Winter winter winter winter.

I think that ever since we choreographed my program 2 weeks ago, most elements have been getting worse. 2-foot spin? FI pivot? Half-flip? Forget it. They all suck. Spin: I travel halfway to Timbuktu, can't find a center to save my life. Pivot: I don't know what I'm doing now that I wasn't doing 2 weeks ago, but darnit! they don't work! Half-flip: I don't know; I just have a mental block.

I've been trying to look very much on the bright side (and indeed, waltz jumps, edges, and spirals are all consistently good & solid), but I'm discouraged to the point of wanting to just pitch the skates in the trash. I don't know what my problem is, and coach isn't seeing anything wrong specifically (she's pushing me more to keep practicing over and over, but if I keep doing everything wrong over and over, how does that help?) so what the heck do I do to fix these?

Oh, and dd wet her pants at school for the second day in a row. . . Not quite sure what's going on with the kiddo. . .

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"Go wash an elephant if you wanna do something big." -Baby Gramps

That one I can explain to you. You need to lead into the rotation with your left shoulder (sort of push it back and down with the muscles that go from your shoulder down along your shoulderblade and back), and bring your right arm along with your right leg around.
The pulling into it and the discovery of those muscles was very important for me to center it (more over, it's for all the spins, not just the scratch).

Spring:
Loop and loop-loops at speed again! (Hmmmm? Where were YOU the last two weeks of my lessons??? ) I did a very NICE one after my primary coach taunted me by saying I should be doing "that" (an axel that the student that he was teaching was doing...) I landed a NICE and FAST loop-loop CLEAN in front of him just to get his goat!

Winter:
Flip is crappy again! And my lutz tries aren't that great either. I did land one or two of them, but they were royally cheated on the takeoff...

Everything else is "thawing..."

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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!!!

winter:
Annoyed with my coach today as he also teaches my daughter and has just announced he is no longer going to teach on Mondays which is the one day the patch is less crowded and daughter can get her music on and practice. Her other lessons are Saturday mornings (which have become ridiculous and dangerous since the coaches have all started doing group lessons on patch - one Saturday I counted 50 Yes fifty skaters ranging from almost complete beginners to those doing axels/doubles. Of course the coaches get more money from groups, so now they all do it but surely there should be a limit) and Wednesday mornings when she gets no practice time, having to rush off to school.

Why just stop in the middle of a term with no notice? Anyway I did let him know I was annoyed but it doesnt' change anything.

Summer: imagining coach's head on the ice and my blades landing on it was very therapeutic and did wonders for my jumps! Coach now says he will have to make me angry before any competitions

more summer: I did get a nice compliment from another adult learner today who said she thought I looked elegant and graceful on the ice (she must be the only person who has ever applied those words to me but nice all the same!). Oh and test programme actualy went very well today considering I've only ever run it through properly two or three times before - and that I was still annoyed at the time!

Early Spring:
Had good runthroughs of both my Artistic program and my Bronze CM program on lesson!! Tacked on some good loops at the end of lesson too!

Yet More Winter:
This was all done on the downside of the head cold I've had for the last few days or so.
Secondary Coach is cutting her teaching time back after our next competition in two weeks. I may not be working with her come July. When Primary Coach returns from her PSA gathering, I'll discuss with her my options/candidates for a new secondary coach.

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Adult Nationals, 2009 "The Time of My Life"

[Early Spring]

No ice tonight at my normal rink, but went to the rink on campus for an hour tonight.

[Yet more Winter]

There was skate and shoot right before the open hour, and they didn't cut the ice in between, which meant that the ice sucked.

[Early Spring]

Moves were okay. Brackets were more sure, power circles were good, as were the double 3s and the CCW power 3s, and slips and rips. However,

[Yet more Winter]

Nerves are setting in...I'm not at total meltdown, but I can feel myself getting worked up... The CW power 3s were failing me today...I have been concentrating on my leg position, which means that I'm feeling unsure about them. And some of my friends who were eating close to the rink stopped by, which didn't make things better. Plus, some of the folks I work with have been asking what time I test...which I assume means that they want to come watch. While I understand that they are trying to be supportive, I would much rather them come to an exhibition than a test. I just don't know how to tell them that, knowing that they want to come and support me. What I keep telling this is that it's not a freestyle test and that it won't be exciting... The other part of it is that while skating does come up when I'm at work, I tend to keep those two things separate... Oh well...That is not what I need to focus on...I need to focus on making sure my moves are spot on and that I have a dress to wear on Friday!

And on to that other drama in my life right now...I ordered a dress off ebay in December. It hadn't come as of 2 weeks ago...I e-mailed them...it got lost in the mail...so they said they were going to resend it...it's still not here. I was gone all last week, so I couldn't do anything about it. So now, I am scrambling to find a dress to wear. I contacted a shop 3 hours away on Sunday, they were checking to see if they had a certain dress in stock on Monday, well...it's Tuesday and I still haven't heard from them. I called and e-mailed today, so hopefully I hear from them. At this point, I'm going to have to pay for overnight shipping, which is going to suck....

[Early Spring]

I'm going to skate the open freestyle tomorrow on campus, and then I have a final lesson with coach on Thursday and the test session on Friday.

No, don't give into the CW back power 3's! You can beat them! I don't know if my big "aha!" fix will be relevant to your leg issue, but it has been working like a charm for me every time, so here it is: On the entrance edge to the first one, I think about completely straightening and extending my free leg and pointing the toe so that there's a straight line all the way from my right hand to the tips of my right toes. That helps me control the curve of the edge as well as keeping my free leg still and closed. It also keeps me from rushing the first turn. Then it's just set, point, turn, push, set point, turn, push. YOU CAN DO IT!!!

If all else fails, could you just wear a skating skirt and warmup jacket? That's what I wore last time and it was absolutely fine, since it was just a MIF test, not a freestyle program. Saved me lots of money on a dress.

And yeah, I'd just lie to my friends and tell them it's two hours later. Pressure and distraction is the last thing you need on a MIF test!

Now I'm off to make some sacrifices for both of us to the Skate Gods for Friday. . .

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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

I will not give in to the CW Power 3s! I refuse!!

I have a skirt that I could wear, and if all else fails, I will wear that, however, I just know for me, wearing a dress would put me into the mind frame of testing better...it's a psychological thing

Sending tons of positive thoughts your way!!

This is for last night's skate...I was zonked by the time I got home (have a very bad head cold):

Early Spring: Ok, yell at me-I did toe-loops and they ROCKED!!! I only did 3. Also did some salchows from mohawks, which everyone says are not full-rotation jumps...whatever. they were nice.

More Winter: the heat is STILL out in our rink, so besides the Under Armour Cold Gear, long sleeved t-shirt, fleece jacket, and club jacket and the matching stuff on the bottom of my body......IT WAS FRICKIN' COLD!!!!!!!!!! I even had the toasty-toes in my boots and after 45 minutes on the ice my toes were numb....and I still had to teach! Word is-it's to be fixed (hopefully) Wednesday).

My cold was really knocking me out so I could not even backspin. However, 3-turns were good on my left side. I've been doing strengthening exercises on my left leg just to maintain muscle tone.

My surgery (discectomy) is scheduled for February 29th. Pat, I'm having it done at Christiana-I'm sure I'll be in good hands up there!!! Word is I will have to stay overnight (boo!!!) but that's ok. I'm actually looking forward to it.
Until then, I'm skating. And trying to behave like my doctor wants me to!

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Skate@Delaware
Ah, show skating!!! I do it for the glitter!

Early Spring:
Spins were good, I did a really nice sideways-leaning spin, not a layback by any means, but a nice attitude spin.
MITF were better, even dodging the giant coned-off ice mess.
(Coolant leak; they had to dig up the ice in a 3' patch between red/blue lines near the wall.)
Made it difficult to use hockey lines for the alt 3's - too much traffic.
Half jumps are all solid, but those singles are making me insane.
Tango stops were excellent - now I'm trying to do the one-foot version; I think someone called it a "show stop?"

Yet More Winter:
Why can't I land these singles!!!????!!! I landed loops last year with lov2sk8, yet this year, nada.
Practicing two-foot spins with an entrance was funny - I can't believe how much distance I can get on them - roflol!
Salchows were a misery and I think I'm cheating my toe loop this week.

I have a ton of work to do for work, but I'm going to try and sneak out for a quick skate or gym workout.

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cold dismal rainy winter - windy and rainy skating outdoors this morning. It wasn't my spins totally sucking, it was the gusts of wind knocking me off balance. That is my story and I'm sticking to it.

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It's all about the dress!

It's good for you, Liz - makes you stronger. lol

What do you do to make yourself presentable after a skate session like that? Do you go to work or home first?

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I bring my work clothes in a separate bag and change into them after, either at the rink or in the bathroom at work. If I'm really revolting there's a fitness center in my office building where I can shower.

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It's all about the dress!

Winter:
My lesson has been postponed to Friday due to the Olympia being down. (Battery died.) No ice cut and no coaches there.

I got a call from my secondary coach asking to move my lesson to an EVEN EARLIER TIME!!! ACK!!!! I'm gonna DIEEEEEE!!!!

Spring:
Okay, I shouldn't complain. It's only by 15 minutes...

... and I'm going back to bed NOW to catch up on some much needed sleep!!!

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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!!!

I just thought you'd be wind-swept and your hair would be all tangled. (From someone who used to skate outdoors in the rain/wind/snow/sleet....) Wasn't implying that you were "revolting" but I'd bet you'd have an empty seat next to you on the subway, lol. I used to work where Credit Lyonnais (52nd/6th) is now and often used the fitness center after skating at Rock Center.

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Lesson today -

Spring--still doing slalloms to warm up for one foot power pulls - coach says I'm doing really well and to work on that another week and we will start the one foot next time. In fact overheard her telling a younger student who is working on power pulls as well that mine were more powerful than hers and she needed to practice more!

We worked some more on mohawks, getting a real stretch before changing feet, remembering to tighten my gluts so that I don't over rotate after the change- that's still deep into winter

Thaw - back outside edges from Bronze moves - on my right crossover I tend to go up on my toe on the left foot and she made me concentrate on keeping my heel down. I realized how much up on my toe I was when I tried to keep the heel down. Also I was turning my head before the crossover and that was wrecking my pattern. Do not turn my head until I have finished the crossover and am starting a new edge.

j

Spring: Breakthrough on Mohawks, inside 3s and general using inside edges to do something with. Realised that when I do an inside edge, I've been trained always to do it contra-body, i.e. with the opposite arm and shoulder forward. Never practice them with-body.... so natch, can't do things like Mohawks or inside 3s from them!

So spent awhile doing 3 inside edges (making sure I rise in the knees, coach1 said) followed by a Mohawk, and then doing a crossover, inside edge (as in Russian stroking) into a Mohawk, cross over, step forward, cross over, Mohawk on the other side, with coach1 waxing lyrical about my tracings!

Winter: And if I try putting it after a FO swing roll, as is currently choreographed? I am doing that swing roll countered, probably in self-protection!!!! Ah well. As coach1 said, "It's only your second day of practising!"

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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!

***quietly seconded!!!***



Winter:
-had a major meltdown at my lesson last week! There were many tears involved, and it was pretty ugly!
-axel hasn't been so consistent
-I think my camel may also be psycho, or perhaps has decided to leave me to visit Sessy!
-flying camel is still a little weak and layback is traveling cross country!
-I'm still ending my program way after the music, so some tinkering may be necessary
-I'm ready for Sectionals to be over now so that I can move on!!!! I'm kind of glad I'm not doing AN this year. I don't think I could take another month of this program!

Spring:
-I got some really great advice from some of my skating friends, and a cute eCard from my coach's dogs/ children after the aforementioned major meltdown.
-some axels have returned to me, but not the really good ones
-I am getting through my program with good stamina, and it may be time to move on to the dreaded double run-throughs
-I landed a few double salchows with only a 1/4 cheat!!!

Yes! Sending tons your way, too! We can do it!!

P.S. Do you think the Skating Gods would prefer a sacrifice of a young child who freezes in the path of my back power 3's or one who thinks freestyle sessions are her playtime?

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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

Ok, I'll bite...what entrance??? Do you just skate into it then flip your foot around to start the spin? Or do you do something different?? (I'm probably not explaining it right)

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Skate@Delaware
Ah, show skating!!! I do it for the glitter!

How about the teenager at the rink I skate at on Saturday who skates around the ice yelling "Excuse me!" (and I mean yelling) everywhere she goes, even if no one is in her path or even near her? Seriously. An adult skater friend of mine and I started mimicking her last Saturday (one of those times you get so mad you either have to make jokes or explode) - "Excuse me, you're obstructing my work toward my second retry on Silver Moves!"

Another adult skater there told me she just stopped paying attention to the kid (the proverbial Little Boy That Cried Wolf), b/c several times she'd hear "excuse me" and stop immediately, thinking the kid was right behind her...and then she'd look and see the kid 30 feet away.

Seriously, good luck to all who are testing this week! You can do it! (said in a whisper.....)

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Terri C is a Bronze lady!
Gold Moves, here I come!

Are virgin sacrifices are out of fashion this season? Shoot! I had such a nice stock of them in my cellar. Now what will I do with all of them?

I bet whatever they have is contagious! After all, the last time all the camels ran off at the same time, too.

BTW the competition in March does require at least 1 jump. I'm not sure if a half-loop would count so just to be on the safe side I'm gonna practice waltz jumps in the wrong-for-me clockwise direction tomorrow. Hah, that'll be fun. Maybe I'll try a flip in the wrong direction, wouldn't that be fun! I do intend to practice lots of MIF otherwise though. And prolly get my skates sharpened again, too. I hate the ice at our rink, they keep it so hard I have to get my blades sharpened every 3 weeks or so, even though they feel perfectly fine at other rinks, at ours they just skid.
... when pushing off from standstill!

I think the playtime kid, definitely. (You're a little scary, y'know?) roflol!

Any entrance - I usually do it from a standstill because I teach it that way. I tried a crossover/hold entrance with slapping my free foot down, a two-foot glide start, and something else. All required traveling money, lol.

Who practices two-foot spins when you can already do a scratch and back scratch spin -- only people getting ready for a test. lol

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A hairbrush and barrette fixes the hair in about two minutes. I go for a drip dry look most days anyway - I'd rather be skating than styling!

July and August, rushing to work from skyrink I can be pretty sweaty. Not so much in rock center season except the first and last couple of weeks.

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It's all about the dress!