Cold Puddles: Woke up this morning with more than plenty of time to go to freestyle, but ooowww, my neck hurt, so no skating today

Warmish Sun: It's just a tissue injury, though, with no swelling, and I just can't turn my head all the way to the left without pain, so I'm happy... it'll probably feel better as the muscle warms up throughout the day. I was just afraid that, knowing me, I'd spot during spins and really mess it up!

So, what do I do now? Ice?

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When asked what his "secret" to success was, Wayne Gretsky said: "Skate to where the puck is going and not to where it has been."
Is the figure skating version of this: Skate as if you're doing an axel and not just learning how to hop?

I'd take an aleve and a heat pack. No matter what type of injury, cold packs somehow only worsen everything with me. But your body's prolly different.

4th of 4 in a row! A year ago at this time, skating 4 days in a row, 2 hours per session wouldn't have been very difficult - now it is exhausting! Of course last year at this time, I had just learned to stand up on the ice and was working on forward stroking and edges

Warm Sunshine: Four consecutive days has been really good for building strength - I can feel the difference from pushing the muscles before "full recovery".

Cold Puddles: As far as moves, the first two days are the most productive with productivity diminishing somewhat in the last 2 days. After 4 days, the muscles are saying "Leave me alone!" LOL!

There was hockey this morning and the flood wasn't complete until 7:18 and coach arrived before I was booted up so the on-ice warm-up was short and the pre-session warm-up was somewhat limited (I hate warming up with spectators!)

Not much was working well today. The 3-turns were wobbly and poor, no back XO's (though back stroking on the circle wasn't bad) and spins were hopeless.

Almost Sunny: Forward edges were ok (not great) and forward XO's were so-so. About the only thing that was working reasonably well (despite lack of practice) was the RFO spirals (and even they could have been with better form!).

Warm Sunshine:Oh well, this week was about pushing the muscle endurance and that was accomplished.

Next week I MUST focus on back XO's, 2 foot spins, and 1 foot spin! Only two weeks left to "check off" those items from the June goals in coach's Yearly Planner.

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

Warm Sun My backspin is going well! I actually did a really really good one- probably 5 rotations. Well good for me- I was completely centered and on my sweet spot. My hands aren't in any place in particular and my leg isn't crossed, but I'm spinning better on these than my forward spin. I think it's cause it is my pirouette leg

Cold Puddles I'm a bit frustrated with my coach right now.

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-Jessi
What I need is a montage...
Visit my skating journal or my Youtube videos (updated with 2 new videos Sept 26, 2009)

Warm Sun: 1 foot spin was fantastic today! Salchows actually had good checks on the back inside edge after the 3-turns, making the jump higher and easier.

Cold Puddles: My back spiral disappeared, reappeared, and then disappeared in both program runthroughs. Oh well, I'll work on it more tomorrow.

Warm Sun: I had a great dance lesson today. I worked a ton on my Paso and started learning some of the Starlight. Goals are to put out Paso and Starlight Waltz at next test session and to pass my Blues, Starlight, and Paso by the end of summer, which will leave me the fall to work on my Gold dances! Coach said that my Paso will definitely be my strongest - it's very pushed out, powerful, and sharp.

My double salchows were also on today. I did them where they were at in my program (no music though) with all the choreography leading up to them and nailed all by two, which I two-footed. Yay!

Aunti Flo...omg. For a minute there I actually thought you had a visiting Aunt. You Californians are something else!

That's great you are working on back sits. As soon as I go into that spin something in my lower left back acts up. Probably because I'm on an inside edge.

Cold Puddles:
New England hockey ice at 10:00 a.m.

Still can't/won't cross that free leg over the scratch spin, storking it. But I can cross on an inside edge backspin, go figure.

Not one fall.

Warm Sun:
Total of 4 people on ice, sometimes only 2. Last one off so I was able to practice back spiral/double back 3 into scratch spin.

My camel actually caught and went today. Practicing a set of FO spirals beforehand helped. Thought about doing a lap of FI spirals, just thought about it.

Split tango into backspin with arms in ballet position, one arm overhead, one arm in front. Another backspin with arms behind me. All done on an inside edge, of course.

Reverse entry backspin, managing to center on NE cold hard hockey ice. Regular sit into broken sit today.

Made nano progress with FI rocker, I will take it.

One legged 3s, FO3 push to BO3 on same leg, great workout for the legs.

Not one fall.

I don't get it.

Ha, thanks! When I got home from school I went and watched a video of me from last May and it made me feel better seeing how far I've come since then.

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Sessy, "visit from Aunt Flo" is a discreet way of referring to a "visit" we women get every month. . . which sometimes keeps us from skating!

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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

Ahhh, but I learned that term from a Southerner!!! (BTW: My secondary coach also thought the same thing you did too! I had to explain how she puts a cramp in my style. )

Hmmmm? So that's why my lower back is acting up as of late, huh? Speaking of which....

Cold Puddle:

• Not doing loops or flips this afternoon... my legs felt REALLY heavy and my lower back was not cooperating. Just didn't wanna jump today.
• Did some forward crossover drills. He's still not happy about them. GRRRRR!!!
• Tried to get me to do a FO mohawks. Yeah, right! Good luck, buddy!!! Try getting these really closed hips to do a FO mohawk!!! (Kander, unlike me, has those nice mutant open hips for those FO mohawks and those lovely outside spread eagles!!!) Went back to secondary coach's Schaffer push drill at the wall after the lesson. (kander, don't give me any comment about "the wall again!?!?!" )

Warm Sun:

• Did some good tries on camels AFTER the lesson.
• Can do a backsquat spin to a forward sit spin...IN FRONT OF PRIMARY COACH!!! NOW if I could do a forward sit spin to a back squat spin... (Coach says that he's seen me try for a backsit... I told him that I could only do a back sit to a forward sit, but not the other way around.)
• Did more of those straightline footwork that's in my program. The concentration is on BIGGER lobes. Primary coach did say though that they are MUCH curvier than when I got started on it. YAAAAY!!! (BTW: my armchair skater says that my footwork is definitely starting to look pretty good and he thinks it should score some nice points with the judges. I'll believe it when I see it.)

ETA: I just did a search on "Schaffer push" on the old RSSIR newsgroup (sorta a discussion between Mrs. Redboots, Jeanne D and Ana on an old "Bronze Moves Experience" thread that I started two years ago.) NOW I know what you guys are talking about!!! LOL!!!

This also brings a couple questions. I can sorta do a wimpy back cross strokes and step behind from LBO to RBO and so on and so forth with reasonable ease. So....

1. Why is it HARDER to do the cross behind going from LFO to RBO (and RFO to LBO???)
2. Why is it EASIER for me to do a RBO to LFO (and LBO to RFO?)

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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!!!

Cold Puddles:
Was all psyched to skate on Monday.... until I saw on my rink website that they were going to be closed. According to one of the skating parents that works the front desk... the decision to close Monday wasn't made until Sunday!
Coaches are back from last week's PSA conference in LA and they have a whole bag of new tricks! Was given a stern warning from Primary Coach that it was repeated several times that a definite sitspin is when the skating leg is bent at a 90 degree angle (Read: You want this Bronze test: Get to work).

This afternoon is one of the afternoons without a ice cut, so the ice was chewed up pretty good.

Warm sun:
Am working on my body positions in my spins- that makes a whole world of difference!

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Adult Nationals, 2009 "The Time of My Life"

Teehee thanks doubletoe! I got a private message explaining the ethymology of it and stuff, real cool to read. You're a very creative people where it comes to finding euphemisms! The Dutch aren't nearly as creative.

And I'm from the mid-atlantic and we've used the term Auntie Flo, too...

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When asked what his "secret" to success was, Wayne Gretsky said: "Skate to where the puck is going and not to where it has been."
Is the figure skating version of this: Skate as if you're doing an axel and not just learning how to hop?

This also brings a couple questions. I can sorta do a wimpy back cross strokes and step behind from LBO to RBO and so on and so forth with reasonable ease. So....

1. Why is it HARDER to do the cross behind going from LFO to RBO (and RFO to LBO???)
2. Why is it EASIER for me to do a RBO to LFO (and LBO to RFO?)

Because...your hips don't lie!

Or maybe the Dutch just aren't as repressed as we puritanical Americans are, and don't feel the need to use euphemisms for every bodily function, LOL!

Hey, I had some nice "warm sunshine" in my lesson this morning! We worked a little on my catch foot spirals and I ended up getting my entire boot higher than my head on both the left and right sides! There is hope for me after all! Woo hoo!

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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'm going to wrap up the whole week in one...

Cold Puddles:
-Inside to Outside change of edge is hard!! Arms all over the place, spending a couple of seconds on a flat in between the change. Need to work on the arms and the feet will follow...
-Had a disastrous skate on Wednesday, totally wimped out on the back crossovers, got frustrated beyond all reason, cried and got off the ice before my lesson was over

Lovely Warm Sunshine:
-Finally feeling a real improvement on my backwards stroking and coach is seeing it too. Am glad because I have been working so, so hard on this after spending too many months neglecting it. What, did I think it would get better if I ignored it?
-Outside to Inside change of edge- oh, I enjoy these
-After being filmed skating (the horror!), I have now been on an attempt to lose some excess lbs for 8 days now. Nothing like seeing your slighter-fatter-than-you-should-be-self on film to motivate you into it!!
-Returned to the back crossovers this morning to rid myself of Wednesday's demons. They have a long way to go but they were happening this morning which is a major improvement on the total refusal of Wednesday! I think I am finally starting to understand where I was going wrong which can only be a good thing if it means I can fix them

Clare

Doubletoe, congrats on nailing the Bielman spiral!

Thanks, but I must say I'm pretty far from "nailing" the Biellmann, LOL! Even when I get this position consistent, it's just a catch foot spiral with free foot higher than head level, not anything I would consider a true Biellmann. I'll start calling it that if I ever actually get it *above* my head, not just higher than my head and held several feet away, 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

It's so nice reading everyone's posts...I sure miss skating on REAL ice!!!! Evertime I try to get a trip up north scheduled, something else comes up! This sunday I can't go, tuesday my son "progresses" into the next grade-it's a big deal as he is doing the flag ceremony as a boy scout!!! I can't miss that!

Next sunday I'm in an archery competiton, and the following tuesday (which are my day's off) I'm already scheduled to take my kids to the beach.

but, there is the rest of June! I'm hoping to get up there (to The Pond in Newark) before the month is out! I'm sure my skating is REALLY CRAPPY!!!! I'm sure the only thing improved from skating on plastic has been my stamina!

I haven't done any scratch or backspins, toe-loops, loop attempts, 1/2 jumps, spirals, etc!!! but I have a REALLY GREAT 2-FOOT SPIN now!

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

Congrats, Doubletoe!

I can't do the left side, but I'm going to try... :-)

Cheers,
Chow

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Blog: http://chowskates.blogspot.com

Youtube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/chowskates
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Cold puddles: blister on right heel has gotten better, but is still causing a lot of pain when ever I lift up my foot when I'm skating. Even doing crossovers is painful, so I'm just frustrated at the moment.

Warm sun: I helped WannabeS8r with her spiral(which is so amazing now), and with her flip and her sitspin. Then I stayed and watched her lesson with her coach and her scratch spin was brialliant. The best I've ever seen it. She had a couple of great sitspins and I'm really proud of her.

As for my own skating, I did very little today because I like helping WannabeS8r on Saturdays, but I did do a few things. My camel-layback apparently was really nice. I think I got about 4 revs on the camel and 4 or 5 with the layback(not sure though because I can't really count accurately when I'm upside down ) I did one good flip and stopped because of my heel, but that one was good. And I had a really nice long fast sitspin a couple of times. And my spiral feels much more secure than it has in a long time.

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Cold Puddles: We had literal cold puddles on yesterday morning's lesson. The cooling system's compressor was flaking out and the ice was melting. Metaphorically, my fiesta tango is still inconsistent, with the pro-am next week. This is NOT reducing my anxiety level about it--ordinarily if I were blocked on something, I'd leave it for a week or three. <sigh> I'm afraid my coach is getting frustrated on this one, since I'm convinced that she's right and that it's now psychological rather than anything to do with body position.

Warm Sun: There isn't much of that this week. Coach did sign off on my test application for the APBM test for the 22nd, with the caveat that the moves would be the focus of our lessons from the 11th to the 21st. "Anything but the Fiesta tango" is the way I feel about it today...

Rob

Cold Puddles: I am in the middle of my 3 days off, so no skating today

Warm Sun: BUT! I did go in and get my skates bumped and I should be finished my skate sharpening machine by next weekend - it is turning out well

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