Fall weather, chill coming in. Is it crisp and clear or clammy and dank?

Crisp - improving my back-inside edges. Doing a lot of rolls, I'd had the head and arm movements just wrong and I'm working on fixing those bad habits now. Another 'been doing wrong' is the dance step sequence for FS3, I'd somehow gotten it into my head that the forward mohawk is inside, but it is outside. Working on doing it right now, a good thing because my RFO mohawk especially was really rough. It's getting better at a good pace.

Clammy - do I even need to keep mentioning the dratted backspin?

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It's all about the dress!

Crisp: I like my new program, it's nice and flowy jazzy when my coach demonstrates it, it's clunky dorky when I do it so far.

Did a nice, fast, centered scratch spin today.

Clammy: Oh boy. I am driving my poor coach up the wall. I have a really hard time remembering choreography, which is bad enough - but then I go to do the program and I'm trying to remember stuff and I look like a skating baby ostrich or something.

Two footed loop twice! What?!

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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)

It was all pretty clammy today.

Power class - my daughter is bored to tears because this coach isn't as creative as some others and we just basically stroke for 20 minutes. I don't mind because it's excercize at least but at her level she needs other excersizes to help her power. She's not going to take it for spring session but I probably will.

I think my skates need sharpening because I fell AGAIN - this time just slipped off an edge. That started to shake my confidence but still managed to do some stuff. I really hope this week we can get my artistic done so I can work on other things with my coach - like my spin entry!

j

Crisp: Felt better skating this morning than last week. The effects of oral surgery are wearing off, and the 'dizzy' pills are gone. Spins are coming back (holding the entrance edge longer helps considerably). Had one so well centered that the ice chipped out in the spin spot after ~ a dozen revs and almost tossed me on my backside.

Clammy: Had both a water heater and a refrigerator fail over the weekend. How can TWO major appliances coordinate such a dastardly thing? Shower before skating this morning was tepid, and the snack before skating was room temperature. Repair$ coming soon.

Still Clammy: New boots and blades are officially overdue. Maybe it's a good thing with the timing of the appliance replacement/repair costs.

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Bill Schneider

Maybe you've got a spotlight piece there, with the baby ostrich routine!

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It's all about the dress!

Crisp: I finally skated after a long time

CLAMMY: It is so tough getting back on the ice after being away from it for so long. I have gained some weight and actually felt it while I stroke around. Not only I was getting my usual cramps but also things didnt feel right. It took me at least 50 minutes to shake off the cramps and start jumping. I did a loop, flip, lutz, and loop/loop - and called it a day. Good enough for now.

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Tim David's Website

Crisp: I did the smoothest Lutz - double loop combination I've ever done. It was like second nature. Now If only I could get a double lutz to feel like that. Double 3's are getting quiet. Today I could hardly hear anything. I had the ice all to myself this morning so I could really listen. My coach noticed an improvement in my depth of edges. I think I'm finally starting to get comfortable on the ice a little.

On Saturday during club ice, I did the fastest forward scratch spin I have ever done. It was actually pretty centered too. It was so fast that I couldn't completely straighten my free leg across my skating side. The G's were really strong and some of the other skaters seemed impressed. It was a bit scary though.


Clammy: This footwork is hell for me. My coach is an ice dancer so he's really intricate and I am struggling to duplicate that level of performance. It isn't working today. And for some reason, my axel is completely gone. I couldn't land it to save my life. I would do a double 3 turn out of the landing. I think I am dropping my left shoulder. It was really weird.

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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

crisp
2flip & loop were close
good I-Spins
good 2sal

clammy
muscles are really tight from not stretching enough

video from practice click

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Crisp: Greatly enjoyed a little-populated public session today and was able to relocate the bloody waltz jump, toe loop and salchow, which all had gone astray about two weeks ago. Even better: Theyre really, really solid. More solid than ever.

Now with 50 percent more crisp: I believe I identified the reason for the jump troubles. Blade screws were loose. Fixed that.

New formula! Our crispest ever: Greatly enjoyed a sparsely populated public session today and continued working on Stuff I Don't Particularly Want To Work On But That's How We Become Better Skaters, Isn't It.

Clammy: I came ever so close to unleashing some aggressive toepick on the asses of a bunch of morons at public last weekend. That'd learn 'em.

My back is feeling so much better! I skooched up in bed last night, heard my spine "crack" and it felt better!!! I still took it easy today (yeah right). brought my spin-trainer to the gym-what a hoot! I could not spin for anything going my way...but could eke out a 3 rev going the other way!!! But doing backspins...well it was weird!

Off-ice class was in the HARNESS! Flips in the harness. I felt like a dork. Probably looked like one as well. I sort of got it but it's hard to get the weight shift to the picking foot. Then she had me try a lutz...ummm even stranger. I don't like to shift my weight, i see! But, she did not yank me up so that was good.

My class is going well-moved 2 little ones to the real ice tonight then made them skate on their own. Gotta learn sometime!

Power class was heck, as I still had my puffy pants on and I was HOT!!! But, I can swizzle FAST!!! And 3 pushes gets me gliding all the way to the other side of the rink (lengthwise).

It's 10:16 pm, I'm beat, and I still haven't had any dinner. Mondays are tough!

Clammy: the only comment i have here-I was told to order my blades elsewhere because it would take forever to get new ones and they would cost $180. So I did (for about the same price) and when I mentioned that my blades were in...I was told they could get blades in a week and about $50 less!!! URGH!!!! I hate when that happens! Oh well. They get swapped out this week, once they are sharpened.

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

Sorry, this will be LOOOONNG to make up for my long time without a lesson!! and it's all

Crisp!: I signed up for group lessons! I was so undecided but I had to be at the rink anyway (ds hockey practice) so when I saw one of the instructors coming in I went up to her and asked if she was teaching the adults and, well, was anyone else signed up? There wasn't at the time, but lo and behold, someone was signing up as we were talking, so I went ahead and signed up to make it a "group" lesson . The other lady was sort of quietly freaking out when I told the instructor the last things we had been working on (waltz jump/salchow) but I ASSURED her that I started out just where she was!! ("a wall hugger like everyone else!!") and we could both work at our own paces!!!

Anyhow, it was an AWESOME lesson since the instructor let me pick what I wanted to work on . . . she just alternated between the two of us during the half hour. I elected to work on 3 turns (particularly the checking & "big girl arms") and then moved on to the waltz jump (she says, that's good! - did you want to work on getting more height? YES!!!!!) So we worked on bend the knee a LOT on the step & using arms to get more height, it was awesome.

Then we worked on the salchow - I told her I knew the basic sequencing of the jump but just wasn't getting much "jump" in it . . . she suggested I focus on the down-up-down-up aspect of it (down for the 3 turn, up at the point where you turn, back down again and then "UP" for the jump) and I got a little more into the rhythm of it and it started clicking for me.

Special note to doubletoe: she was MOST impressed that I was doing the beginnings of the "scoop" . . . even if it isn't quite perfected yet . . . I thought of you!!

So, by that point we had about 5 minutes left in the lesson and I was bushed!! So I asked if we could work on the 1 foot spin . . . didn't have tons of progress on that in lesson but she did suggest an alternate entrance from backwards crossovers, step forward into a LOE and hook the turn from that entrance. I kind of like that one because I don't have as much opportunity to throw myself off balance. Did have a few good spins, but just as many when I didn't hook the entrance . . . eek!!

So that was it for our lesson, and I practiced for almost an hour after that at which point I was totally wiped out and nauseous from spinning, so I dragged myself home . . . aaaahhhh . . . great to be back on home ice again.

Crisp-est: Remember all the off-ice work I was doing on the sit spin position? I was SO excited to find that I can now drop into a PERFECT shoot-the-duck position and hold it for 1/2 the rink and bring it up with control . . . I never thought I would see the day!! I just couldn't get enough of it! yahoo!

Crisp: Worked on BO edges a LOT in practice - getting FAST....

Clammy: ... still can't get the BXO's

Clammy: Coach's other skater didn't show up so I had her undivided attention with only 15 minutes warmup/practice

Crisp: With only 8 weeks to the first competition, we decided to resurrect last winter's Interpretive (the one from Nationals), tweak it, and use it for the November competition so we can concentrate on developing the Free program. That's good - at least it is choreography I know.....

Clammy: .... on the other hand, I have to cut it down from 2:34 to 1:30! Coach is going to leave it with me to figure out what moves to cut.

Crisp: In lesson we worked on BO edges, Waltz and Toe Loop, landing positions, Upright spins and Sit spins - all progressing nicely.

Clammy: I REALLY have to fall down more! Getting used to falling would really help my jumps progress.

And this is only day #1 of 3 this week and already I am STIFF!

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

Wow! Awesome!!

RinkRat: Good job on the I spin! And that was with "stiff muscles"?? 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

Crisp: Good lesson this morning. Didn't do much more than stroking, chassés and swing rolls, but boy, I'm stiff now!

Clammy: I think we're all getting old, including my coach.... we all agreed that it was horrid being 50-something....

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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!

Crisp: Passed Pre-Juvenile Moves this afternoon!! And less then six months after I started working on them (the day after I passed Prelim)! Now onto Juv MIF and a clean axel and 2sal to test Prelim FS...)

Clammy: still sore from a 1hr ballet class and 2hr practice yesterday...

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Working on:
NOVICE! MIF
Juvenile FS
Bronze Dances

CONGRATULATIONS, Cara!!

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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

This may be a little premature, and I may jinx myself, but I'm very excited:

CRISP: I MAY have discovered the reason for my inconsistent axel. I wasn't JUMPING. I finally discovered, after 2 1/2 years of struggling, that you have to bend your skating knee in order to jump. Thank you, Captain Obvious. Then I did like, 20 of them. Hopefully, axel and I have resolved our differences once and for all. Oh yeah, I got 4 revs on my back catch spin, too.

CLAMMY: Boy, do my legs hurt! Too much jumping and back camel-ing! Owies! Also, I'm soooo sick of these Gold/ Int MIF - I need to test soon! No MORE power circles!


Bonus crispy: Yankee's magic number to clinch a playoff spot? ONE!

Wow, that IS a big breakthrough!! If you did 20 of them, then I don't think it's a premature assumption!

Hey, can I trade you my back power 3's (Intermediate test) and back double 3's for your forward and backward power circles? (I don't mind the power circles at all compared to those, 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

Hey I think I have recently discovered the exact same thing - what a difference when I really bend my skating knee before the jump. And how crazy that it has taken me so many years to realise this! I now have a decent loop and can even on a good day get a decent loop-loop from speed with some actual height in it.

Crisp: aforementioned loop and even loop -loop in programme, along with flip in programme. Will it last til the British next weekend? - who knows - but at least I now know it can be done. And it feels like I have made some progress after what felt like a year of stagnation.

Part of my re-inspiration came with getting new music - I liked my old music but I love this music

Clammy: exceedingly painful blister on right ankle where boot is rubbing. Plasters just sweat off and it ends up being rubbed raw each time I skate

Wow! Way to go on that! I'm waiting for my bum back to heal up more...I have been dying to do shoot-the-ducks as practice for my sitspins.
your BO edges will help you with the bxo's ... you know that, as will bending more. you know this also. It will come in time-we all get impatient for these things, don't we? Stick it out, you will get it!

Cara, congratulations!!!

Crisp: worked on more "basics" such as my spin entrance...it's finally clicking and I was able to do a few decent scratch spins. I also worked on my Salchow 101 Lesson...(3-turn then jump) and for one jump I actually scooped my leg instead of knee-ing it up!!!! yay!

Clammy: Public session was overrun with a homeschool group that was unruly and I told one boy to stay away from me or I'd knock him down He kept skating near me...I told him he was flirting with danger!!! he he he!

could not loop right...did the waltz-loop and actually that was better, but I'm still tapping down could not backspin at all. I think that the wild kids distracted me-they were everywhere! Tried a flip...it was weird!

Crisp: Taught this evening, had a nice blend of all skills levels (snowplow 1 through basic 2) What was the most hilarious moment(s)? Catching the boy in my class making googly eyes at one of the pretty little girls!!! He is about 8, she is about 7....it was precious! I think it made him try harder!

Clammy: One of my other students gave me fits with her "acting" as far as being: scared, unable to move, in pain, etc. I finally had to tell her I was tired of her acting up and to get a move on! She straightened up for a bit. This will be a struggle with her...when lesson was over and practice time began, off she went, not a complaint in sight!

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

Crisp Had some really fantastic scratch spins today. Foot crossed and centered. I LOVE my group lessons because the coach is a fantastic spin coach. The first one I did I put my foot on my shin crossed, then slide it down to my ankle like he said I ended up going so fast that I screamed and then fell... I'm such an idiot. But it was really fast! One of the young boys told me "you'll get used to it"- I'm not sure about that. But I'm thrilled to finally be getting some spins!

Clammy I'm having more eye problems so contacts are out and I have to skate in glasses. This is causing a major problem- when I breathe, the glasses fog up and I can't see. Skating without them, even when I'm alone on the ice (I tried for figure 8 around the rink crossovers), is out of the question. Is there anything I can do?

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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)

See, you're back loving skating again! Don't think about 50 because 60 is next! Just remember that the alternative is most definitely worse!

CONGRATULATIONS!

I am always telling frustrated students that even elite skaters still have to work on knee bend! I just thought of a new exercise yesterday to help keep the knees down of FXO's. I told my student she was my guinea pig . It did help, so I tried it again today with another, and she liked it too.

Ouch! Do you have adhesive backed felt over there? It's called moleskin here, and works wonders, but you have to apply it before you blister, because you can't put it over broken skin. Not only does it not sweat off, but I leave it on for days, right through showers and all, and it's still fine.

Crisp:
I have not had time to practice at all . The most I can say is that in demos for my students, my F threes and FI Mohawks have not embarrassed me.

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clammy-my journey to the rink. walked a mile to the bus station, only to wait 40 minutes for a bus. switch buses, but get off too early, and walk another half-mile to the rink!

i'm afraid i need to get my skates punched out. i think they're just a little too narrow in the midfoot area

my axel feels really small. i figure the stiff skates and inability to really bend my knees has something to do with it, but it still annoys me

crisp-jumping felt pretty normal in my new skates. landed some nice double loops, got applause from my old coach and some of the skaters

learned i CAN do regular split jumps! i thought i could only do split-falling leafs, but i tried some split jumps and did those well! i was reaallly surprised. i think working on split falling leafs has changed my timing for split jumps and made it easier for me to get a full split.

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Youtube Videos

Crisp: I actually had a camel spin this morning and landed a couple reasonable lutzes.. with my coach watching!

Clammy: Unfortunately, the did not stick around very long.

Moderate weather: Which means they weren't there for my test today. On the other hand this was my "dress rehearsal" test.. so I wasn't planning to pass. I had been awake for 22 hours by the time I tested, so I was just happy to go through the motions and remain vertical! Also, I'm glad I had this opportunity to prove I can do parts of the test even though I felt stiff and awkward and exhausted.

Crisp: All three judges commented they liked my music, choreography, facial expression and confidence (which was TOTALLY faked). I also was happy with the flip/loop, as well as the attitude spin and spin combination. I know I can skate the program better than I did.. and WILL when I retest in two months. My coach and I laughed saying the judges couldn't find anything else nice to say so they commented on the music and choreography . Although WE did find things that we liked about my performance.

Clammy: Yesterday was a good workout and I was STIFF this morning! It took a LONG time to start to loosen up. (Oh the joys of being over 50! )

I exercised everything, particularly back outside edges - starting to get WAY better! - and taking FXO's to the extreme - ok, I know exactly how much edge the ice will hold now

Coach couldn't make it so I started working on the choreography for my Bronze Freeskate. For the first competition (in November), I had to cut the music from 2:30 to 1:30 - holyshyte that's SHORT!

Crisp: Anyway, I got the first draft of the first half of my Freeskate and I LOVE the way it flows .......

Snapping Crisp! The first half is back edges and circles and OMG is it powerful and FAST to! (I could see the head coach watching - that's always a good sign that I am doing something right - LOL!)

Beyond Crisp: Every once in a long while now, when there is little or no traffic on the ice and my head is just TOTALLY into the music and choreography, I "become the skater I used to be" and it is a marvelous feeling!!! Everything melds into one - the music, the movement, the ice, the edges, the flow of position ..... delicious! Absolutely marvelous!

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