I skated last Sunday (no ice for a week....sniff) and it went pretty well. My blades are incredibly dull, still haven't gotten around the sharpening, but now I'm used to them so I'm not sure what to do......advice???

Flopsy: camel spin, it was hopeless when I skated five days per week, and it's even more hopeless now. I can get around once with a low free leg.
salchow: how the he** are you supposed to get into the right rotational position?

Fab: loop and flip: I really get right into the position, and am able to land with nice flow, according to another skater there. Why can I do these but now sal?
worked on lutz, still gettiing my nerve up, but I've been practicing picking in and just jumping up, no rotation. It didn't scare me when I was 16, but it does now, six years later.
sit spin: not there yet, but I've been doing squats every session and this is helping.
scratch: like all my spins, pretty slow, but that's partially due to the blades, but hey it's sorta centered and looks like a spin.
Back OE spiral: for some reason, this is really easy for me. Can't do any others to save my life.
Stroking: a little slow and tentative, but I'm standing up straight, which was an old bad habit that I didn't want to get back into when I started again.

***Another plus! Starting to look more toned and dropping some weight. Yay~

I took my kids with me as I had no babysitter.
They got to skate for a little while.

I'm happy to say that the parallel spin was on form today, and the flips were ok too.
Everything (apart from the flip-cherry) seemed to work well.
Unfortunately only got 4 backspins out of 15 or so...

__________________
MEL
Absolute Skating

[quote:5033438153="Hannahclear"]I skated last Sunday (no ice for a week....sniff) and it went pretty well. My blades are incredibly dull, still haven't gotten around the sharpening, but now I'm used to them so I'm not sure what to do......advice???[/quote:5033438153]
If you haven't got a test or competition coming up, I should get them sharpened fairly soon, or you'll suddenly find you're on the ice and can do nothing at all! If you have a good reason not to get them sharpened in the immediate future, buy an oilstone from a hardware shop and use it to put the tiniest edge on whenever you need to. But get them sharpened fairly soon, as it only takes about an hour's hard work to readjust and then you wonder why you hadn't had it done for a week.

Melanie, if you are getting four backspins out of 15 attempts, that is very nearly once every three tries. I call that progress! In another month you'll be getting them half the time, and by Christmas they'll be more often than not! You [i:5033438153]know[/i:5033438153] that's how skating works!

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

Not a particularly good night for skating last night.

Power Stroking class - The regular instructor was on vacation and her substitute didn't show up. After 10 minutes of everyone just skating around the rink, we convinced one of the other coaches to take over. Power pulls up and down the ice for 20 minutes. Some class. Ouch, my aching legs!!!

Free-style session following class - Practiced F & B edges, mohawks, and 3-turns. Tried a hockey stop at speed, caught a wrong edge, and jarred my lower back (Yep, I'm hurt again). Got off the ice, went home, and spent the rest of the evening with an ice pack.

I didn't stick around to watch my girlfriend's synchro team practice. Wouldn't you know it, most of the team went out for ice cream after practice and I missed it.

I'd like to try Thursday all over again, but this time with different results.

I need a vacation!!!!!!!!!

Since I was at camp at Hillsbourough, NC all week, this is for the week:
Fab: Suprised myself at my attempts with doing patch for the first time. All I did was apply what I've learned with MIF and use that. Also did well with dance, considering my lack of exposure.
Had two private lessons with the skating director there, improved sit and made progress on flip.

Ugh: It was EXTEREMLY HOT in NC all week. They had been predicting thunderstorms the last three days. When would it rain? Yes, the very time I started back for Virginia Beach. Also had female emergency during camp- made me miss the off ice portion on Tuesday!


Yes, guys, Miss Indigo and I had a great time and she has a awesome camel spin! Now let's hope she gets her cast off in time- she's braver than I am for skating with it!

Aw Terri, you're makin' me blush. Thanks for the compliment. The camel spin is my favorite spin (so it gets practiced the most--heehee).

Today was just an ok day skating. The drive down I-40 was really unnerving this morning and the rink was [b:c57fed85b3][color=blue:c57fed85b3]cold[/color:c57fed85b3][/b:c57fed85b3]. It was colder than I remember it being, and with only one hand gloved (for obvious reasons) my cast hand froze. I still got compliments on my 5-step mohawk sequence and my edging, so I feel good about that. It took me a while to find my spin center since I was so cold...I finally got about a 15-rev scratch going that was decently-centered. If I could just get my leg up higher before I pull in...wheeeee!

I hope this cast comes off Monday. It was finally starting to get to me a bit today; I was off balance for some of the mohawk steps. I really miss having my right wrist "rudder" to aid with motion and balance and sure did miss it during our creative moves sessions at camp! It was hard for me to get into some of the slinky moves without my normal range of motion on my right, but did enjoy the sessions overall and now I'm more open-minded about choreography.

Profitable week all-around despite the cast right hand.

__________________
All that glitters has a high refractive index.

I had fun this morning once I got warmed up... club dance session.

Worked on Moves, Foxtrot & 14Step and played on other stuff.

Fell once on Foxtrot, got up and did more. Did Foxtrot to just about everything at Foxtrot tempo or slower 4/4 time. Ended up doing 4 consecutive Foxtrot patterns to Foxtrot music. Not the biggest patterns I've ever done, but the most in a row. Did several sets of 14Step patterns to the music.

Also, did EW to music (small but fairly well controlled), American Waltz to music (small, whippy, but I settled down near the end... I actually made it thru like 3 continuous patterns... the most I've ever done solo at one playing of the music..). Played with bits and pieces of Argentine Tango and Starlight Waltz (not to music).

--jsl

This is for last week!

I woke up on Tuesday with my throat closed up and VERY sore, I hadn't got any lessons scheduled but texted them anyway as they would have been expecting me in for practise ...... got a very curt text back saying that they wanted to teach me that day anyway!!

I went in on Wednesday anyway with a VERY heavy heart, I've been on a real downer skating wise and was seriously contemplating packing it all in ..... the only thing that stopped me was the expensive new boots and blades!

Madame was in a foul mood, the kids have got the Solo Dance Championships and nerves are fraying, at one point she locked herself in the music box because she was getting so wound up with one after the other making 'silly' mistakes! When my lesson time came I told her that it was probably best to stay locked in there! With this in mind she decided NOT to do my crappy step sequence and I had a lesson concentrating on a 'new' spin entrance instead. They had been to a seminar at the weekend and were trying things out. Essentially, for the forward spins you go into them (for CCW) on a LFO3 and immediately plonk the RIGHT foot in front of the left, both legs fairly straight, the arms are rotated CCW so that the left arm is PUSHED behind, the right arm in front, you are looking over your left shoulder. Then you wind in by increasing the RBI edge and rotating the arms CW BUT keep the head looking over the left ..... then push into the spin (without my usual lunge/whack the left arm back) and VOILA!!! LOTS AND LOTS OF SPEED ....... which, of course, threw me off to start with but DOES get a real WHIP to the spin It seriously threw off the sit and camel but I'm getting used to it now! It was quite good fun and I came out actually enjoying skating again.

On Wednesday evening I went to the Royal Gala but the actual getting there was a comedy of errors (though it wasn't so much of a comedy by the time I eventually got back home ). It started at 9.30am when the coach company said that they could pick me up near to where I live (which is on the way to the venue and 35 miles NORTH of the initial picking up point). At 1.30 pm that had all changed and they didn't want to do that BUT by this time it was too late for me to get organised to get down there so the agreement had to stand. The coach driver a) took a couple of 'wrong' rountes and b) drove at 10-20 mph under the legal limit!! A (less than) 2 hour drive took 3.5 hours and we were LATE!!!! We eventually got off the bus and legged it for the last 15 minutes!!! We arrived 5 minutes after the doors were 'officially' closed but THANKFULLY we were let in! Just before we got on the coach to head back I was told that they WOULDN'T be stopping at the point where we had got on and that we would go to the end point and someone would drive us back (ie 70 miles that we didn't need to do!). The journey took another 3 hours plus a stop for refreshments! I eventually got home at 2.30am (I shouldn't have been home any later than midnight) and had to get up at 5am to skate! I wasn't a very happy bunny Anyway ...... ran through my Field Moves (not bad, back3's are crappy but my blades are still screwy) and then the DREADED step sequence!!! Usual pooh, I'm afraid Dance lesson on European was okay but the firnal 22 step was awful (now the boots have softened up a bit I'm feeling SERIOUSLY unstable on the blades - I can't get a decent inside edge and I fall right over on the outside).

I had to go in on Friday to make up for missing Tuesday! Spins were ok, camel is still a bit hit and miss but the backspin is getting better Did my bestest one EVER it just kept going around First run through of programme left a LOT to be desired Madame commented to one of the kids "Lynne has brought her mum ALL the way here to see her ....... clean the ice with her a**e" ....... I fell on the flip! The next run through was slightly better but I still feel like I'm skidding all over the place Dance lesson was 'ok', 22 step slightly better, European seems to be working! Anyway ..... I had a word with both of them and they've agreed to let me get the blades moved HOORAY!!!!!

Nothing now until Tuesday but at least I like skating again

L x

__________________

The best whisper is a click