Purring . . .

I finally got to skate at the reopened local rink . . . wow! ICE! I was one of the 1st two people on the ice at the first public session on Sunday. Attendance was pretty light, hope that's just because the word isn't out yet (I think they must have wanted to make sure the rink would actually be up & running before going hot & heavy on the publicity!).

Nothing spectacular, but I did manage to stay out most of the 2 hour session . . .whew!

Waltz jumps . . . "felt" good, took a little video and discovered I wasn't getting much (well, any) height on them, went back and really concentrated on rolling off the toe pick and actually achieved a tiny bit of "hang time" . . . woo hoo!!

Half flips were . . .grrrreat! (I wish this wasn't such a nothing little jump in the scheme of things, cause I can really get into these!).

Growling . . .

spins were a little weird . . . can't quite put my finger on it . . something strange about the entrance. I gave myself my standard, "don't freak out, it's just a 3-turn pep talk" and it did a little better. Also did some "push from the line" drills to make sure I wasn't cheating the entrance. By the end of the session, I had at least a few decently centered spins. Didn't attempt the backspin at all though . . . considered the sit spin and decided against it but did do some shoot-the-ducks though.

yeesh. Salchows are sad. I did make myself do a series of them though, ugly as they were (little hoppy things!). I figure at least I can work on the timing aspect of it.


STILL trying to figure out what to do about lessons . . . I probably need to sign up for group lessons just to take advantage of the ice time, but I'm not sure what the "adult class" is going to consist of . . . I may just end up taking "jump & spin" with the kids . . . can't decide. So much depends on the instructor!!

Congrats, Jessi!!!

Skittl, way to go!!!!!

Mrs. Redboots, I think you are right about the "darkest hour." That has always been my experience with skating, so just hang in there! Maybe take a little breather and do something on the ice that just *feels good* to remind yourself why you wanted to do this in the first place, KWIM? ((Big hug))

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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

Congratulations, Jessi!!! YAAAAY!!!

Welcome to the Pre-Bronze Peanut Gallery!!! (Which of course, I have reliquish membership of a while back... but... )

(((Annabel))) My experience has been that it's usually when you have the worst times on the ice that your better skating session will come... so HANG IN THERE!!!

Purring

• Loop jump
• A couple of clean waltz-loops!
• Transition from back sit to forward attitude spin is decent.
• Actually took some time today to practice the beginning of both my programs so it's smoother and I can get into it quicker. It was smoother towards the end of the public session

Growling

• Flip jump. I had a couple of them that didn't land clean and one that landed clean but the landing was scary.
• Beginning of FS program needs polish. Beginning of artistic program really needs a show stop... and I still haven't mastered it yet. And I sorta accidentally almost whacked another skater off his balance thru the arm gesture of the program. (He recovered and stayed vertical, thankfully.)
• Back sit isn't low enough yet.
• Was playing around with different spirals...Tried to do a Y-spiral on ice (since I could sorta do one off ice.) Can get the leg up but can't stand up straight.
• Ice is crappy and WAAAAY too crowded to practice the transition going into my straightline footwork in my FS program.

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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!!!

Hey, way to go on the waltz-loops! I bet you'll find you can do a salchow-loop, too!

For the Y-spiral, try it gliding backwards on an outside edge. I think you'll find it less scary to go for maximum extension going backwards, since you don't risk a catch-toe-spiral fall even if you get pulled up onto the toepick.

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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

Haven't found it yet. (Yeah, I tried for it. Didn't happen, so I just left it alone after a couple of tries at it.)

Well, part of the problem is that I'm leaning towards the outside edges. Very VERY scary!!! (Of course, doesn't stop me from trying for it either... just b/c I want to see if I could get it.)

__________________
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!!!