In honor of our competition making a small profit after I warned the board we were going to take a huge loss. I have no idea how that happened.

Profit - my LFI 3s are coming along very nicely...RFI still scratchy. AND I did a LBO 3 turn on ONE FOOT. Of course I came to a screetching halt and put my foot down after the turn...but that still comes out on the black side...

No losses...I was pretty happy with my skate this morning...

j

Well I haven't been posting very often but I am still skating. Life has been pretty upside down for a few weeks (new romance, passing of my adopted Mom, worried about my sister) but I manage to get out to skate once or twice a week.

In the Red: After a skate like this morning, I sure feel every one of my 59 years!

Profitable: Getting close to 3 years skating now and still adding new moves. Trying to get the balance point for a back spin, getting closer to a back spiral, and actually have back cross-overs every once in awhile. Given another 3 years I might actually be able to SKATE!

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

I'm so sorry about your loss.

To be able to skate after 6 years would be good. I've been at it for more than 10 and feel like I'm just getting the hang of it.

j

Echoes the sympathies and the sentiment! You and I started around the same time, didn't we, J? Although you had a few years off and I didn't. And I shouldn't be a bit surprised if Rusty Blades outskates both of us. SIGH.

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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!

Great thread title, btw.

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Loss: Haven't been posting much - my skating was actually feeling pretty good as I had stopped skating at my crappy old hockey rink with it's crappy ice and finding that I skate better on good, flat ice! Feeling stronger...

THEN - learned the Power 3s from the Novice Moves - was noodling around with them the next day and BAM - my legs got tangled and I went down hard on my butt - felt it in my lumbar spine - could hardly get off the ice. Immediately iced it and went to see the Dr. - very stiff and sore. She was afraid I may have a small stress fracture and forbade me to skate for at least 3 weeks and then after that I am to do "nothing that I would have the possibility of falling" - bummer, but I am taking her advice.

Also thinking of getting a bone density test - at my advanced age (54)- I don't want to do anything to screw myself up permanently!!

I may go skate next week and just do stroking and edges, but right now even that sounds hard...

Profit: Saving money on lessons and ice is making me feel slightly better about the losses I have taken in my retirement accounts. I guess that's one thing to be thankful for!

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Is Portland the only city with it's own ice-dance website? http://www.pdxicedance.net/

I had one done a few years ago and it showed some density loss which was part of the reason I TOOK UP skating! The doctor said the exercise will help combat osteoporosis.

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

Well, that is the other side of it then, isn't it?

Skating is a really good weight-bearing exercise...

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Is Portland the only city with it's own ice-dance website? http://www.pdxicedance.net/

Loss: My coach has decided that we will change the technique of my toe loop and Salchow. I never though that my toe loop had any brilliant technique; I am aware that my right leg was not doing the outside edge, so if I want to be really accurate, my jump would be called toe walley. But it was not pre rotated (I didn't do toe axel), it made full rotation and it was one of my most reliable jumps for landing, so I wouldn't mess up with it (if I had the choice). I spent hours looking at toe loops on youtube so now I understand what exactly my coach wants me to change, (including doing there the draw and passing the righ leg accross the left leg) but can't land it to safe my life. My most reliable jump...
And with the Salchow my coach decided that I have to change the entrance, to do it from Mohawk entrance instead of from outside three turns. I have to admit that my Salchow was not too good, because it was very scratchy after three turn (because I always get so rigid in anticipation of what is coming and try to slow it down to postpone the inevitable ) My coach noticed that after Mohawk I don't scratch so badly (if I manage to land it at all) so she decided that I will learn it this way. So currently I don't have Salchow and Toe loop.

Profit: Recently I started landing flip and they are now getting more consistent. My program has been going well, and my problem with toe loop may have one big advantage - it will make me hurry up with the flip, so that I can replace the combo toe-toe with combo flip-toe (to get rid of one toe loop in my program.

Profit:
Jumps are getting better and better with regards to height. Axel is just 1/4 cheated but still lacking height, 2 sal is similar but has nice rotation and form but just need a little more height. Flying camel has returned, back camel combo spin is working well.

Loss:
V Waltz and Blues will both need arm movements and more extension, can do them on time(ish). Coach has decided I may not look down during Jr Choctaws at all so tripping merrily through those. Also have small arm weights just to make me miserable.

Overall skating is going as well as could be expected, very sore, very tired but getting stronger everyday. Much better than this time last year, could walk without 2 canes so looking on the bright side.

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Who me? Couldn't be....
http://www.youtube.com/bouldersk8r

I don't want to know! The way my shoulders have gone these past 2 years or so I rather suspect I have the beginnings of osteoporosis (I am at high risk as my mother has it); as I said to my coach, there are some things one is better off not knowing, and if I keep skating.....

Profit: Dances coming along nicely, and about where they should be three weeks before competition.

Loss: Husband's spins are very iffy right now, and for once he messed up his toe-toe combination at the end of his free programme.

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

Profit: Backspin seems to really, truly be consistent at last!!! Attitude/layback has gotten to the point where my head is back and I can actually see the ceiling spinning around (a very weird experience!). Silver moves 3 turns have improved to the point where I am trying them down the length of the rink instead of on the line across the width of the rink (although I still HATE them.).

Loss: Yet another lesson on the only freestyle ice I can attend that my coach will go to got canceled so the only available choice is to have a lesson that doesn't include any freestyle. I hate to be a jerk about it but it is just awful and depressing to have to drive three hours to have a lesson on silver moves, but since I'll be out of state next week, and had lessons canceled for two of the last three weeks, I feel like it's probably better than nothing.
Then I made my coach go over her schedule between now and the next test session, since I was thinking it might actually be possible for me to take my bronze freestyle this year as there's a possibility I will have the loop, and it turns out she will be very likely be canceling 3 of the 6 lessons I would have before the test as she'll be away, including the week right before the test. So unless I want to do the same thing I did for AN last year and show up to skate without having had a coach look at my program for weeks and weeks it doesn't look as though I will be able to test this year after all. No point in setting goals if they involve my coach at all I guess. Very discouraging.

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You miss 100% of the shots you never take.--Wayne Gretzky

Could you work it out with your coach to arrange to take a lesson with someone else she thinks would be a good fill-in and have that coach put you on for your test?

Lossage - hungover skating. Combination of coworkers deciding night before a holiday is a good drinking night and me deciding a day off is a good skating morning. I wasn't that bad off, after warming up only spinning really sucked

Profit - lots of jumpiness, probably due to excess sugar in my blood. I landed a couple of loops in and among the 'close but no cigars' and my sals are getting bigger.

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It's all about the dress!

Is this the U.S. that you're talking about? How did you compete at AN if you haven't passed Bronze FS? (or are you a dancer and competed in Interp?)

If your coach is that unavailable, perhaps it's time to look for another coach, preferably one that is closer than 3 hours away.

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

Loss - the opening of my gala solo is nothing- I just stand there and do some arm movments and I just could not get it right this morning. My coach just about split her gut laughing at me. "Stop laughing at me" "I'm not laughing at you" she sputters between heaves of giggles. "I'm laughing at what you just did" Oh well that's much better.

Anyway it's almost finished - good thing - the Gala is Dec 14 and I need a LOT of practice. Just do do the arm motions.

j

I had my blades sharpened twice, changing the hollow from 3/8" to 1/2" and then back to 3/8" I don't think I have a rocker on my right blade anymore. I can't do backspins or change-foot spins - my blade "sticks" sideways. Even three turns and brackets are totally scraped. I stood at the wall and tried to just twist-and-turn - my blade just made snow; I couldn't find the rocker at all. This is not good.

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Loss Still not feeling well, and only took my class. So no individual practice. We had a substitute coach, since ours is at sectionals with his pairs, and she was unimpressed with the height of my jumps. Um yeah, that's as high as they go. We jumped about 20 minutes of the class, which IMO, is too much. She worked with me on jumping sooner on my loop, and through my toe- my current coaches are having me turn forward before jumping so I land backwards, she wanted me jumping before turning, which results in my landing forwards because I don't get high enough to rotate it. I'm at the stage where I can adapt for whomever I'm taking from that day, the jump sucks either way. Lots of toe waltzing, though I did a few that got a "that's better". For some reason on all the jumps but loop I was kicking my leg behind me, so she worked with me on my salchow to get it in front, which makes the jump GO somewhere, instead of up and stop. Half-flips weren't very good either, I've always landed on two feet, so she worked on landing on one. We did camels for 3 minutes of the lesson, I keep falling onto my inside edge. I'm not happy because a month ago I really thought I had that.

And before that lesson I nearly face planted demonstrating to my adult students the importance of/ how to pushing/extend back into your heel while doing spirals. Note to self: finish spiral, then start talking. Also- mohawks are HARD. Why are they in the adult classes before 3-turns? Poor women are so confused, we had such a good class, then started those in the last 10 minutes and I think they left quite frustrated.

Profit I did 3 backspins before getting of the ice, and managed to cross my foot on ALL of them.

Other than that, not much good on the skating front. Our ice show was cast, and I'm excited about it but I think one of the groups is the "adult ice dance" number. I'm even worse at ice dance then freestyle, so I really hope that's not what we end up doing I am not an ice dancer. Just because I'm over 20 it shouldn't be assumed I am. (and another adult, who is younger than me, is apparently refusing to participate if it's ice dance, and he is trying to get put in another group with his regular coach.) My other group I think the coach (who is my group coach) got stuck with me, as it's mostly pre-juv-novice skaters, and even those who don't have the tests have the doubles, so I have no idea what I'm doing in that group. I assume it was a choice between putting me there, or with teeny pre-pre kids where I'd stand out as NOT being a teeny beginner.

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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)

NO- that is not good! I hope you don't have to get new blades... were these ones at least sort of old?

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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)

The blades are probably about three and a half years old. Such a dilemma.

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Try standing facing the wall (hands on wall) with feet close together. Rock forward and back. If the rocker is seriously off, you should be able to feel it. You can do the same with each foot, one at a time. I hope that's not it!

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I did - I'm either on a flat or on the toepick. Trying to "swivel" on the rocker is okay on the left, but I can't make it happen on the right. I just scrape the entire time.

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Sounds like my coach! Actually, we had a good morning, which was almost all Profit: Finally found the back muscles I'd been looking for, and was able to use them to improve my Mohawks.

Loss: I now ache in places I didn't know one could ache, and think I may have tweaked something where the top of my left thigh joins my bum. That's the bit that is really sore; the rest is just achey.

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

I don't know which model blade you have, but I've traced the rocker on some newish Aces blades and scanned them.

You can print out the file, and hold your blades against the print to see how flat your blades have become.

Go to my ProFiler sharpening page...

http://oak.cats.ohiou.edu/~schneidw/.../profiler.html

...scroll to the bottom, click on either of the small pics of rockers to enlarge, and then save them to your computer. Print them using any image editor.

The picture will still be a little larger than letter-sized paper can hold, but you'll see 90% of the profile. It should be easy to spot any differences.

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Bill Schneider

Loss: Been under the influence of a cold (again!). Missed skating Monday and Tuesday, but hope to be back on my skates for the Thursday evening session.

I'm getting depressed about the lack of TV coverage this year for skating events. Being sidelined myself is one thing, but not being to watch skating while I recover really is a downer.

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Bill Schneider