Aaaaaarrrrrrg!!!

I am SO frustrated with myself! Since coming back to skating a month ago (after a LONG absence) I have been relatively pleased with my progress (for an over-weight, out of shape, 56 year old). With about 17 hours on ice, I had all my forward edges come back during Tuesday's session and IT FELT SOOOOO GOOD!!! I actually felt like a skater again and spent the last half of that session doing scallops and 8s on all 4 forward edges and absolutely revelling in it.

Friday night I didn't sleep worth $#^*@#, only a couple of hours. I knew Saturday's skate was going to suffer for lack of sleep and IT DID In 2.5 hours I only got my LF edges back and even those were wobbly - the right leg was absolutely brain dead! I couldn't hold my RF edges to save my life.

There are only a few more weeks left in the regular season, then "spring skate school" (for which I am already registered) and "summer skate school" (still waiting for the application). My goal is to have all my edges back solidly for next fall so I can spend next winter working on my Skills (MITF) and preliminary Freeskate.

I have ice available today (two different places, all day long) and I am REALLY tempted to get out there and PUSH, PUSH, PUSH! But my body says I worked hard yesterday and should "rest" (maybe do balance and stretch exercises, work on the right leg).

Being a "Type A personality" is good in a lot of things but it makes it hard to do what you think is right (rest & exercise) when you're not holding on to your goals (gains - forward edges). Maybe somebody should keep my skates under lock and key? LOL!

No response required - just expressing my frustrations among those who may understand

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

#1 - You MUST have a rest day planned in your schedule. If you skate every day without a break, you will regress more than progress. I learned this the hard way and so did a friend of mine. I now take one day off every week no matter how sucky the day before was (I have it as a scheduled off day) and I find after the day off that I skate a little better because my muscles have a recovery period.

#2 - You sometimes regress before you get better. It's a fact of figure skating. There are days when I can barely land an axel or double sal, even though they are the most consistent of my "hard" elements. I will sometimes take an extra day off if I start really struggling with my hard elements like that because I probably need a recovery day. Some days I can barely do the MIF I already passed.

#3 - You must be patient with yourself and your skating. Skating isn't an easy sport. You have to be in the right frame of mind. Getting frustrated with yourself does not put you in the right frame of mind.

#4 - Most skaters have a type A personality. The ones who progress the fastest are those who realize that we have good and bad days and as long as the bad days improve over time (a bad day for me used to be one where I would fall repeatedly on my axel, now it's a day when it isn't as big as it normally is) and your good days also improve over time, then you are making progress. Keep a journal of your skating journey and 6 months from now you will be laughing at your frustration on a day like yesterday. Don't give up...

Listen to Techskater. She's giving you good advice.

I got injured within a year of coming back (20+ years off), because I pushed to hard and didn't listen to my body. It's a hard lesson to learn for those of us overachievers.

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"The only place where success comes before work is in a dictionary." -- Vidal Sasson

"Never give up on a dream just because of the time it will take to accomplish it. The time will pass anyway." -- Unknown

I will agree with this...

Online blogs are great for it. Ive got mine, and Im trying very hard to keep it up to date, cos Im so sure that in 6months I will be looking back thinking (hopefully) how easy skating backwards now, and how far Ive come... 1-2months would be better

You have to make mistakes for you to learn from them... and know how to overcome it... if everything was easy, we wouldnt value it as much.. and it wouldnt be as fun

Keep going, have REGULAR rest sessions, and have fun! You will do great.

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-Erinna-
aka cassarilda

My Progress Report!
"Did I mention there is only ONE rink in Melbourne?!"
"If you're not flying, you're obviously not trying!!!" - courtsey of the guy who helped me up off the ice after my last spectacular and sore fall

I do keep a journal http://www.geocities.com/diannebest/skating/intro.html - it's even online for anybody who's REALLY bored.

I decided to follow all the good advice and limit myself to flexibility and balance exercise yesterday. The indoor ice was in use for a "carnival" and it was a bit cold to use the outdoor ice so I whimped out. Today I'll do my full off-ice program and try out those edges again tomorrow.

I know that with only being back for a month after 36 years, having my forward edges (even if it's only sometimes) isn't too bad for progress.

Ya rekkon? LOL!

Thanks gang!

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

On a good day you might be able to do everything wonderfully, on a bad day it's all garbage.

It helps to aim for your bad days to get better. What you can do when you aren't skating well. So today on a bad day you can't do anything? In a month there will be things you can still do well on a really bad day. Your good days will also get better. But if you can increase the range of what you can reliably do on a bad day, the gap will close.

Or is that too philosophical on a Tuesday night? Blame the glass of wine.

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Karen

I skate - therefore I am