November 2009

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2009-11-04 07:37:00
jumping is part of skating?
First off- what a LTS group. The second Snowplow class had 3 new skaters, 1 who didn't speak English, 1 who barely did, and one who was great with English, and told the other kids to watch what I did with my feet, since they couldn't understand me. LOL- one would hope they figured that out themselves. Thankfully they all did pretty well once we got on the ice, but man once they got confident enough to get going it was a SPLATFEST. I hate that so much, but it's tough to convince them to slow down... My own lesson was okay. We did salchows and toeloops. My jumps are pathetic. Andy wants me to work on the salchow for distance, and start focusing on getting the tracing to look right. I also have to change my arms, and not switch them on the three turn entry. I think he said lead with the right arm. Whatever it was I could feel how it helps the rotation, and prevents the "swingy" look, but it is a huge change. Toe loops we started just with the back pivot. HAHAHA. Not good. Then Andy tried to get me to pick much closer, and told me I was preparing for a quad toe, and he just wants a single. I told him if I could just get the pivot, I was sure I'd be able to handle the rotation :) But I tried to switch the picking, and the pivot is still just as hard. So then he told me to make my 3 turn curveyer. Which doesn't help at all. I hate toe loops. Apparently I did ONE that was an honest to goodness toe loop. That might be up to 3 in my skating career.
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2009-11-09 16:02:00
urgh
I pulled my freaking hamstring AGAIN at synchro. Stupid lunges. It doesn't hurt when I do it, but then I can barely walk the next day. our team is doomed. I think the chances of us skating at sectionals are about as good as sasha cohen turning up for nationals (i'd say skate america, but I already heard she withdrew, so it's cheating) we had 4 people at practice. We won't have a full roster until December. Registration happens before then. It's a lot of money to register as USFS members, pay for the competition, aquire costumes, on a hope that it will all get together. Honestly at this point I really don't even want to do christmas show because I don't think we'll look good. we've never had a practice with the full team. My own skating went well saturday. I even jumped!!! I fell on a backspin and ripped a hole into my underarmour pants. *cries* Also my MITF are pitiful.
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2009-11-18 10:25:00
I actually skated last night :)
I haven't skated for myself since last Tuesday... Last week my wednesday lesson was canceled because my coach had meetings at work, and then a stomach ache prevented me from going to the rink- and then I got quite sick Wednesday night, staying home Thursday and Friday with a fever. I was going to do a lesson on Saturday morning, I was feeling mosty better, but when I still had an over 100 temperature, my husband made me call my coach and cancel. So I didn't skate Saturday either :( I skated Sunday after having the fever below 100 since Saturday midday for synchro. We are definetly out for sectionals, which is a bummer, since it's SO close to us- but a plus in that I don't have to buy a dress ($50, used), pay an entry fee ($30, after we split among the team), an extra two months of coaching ($40- yeah, we have the cheapest synchro team in the world, and yet no one wants to join), and join USFSA ($70, except I'll have to do that soon to test dances anyway, so that doesn't really count). I'm kind of sad, because this competition wouldn't have travel fees and hotels, but since we aren't going to ISI either, it's not like we are switching one for the other. I'll just go be a spectator (which is going to cost the same as the entry fee- haha). Now I'm trying to decide if I want to volunteer for the competition. I've volunteered most everytime that club held an event, even when I wasn't a member, and I'm not anymore either. But I think I'd rather just watch. I think I am going to take Friday as a half day to go watch short programs, and also go up on Saturday. I wouldn't mind being an ice monitor, or an announcer, but doing something like registration means I don't get to see skating... Each days admission is $15, and I'm pretty sure if I volunteered, I wouldn't have to pay. Hmmm... Maybe volunteer Thursday (but then I don't think I get Fri/Sat free, and it's another drive...) I think being lazy sounds more fun. Hopefully some of the other synchro girls will want to go up and watch, because I know my husband won't. Oh- so synchro. So we are still doing the Christmas show, and after practice we went to target and found $8 graphic tees to wear as our costume. That works! The program looks okay. I'm in the middle of the straightline footwork now, instead of the end, but that doesn't really matter! Still not everyone at practice, but at least now we are holding holes for people we know will skate, instead of an imaginary friend. Then last night during LTS we worked on spins (after two weeks of jumping). Started with sit spins which Andy says are getting lower- but I still just really need to sit. He gave me as the example of bringing my legs together correctly (instead of looking like a toilet bowl) and i'm not as bad about scrunching my shoulders up to my head as the kids, but I really have to think about it. I also need to think about looking up. Then we moved onto camels and I could feel myself just being completely exhausted (I also taught a snowplow class). I'm trying not to swing my free leg forward and then bring it back anymore, and i thought I was doing better, but apparently my leg is still wrong. It's not behind the skating hip, so it looks like I'm trying to arch the wrong way. bah :( We ended with camel-sits and I was so exhausted at that time, that it was nearly impossible (more so since I can't do a camel). Andy talked about how not only do we need to swing our leg forward to meet our knee (no toilet bowls), but also sit the body UP and not be leaning over. I think I do okay with joining my knees, but the few times I really thought about sitting up I felt like I was going to fall backward over my blade! Lesson tonight- will probably dance, but maybe start thinking about working on bronze free again...
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2009-11-23 08:02:00
My butt hurts...
I fell yesterday in synchro because my line pulled into the block (doing back crossovers) at an angle that completely prevented me (end of line) from stepping forward into the footwork. I THINK had I fallen immediatly I wouldn't have had a fall onto my "sit bones" but instead onto my thigh, but the girl next to me has good synchro instincts and tried to help hold me up, which rather than keeping me up, instead changed the angle of my fall, and I went down hard on my butt. However, I got up quick enough and was able to get down the ice to continue the block footwork. Continueing run-throughs after falls isn't something our team is great about. (And that kind of drives me crazy) So I was glad I was able to get up relatively quickly and keep skating. (Also- it's really hard to catch up with a team. They skate faster than a single.) So that was the worst thing about practice. The best thing- the entire team was there!!!! I think this is the first time this season. It was very exciting. 2 weeks until Christmas show (crazy). And I don't think we'll have a full team at either of those...
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2009-11-25 09:58:00
No lessons this week
No LTS yesterday due to Thanksgiving, and no lesson tonight. If my in-laws aren't in town yet, I'll still try to go skate tonight, but I doubt it. Maybe will skate Saturday morning, and synchro on Sunday.
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