yellow jersey: sitspin is way better than last week!
I landed a loop!!! (just one though)
I remember my program now!
I got more videos (will upload later)
my legs are stronger - I can get into a really low 'duck and get up again on one leg!!!
and overall it was a really good session... 4 people on the ice at the end...

lanterne rouge: all my other loops still land twisted... I tried to keep my weight on the landing leg but it didn't seem to help.
whenever I enter the back spiral -> back 'duck, I go on a really deep inside edge by the time I get to the 'duck and I'm meant to be on a straight line...
part of my footwork seq. is barrel roll-> mohawk on a straight line and it is really hard to get that outside mohawk to go straight.
zamboni is broken... our ice is like a swiss cheese...

and... I don't skate for 7 weeks now! (holiday)
however, I hope to be really flexible by the time I get back, and so my skating should improve (like biellmans etc)! and then, it's my competition!!!

see y'all in September. tomorrow I leave on a French Exchange (where, lucky me, I get to speak French for 11 days!!! *gulp*). so... till september!

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Yellow Jersey: Used the Silver Moves for a warm-up and they all feel SO much easier now that the pressure is off! That's actually a good thing, considering I'm competing in a Moves event in two weeks. Coach still had plenty of suggestions "Bend your knees more!" "Push harder!" "Hold your shoulders back!" -- hmmm, seems as though nothing has changed except my mindset! Then worked on BO Power-8s (from Juvenile Moves) -- and actually made it around both circles (which were too small but at least they were kind of oval, instead of triangular and they were the same dimensions). Also worked on forward double-3s, which I still think are easier than 3-turns in the Field.

Worked on both the Interp and FS programs most of the time... which leads me to..

Lanterne Rouge: Kept confusing the footwork from the Interp. with the footwork from the FS program... well they both start the same way! No push in the footwork for the Interp. I say it was because I was confused and that's the story I'm sticking with. Camel spin didn't happen, flip (usually my best jump) had no lift and the loop was better than the flip... and THAT never happens. I also had to bail out of every jump in the Interp because we had several dance couples skating to my program music. I guess it's good they like the music enough to want to dance to it.. but uhm, could they at least be aware who is actually skating to this music? I've had the program nearly a year now.....

Yellow Jersey part deux (thank you "Hot Shots"): I actually attempted the lutz in the FS program (two-footed it, but that's soooo much better than just chickening out!), sit-spins were lower than before and had more rotations.. and I remembered the connecting moves between the two sections of the program. That's the part my coach puts in the program so I have about 2 seconds to breath and refocus on the final two jump passes. I've been so busy focusing on the jumps I kept forgetting what my feet were supposed to do.

Cute Moment on Ice: I have been my coach's only USFS skater. The rest of her students do ISI, but I do both. Now one of her young (5 or 6 year old) students who just started skating the morning sessions wants to test USFS too. I was warming up spirals by doing the change-foot straight-line spiral on the Preliminary Moves and this little girl came up to our coach and asked "Is she doing USFS Preliminary too?". My coach was answering just as I skated back to her and I overheard "No, she passed that test already, but she's been my only USFS skater for a long time.. and now she has you for company." The little girl looked me over head-to-toe-to-head and said "Oh, it's good to have friends.. especially BIG ones".

Yellow Jersey:
Coach is willing to get me through preliminary dances. He said he has to confer with a colleague though because it is has been so long since he has done them himself.
Salchow is getting is getting a lot stronger.
Worked on getting height out of my waltz jump. I actually ended up kicking through really hard and wiping out. Coach was pleased.

Lantern Rouge:
I am coming down with a summer cold. Why are they so miserable?
Jumps were not there.
Sit spin and camel spin attempts could best be described as comical.
Loops have taken a vacation.
Apparently I cannot find my left leg (CW jumper) when attempting to land my lutz. I am straight in the air but I two foot the landing. "Find your left leg"

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Happily defying the laws of physics when I skate...and not in a good way

If I could meet ole Axel Paulsen, I would kick him in the teeth

President and Founding member of the I hate Toe-Loops Club

Still a member, but trying to get out of the Pre-bronze peanut gallery.

Visit my skating journal

Yellow Jersey-- I can still enter a spin from crossovers! Ever since I started doing it, every time I try it again I'm afraid I might not be able to do it again. The bad thing is that I have figured out how to get up on the toe sweet spot - even when I rise up to soon, to save the spin and I'm afraid that is going to encourage bad habit of not holding the edge long enough. Now I just need to get more speed to keep the spin going

Someone was playing waltzes and I practiced waltz 3s to the waltz music. I was pretty good at keeping on time on my right 3 turns - left not so good, still can't hold the exist quite long enough.

Power class- I definately work harder than my daughter and the other teenager in the class! We have to do these cross unders and the first time we did I just couldn't even begin to do them - then I could do them one direction - now I can do them both directions - I still need to pick my foot up and place it back beside my foot rather than slide it back, but I can push my foot under..progress


lanterne rouge: We had to do grapevines (on our toes!) and side toe hops down the length of the rink for power class. Yea that was a joke. The two girls came back and I still wasn't a fourth of the way when coach said "just do your mohawk pattern"

j

I decided to forego lesson today with substitute coach and work on my back outside edges (which I figure are the reason I am not getting my back cross-overs), upright spins, and sit spins.

Lantern Rouge: I still can’t do back cross-overs, upright spins, or sit spins but hopefully the practice will mean they are a little closer.

Yellow Jersey: I did hit a couple of upright spins with really nice form which lasted all of 2 revolutions before I started to fall over like a pencil stood on end. I have absolutely no idea how to hold them together when they start to lean!

The Glitter Fairy struck repeatedly today! Coaches and skaters alike, even the music boy were beset by the rain of glitter from the Glitter Fairy’s magic wand. One poor little girl who was missed even asked her coach “Can I get glittered to?” and her coach brought her tot he Glitter Fairy to be appropriately anointed. (Who was that crazy old woman in the purple glittery dress?)

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

Yellow jersey: I landed a bunch of slightly cheated axels today And my dance coach called my dance "solid" and said "good stuff" to me which is a major accomplishemnt because normally, he is on the verge of basically saying "wow that really sucked...maybe you shouldnt test this week!" haha

Lanterne rouge:even though my dance was "solid" today, my test is tomorrow and my coach might have apendicitis SOOO I may be dancing with a new partner...that I've never danced with before...hm...and this test means a lot to me because I have failed American Waltz twice and I really want to pass this time!!!

Yellow Jersey
Both compulsory moves program and freeskate program are coming along. Actually, coach says freeskate program is much better than the last time she saw it.
Loop is consistently on, as are the other jumps and the forward and back scratch spins.

Lanterne Rouge
My sitspin has taken a vacation.
My right ankle is starting to complain about all the skating this week- I'm back in the Ace brace as a result.
Too many little ones on the ice today.

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Adult Nationals, 2009 "The Time of My Life"

Yellow Jersey: Apparently I landed my axel today. I was on a session before the session that my lesson was during, and I was fooling around and trying jumping the axel, and after the session was over, my coach comes running over and is like, "You landed an axel!!" and I was like.. okayy.. haha.

And also we started prep for all of the doubles, flip-backspin, salchow-backspin and the others. Next lesson she's going to put me in the harness and we're going to try doing the actual doubles!!! YAY!

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I do that too (though I'm looking for the right leg). Can't figure out why I do this...silly left leg won't stay up long enough for me to find the right leg

I've been struggling with this for a long time, and think I've finally figured it out. I either drop my R hip or shoulder, or my shoulders get out of sync with my hips, so that the leading (L on CCW spin) shoulder lags. In the first case, sucking my belly button in helps, and in the second, I push my left shoulder back and that fixes it. The root of the problem, though, is that until I had most of the spin on auto, I had too many things to think about, and the tilting is what always got left out.

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another video of moi (preparing for my... uhh... french exchange i leave in 2 hours)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tgB5OiJ6Fy4

my sitspins are better, I think. there is hope for my comp (end of september)

anyway, comment please... and wish me bonne chance for france...

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Yellow Jersey: Worked hard on posture exercises with husband - mostly cross-rolls, forwards and backwards, in a variety of holds.

Managed to not scratch when stepping to forwards in the Willow Waltz.

Managed to skate an extra five minutes today before my foot started hurting too much.

Lanterne Rouge: Side-by-side back cross-rolls, even holding hands, are NOT POSSIBLE!

Still slightly grinding to a halt on the exit edge of a I-O change of edge.

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

Nothing much to report, I'm afraid. Achilles tendons are too sore to allow much jumping. Spins were okay but the only one that doesn't hurt a lot, surprisingly, is the sit, I think because the position relieves the pressure of the boot against the back of my heel and the stretch is less abrupt than on jump landings.

So I did a lot of stroking, edges and threes - slowly and carefully. I'm thinking of having my coach go over the basic dances - Dutch waltz, canasta, and maybe the swing - for the next couple weeks until we see if massive doses of anti-inflammatory drugs and podiatrist appointments have any effect.

Lanterne Rouge: Didn't eat breakfast before practice this a.m....bad, bad, bad...not totally awake when showed up to rink, instead of signing in the time as "7:00" I signed it in as "L:00" which was a sign of my practice to come. Back inside edges - eek. Waltz 8 - not test-ready today by any means, but it was last Saturday, so I blame it on lack of nutrition.

Yellow Jersey: Alternating 3 turn pattern actually was test ready today even though that first LFI 3 turn after rounding the corner makes me nervous. Prebronze freestyle stuff was good, or at least good enough.

Test on Sunday - hope on Monday I am preparing for the Bronze tests...

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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)

Lanterne Rouge

Was doing my back crossovers from Bronze moves and it was hard avoiding people - got around one kid and ran smack into my daughter who was coming out of a rocker. Fell backwards, hit my head. People watching say they saw air under me - that I actually flew. Didn't really feel so bad at the time. Got up, shook it off. I had my hair in a pony tail and thought that might have broken my fall.

Then, I never got my blades pernamently mounted. Yea, I didn't realize you needed to do that - my daughter until last year always had used skates and then when we had to mess with hers I thought maybe I should do that...so now my two screws are loose and the hole is too big. Tried a couple of 3 turns on my left foot that felt very shaky and realized my blade was moving around so I gave my dance lesson to my daughter and got off the ice. Of course everyone thought I was hurt because they saw my dramatic fall. Sent the skates home with coach whose husband mounts blades and sharpens.

Head starts to hurt on the drive home. Get out of the car, feeling nauseous...head hurts a lot now. Probably have a concussion. I'm waiting for the nurse to call back to see if I should go in - but I remember there's not much they can do. I really want to go to sleep, but I know that's not a good idea until I hear from the nurse and probably will want my dd to wake me up in an hour or so if I do take a nap.

Was going to give blood today. Probably not a good idea now.

j

Yellow Jersey: A coach and best pal of my ex-coach whom I left last year because I wasn't getting anywhere with her and my self-esteem was seriously bad made a comment to another skater at my rink that went something like this:
Coach: Who has Jessy been taking lessons from?
Friend: Why?
Coach: Because she is skating now! And good!

Yay for me! I can't wait to tell my current coach that because I know it'll make her feel good. I just hope that gets back to my ex-coach...

I also landed a bunch of axels to my music and even hit a clean double salchow in my program!

Lanterne Rouge: Unfortuantely, my coach didn't show up for my lesson today, which was odd. I talked to her yesterday and we were all set for this morning. Hmm...oh well, I'm kind of glad I didn't have a lesson because the front of my left leg (that tendon that runs between the foot and ankle) is killing me from being in my new skates so much, which yes - I am still breaking in. Thank God for a week in Myrtle! God knows I need it!

OH MY! That doesn't sound good at all! Concussions get called as injuries so often in sports that people forget they are serious- do go in if the nurse suggests it, even though there isn't much they can do, they can diagnose the extent of the damage, which is hopefully very small. Hopefully you'll have a speady recovery and a good return to the ice.

Is your daughter okay? She isn't trying to fault herself for your accident is she?

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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)

DD didn't even go down. She's concerned but not overly guilty. We seem to run into each other a lot.

Nurse still hasn't called back. Head hurts A LOT but I think the nausea was due to hunger because I had some toast and feel better. I don't eat before I skate because that makes me nauseous. I really just want to go to bed!

Actually I am still nauseous...

Felt good enough to update the club memberships on the USFS site - I'm the membership chair. Can't be that bad...

j

Yellow jersey: PT said on Tuesday that my ankle flexibility is "within normal range." Still not as flexible as the right (uninjured) ankle, but this is serious progress!! Did a LOT of walking while on vacation, sometimes with a cane and sometimes without, and the pain is usually manageable. I'll go to synchro practice on Sunday to watch, and *if* it's not feeling too wonky, might try a bit of stroking.

Also, hearing good things about the new rink manager, who has taken over since I've been away from the rink: frequent public sessions, adult-only sessions, generally much more friendly to the public. Whee!!

Lanterne Rouge: Started some left/right (power pulls!!) and front/back total-weight-bearing strengthening exercises at PT this week. WOW! I really lost some muscle strength. It's kind of hilarious to see the difference between the right and left sides, but I also realize it will probably be a while before I feel comfortable on the left foot alone, especially on thin steel blades.

Yea. So I spent the afternoon in the emergency room. Doctor's office insisted I go and scared me to death saying things like "we have no idea if you are bleeding internally unless you get a cat scan!" So I did and I'm not bleeding - just a simple concussion. And the headache stopped after they gave me Tylenol. Was this really necesary?

j

You mean you didn't stop and think, after landing backwards, "Wait. . . I landed backwards. . . and I took off forwards. . . and I know it wasn't a waltz jump, so. . . OMG, I just landed an AXEL?!" That was exactly how it dawned on me, LOL! Congratulations!

J, although it does sound a bit excessive, I suppose you would be kicking yourself if you were to later find that you did have internal bleeding. . . I guess this is what insurance is for, right? Hope you are 100% better by tomorrow!

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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

YES!!! If nothing else to rule out that you don't have any internal bleeding!!!

looplover - Good luck on your Pre-Bronze tests!

SynchroSk8r114 - WTG!!! Show that ex-coach why she's an EX-COACH!!!

Lanterne Rouge:
Oh, dear... my program is still a mess and we're forced to cut out stuff. We also have to reverse my spin combo and my flip jump somewhere. (I'm beginning to wonder whether having my third and final scratch spin is possible now... Primary coach hasn't given up on that yet though, so that's hopeful.)

Yellow Jersey:
Lucky for me -- the "I'm a little teapot" gesture after my straightline footwork was the first to go. Hated it anyway...besides that it took too much time out of my program!

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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!!!

OK, for the third time, YES! Intracranial bleeding can be life threatening. Best not to take a chance. So glad you are OK.

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Yea but isn't there some other way besides an expensive Catscan? Are the symptoms really no different than a simple concussion? I just can't help thinking this was more for the lawyers sake than mine. But yea, I'd rather do all that and be okay than the alternative. Just seems this is what adds to healthcare costs and there must be another way.

Second time this summer I've hit my head - pretty soon I'm gonna have to wear a helmet!

j

I suppose you could wait it out. If you don't pass out or start convulsing or garbling your speech or going weak on one side, then you could assume you were OK. I would not want to wait and risk developing serious symptoms in the middle of the night and maybe just never wake up.

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