Skating Report

So after skating on Wednesday I was MUCH happier than Tuesday.  I came home Tuesday and said "I don't want to be a skater anymore"  I came home Wednesday and talked my head off about the ice time.  (I also hadn't seen Kevin yet since the morning, so I tend to get chatty.)

Since Carson has really been wearing me out during lessons, I got to the rink before club ice and skated 30 minute of Freestyle ice.  It was crazy.  Less crowded then club ice ended up being, but absolutely crazy.  I think nerves are high due to tests coming up, but some of the kids were just plain misbehaving.  The yellers were yelling in full force (at their coach), the eyeroller was eye-rolling like mad!  And generally at people she should have been yielding too, but she is an ice queen who thinks the whole thing should be hers, and the foot stompers were stomping away.  Man was it a moody ice session.    I ran through elements, and did my program once.

Club ice was a little better as the drama queens went home- but it was the most crowded session I have ever seen.  Carson lectured me on being more aggressive, and from what I could tell at least 4 other skaters got that same lesson!  It was difficult to do anything without someone being in the way.  The level of skating at the mall has gotten higher, and a few EIFSC skaters were down there too (their ice is currently an indoor football arena.  Or the hockey team's ice is, so their ice is now the hockey team's).  Lots of kids getting ready for novice moves.  Plus Tim was there.  He is never in the way, but he is FAST, so it makes me nervous if I lose spot of him, because I don't know where he will be next.  None of the high level guests were problems, but a few of the lower level ones had no concept of space or yielding.  Our local skaters were really more the issue, but also that I don't think any of us are used to ice this crowded.  Plus the hula hoop thing!  And in the span of my 30 minute lesson, they did their routine THREE times, and they weren't in lesson.  I heard quite a bit of grumbling about that.  Our little club might be getting all grown up, and may need some rules...

Anyhow- my skating.  I started with my 5-minute warm up, which was kind of cheating, since I had already been skating.  I missed my waltz-toe (well cheated it, but I think that is Carson's most hated offense) so now the FIRST part of my warm up is landing positions to pivots.  If I do those, I rarely miss the jump.  It's a good idea.  Then I did my program.  There were a lot of people to dodge, so I ended a little late, and forgot the end of my footwork, but the footwork isn't required, so I wasn't worried.  Because I nearly ran into Burton I was thrown off and missed the waltz-toe again.  So Carson had me do a hockey line (for extra tiredness...) and the a waltz-toe and a loop (because yeah, that's going to be a reskate no matter what). He thinks if I skate at least 90% and the judges are nice, I'll pass.  Tough judges I really shouldn't- I mean, my loop isn't really a loop. 

Then we did program parts.  Lots of loops.  After 20 minutes of lesson my sit spins were failing me, I was TIRED.  But otherwise, other than being exhausted everything went well.  Sometimes the backspins were better than others, but they spun.

I was going to go home after that (having already skated an hour), but seeing Tim take fall after fall and keep going motivated me to stay.  I was a little lazy, but ran through all my elements again, and program parts.  Then, in the last 5 minutes of ice time no one was running music, so I did the program again.  (So yeah- I got two programs on one session too- but not while people were waiting, and not 3 times in 30 minutes... and one was in lesson!)

So I think I'm ready.  Next week I bet my lesson is brutal.