The title is in honor of President's Week in the US, when we celebrate the birthdays of Lincoln and Washington with a week off school (in NYC), but only a day off work!

Holiday:
We had about 5 inches of wet snow last night with snow and rain forecast for this morning, so I was hoping my 10 AM lesson would cancel, but she didn't. It turned out to be a beautiful morning, even though only 2/3 of the surface was open due to the snow and problems cleaning the ice. After teaching for half an hour, I decided to skate for myself and ended up staying until 1.

First I just warmed up with F & B power crossovers, and goofed around a bit with chasses and F & B cross strokes. Then I worked on the 5 step Mohawk, which is definitely getting smoother, F & B power pulls, and power threes. The B pulls were almost effortless, really fun, but it was just a bit too crowded to really get into them. The F were on their best behavior, and I was trying something I saw a dance coach playing with: very small pull, pull, pull, skid stop followed by pull, pull, pull, all on one foot without putting the other foot down at all. I've gotten as far as the skid stop, which I didn't have last week on the R foot at all. The challenge here is to initiate the pulls again from a standstill after that skid stop.

Best of all, my power threes have returned! I wanted to show the pattern to a teenager who has been helping with our group lessons and can't afford many lessons herself, and there they were. I could hardly believe that I could do both sides, and with better control than ever before! I guess this is one time when laying off for a while worked.

I even did the old waltz eight to show my teenaged pal. Even though I had to double foot the LFO three, I realized that I have quite a good pattern with strong edges and correct placement of the elements.

I felt so good when I got home that I shoveled the walk.

Drudgery:
This is going to be my back tonight when the effects of the shoveling set in.

BO threes! I can do these, but don't have the guts to just go for it. Stiffening up with fear can cause a worse fall than almost anything else, IMO, so I have to conquer the fear first.

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Holiday: Speed and edge quality on Swing Dance and Cha Cha are getting better - can't wait to show coach tomorrow! Also, my salchow was consistently feeling good today.

Drudgery: Change foot spin was good, bad, good, bad. I have an ISI competition in 5 weeks, and I want it consistently good!

Holiday:
Actually worked on Bronze MIF today (okay I didn't do the power threes on the long axis, but I still dabbled on them). The moves themselves didn't feel bad, but I'll see what Coach says when we actually start working on them.
My spins came back from their week off! Add to that,that while I didn't warm up my jumps prior to my program runthrough, I landed them all cleanly, except loop which is still cheated, but not by much.


Drudgery:
My coach had to cancel my and other skaters lessons today, because while her daughter had a great swim meet yesterday, she broke two of her toes playing basketball with a friend later in the day. She got a appointment with a ortho doc, but this doc doesn't see patients until the afternoon. Well that extends the life of my lesson punchcard!
When it came time for my program runthrough, the sit and backscratch ran for cover!

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Adult Nationals, 2009 "The Time of My Life"

Holiday: I was working on dbl loops with my coach (which we havent worked on much) and coach was very surprised that jump was coming so easily to me... also a good spinning day... created a new type of sit spin......

Drudgery
2 weeks until test day and Im **looking forward** (NOT) to a 45 min dance session tomorow in which I will only be allowed to work on the European. (most boring dance ever) with no partnering time

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Hurrah for Desert Skaters! YAY for Jeff Buttle and Virtue and Moire!

Holiday:

• Loop jumps made an appearance tonight!!! YIPPEE!!!
• Forward power 3's. I did work on them going down the axis, but it was difficult doing the whole pattern in its entirety b/c there's so many people on the ice!
• I also worked on the intro 3's for the power 3's. I have a consistent one that at least primary coach will be happy with, but I think the secondary coach would want to see an even faster one, so my work isn't done on this yet.!!!
• Speaking of primary coach, I watched him land a beautiful double sal towards the end of the evening!!! WOO HOO!!!

Drudgery:

• President's Day holiday crowds! WAAAAY too many people on the ice! Couldn't do too much with moves at all!!!
• Flip jumps!!! Not landing them tonight! GRRRR!!!
• Spins pretty much gone. The ice was so roughed up by the time I got on that it was painful to spin b/c it's so bumpy that my lower back complains.
• FI mohawks... need I say more?

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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!!!

Holiday:
woke to a beautiful covering of snow but luckily it was warm enough not to have settled on the roads or frozen, so I could still get to the rink easily.

Feel much happier skating now the pressure of dance tests is over and I can concentrate on my free. Lots of exercises first and I finally feel I am beginning to really be able to get my weight over the skate properly and be in control (it's only taken me 5 years!!!! ).

I've never had much of a problem with speed but control is a different matter. However my programme is to quite fast music so it is a stretch for me to be able to do the elements with control at speed.

Salchow-toeloop combo was reasonable to today, scratch spin nearly there, sit spin - almost down enough - but still need to work on getting my legs together instead of my free leg being at the 2 O'clock position.

Almost go the feel for a backspin today too - eked out a rev and a half maybe even 2 revs and can see light at the end of the tunnel.

loop jump nearly there now - in fact is almost seemed easier when I went into it with some speed. I'm feeling a bit more comfortable sitting back on the blade on the right leg but still tend to want to jump off too early.

Back slaloms good on both feet, forwards ones are OK on the left but a disaster on the right - that knee doesn't seem to want to work and again I dont' really feel safe on it.

Drudgery
nothing really - I enjoyed my skate today!

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'skating is not just a sport - it is an obsession'

Holiday: Went to another rink last night, so Husband could practice with his Other Woman. I watched them a bit and gave them some advice, and also worked on my back cross-cuts, which are really starting to happen now. It might just have been the ice, which is nicer than ours, although we're getting their old Zamboni when they get a new one, so....

Worked on free dance a bit with Husband, and it wasn't too bad, although when he tries to help my RFO3s, he makes them worse! Same happened in the Willow Waltz. Either he is no help at all or he's so much help I can't do it! We did a lot of work on cross-rolls together, but doing forward cross-rolls down the rink in Foxtrot hold, I kept getting ahead of him, so then we tried doing them hand-in-hand, and I got so far ahead of him I had to let go. And he went out of time with me..... I think he needs to work on his cross-rolls.....

Drudgery: Cold boots! And, worse, cold contact lenses - I don't usually put them in until I get there, so I can read on the train, and they were so cold against my eyeball! Driving home in the snow.

The public session was very crowded, and they didn't hold the dance interval until 9.00, at which time a group of Scouts was going to leave. But that meant they coned off the end of what is a rather small rink anyway..... I gave up!

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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!

Congrats to Mika for passing her pre-bronze moves!!!!!

Holiday: skating tonight.
Drudgery: getting use to my old boots again - like slippers, but no support.

Holidday: Spins are coming along quite nicely.

I'd like to say drudgery because the rink was full of kids, but it wasn't really that bad. I decided to try and have more fun this time artound instead of working on stuff.

Once you get over the embarrasment that you're a 5'10' 175 pound man figure skating in the company of about 8-10 year old girls it isn't that bad. I think I even started a fan club!

Drudgery: driving my sister's car to the rink which has way too sensitive pedals (my car is turning 13, her's is just over a year old).

holiday: can i just say i am so glad i got private lessons? my crossovers have improved so much, and my backwards skating, which i never considered a weakness is much smoother. these little things that you don't really think about in group lessons got fixed in the private lessons. i also managed some pretty nice waltzes, half flips, and spins. nice considering i hadn't done them in a couple of weeks, and they felt so much more comfortable today for some reason.

drudgery: after a nice semi relaxing 4 day holiday (technically, this was our spring break ) i have to go back to classes tomorrow.

I haven't actually been skating yet but this is my plan.
I'm sick today so I have a day off school and lots of time to think about things. Mainly skating, as per usual.

I often lie in bed, and think about things in skating that I'm struggling with. I go over it in my head, in slow motion, I know how it works. I keep thinking about it until I finally understand it, and can't wait to try it out. All the times I've "learnt" how to do the move in my head, I've tried it out on the ice a few times, and hey presto!

I've decided that this week, I will master a cherry flip. I hate it. I can't do it and I refuse to practice it, but now, I get it. I'm looking forward to trying it out. I do it from a RI edge,and found a video clip of one, and it's really helped me to understand the entrance. I'm quite excited about trying it out.

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http://www.yourphotoalbums.co.uk

Holiday: Skated last night on Figure Club ice and did quite a lot of work with Husband, again on forward cross-rolls, etc. Also managed a width of cross-cuts easily, so excitedly got off the ice and told my coach about it!

Drudgery: Big mistake! Of course, I jinxed myself and couldn't repeat that at all. And this morning I have done something to my back - it's been sore for several days but today it's so stiff I could barely do my boots up, never mind skate, and got off after half an hour, couldn't have my lesson or anything. Coach has promised me we can make up the missing lesson (which I paid for, naturally, since I hadn't given him notice), and as he has a bad back himself, he quite understood! Now I'm home, ibuprofened up to the eyeballs (tablet AND gel), and leaning on my wheat bag it's a bit better, but what I really need is some Deep Heat or Radian B (local equivalent of your Ben-Gay in the USA), and I don't seem to have any. Or can't find it, if I do!

All of which is so not helping this fit of depression that I'm having trouble shaking... sigh... probably all connected with the virus I had a couple of weeks ago.

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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!

My kids' school doesn't give them the rest of this week off; they get the days around Easter. Suits me fine - the museums are too crowded now and the roads to work are empty!

Holiday:
Skated at a freestyle session yesterday where I was the oldest skater as always. I pulled off a few good waltz-eights, waltz jumps, and sit spins. Most of all, I had a good much-needed workout.

Drudgery:
My edges are terrible - especially the left foot. I swear I have a different setting on the back than the front. I trip every time I rock the blade! I practiced a few figures but then I got bored.

Spins - can I have some money for my travels? Awful. 'nuff said.

I need a goal to work towards. I've kind of lost my direction. I also need a coach at a nearby rink and regular lessons. Arrgh.

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Only because I didn't make it! I was supposed to have a lesson on that session, but coach called saying I was now the only lesson she would be going for, and since her baby had a fever...... I was relieved, as my legs were sore from the shoveling I had done and I was very tired anyway.

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Holiday: I finally passed those blasted Bronze moves yesterday!!! Even though my power threes were craptacular, the rest of the test went pretty well. I just wish my nerves during the test hadn't taken away the speed that I had in the warm up laps that I took beforehand. But this is great closure for my experiences at my home club, and I'm glad to have this done before I change clubs this summer.

Drudgery: The rink is gonna be closed all next week! Noooooo!!!

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All that glitters has a high refractive index.

Congrats!

When's your bronze FS test?

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Doubt whom you will, but never yourself.
"Do what you love, and you'll never have to work a day in your life."
-Haha, I've *arrived*! I am listed as a reference on Wikipedia.

Thanks! And...um...Bronze FS...someday...

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All that glitters has a high refractive index.

Congratulations- I haven't started working full out on these moves yet, but a month from now, I will be!
Where are you moving to?

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Adult Nationals, 2009 "The Time of My Life"

WOOO HOO!!! You go, MissIndigo!!! (Or should I say "future Dr. Indigo"?) My power threes are crap-ola too! I think I'm opting for doing two of the other moves really well to compensate for the power 3's.

Speaking on Bronze moves...

Holiday: Started back on lessons with the evil secondary coach again... and true to form, she went from being very nice and sweet to...well...

Drudgery: Was working on forward alt. forward three. Since we're going the route of making my stronger moves even stronger, she was ULTRA PICKY on this moves today. She wants the edges to be stronger and she wants the intro crossover and first crossover of the pattern to be at a particularly place. She also wants where I step to the inside edge afterwards to be exactly at a particular spot, b/c I have a tendency to go on a flat and then switch to a FI edge. (And yes, she wants it straight into an FI edge.)

But WAIT! There's MORE!!! She started fixing my free leg too. Well, she got me to do them straight, but she wants the foot turned out now too!!! For punishment for not doing that, she's gonna make me do prelim sprials (FI edges at least) to "get me used to turning out my foot." But that's next week!!! Hopefully by next week I will have almost perfect alt. forward crossovers. (Am not counting on it though...)

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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!!!

Holiday:

It's hard to think of what is going well, because I've hit a plateau where I can do a lot of things sort of okay but they're not good. My spins have improved hugely, ie faster, however, they have more travel miles on them than my amex card does. So I'm sort of happy.

Drudgery:

I did a loop where I slipped off the take off edge and went up sideways and down sideways and apparently bounced and rolled when I hit the ice. I laid there for a while before I got up, just to make sure that I got snow on every single part of my body. Then I had a dance lesson and discovered that my timing is all wrong in the waltz, I'd be practicing it wrong, which makes it extremely fun when doing it with the dance partner for the first time and essentially doing two different dances. Sigh. Yeah, I'm happy with my spins, they were the only bright spot.

holiday:
my camels are slightly more consistent these days. just slightly though.

drudgery:
i had the world's worst ice time last night. sigh. i fell on backward crossovers going into a spin in my program(when was the last time i did that? i can't even remember..), i missed the last camel ending and didn't even bother to do my ending. bleurgh. coach was pretty mad.

lesson before ice time was mainly unproductive because a)i had a huge fall on a single salchow (again...falling on the salchow?!) and it hurt my wrist. and b)because it was sooo crowded with lil kids and hockey skaters.

sigh. i won't be skating again till the next ice time session on saturday so i hope that will be better.

Congratulations!!

I'm aiming for a late spring or summer test date for these myself. And as anyone who watched me compete Bronze MIF at New Year's can attest to, my power 3's are crappy as well. Like jazzpants, I'm hoping to do well enough on some other moves to (potentially) compensate for failing the power 3's on the test. Of course, my coaches will insist on all the moves being passable in practice before they'll let me test, but something tells me that when the nerves kick in, the power 3's will be the first to go.

And then I need to acquire a passable backspin.

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Terri C is a Bronze lady!
Gold Moves, here I come!

Debbie S--thanks for the congrats! My power 3's are the first to go when I get nerves too, and having had smashed one of my knees attempting those last year didn't make them any easier! Had to force myself to get over that. My advice on that move is to convey that you understand how to generate the power (aka good knee bend) and control the edges--that counted for a lot in my test moreso than the actual speed I had on that move.

Terri C--I'm moving to Nashville this summer, and best of all, the rink is right across the street from where I'll be working! I've already told my mentor that if he couldn't find me at the lunch hour to just throw a brick from the hospital over to the Centennial Sportsplex with a note on it telling me to hightail it back to lab! He hired me on the spot.

Jazzpants--check my journal for a play-by-play!

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All that glitters has a high refractive index.

Miss Indigo - Congrats!
It's the week for passing. Mika and my friend passed their pre-bronze moves.

Holiday - got to skate last night. Drudgery: The old boots feel pretty shaky -there's so little support I'm reluctant to land anything with them. My coach is down with the flu, so I hope he's up and about soon.

Congratulations to Miss Indigo.

Back still awful, so still off the ice.

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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!