Hot--Went to the rink on Halloween for my lesson and NO KIDS were there at all. Just two other adult skaters were there. Usually, the sessions on Wednesdays are pretty crowded, and it's hard to get a run-thru in without having traffic in one's way. I was SO glad for the empty ice!

__________________
Ask me about becoming a bone marrow donor.
http://www.marrow.org
http://www.nmdp.org

Hot: Did some good back outside brackets tonight...with my foot where it's supposed to be

So Not: I haven't done a program in soooo long, and even making it through part of my new one is painful

Axels are still the bain of my existence...that and the Intermediate MITF...

This is for Wednesday night (again, a late post):
So Not: While my back is feeling a bit better, sciatic pain/numbness radiated down my leg into my foot....so I could not do anything requiring my left leg at 100% security. So, we worked on ARMS while stroking, chasses, swing rolling, etc. until I was warmed up enough. Then we hit on backspins (lucky for me that foot was working)

HOT: After warming up with some really bad attempts (they were the tricks) the treat was learning to:
--put my free leg BEHIND me
--stay down in the knee
--do this a whole revolution
--allow my body to "catch up" to my free leg, then raise up
in doing this, I was able to finally STOP torquing my body around, stay on the sweet spot and HOLD IT!!! I'm still having to keep my left shoulder back (we think it has to do with the nerve damage from my accident-my shoulders don't listen evenly).

I did 5+ revolutions, nice and easy and did not topple over, fall out of, or otherwise tank on these backspins!!!!!!

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

Hot: Leaving with my university's synchro/intercollegiate team to compete in Indiana tomorrow. Skating freestyle (Intermediate) and dance (Senior), as well as the High (Junior/Senior) manuever team.

So Not: I'll be spending my 22nd birthday there, which is an hour behind where I live. And then I get to drive home and experience the beauty of daylight savings time. Ugh...

Hot: My mom's coming to watch me compete and celebrate my birthday with me, and all my skating friends will be there, which should be fun. And, I kind of get two birthdays since I'll be celebrating it back home on Monday even though my birthday's Sunday because I'll be driving home all day...

Not: We got up at 06:00 this morning to go skating, only for Husband to find that a load of circuits were down (he's in IT and comms) and he had to try to get them back up and running again before we could leave. At 07:55, we reluctantly decided there wasn't really time.... We have a competition on Sunday, and Dunkerque at the end of the month, so we really ought to be working harder than we are, and Saturday patch is always impossible after about 08:00, so the plan now is for a really early night tonight and to try to be at the rink by 06:30 or so tomorrow morning! That way we can at least run through our dances for Sunday, and when it does get more crowded, Husband can work on his free programme for Dunkerque, and then we can go home for breakfast. But oh dear, up before sparrowfart on a Saturday?! Yuck.

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

Welcome to the club Up at 3:45 A.M. 5 days a week - 3 for skating and the other 2 to make up time at work. It is a luxury to sleep in until 6 on weekends!

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

Not Hot

So this is the stress that skating has brought into my life this week

I am the chair of the Spring Show and music selection and registration is in full swing for that. I am also the co-chair of our competition this weekend and I've been putting together the program for that. I'm on the board of directors and we had to eliminate our Director of Skating position because of financial difficulties and that person was one of my coaches and that was very upsetting for me. And I'm competing Rhythm Blues, Freestyle and Artistic this weekend.

So today we have one last go at the Rhythm Blues. The step behinds that have not bothered me -- suddenly I was afraid of them again. So we go over that. Bend my knee, make sure I think about putting the heel down first - hold my free leg straight in front. We fix that.

Next I am struggling with the timing on the second progressive. I hold the last edge too long. I did it too music and coach said the last two patterns were right, first pattern timing was off. I couldn't tell the difference and that upset me. If I am off and I know it, I can fix it. If I don't know that I'm off, that's a problem.

So we went through it over and over without music. I got the timing fine. Do it music, the first time, I realized I held the last edge too long and I just stopped and started crying. I've been doing this dance for almost a year. People learn this dance in two weeks. It's just very frustrating.

So when I get over my hissy fit she tells me that what happened that time was that I started the progressive too soon and held the last edge too long because I was trying to get back to the music. WHich actually made me feel better - it showed I knew enough to do it to the music.

Anyways, it's not brain surgery. I don't have any competition. Which is actually worse, but I'm supposed to be doing this for fun, so I just have to do the best I can.

j

Congratulations!! That's definitely something to be excited about!

Hot: My Freestyle program for my Bronze Test is coming along quite nicely. My coach has me doing way more than what is required and I'm finally getting the hang of it. Who on earth does brackets, counters, and rockers on a Bronze Free?? And I just started learning them too so they are not as polished as I would like them to be. But they get better every time I do them.

Not Hot: God I hate sit spins with a passion. I cannot get a good sit position and when I go for it, I rock to the back of my blade and fall. My back sit is way better. My flying camel and back camel bite the big one too.


BlackManSkating

__________________
Proud to be one of the few black men out on the ice

Goals
Pass my Silver Moves Test
Finish Choreography for Silver Program
Land a Clean Double Toe and Double Lutz
Work on Double Axel and Rockers
Speed up back Camel

Not So Hot: I was supposed to take Wednesday off but didn't after my Waltz jump disappeared Tuesday. Coach was NOT pleased about me skipping my rest day (Picture a 5-foot tiny 30 year old coach giving sh!# to a big 5' 9" 50-something skater - LOL!)

Hot: Worked with coach on Interpretive program, working out changes in timing with revised choreography. No problem, it will be ready in 2 weeks (competition in 3!)

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

Hmm. . . Does it specify on the Bronze test that the sitspin has to be a forward sit? I know that under IJS there is no difference in classification between the two. . .

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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

Yay!! And you put down in writing exactly what you did to make it work, so that if it starts misbehaving again you will know how to whip it back into shape!

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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 does not specify but some judges would read "sit spin" to imply "forward sit spin". I've seen this come up once before and I vaguely remember there being discussion as to whether the "back <whatever>" met the requirements of the test. My recommendation, if in doubt, don't take the chance, and do a forward sit. Otherwise you might get asked to do a forward sit as a reskated element.

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American Waltz... Once, Twice, ???? ...

Q: How many coaches does it take to fix Jen's Dance Intro-3 Problems
A: 5 and counting...

Hot:
My weekly supervised practice (which is what my lessons have become ) went very well. In my warm up before, I actually did a really good, well checked RFO three, and was so surprised that I clapped for myself as if I were my own student. Prelim alt FO threes were so close to being ready to test that I think I better start working on those spirals. FI threes were again better, but still not there. Prelim power threes were better than last week. Going to have DH video them next week so I can see just how much faster they need to be. DH videoed my FI Mohawks in lesson, and much to my surprise, they look a lot better than they feel! They look smooooth.

So Not:
Spins. I really must find time to work on these if I am going to progress.

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That's what I was thinking, too. On the other hand, if it's the only problem element, it might be worthwhile to put the back sit in the program, but have a forward sit ready to do as a re-skate by itself if requested. I guess it all depends on the probability of the judges not accepting a back sit vs. the probability of not doing a decent forward sit in two tries. If Blackmanskating's back sit is that much better, it might be worthwhile to do the back sit in the program to show that he can do it, and then if he does get asked to re-skate the element as a forward sit and doesn't manage to complete it, they could still pass him based on everything else (including the back sit). I have seen Bronze tests being passed without the sitspin before, based on an otherwise good program.

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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

Hot - I started learning my new program today. I have a practice version of the music on my ipod which has a voiceover of me calling the moves. I can't believe how much faster I'm learning the sequence.

So Not - actually doing the elements, fast enough to keep up with the music.

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It's all about the dress!

This was something we discussed...because sometimes you leave the rink and develop amnesia!!! so everything goes into my journal before I leave!!! I also discovered her other students have been encouraged to keep training journals and some have copied my idea of writing their warm-up routines and "homework of the month" on 3x5 cards (dated on the top).

When things start going wrong with an element, she asks me what happened and I'm supposed to analyze it-not say "I don't know" which is good.

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

So Not: My sleep pattern. I've been staying up way to late working on my skating club's website and other related things. My body has been suffering for it. A matter a fact I went to my City Ice rink on Thursday only to just stand there and watch because by the time I made it there, I had no legs and felt drunk from tiredness.

No spiral sequence or camel spin today because of all the kids on the ice. Also forgot to even do a loop jump.

Hot: Got an hour of Creative Dance lesson time with my ice dance partner to almost finish off of the dance. It's only the Prelim Creative Dance but were using 25% of the steps from dance levels that are higher than Prelim. All my steps are forward steps.

Skated on the second session for half an hour doing freeskate elements.
F Corkscrew, F sit, F sit/corkscrew, F sit/broken/upright
Waltz jump, waltz/toe, waltz/mazuka/salchow, waltz/mazuka/salchow/toe, toe/toe, half flip/flip, half flip/flip/toe (slight cheat of the flip)
Lutz out of footwork (almost got it to land clean)
Footwork

__________________
"It's not age that determines but the heart." "Skating is not just a sport for the young but it's a passion for the soul of the young at heart." Brigitte Laskowski

I am a nomadic adult skater who is a member of Windsor FSC (Skate Windsor) WOS SC again since Sept. 1st, 2008.

http://eastcastlemusic.tripod.com

Singerskates Sports Music Editing

So Not: So, I haven't skated a program in....let's round and say 11 years...now, I'm trying to do a pre-juv program to test and well, I'm definitely sucking wind as I'm trying to go through it. I know it will get easier, but I really need to work on that stamina

Hot: Did some good back outside brackets for coach, now I need to do some polish on all of my moves...hopefully I will be able to test them soon...

I don't know: Coach said I will probably test my freestyle first and wait on the moves so that I can focus on one thing at a time. In some ways that will be good, but in so many others, I just want to be done with these moves!

Hot: We were at the rink by 6:30 am and very few people there. Ran through all our dances for tomorrow, and chatted to some of our opposition! Who had a lesson, which meant that music was played out loud, which was good.

So Not: Found, to my horror, that I can't do a bunny-hop without pain! How come I can do a 3-jump just fine, but a bunny-hop hurts and hurts? So we have had to quickly change that in our free dance - I just hope we remember tomorrow! Wouldn't matter if it was our last class of the day, but we have entered the Zimmer trophy, too (both partners have to be over 45, and their combined age has to total 100 or more), and there's a Fiesta in there, and that mohawk already hurts a bit, although not too badly if it's not hurting already, if that makes sense.

We have so no hope of coming other than last in our couples' classes tomorrow that there's absolutely no pressure; I do hope it's fun!

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

Hot:
1. I did ballet for the first time since the broken ankle was fixed, and though I didn't do "relive" (spelling?!) arabesques on it and didn't point my toes too hard, I did manage 3/4ths of the lesson to participate fully - after that, I was selective about what I did. And today the only thing hurting is my back, not ankle, so maybe next week I'll participate the entire lesson fully!
2. Camel improved drastically with some minor adjustment tips from the coach, although the consistency

Not:
Couldn't manage any spins towards the end of the lesson, and got nauseous.

Friday Night

Hot

-my elements for the Jr.Silver free skate

So Not

-pretty much everything because I've been so tired from my busy week with Halloween, staying up late doing homework, and almost missing the bus a few times

__________________
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

Hot:

A fabulous lesson, stuff actually 'worked' in front of my coach, she even acknowledged how much improved my salchow and toe loop were (I am happy with constructive criticism). To cap it all, I achieved my first ever successful backspin, and repeated it several times until my coach was satisfied that it passes the standard !!! More signatures on my passport

Not:

Lesson is on public ice, and it can get rather rowdy for a lefty jumper sometimes - lost count of the number of aborted jumps ...

Oh, and I have now lost that backspin, after my earlier success. Hope to find it somewhere around nearby ...

__________________
UK Passport (figure)
Bronze : PASSED 13-Oct-07 Woohoo
Silver: PASSED 08-Dec-07 Yippee
Gold: Backspin PASSED One Foot Spin ____ Toe Loop ____ Programme ____
The impossible is just a journey away ...

Hot, Hot, Hot:
My blades were sharpened perfectly!!!! Turns out my blade edges were uneven and the ROH was 7/16" for some reason. He restored my usual 3/8" and I felt the difference immediately.

Bonus: they were ready on time, which I'm very happy about since I forgot to take my backup skates.

Spins were centered in both directions, hooray!
Edges were soooo nice - I was having trouble with the outside edges, which was very strange.
Crossovers have power again, sigh.
The few jumps I tried were effortless; can't wait to really try and jump next week. (Maybe I'll sneak in a quick skate tomorrow.)

Got to teach a group lesson for the first time at the new rink - I volunteered for the Basic 1 class. Cute kids, had lots of fun.
I've narrowed down the coaching choices for my kids to two ladies. Now, let's hope they have time available!

So Not:
Couldn't do my usual stop on the FI edge because the blades are so sharp and I had gotten used to the very-dull edges. Had to use the wall once or twice until I realized the t-stop was doable.

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This one is for Friday a.m. - what a bizarre practice

Hot: Waltz toe was good and I was able to put the elements of the program where they needed to be, so I think flow is improving. I did a bunch of loops that were not great but at least landed on one foot and I don't think I was hunched over (not sure though)

So Not: Um the elements themselves. My spins were nowhere! Scratch spins traveled, and my sit spins were the worst they've been in maybe a year. I couldn't even do one, it was like I'd never learned them, and I used to have a really good sit spin. I have no idea of what happened there but I was pretty disgusted with myself! Backspin, same old same old.

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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)