Inspired by my coach's nutrition pep talk yesterday...

Junk - this is a vent. There is an older adult skater who is CONSTANTLY getting in everyone's way. She skates at the silver level so she doesn't have the excuse of being inexperienced. It's not arrogance, she just doesn't pay attention to where she is or where anyone else is. I'm just tired of it. Today, my daughter was in a lesson, skating to her music with her vest on - and she's going Regionals next week and had to abort her 2lutz because the woman was in her way. Then when I was going a dance, in my vest, to the music, there she was right smack in my way. I was so mad I just ignored her "Oh I'm so sorry, I'm sorry" She's always sorry. I didn't say 'oh that's okay" because, frankly it's not.

Healthy - We had a different coach for power and so it was not 20 minutes of boring stroking. Word to coaches--if you want us to work - it helps if you change it up a bit. Maybe we aren't lazy - maybe we're BORED (my my my aren't I cranky today. Probably those menapause hormones) She even gave me an alternative to jumping jacks that keeps me moving.

Junk - I think my mohawks have abandoned me again - I just couldn't do any right mohawks today. I ran through the Swing with music and was fine until I got to the mohawk. I've signed up to compete the Rhythm Blues and I get two dances for one price and I don't know if I just just forfeit the extra dance, try the Swing and hope for the best or do my Cha Cha with the fake step behind like I did at Adult Midwesterns. I am done with Dutch Waltz and Canisita - so those are not an option.

Healthy - I did the Rhythm Blues concentrating on touching my feet between every move and kept to the timing. Now I have to work on smiling

My artistic always gets good comments when I run through it. If only it were finished!

Healthy:
I've started putting together a programme for an artistic skate event in Groningen this winter (no jumping, adults only, everybody there will be putting their programme together themselves). I "stole" some graceful moves from youtube videos of elite skaters.

I got some really big stares today - doing slow, graceful stuff in tank top & cargopants in camouflage greens amidst a dozen hockeyers!

Got the irons mounted permanently, both had to be moved (I was doing too much outside edge on both). Spins are CENTERED in the new skates!!!

Again, called it a day after 45 minutes cuz of the pain though.

Healthy: Good lesson today, my program is fun! I don't think I looked down at the ice for most of it. We're including some stuff I did by accident when I messed up a loop exit last week, heh.

Junk: Toe loop, how dare you leave me. I must have taken you for granted, you don't know what you've got 'til it's gone.

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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)

healthy - FO mohawks are feeling sharp in practice after spending a good chunk of my last lesson on them. Did a few good Salchows, getting the rhythm of the things finally. I braved a couple of loops away from the boards. I can sort of get the nerve to jump from a nearly dead standstill

junk We've gotten to the time of year when I show up at the rink in the pitch black, and get to enjoy sunrise just as I'm leaving. A couple more weeks and I won't see the sun at all. I am a morning person, not a middle of the d**n night person. I hate hate hate DST and I am extra annoyed at congress for making it longer!

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It's all about the dress!

Had it too, once I had the flip and loop down. I had to consciously make sure to keep the neck stiff in the 3-turn and not pre-rotate and concentrate on taking off left instead of right... With all the loop and flip exercise the body gets confused.

AHA!!! That's exactly what it is. Thanks!!

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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)

Healthy: Skated a public session at another rink 15mins away (not my home rink). Was me & a learn to skater for the first 30mins, then an adult skater from my rink joined us and at the end of the first hour as I was leaving another adult skater who I did not know had gotten on the ice. So basically it was a really cheap freestyle session! Worked on Juv MIF, double 3s are starting to feel decent. Played around with artistic type movements for a while.

Junk: Axel sucked today. I'm tired from the weekend and on my warm up waltz/backspins and waltz/loops I could tell it wasn't going to be a good axel day. Also need to turn out more on the mohawk for 8step for Juv MIF.

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Working on:
NOVICE! MIF
Juvenile FS
Bronze Dances

Junk:

• Loops and lutz!!! Didn't bother trying for waltz-loops given the state of the loop. Then again, I was trying for even higher speeds... and I was doing this in a relatively crowded and crazy public session tonight.
• Camels

Healthy:

• Sit and back sit
• Flips!!! Nice height too!!!
• Footwork for FS program is just fine.
• Primary coach worked me a little bit (about 5 min.) on my artistic program... he's trying to make up the time for my nasty work emergency last Thursday. DH was watching that happening and seems happy to see the work being done.

Funny note of the night:
I have sent both of my coaches the choice for my FS program. Now... this particular dress has stoning options from 100 all the way up to 400 stones. I went with whatever the model had, which was 300 stones. Anyway, primary coach says "You better max out the stones on that dress that you sent the link to. Like...200 stones is not enough for that dress." I told him that I got the 300 stone option, which should appease him.

Feels weird talking about skating dress and stoning options with a male, even though he's a skating coach and all. Then again, this is JAY we're talking here... and he knows a thing or two about skating dress given 2002...

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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!!!

We have a bridge program for beginning freestyle skaters. The first two weeks, they get a half hour instruction on freestyle session rules. I've taught it a few times, and quiz the kids as we go to make sure they understand. Sounds like this woman needs the same thing. Someone needs to be with her on the ice and stop her whenever music starts, and ask her "Now who is skating to that?", and make her point out all the students in lessons, etc. Is there anyone with authority that you can propose this to?

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Well she's not a begginner. She knows the rules because she's always "so so sorry" (in a pathetic way that you are supposed to feel bad because she feels so bad and so you need to reassure her but I don't) Every year in the fall everyone has to sign an ice etiquette sheet before you can even get on the ice. I think if anyone tried to quiz her like that she'd cry. :-/

I can't even do my usual - just keep going and if we crash "oh well" because she's probably in her mid 60s and she could really get hurt. That's probably why everyone gets out of her way regardless of who has the right of way.

j

She has some responsibility to look out for herself and it sounds like she is taking advantage of her age. I am 58 and skate on a competitive freestyle session - everybody watches out for everybody else and the coaches would quickly sort it out if someone was being dangerous.

Junk! Started the day feeling nauseous - felt a little better after a bit to eat. First day back after the weekend is always shaky but I practiced back edges, CW BXOs, Toe Loop, Upright Spin and Sit Spin - not as bad as I feared they would be!

Healthy! Hit a couple of upright spins with more SNAP and got good rotational speed.

Junk.... There was a bad spot in the ice where I normally work on spins - it was like skating on to soft tar! It grabbed my blade in a spin entry and down I went - worst part was that it spilled my coffee and the session wasn't half over yet!

Healthy In lesson it was back to choreographing my Freeskate program....

Junk .... for next month ..... NEXT MONTH ???? OMG!

Healthy Going into a Sit Spin from a pivot REALLY gives it some ZIP!

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

Since she's in her sixties, how is her hearing? Maybe she can't hear the person's music or ppl saying "watch out" when they are coming.

I LANDED THE LOOP!!! many times... so it really does count!
I barely restrained myself from screaming, "I can do it!!" for the entire rink to hear.

and I had 3 hours of skating today, due to a non-pupil day.
My private lesson was ON AN EMPTY RINK. omg... it was like a dream...

good day... except yesterday I hit my tailbone again. ah well. this has been compensated by THE LOOP!! i LOVE that jump!

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If she has a coach, you may want to mention the problem to her coach and suggest he give her some rule of thumb for freestyle sessions. "Look up every 5 seconds to see who's coming" is a good one. If she doesn't hear well--or if you have good skaters whose blades don't scrape when they come up on you--then looking up every few seconds becomes even more important.

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"You don't have to put an age limit on your dreams." - Dara Torres, 41, after her 2nd medal at the 2008 Olympics

We do have the same coach (oh and don't get me started about how annoying it is when she interrupts our lesson to show our coach what she can do - coach is very good about being polite and not letting it interfere with our lesson...but really!) I think I will mention something to her...because coach is very good about keeping me out of the way when we are in a lesson. And she's very tactful and could probably pull it off.
j

Monday Night

Healthy

-I landed axel, double toe, double salhcow, double loop, and double flip all on my first try!!

-Did my Gold skill with music for the first time

-Landed everything in my program, even the double flip, double loop, double toe that I through in (it was just supposed to be flip, loop, toe loop)

-Everybody is commenting me on how my spins look amazing

-My mom saying I have power in my program

-My mom finally agreeing to letting me take my Pre.Novice

-Landed 3 double lutz, first time in a year!! (All the others I was just lazy on and sat down)

Junk

-Falling on double lutz because I was being lazy and just letting my self fall

-Forgetting bits and peices in the C part of the Gold skill

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2014 and 2018 Olympics here I come!

Skating, skating all day long, skating, skating all night long! May seem tiring to some people but not me, it's my life!!

Goals: Triple Loop, Novice Competitive, Sr.Silver Dances, Gold Artistic, and top 3 at Sectionals

wow, Muskoka skater, congratulations on all of that healthy stuff!

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Healthy: "That was above average!" said my coach - which, for him is high praise. This was on our forwards stroking in Kilian hold. Riverside Rhumba was okay.

Junk: (Wot, me eat junk food? I don't think so!) Our Golden Skaters' waltz, the first time we went through it, but it improved as we worked on it.

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

Hmm. . . Sounds like she has a hard time switching her attention from her internal process to what's going on around her with other people. Maybe she has ADD or something of that nature?
I know a wild freestyle session that would teach her to be more aware (because she'd get mowed over otherwise, LOL!), but in the meantime, yeah, sounds like your coach would be the best bet!

Peanut: Congratulations on the loop!! That's a BIG DEAL!

Muskoka: WOW. Please tell me what vitamins you took today, LOL!

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"You don't have to put an age limit on your dreams." - Dara Torres, 41, after her 2nd medal at the 2008 Olympics

Healthy:
FO3's were great today! I can now do a few in a row, both right and left.

R to L mohawks were less scratchy.

BI edges are improving

Attempted a one-foot spin from a two-foot spin and got a couple of good revs out of it.

Finally bought an annual skate pass

Husband came to see me skate -first time since early July. He says I've
REALLY improved. I don't even think I had success with any edges back then...

Junk:
2-foot spins...yuck. Could not find that sweet spot and it was a horrid scratchy mess.

Backwards Chasse's...my feet don't get it.

FXO's have regressed, but soon to be back, I hope!

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My Blog - FINALLY updated!
Living out my childhood dream

Healthy: Consecutive edges better today. PB 3-turn pattern cleaner but it hurt. : ( Had the freshly zamboni'd ice to myself for at least 1/2 hr so I was checking out all my tracings. Waltz 8 wasn't that bad considering how wobbly my LFO edge is.

Junk: One tracing of a two-foot spin, all of maybe 5 revs, was about 4 feet long. . . PATHETIC. And I have a bunch of Strauss waltzes on my mp3 player but couldn't find one the right tempo to practice the Dutch waltz to. Time to march over to e-music. .. .

Oh, and like Sessy, I crapped out after 45 min. My ankle hurt too much, too.

Healthy:

Am getting better at the back crosstroke pattern and starting to really move on it and curve the edges!
Had a good scratchspin!

Junk:

Ice was not only very crowded, but awful, with a lot of condensation bumps all over. Secondary Coach told me that they might have not zammed the ice at all this afternoon before the beginning of the freestyle session.

Had a rough time with loop during my lesson today and right now the flip is looking like a lost cause. Didn't do program today either.

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Adult Nationals, 2009 "The Time of My Life"

Healthy: Landed about 10-15 axels in a row yesterday in lesson and they were ALL really good. Landed good double sals too. flying sit rocked. Good consistent stuff. Nothing bad to say at all.

Junk: Need to break in new boots soon.

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Keep Evolving. "From this moment forward, every voice that told you - You Can't - , has been silenced." - Freedom Writers

healthy:
axels and double salchows per normal. Axels with generally more flow out of the landing (although I also seem to have a new trick of trying to land on a slightly inside edge and dragging the toe pick through the ice ... *wince*)

Double salchows, ok... wierd thing is that when I sorta get it right, I don't feel the edge anymore, I only feel the tension in my leg which makes me know where I am in relation to the different parts of my body??

double toe... well there was one really good suspect, I could feel the up, rotate and a clean feeling flow out. no hesistation or pulling feeling on the way out. Maybe it was good I didnt look back on the tracing because it felt really nice. Hopefully I can do that again.
current double toe thinking: maintain turn out, keep back straight but relaxed so it can move, stretch behind but slightly to the left, pull under/through, kick up and away, quickly pull the right hand towards my body in a smooth action and stay there.... until ready to disengage and land... (resist force to let both hands drift towards the extreme left)

double loop... still wishy washy and strains my knee aka... not a good sign had one with a not so badly prerotated take off at least... haha

Junk:
Layback makes my back pain if I don't do it right. Painful reminder of wrong technique when it happens. Must keep in mind.

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~
Tidesong

healthy
landed some really awesome, solid double loops! it felt absolutely amazing!
my double sal was really good today too!
and i landed some double flips!
fixed my axel too. i knew something was off, because the jump just felt too tiny. it was super simple, i just didn't notice. i guess i was pulling my arms in too low, so i was killing the height of the jump. the second my coach pointed it out my axel went back to normal!

so I used to be really close to this one girl at my rink, but about a year ago she quit figure skating to play hockey. well, today she decided to try to skate again, and now she's gonna get back into skating! she was my best skating friend, so its nice to have her back! psh and after being off figure skates for a year, she still landed axel, double sal, double loop, and a (cheated, but still) double flip!

started choreographing my new program for vegas competition in a month lol. this should be interesting.

junk
not too much of that today i've had to wake up about an hour earlier the past two days because the person driving me to school goes for a morning run before class which has sucked a lot! i get to school at 6.30am and think "wow, normally i'd still be asleep!"

my two attempts at a double toe were bad, but i really didn't try too hard, so i'm not upset or anything

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