Wilted or Keeping Cool Practice 7/18 - 7/24/2010

[flo]

Wilted - the heat is back in Baltimore, and I've been so busy with my class that I've not been able to skate much.

Keeping cool - back on the ice tonight, teaching and skating and it was great. Have nice sharp blades and played with some fun edge sequences. Not skating pairs now, and looking for a partner with gold pairs or above skills.

Best to all!!!

[Isk8NYC]

Wilted: Backspins where up on the toe too much. Forward spins weren't centered. Footwork was crappy. Moves were difficult. Plus the rink was crowded for a change. Didn't try any real jumps because the new skates are still kind of funky.

Keeping Cool: Moved my blades a little all by myself. Sat on the bench, whipped out a screwdriver and went to it. Many people think I'm crazy now.

Results: Forward turns were much easier and far less scary. Twizzles were easy, even with the back fan kick. Everything suddenly clicked in place, but I was wise enough not to push it (with jumps/spins) since I only had the temporary screws in place that had been loosened and tightened several times already.

I think I could use a little more arch support from the insole.

Going to skate on the new alignment one more time before filling and drilling the new holes. Fortunately there were a few permanent holes already drilled (by the mounter) that will keep the blades in place. I hate playing with blades - there should be a better way.


Here's the best discovery yet: BOTH of my twins are wearing new Jacksons in 7.5 B (regular) width. Tried them on and they fit, but were a little snug in width. So, a 7.5C should fit me well, should I need skates in a pinch. I don't really need the customized-wide width, contrary to what Jackson thinks.

[AgnesNitt]

Wilted: Only one hour of skating this week. No coach. Also water heater broke down so I couldn't stay much longer than an hour.
I'm giving up on figures. I love them, but there's just no way to practice them unless I retire and skate lunchtime publics. This new rink is busy busy busy.
Also, my boots are way too stiff. Even though they're customs and supposed to be for figures, I guess my skate tech ordered them stiff for my weight. I can't get knee bend.
Don't know whether to get sp-teris silver medallion and go to another tech or what. I just hate my boots.

Right now there is no Keeping Cool unless you mean the water that is coming out of my dead hot water tank.

[dreamnmusic]

Wilted: Its really really hot. Also I hate moving. (I just moved out of my dorm) Also I forgot to eat food before my lesson about a week ago and I kept falling down. It didn't occur to me for a while tat it was because I hadn't eaten anything!

Keeping Cool: I started spins! Its a two foot spin, but I did it! I can also do consistent 3 turns now. My edges are nice and smooth now, and I can do backwards crossovers which are also nice and smooth! Yay!

[SkatEn]

Wilted: The olympic sized rink officially closed for the summer without informing me. And I have a prepaid student card, still left with at least 3 2-hours sessions. And I'm leaving Shanghai (I'm here for internship) before the rink opens! @#$%!@

Keeping cool: The ice at the small rink in a mall didn't melt!

I also tried out my champion cords imitation (resistance band 1.1meter - tooooooo short! with Nite Ize s-biner). I ended up hooking two cords together and then used on my right arm. Worked like a charm for camel and coach said it looks much better. I felt like a very very strung puppet - my arm aches from having to pull! Is it supposed to be like that? Any other cords I can try? I read about using tarp tie-downs.... but aren't the original bungee cords elastic?

Keeping cool: Coach fixed my jump techniques! Almost all but salchow was purrrrfect! I even got some purrfect Lutz! Now, that's even better than my rotated, uncrossed, two-footed-flat-landing axel!

Wilted: I popped ONE axel, went up and decided not to jump - too late. Crashed very badly. Went down like a starfish, but with arms beside my head :giveup: I found small bump on the top of my left knee - red, bruised... Got scared of axel for the rest of the session.

Keeping cool: I got back my spins after coach fixed the sharpening with his sharpening stones! I thought my spins sucked because I only skate once a week but nooooooo they still rock! Fast everything. And I even got a back sit! Talk about surprises!

Isk8NYC: I shifted my own blades with my friend who helped to check. Call me courageous or stupid, but it worked, thank goodness. I just got moved it to how I like it then asked coach to put in permanent screws. So far so good. If you're going to put on insole for arch support, it may change your COG by a little, so try using it before your permanent mount!:D

[GoSveta]

Working on Salchow, and I'm having some issue because I seem to have trouble getting up to my toepicks (I think that's why my toe jumps are easier than edge jumps for me). Any tips appreciated. Can do the three turn or mohawk, but I'm having some issues launching it.

Kinda lost my toe loop but did some practice on my own (usually I don't, I'm proud of myself for doing that) and it's back :P

Was doing some big Waltz jumps focusing on leaving off and landing by the toe pick. I launched a really really big one. It felt so good going up. Felt really balanced coming down, landed and BAM! Back of my blade into the ice, I'm airborn and came right down on my back. Didn't hurt or anything. I was more surprised... It's been a while since I've fallen on anything.

Had to leave after that. Dunno if that bears well for my mental blocks (fear of falling).

Still strugling with spins, but my back outside three turns and mohawk are getting much better.

Coach wants me to do the first moves test in November, but I don't think I'll be ready for it. She says even if I fail it's good to get the feedback from the judges, but I really don't think I'm going to do it until next year, when I'll probably be landing all singles and working towards an axel, have gotten rid of my one-sidedness, and have all my edges and turns down pat.

I asked her to work with me on a program to force me to do things in both directions. She thinks it's a good idea.

Oh, I'm also having issues landing my toe loop on flat with no speed. I think it's cause I'm not switching my weight over *enough* in the air, but the no toepick thing is sorta preventing me from getting on a good edge on the landing. It doesn't help that I tend to do them with little speed, though ;)

Ok, I'm rambling now! Ciao!

[GoSveta]

Isk8NYC: I shifted my own blades with my friend who helped to check. Call me courageous or stupid, but it worked, thank goodness. I just got moved it to how I like it then asked coach to put in permanent screws. So far so good. If you're going to put on insole for arch support, it may change your COG by a little, so try using it before your permanent mount!:D
Yep. I put in SuperFeet and was glad I went skate in them before putting the permanent screws in. I had to move the left blade all the way back (after moving it out like 3 times) and move the right blade out a bit.

They can change everything.

[doubletoe]

Working on Salchow, and I'm having some issue because I seem to have trouble getting up to my toepicks (I think that's why my toe jumps are easier than edge jumps for me). Any tips appreciated. Can do the three turn or mohawk, but I'm having some issues launching it.

Do some salchows on the floor in sneakers, doing two small hops backward on the takeoff foot to simulate the back inside takeoff edge. Now jump higher and higher. Notice how you automatically bend your knee and ankle more deeply just before jumping up, and notice how you point your toes harder on takeoff to jump higher. This is exactly what you need to replicate on the ice. If you can't bend your ankles and point your toes in your skates, then they are probably too stiff (or maybe laced up too high).

[Skate@Delaware]

Wilted (actually steamed): sent an email to the rink manager, asking about the upcoming season's freestyle sessions.....I'm trying to coordinate my schedule with skating. He replied to my email stating that the rink-run freestyle will be 2:30-3:40pm. Ok, yeah that will work for NO ONE! I pretty much said as much when I replied back, saying that kids are still in school (it lets out at 3:30pm) and people are at work. I then asked about public sessions....but haven't heard back.

The club-run sessions are 3:50-4:20pm. And there are only two session son Saturday, none on Sunday. So when the h**** is anyone supposed to skate?
I'm ticked.

[tazsk8s]

Wilted: No lesson last week as coach was in Detroit. That may not have been such a bad thing...my knees were really bothering me so I took a couple of extra days off the ice and when I skated this week they felt much better.

Keeping Cool: Had a decent skate when I did get back on the ice this week. Lutz has been flaky since my knee injury a few weeks ago but I got it to cooperate this week. Even had enough gas in the tank to work on some axel exercises. My left knee (takeoff on waltz and axel) is the bad one, and I'm not entirely comfortable tossing full-out axel attempts out there on it yet, but my usual axel exercises were do-able this week.

Think I am going to ask my coach how close my pre-pre moves are to being testable and if we can set a goal to test them after the pre-Regionals crunch. My main reason for testing these is to go through the testing experience with something that "should" be well within my capability to pass, so I can work on my testing nerves. My only other MITF test experiences were with Silver MITF some time back (grandfathered through FS tests passed) and that didn't go so well. The moves were probably passable on a good day, but not rock-solild and as soon as I lost my knee bend due to nerves, I was toast. At least all of these injuries have given me an "excuse" of sorts to go back and work on the easier stuff that I might not have bothered with otherwise.

[Bill_S]

Wilted: The roller rink has now closed for a month. No local ice, no local skating at all for me. It's time to travel to a rink, but time itself is an issue. I've got a ton of household projects to complete before I'm back in the classroom.

Keeping Cool: There were a lot of new faces at the roller rink's last session where I skate on inlines. That made it more fun.

It was extremely hot and that made me miss the coolness of an ice rink. Still, I had plenty of energy and attacked like it was my last skate (well, it sorta was!). I found spinning on my PIC inlines very easy as long as I used a RFI three turn entrance (that's my favorite on ice too). I don't know why, but the spins were very centered and went on longer than most previous attempts on these inlines. Maybe I'm finally getting the hang of spinning on PICs, and I hope that this translates nicely to better centering when I get back on the ice.

I did a few waltz jumps and a couple toe loops on the PICs. The waltz jumps were airy, but the toe loops (which I haven't been practicing) went wonky. I tilted in the air both times, and I stopped trying in order to keep skin intact.

It was very fun, I got an extremely thorough workout, and my sweat glands still function just fine.

I'll return to the roller rink again when it re-opens in late August, and then finally back to the ice rink in late September. I can't wait!

[Kim to the Max]

Keeping Cool: I actually did an axel today that DID NOT SKID!!! It was very tentative, but hot damn, it was off an edge!

[tazsk8s]

Keeping cool: Coach agrees that after the pre-regionals testing crunch we can test pre-pre moves. They're passable now, but we both agree that being overprepared is a good thing in my case so I (hopefully) have fewer nerves issues.

Had a nice spin day.

Wilted: Still skidding/scraping the 3 turn on the waltz-8. Am on a recent sharpening so I can't blame that - it's me. Ugh.

[Skate@Delaware]

Wilted: got a call from The Gardens....the spin seminar/camp has been cancelled! Darn! Now I'll never get my spin fixed :lol:!!! We were going to make it a "girls gone icey" and all that with the other ladies from my rink. Bummer!

Keeping Cool: I'm going skating on Sunday....of course I had a dream the other night that because of not being able to go to the spin seminar, my spins fizzled to nothing and although I had a wonderful backspin, I couldn't scratch spin at all....and my coach fired me. Heck of a dream!

Been working out (P90X) and doing one-legged wall sits....and it's WORKING! I might be getting a legal sit spin in September! (fingers-crossed)

Bill-one month off ice means one month of working out!!! I've got one more month to go before my rink re-opens!!!

[Bill_S]

Bill-one month off ice means one month of working out!!! I've got one more month to go before my rink re-opens!!!



You are SO motivated! I tend to putter around in the workshop making sawdust when there's no skating. For me, skating IS my workout. No skating, well... larger belt sizes. There's a reason no one calls me "Slim" anymore.

Someday I'm going to take a couple of days to travel east to skate. In addition to skating, I'll take in the sights, and eat well (like I need THAT!).

[AgnesNitt]

Started with new coach today since old coach is moving across country. This is my first guy coach. He's russian and has a nice loud voice so I can hear him over the music. He's young enough to be my grandson--I swear!

Wilted: So he ran me through my paces to see where I was--stroking, forward cross, cross on the straight, chasees', back cross. Then we worked on my threes. I'm making progress. I can only do my mohawks one way because of my one closed hip (injury, age, who knows why). So more work there. I guess I'll do some ballet things to see if I can loosen that hip up.

Keeping Cool: When he had me do forward edges he said "Those are good." As long as I'm going forward and not crossing my feet I'm grace on ice.

Wilted: I haven't told him of my rule "No rotations of greater than 180 degrees." In other words no spins. Coaches keep trying to get me to spin, and I keep going 'uh-uh'.