Practices week of 3/12/00 -- Back on the Ice!

[aehodman]

I've stolen this idea from FSW Rinskide -- here's a thread to post your trials, victories and other news from your practices this week. This helps motivate me at FSW so I thought it would be good to start it here too! :)

Well, last night was my first time back on the ice since the end of August, and I was kinda nervous, as not only has my entire mid section balance changed because of the pregnancy, I am also carting 15 extra pounds around. I tried to think of MK to psyche myself up, and I got on the ice feeling confident.

WHAMMMOO!!! I took maybe a step and fell right on my tookus. It was such a bad fall that little kids at the public session I was skating on came over and tried to teach me how to go forward. Yikes.

I managed to build up my confidence and worked my way up from forward stroking to crossovers to back one foot swizzles to back crossovers. It was really weird because for the first 45 minutes I felt like I was about to tip right over the front of my skates as I went backwards -- NOT a fun feeling. I can't believe I used to take back crossovers for granted. One thing I have learned from my skating hiatus is -- skating is HARD!!!!

By the end of the night I had done some inside ina bauers (my coach was right, I have NO hip turnout problems now!) and some okay (lots of revolutions but not centered, and I could not get my foot all the way crossed) one foot spins. I also did four of the worst toe loops and layback spins imagineable, but seeing as my coach said it would take longer for the spins to come back I was pleasantly surprised that that was not the case. I think by fr4eestyle Saturday I should have my one foot spin back. I can't say the same for the jumps, though. I can't even do backward crossovers in the opposite direction yet which pretty much leaves the ol' lutz on hiatus for awhile.

The other thing I found out is that you use a lot of muscles in skating that go away when you stop -- when I tried to pull up from the side spin/layback I was like "Oh, didn't there used to be a back muscle there?" I don't know what is there now but it was not pleasant feeling.

Overall, I am pretty pleasantly surprised with how things went and am feeling optimistic that I'll be ready for State Games (skating Pre-Bronze, I won't have the spins for Bronze in time) in two months!

So now that I've rambled on and on, everyone please be sure to share your skating lessons and practices here! Let's start a new MKF tradition! ;)

[axelkid]

What a good idea!

Ack! that sounds like an awful fall! I guess the pregnancy really does through off your center of mass. It's so funny how the slightest thing can throw you off, so many things have to ome together in order for you to skate well. I'm sure though that you will have everything back to normal in no time.

I also love the weekly headlines that Sally4Blades invents. "Plum and Pathetic", "Happy and Horrible" yadda yadda. How about "Putrid and Pulchritudinous (is that a word?)

Anyways, I diverge. So yesterday I was at the rink (two days before my midterms). Yes, I have an interesting set of priorities. It was a good day. Landed the 1 flip/2 loop combos a couple of times. (I'm always a bit cheated though). Believe it or not, I find that the loop in combination is easier than a loop from the two footed take off. I have a lesser chance of getting my legs tangled since I'm only on one foot.

A couple of landings on the double flip, cheated but at least I wasn't tilting like I do normally. Axel/2 loop combos were totally off whack, I need to improve my axel landing because I am very hunched. Camel was as dismally slow as it is. It's like I go into it with all this potential energy and I think it's going to be a fast spin. suddenly it's like a deflated balloon, I lose it all. One day, I will have a beautiful Todd Eldgrege or Mat Savoie like camel.

Sit spin was good. Needs better centering. Worked some on Russian splits as well.

Can't wait to get started on a program. I think I want to start off with bronze elements. I know that all bets are off when you have to do it to music.

[Anita18]

Had skating lessons today, but my mom nearly forgot so I got there halfway through! >: Ah well. I recently put heel liners in my boots since the heels were moving around, but I didn't expect that they'd throw off my skating, since they moved my foot up unexpectedly in the boot so the toepicks were closer to my foot than before. LOL the first few minutes on the ice I spent trying not to trip over my toepicks! :lol After a while I got used to them, though, so that was good...

Didn't do much, but my waltz jump (rather, my <!--EZCODE ITALIC START--> pathetic<!--EZCODE ITALIC END--> attempts at them) have improved, and I've found that trying to hit a good landing position is fun! Whee! Discovered that it helped me keep the landing edge if I concentrated on bending the landing knee and keeping the head up. Guess before I thought way too much about the landing edge and was messing up because of it. Still can't get too high or far, but more practice will do the trick, I think...

[sunnybunny]

Yes, great idea for this board!

I just started the 1 toe. I love it! I am definitely more of a jumper than a spinner! I don't think I will ever pass FS2 - that one foot spin has been the one elusive move for me in FS2 for about two months now!

I was on my way to the best run through of my program that I had ever had when at the very end, I tripped and landed on my knee!! Should've known it was too good to be true!

At my next lesson, we will start the salchow. I am a little scared about this one. I think I like toe jumps better!

[kwanluv]

AEHodman -I bet you're So happy to be back on the ice! :D

Well, I'll express my skaing in weeks, like an early pregnancy (AEHodman ;) )

At any rate, I'm in my 10th week of skating..lol
-I seem to be a counter-clockwise skater I've decided, much more comfortable with anything I do that deals with my right foot. However, I'm not bad with my left.

- My forward cross-overs have really progressed to the point that my edge security, deep knee-bend, and speed is a VAST improvement over a few weeks ago. It just happens now without me thinking about it at all. Is that normal?

- As far as one foot skills go: Left foot - inside & outside edges are really improved...gliding security and speed had improved. Right foot - inside & outside edges are really secure for me and I can do much mor on my right foot. I particularly enjoy my end to end rink right foot spiral (although I can't get my left leg any higher than 90 degrees, or camel position, but I guess that's good for a guy...and I love it!:) )

- Two foot basic spin is happening now for me...lol sort of :b Again, I'm going counter clockwise.

- As far as two foot general skating skills go, I doodle with quick turns and changes of direction quite a bit and am doing well.

Of course all of these observations are mine alone...lol. I could be awful and not know it (as I'm usually alone in the rink from 7am to 8am) However, Robin, our group lessons coach likse what she's seen from me and often has me practice other thing from the others taking lessons. I think she wants to coach me (she's hinted) and I'm going to discuss it with her as I'm serious about pursuing this to competition level as soon as I'm ready. We'll see!

[aehodman]

WOW! What a great skating week everyone seems to be having! ;) I also think we should maybe add a competition discussion thread (like the one axelkid started a few weeks ago) to discuss strategies, music, tips and all that. And I love the name for next week's practice thread axelkid. Ingenious! ;)

Well, I skated again during the RDV low freestyle and I got my other back crossovers back! Yahoo! Since I am waiting to jump until my (I hope) lesson next week, I practiced lutz entrances. After a few shaky starts I felt pretty good and solid on them.

I actually did two good one foot spins that were centered! Yay! Maybe it's the whole my hips are turning out more because of the pregnancy thing, but I am now able to get my foot crossed all the way down where before it was getting stuck right above the boot. The rest of the spns were okay -- the foot either got stuck or they were non-centered. I tried a few laybacks to mixed success, although one of my skating buds said I did a good one (which would be a huge improvement over the old ones I did which were more head back that lay backs!) I tried a few sit spins but my body immediately said "Oh, no no no no." :(
I also got a few slower-than-a-tectonic-plate speed back spins, but was popping off my toepick on most of them. Oh well.

Looking forward to next week when I can jump, yay!!!!! :) Also I got my application for State Games today and I REALLY want to go, but I have to wait to see when my event is scheduled because baby Sammy's christening is the last day of the 4 day competition and I am certainly not missing that (that goes without saying, of course!) We'll see what happens.

[susan ba]

well, i had a ho hum pratice today... my coach canceled our lesson but i went to pratice anyway as i've barely skated in the last month. most of the skaters and coaches weren't there so there wasn't a lot of people tp avoid... that was nice! i found myself in awe of the other young skaters and just forgetting to pratice and watching them instead.

aehodman: congrats on your first two sessions back. it sounds like you did well though despite the fall. although i read that a lot of skaters don't really feel loose until they get their first fall of the practice out of the way. oddly enough, i kind of feel that way too. and let me just say i felt plenty loose by the end of my pratice today if you know what i mean. are you the one that originally told us about the "head back" vursus a layback? i was telling someone at my rink today about that and was wondering who it was that said that and here you are mentioning it.

axelkid: well, how did you finally do on your mid-terms? the way i see it, skating was your pre-exam stress buster ;) wow, 2f? it's great that you're even atempting that. i hope i get there someday. see? i play the "one day" game too. like: one day, i will be able to do more than two relvolutions without getting dizzy. heck, one day, i will be able to do more than two revolutions, period.

anita: i am a beginner who is learning the waltz also. actually, it's the only jump that i can really do. and i agree, i love the glide out. it's probably the best part of my waltz jump right now. micheal wiesse once said that the best part of doing those triple jumps isn't the jumps itself...it happens so quickly...it's the glide out that gives him real satisfaction. well, it's a good thing that you like praticing that landing edge. it'll help you out once you do the rest of the jumps.

sunny bunny (cute name, it makes me smile to write it): i was working on my toe today too. i just started practicing it and i can't seem do a real toe instead of a toe waltz (i think that's what it's called) that's when you tap in with your non-picking foot. anyway, don't worry about the salchow. that's an easy edge jump. it's the loop that i'm really worried about. i never "get" how skaters can get 3 rotations out of their entrance into the loop.

kwanluv: most people spin and jump counter clockwise...it's funny that you say you're better with your right footed stuff because i find that i have to do more with my left foot for jumping(i'm also a counter cloackwise skater). and no, i don't think it's weird that you sudeenly improved. that happened to me too. i guess it's something to inspire you when you're feeling down about something that doesn't seem like its going to happen. it sounds ike you should get a coach soon.

so all and all, my practice was just ok...but i was proud of myself for getting up after my falls and trying those moves again.

[aehodman]

Yep susan, that was me who had the headback spin. :) I think my fortunes are improving however because during the public session today I did some really good laybacks. Now that my leg is turning out and offsetting the balance I am finally able to start leaning back. I actually saw the side windows below the ceiling today, yahoo! Too bad my complete and utter lack of any ab muscles at this point prevented me from working on more then 4 or 5 of them...:( \

I did a handful of good one foot spins, a bunch oh 'eh' ones, and I actually did an okay backspin that might have gotten around -- gasp! -- FIVE time (a record for me!). One of the other freestylers pointed out that I was popping up too soon, and now that I am making a concerted effort to stay in my knees longer I am getting a better center and hence a better spin! :) I also did one good change foot spin, warming them up and getting them ready for ISI Adult Champs in a few months!

Got my lutz entrance back -- yahoo! -- and also ran through jump entrances today since I still am taking a break from jumping until late this week or early next week. I am getting really impatient though as I want to get to work ASAP on my Pre-Bronze program for (hopefully) State Games in May.

Keep up the great skating everyone! :)

[aehodman]

Well, this was the first time skating on a new ice surface -- during a public session no less! -- but luckily I was there on Dance Night and 99.9% of the people in the building were on the dance floor and not the ice! :)

Toyed with some jumps and landed some good toes, a couple of good salchows too. The loop got height but for some reason the landing is kinda jarring and halting a la Maria B. :/ I also did some two footed flips and lutzes -- I can feel my mid section not quite getting around and my body not trusting itself to take away that support foot on the flip. I think by next week the flip will be back but I think it's gonna take another week or two on the lutz. :( I didn't do too many jumps as I didn't want to push it.

Did a few great scratch spins and a few very bad laybacks -- this spin seems to come and go. Tried some more sit spins and although I finally seem to have the proper foot turn out I am not getting as far down as I used to (probably because after not doing these for ten months flab has replaced muscle). I did a few passable ones though which made me happy.

Overall I was pretty psyched that I was able to do so much on unfamilar ice that was kinda rutted from an earlier hockey session. State Games (hopefully) here I come!