In honor of US Nats, just past.

Peanut Gallery - the crowd at my lovely lunctime rink, due to a school holiday. It was fun to show off, but it's a tiny rink and while I squeaked in some jumps it was mainly for exercise, I couldn't concentrate on improving technique.

Podium - There's almost always enough room to work some spins, and that's what I need most.

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It's all about the dress!

Peanut Gallery: Local schools had an inset day so rink had an unnecessary number of screaming girl teens at normally quite Monday morning session.

After skating four times last week, my knees were killing me, so had even less knee bend than usually (i.e. legs basically straight...).

Podium: Had one of those light bulb turning on moments with my three turns, when coach told me to look in the direction I was going throughout the movement. Obvious? Yes. Made them easier? Yes. Am I an idiot for not working this out for myself? Most definitely. Still, it's only taken me a couple of years to get the three turns back. So frustrating - I could do them in my sleep when I was a teenager.

Coach said my forward skating was much faster than it used to be when skating on my own. Was pleased to hear that. Attempting to keep up with my husband obviously has had an effect, even if it does scare the willies out of me sometimes!

Peanut Gallery: I think this is a suitable choice for things that went wrong since in at least the US news I've heard that there has been a recall on peanut paste because of contamination.

Being that there was another really cold weather snap this weekend and last night, I didn't even bother to venture to the rink (Tecumseh Arena on Mondays and sometimes Tuesdays 1 PM to 2:30 PM) today. I'm also still nursing a pulled and/or torn butt muscle on my landing leg.

Podium: Taking an extra day off of the ice to allow my butt muscle to heal more. The butt muscle is not healed yet but it does feel better. It no longer hurts to walk.

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"It's not age that determines but the heart." "Skating is not just a sport for the young but it's a passion for the soul of the young at heart." Brigitte Laskowski

I am a nomadic adult skater who is a member of Windsor FSC (Skate Windsor) WOS SC again since Sept. 1st, 2008.

http://eastcastlemusic.tripod.com

Singerskates Sports Music Editing

Podium:
I got all my jumps back during my lesson. Loop, loop-loop, flip, flip-loop, lutz (Well, sorta kinda. I'm still trying to get myself to land and glide on an edge and THEN jump up, rather than just jump right off the toe picks like I'm doing now!!! )

CW crossovers are slightly better... well, better now that I got my skates sharpened this past weekend!!! No more slipping off the edge again!!!

Peanut Gallery:
Toe loop. Gotta stop doing the toe-waltz thing... but he doesn't want me to "take off on two feet either when I do that temporarily back pivot thing into it either." *sigh*

Primary coach notes that I don't as high as I usually do and I don't have the "I'm very tired" excuse now that my lesson is at NOON!!! But I do have the feeling given the past weekend (non skating friends were keeping me QUITE busy... and interrupted me on Sunday afternoon RIGHT AT THE POINT THAT I was to hear the score for Jeremy Abbort for his LP!!! GRRRR!!! I'll gripe about it at Patsy's Parlor...)

Interesting Note:
Both a fellow skater and my primary coach were picking on me about THIS post. So just to pre-empt my other fellow skaters and coaches...

I AM NOT MICHELLE KWAN and I DON'T LOOK ANYTHING LIKE HER!!! And IF I AM MICHELLE KWAN, I would be busy doing diplomat stuff, taking classes, spending time with my rich bf and traveling a LOT instead of getting up at some ungodly hour in the morning to skate at a FS session and then rushing off to work!!! So QUIT BUGGIN' ME, WILL 'YA!!! Better yet, go bug my primary coach!!! He likes the attention!!!

(And now back to our regularly scheduled program, already in progress... )

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Cheers,
jazzpants

11-04-2006: Shredded "Pre-Bronze FS for Life" Club Membership card!!!
Silver Moves is the next "Mission Impossible"
(Dare I try for Championship Adult Gold someday???)

Thank you for the support, you guys!!!

Podium:
Good MITF practice. Managed some decent sit spins and back spins. Jumps were very good.

Peanut Gallery:
Knee's bugging me again, probably from sitting on the couch watching Nationals this weekend. Laziness gets me every time.

Still struggling to center my forward spins.

It may be my blades. Never ends, does it?

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Podium - continued working on pairs program, we're up to the footwork section. My partner has been great, going from zero to gold pairs in a very short time with a crash course in pair skating.

Peanut gallery - the rink has a new compressor and is freezing!!!

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Recycle Love - Adopt a homeless pet

Podium: The camel spin is coming to me rather quickly. Also, my new boots are breaking in nicely. I can't believe I suffered through my old, painful boots for so long! I feel that there will be a lot of improvement in my skating this year.

Peanut Gallery: We started doing prep drills for the loop jump again. I can't believe that after 25 years this darn jump is still my nemesis. I am terrified of it!

ANNM!!!!

WOW!!! I was wondering what happened to you!!!! Glad you're still skating. (If it's anything I don't have a camel spin yet and my boots are JUST FINE!!! )

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Cheers,
jazzpants

11-04-2006: Shredded "Pre-Bronze FS for Life" Club Membership card!!!
Silver Moves is the next "Mission Impossible"
(Dare I try for Championship Adult Gold someday???)

Thank you for the support, you guys!!!

Podium: For my coach who is already back at work coaching when he wasn't expected to leave hospital til end of February after his accident.
bow:

First lesson back with him and ran through all the usual stuff. Lots of edges and field moves.

podium: With coach's help managed to regain flip/toe-loop combo and salchow/loop combo

Peanut Gallery
Nothing as I'm so happy that coach is back!

Peanut gallery: Forgot to leave my skates to be sharpened on Sunday, so was struggling with blunt blades all morning.

Podium: Very strenuous lesson - a great workout!

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Mrs Redboots
~~~~~~~~
I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

Podium: Worked on some finishing details with chorographer last night. Footwork is getting edgier and curvier (slowly). Did more awesome camel spins. I still can't believe what a huge difference the 3 turn entry made to my camel spin.

Peanut gallery: I'm having a really hard time getting the change of edge in my spiral sequence correct. I really need to work on this a lot. I'm dropping my free leg and not turning my free hip out enough, and my free leg drifts inward, making the spiral after the change of edge really difficult. It was fine before, but I wasn't doing the change of edge correctly either. All these IJS things I have to think about now.

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"Where are we going and why are we in this handbasket?"

Podium: Showed my coach the exhibition program I choreographed and she liked it, plus the entire dance class was directed to watch me by their coach and they all really liked it! The side spiral actually looks like something now that I can get the leg straight up in the air (albeit with a hand assist).

Peanut gallery: Test session in which I am not participating is coming up. Coach is determined to find something positive to say about everything including the flip I don't have so she keeps telling me it's good because I'm landing it on one foot. Told her for about the fifth time yesterday that I've been landing it that way for just about ten years but since there's a two foot long tail on it that's not really a feel-good comment and she actually got irritated and said that was because I'm not rotating in the air and laid out the three reasons why I'm not rotating in the air. I think she thought she was being tough on me but THAT I can work with! Gives me concrete things to focus on.

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You miss 100% of the shots you never take.--Wayne Gretzky

Not Quite In Contention: (Somewhere between the Peanut Gallery and the Podium LOL!) Haven't skated much in the last 2 weeks - only 30 minutes last week - fighting the mid-winter doldrums - but dragged my sorry axx.... carcass out to the rink this morning. When I stepped onto the ice, it felt like I had never skated before But my favourite Zam driver is back from holidays so I had beautiful ice 30 minutes before "official start time".

I LOVE that first 30 minutes, having the ice to myself, my old time Rock & Roll on the P.A., and reverting to my childhood LOL! It is nice to have a really good workout without having to look over your shoulder. (I do tend to go easy on jumps and spins - don't wanna konk my noggin when I am the only one there!)

After 30 minutes of solo ice, I was pretty much back in the groove before anyone else showed up.

Now, if I could just keep my feet warm enough that my toes aren't turning blue after an hour .......

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Dianne
(A.O.S.S.? Got it BAD! )

***Waving Hi!***

I was having major problems with my old SP-Teri boots for most of last year, so I wasn't skating as often. I was resistant to buying new boots because there was so much life left in the pair, but I couldn't take it anymore and bought a new pair of Jacksons in December. Add work woes (a supervisor that hated me and an unexpected transfer) to the mix and you have the reason why I've been "off the grid". But things are looking up now and I am determined to get back into good skating shape.

Podium - Standing on the top step holding the flowers, and waving - I landed a flip today!!!

Sit spins still slowly coming, improved loop jump. I met another adult skater at the Seaport, she's not on any of the boards but I plugged skatingforums. If she shows up - Hi Ann!

Peanut Gallery - no camel or layback to speak of, and forgot to bring my practice sheet :-p.

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It's all about the dress!

That is SUCH great news!!! for your coach!

Way cool! Congratulations!!!!

WOO-HOOOOO!!! I take it you've re-found your motivation???

Thanks T.I. Don't think it's back but had to get out there and remind myself why I started this.

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Dianne
(A.O.S.S.? Got it BAD! )

Podium: Lovely quiet session, so got a lot done.

Peanuts: No, we do not do the Willow Waltz like that. Chatted to coach for too long afterwards and got cold.

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Mrs Redboots
~~~~~~~~
I love my computer because my friends live in it!
Ice dancers have lovely big curves!

Lesson today.

Peanuts - Still trying to shift my weight on back crossovers.

8 Step Mohawk - I was looking behind me before shifting feet on the mohawk and coach suggested I look straight ahead and not move head until after the turn and that actually works much better

Went through my progam with the Canon music and she noted that I do my crossovers so well and so fast that I'm really not able to do the 8 step properly because I'm so terrified and it slows down the crossovers because I know what's coming so we changed the program - 8 step first, then stroke down the rink for a circle of crossovers....of course then I have to go into waltz threes after all that built up speed....

We got our assignments for the Spring Ice Show - "Skating Down the Yellow Brick Road" - I qualified for a feature role as "Auntie Em" I don't think our club has ever had an adult as feature before....and I'm going to be a tree. Some of the adults who are also trees were all huffing "Oh great - we just stand there" but they haven't seen the movie and I reminded them that trees are mean and chase the characters....so I think it will be fun.

No dance number this year - not enough people signed up for dance.

j

This is from this week so far:

Peanut Gallery: conversation with coworker about Easterns:
Me: "My practices haven't been going well and I really don't feel comfortable having anyone come to the competition to watch."
Coworker: "I'm going, I want to see."
Me: "I really don't want anyone there and it'll make me screw up my program so I'll just show you the video.
Coworker: "I'm sure it'll get better, you have a month."
Me: "You can't go."
Coworker: storms out of my office.



OK, so I'm being stalked.

Tuesday lesson: could only do flips when coach wasn't watching (yikes). Then couldn't do loops either, which doesn't happen. Oh well...I'm just writing that all off and not worrying about it...

Podium: sit spins and backspins are good again...added arm movements to footwork...at least did those two flips before the lesson!

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Revised Official 2010 Goals checklist
Skate __
New boots __
(lowering the bar for 2010 as I haven't skated in a year)

Peanut Gallery: Viennese Waltz wasn't great today with the music. Edges are still way too flat when I do it up to speed. I need to work a lot harder on my own to get this thing going with the music AND have it be correct!!

Podium: Blues was good. Coach was very pleased, and said just do one run-through per practice from now on & then focus on the waltz.

Peanut gallery - why are my power 3s getting worse over time. I am doing some funky waist bending and turning with my body instead of my foot according to coach. I am so done with these moves!

Podium - spins are really improving, sit spin is really getting lower and soo very centered. I still am not getting low enough, but it is feeling really good now, so all I need is a little more knee bend. Loop jump is tiny but there most of the time.

Peanut - if only I could get more spring in my sal, and have the nerve to get more around so I could land a flip. I do a really good 1/2 flip, but I can't seem to get all the way around for a full one. Seems like I'm getting enough height, but I can't figure out how to rotate.

Outside the building (beyond the peanut gallery): My left arm and shoulder and part-way down the left side of my back are in a muscle spasm. It was silly of me to think I should go skate.. but I didn't want to miss a lesson with my coach this close to Adult Sectionals. I was fine the first 5 minutes, then the cold of the rink really made the muscles "freeze up". I couldn't do ANYTHING except forward stroking..... not even 3-turns or mohawks. It just hurt too much to even turn my head or move my arm/shoulder. We agreed neither one of us wanted to work on just stroking for an hour (not that it would be a bad thing to work on more).

Podium: I was willing to call it a day and get off the ice, but my coach said she'd come up with something we could do. So she came up with footwork segments and had me not move my arms! She's SOOOO creative!!! So I'd planned to do the ISI Worlds coming up in July since they're pretty close to home.. and we ended up choreographing about 45 seconds of what will be a 1 minute program!!! By that time I was able to move a little bit more easily.. so we worked on cross strokes (for the Juvenile Moves test)...

Peanut Gallery: and my backspin.. which can use all the time, effort, supervision and work it can get. At least it didn't get worse.. despite the "body issues".