can't even imagine it. Watching my dd, she does these things so easily, and she tries things with no fear. Now I can appreciate a little more what it took to get her where she is. I should probably just focus on having fun right now, but if I do this, I'm going to do this all the way...

[Laura H]

Do it!! Do it!!! I started at 37 or 38 myself - had been on the ice exactly ONCE as a teenager (but roller skated/inline skated all the time while growing up) but fell in love with it after taking my kids for a school skate night (they were in 1st grade then, now 3rd grade, one has all his jumps through the lutz and the other plays ice hockey ;) ). So I've been taking group adult lessons for 2 years; jumping and spinning and loving it!

(and if you think YOU'RE crazy . . . bear in mind that our local rink just closed and we are currently driving an hour just to get to ice . . . and I'm probably the most obsessed of any of us about "the quest for ice" . . . does that make you feel better about NOT being crazy??) ;)

So, hope we have talked you into joining us on the "Dark Side" and surrendering yourself to the grip of AOSS!! :giveup:

[Mrs Redboots]

This isn't just a sport for schoolchildren. At our rink this morning there were two schoolchildren, just two, and two college students. Everybody else, but everybody, was an adult, and most people were in their 50s or over. Including the coaches!

[southernsk8er]

You're in the wrong place if you want to get talked out of skating! LOL! I agree with everyone else - go for it!!! You're not crazy to want to skate, because skating is a great sport. You'll get over the fear, lose weight, have fun, and get skater's butt in no time. Good luck, and let us know how it's going :)

[liz_on_ice]

I can't quit thinking about it!

I want to go back and try more. I want better skates. I want lessons. I had fleeting thoughts of competitions. And I want that skater's butt that was so discussed on another thread.
OMG!! What have I done?!?!
Is this a really DUMB thing for me to even be considering?!?
BTW...I am SOOOO gonna hurt tomorrow, I can feel it now...:giveup:

Yes, go for it! Those 20 pounds will melt away, replaced by hard muscle. I *love* how my legs and thighs look now, curvy but firm, not a hint of cellulite. My butt is smaller but higher. I was thin when I was young, but just skinny, now at 39, it looks good! Take a little advil, and drink lots of water. I find days when I'm hurting are followed a couple of days later by being noticeably stronger - skating gets better.

[doubletoe]

Yes, go for it! Those 20 pounds will melt away, replaced by hard muscle. I *love* how my legs and thighs look now, curvy but firm, not a hint of cellulite. My butt is smaller but higher. I was thin when I was young, but just skinny, now at 39, it looks good! Take a little advil, and drink lots of water. I find days when I'm hurting are followed a couple of days later by being noticeably stronger - skating gets better.

Oh, and make sure you stretch after skating, while your muscles are still warm. If you look around your rink, you can find a railing, banister, stairs, benches and other props that you can use creatively for stretching. Quads, hips and calves tend to get tight/sore if you don't stretch them, so make sure you stretch those. :)

[jazzpants]

I'm not?!?
Shoot....! :roll: :lol:
What good is a great butt if I can't go to the Olympics?!?You will lose those 20 lbs when you get back on the ice and continue to skate and stroking around. And when you do lose those 20 lbs, wear a nice pair of form-fitting jeans and show 'em to BuggieDad... I'll let you figure out the rest... ;)

As for pain, keep soaking in them Epsom Salt baths. If you have access to a jacuzzi/hot tub, go to that! Works better.... And yes, as everyone says, STRETCH next time you go out there and skate with your DD.

Go easy coming back to skating. Work on getting your old skating legs back and your old jumps back first, up to and including a flip if you're that close to landing one. The confidence will come back the more you go back on the ice.

[Rusty Blades]

.... The confidence will come back the more you go back on the ice.

Jazz is right! When I started last year (at age 56) I thought I would NEVER jump - just too risky at my age. This week my coach has had me working on entries and exits (for jumps and spins) and the RFO/LBO was starting to feel really good. If I had been doing off-ice jump practice I KNOW I would not have been able to resist trying a Salchow 8O So much for "I will never jump again". Now the question is what, if anything, will I break or bruise when I DO jump - LOL!

[LilJen]

Yee ha BugMom! I'm also 38, had a severe case of Untreated Juvenile Onset Skating Syndrome (ie, wanted to skate as a kid, but never got to take lessons) and have now been skating/taking lessons for about a year and a half altogether (with several years' break in between). It's fun. . . last summer when I was just getting back into it I would be practically trembling with excitement as I drove to the rink. I thought, "what is wrong with me"? Go for it!!

[Morgail]

Yay!! Here is something to motivate you to get back on the ice: since I re-started skating last year, I've lost 20 lbs!! And I'm still losing weight:)

Go for it! I was afraid of hurting myself at first, but that passed:lol: Somehow the need to hurl myself into the air surpassed the "Oh my God I'm going to fall and break my neck" instinct.

...join us...

:D

[BuggieMom]

My dd's summary of my skating today...
"You really stunk today"

Brat...go clean your room...!:twisted:

Maybe I should post this on the "stink like a skunk" practice thread.
I guess my semi-success during my first day of skating was nothing but "re-beginner's luck", because second toe loop I tried, down I went. Not a big fall, nothing was hurt, but it made me scared to death to try another. So, on to spins. YUCK! My dd demonstrated what I looked like, and I think it was rather drunken chicken-like. My skates are actually a little big, so I am having trouble finding a sweet spot (at least thats the excuse I am giving for now!) I ended my skating practice by working on stroking and crossovers, which are not too bad. I flew around the rink going backwards, and just loved the feel of the speed and the wind whiping by. Wow!
But something else happened. I tried a spiral, and actually did a pretty nice one, then promptly felt my muscles protest, so I went skating over to the boards. There were a couple of adult skaters over there, and they told me that it looked really nice. So we stood there for a bit, me rubbing my backside, talking about skating, and how nuts we are, and suddenly I felt like I belonged to something. I have seen and talked to these people, but always as a skate mom. Now, I was out there with them, and without any further ado, I was absorbed into their little "community". I have been assimilated!
OK...I give up:giveup: ...I have become <gasp!> An Adult Skater!:D

[sk8er1964]

Welcome back! I came back at 37 after 20+ years off the ice. I was also at least 50 pounds overweight, and quite out of shape.

A bit of advice from someone who's been there -- ice and ibuprofin are your friends. :lol: I went through a wide range of aches and pains associated with coming back to the sport - most memorable was pain in my thighs (quads). That one lasted at least a month before it went away - I think it was when I was starting back on my axel. As others have said, stretch (which I don't do nearly as much as I should). Also, listen to your body. When it's had enough for a day, it will tell you. I didn't listen when it told me to back off the axels and doubles about a year after I came back, and I paid for it with a hip flexor injury, physical therapy, and a three month ban on jumping (it was a great opportunity to work on MIF's, though ;) ).

I sent you a PM, too.

[doubletoe]

I have been assimilated!
OK...I give up:giveup: ...I have become <gasp!> An Adult Skater!:D

Yay!! :bow: So when do you start lessons or group freestyle classes? You don't want to try to get everything back completely on your own, because while your body will remember some of it correctly, it won't remember everything and you are bound to get into some bad habits.

Oh yeah, and those spirals sure will develop those comatose butt muscles! See the thread, "Does this sport make my butt look fat" for more on that subject! :lol:

[herniated]

Welcome!! Welcome!! to the wonderful world of skating!!:lol: It is my passion and obsession.(Within reason of course) I've even got my husband and kid into it - they don't skate but whenever I compete they wear t-shirts that match the color of my dress! My husband says it's his 'team uniform'!!

[peanutskates]

herniated, that is so cute! I'm gonna have to get my parents to do that :lol:

[southernsk8er]

That is one of the sweetest things I've ever heard, herniated. How luck you are to have such great support!

[altamaleskater]

OMG!! What have I done?!?!
Is this a really DUMB thing for me to even be considering?!?
BTW...I am SOOOO gonna hurt tomorrow, I can feel it now...:giveup:

NOPE...it is NOT DUMB!!! I wanted to skate when I was much younger but the thought of harassment/bullying from other boys was too much to handle. Now at age 36 I wouldn't give this up for anything.....I LIVE for this sport! If & when you decide to start competing you'll find there is a lot less pressure than for the kids your daughter's age cause we're all cheering each other on. There are some days you will be sore from falls & sprains and some days where you will hurt in places you didn't even know you had muscles. For me it's still worth it when I skate out to do that program - even if my stomach is in knots!
Adult skating is growing by leaps & bounds here in Canada and it sounds like it is in the U.S. too. Find yourself a coach, get some good skates & start working....you will find yourself smitten with it!

[cathrl]

Untreated Juvenile Onset Skating Syndrome - I so had that too!

I had to laugh at herniated's description of what her family does when she competes. My two kids stand on the side during the warmup and yell (and I do mean YELL, even the judges jump) "MUM!!! SMILE!!!"

Go buggiemom!

[herniated]

Hi All, And thanks for the great comments on our family uniform!! I am lucky they are two great guys. My last competition they didn't have time to go home to get thier 'uniforms' (pale blue t-shirts this time) and my skating stunk up the ice! We all decided to be stuperstitious about this :lol: By the way, when we are all in the same color it makes for very nice pictures!

Anyway, thanks again and I'm so happy for buggiemom!!

[Sessy]

For everybody who cares: my mom signed up for group lessons too now!!! :twisted: She's 1963-born.
She says she'll learn the axel. I told her to start with a toeloop and see how she likes falling on her butt. Although for somebody who bought a racing motorcycle (cuz it's faster and got more horsepower!) when she wrecked her old motorcycle while flying out of a curve and off a hill, I'm gonna guess she'll like falling on her butt just fine. :)

[Mrs Redboots]

For everybody who cares: my mom signed up for group lessons too now!!! :twisted: She's 1963-born.
She says she'll learn the axel.

I'm sure she'll get one, although perhaps not this year. After all, my husband's going to get one, and he is at least 13 years older than your mother (who is ten years younger than I am - I bet she skates a lot better a lot quicker!).

[Sessy]

Skating's different here, patch ice is really only available if you're with a trainer, and most clubs don't give private lessons - if they do, usually it's not to adults, I intend to take privates in Nijmegen but she lives on the opposite side of the country from that. And public skate sessions are always like 14.00 in the afternoon, very rarely in the evenings, and not for 6 months in summer. So that sort of slows down the progress a LOT. Especially the lack of private lessons.
Which is not to say I won't drag her butt out on the ice and yell stuff at her like "Kneebend!" "If you don't look up, I'll glue your pigtail to your back!" and "You're not getting off the ice before I see ten revolutions on it!" and "That toepick is there for a reason. You jump off it, or else I won't come over for THREE WEEKS!" and most of all "YOU CHECK THOSE SHOULDERS!" :lol:
I mean considering she used to do that sort of stuff back when I was dancing with me! :) ("Contra body movement! I SAID,!" and "KNEEBEND!" and "Off the HEEL not the toe!") Justice :D Nah it'll be fun.
She wanted spicey feelings (http://www.flickr.com/photos/sessy_liz/280151288/)? I'll make sure she gets em :D Mwuahahaha!