Group dance classes

So, my ballroom adventure is prematurely on hold. I was rear ended at a stoplight on Monday and have a fractured vertebrae (the transverse process of T1). There is probably no surgery needed, but I have to spend time in a cervical collar to let it heel. This means 1) I can’t drive, so I can’t get to class and 2) I can’t really hold my arm up well to hold a ballroom frame.  Thankfully the dance place let me put the remaining 3 lessons on hold, so at least I don’t lose the money, just the time.

But, I did take one group class last weekend and was really excited about it.  There is a dance studio in our town, but they had no groups this month, so I was going to their branch in a city about 30 minutes from here. They also didn’t have beginner classes this month but I was told to take the second level class. I’m glad, because this class is really basic that I can’t imagine how slow the beginner class is.

The class covers East Coast Swing, Cha-Cha, and Salsa.  In our 40 minute class we covered some swing and cha-cha.

For swing, which I’ve done before, we learned a left under arm turn.  Like I said- very basic.  For cha-cha, which I haven’t learned before we learned a step I can’t remember that opens up to the sides, and then a right under arm turn. Since I hadn’t really done cha-cha before, I also learned the basic step. I just pretended I already knew it, and followed along J

The groups were neat.  In this class there were the same number of men as women, so that was nice.  We learn the new steps in two lines facing each other (leads/follows) and then pair off. But rather than stay with your own partner, we would do the step once (sometimes with music) and then rotate to a new partner. I thought this was really nice because you got used to doing the steps with someone else’s style; but also if (for example with the cha-cha basic) I wasn’t real comfortable with the step, but the guy was also not comfortable with it; I rotated to a new partner, where the guy could help me out a bit, so by the time I got back to the first partner (there were only 3 guys) I could help him out; rather than us both fumbling through it.

I’m really looking forward to picking up classes once I’m cleared to have the brace off.  Even more I’m looking forward to sleeping again and for the pain (which isn’t too severe, but still sucks) to go away. But also dancing!

Skating (!) and Rowing

I skated! Twice!

You're shocked, I'm sure.   This post is long, so I used headers. Read what you are interested in :)

Saturday:

Saturday I went to freestyle ice and had a lesson with Carson and then LTS with Hannah.

Everything went well- I was spinning really well during the lesson, even eeked out a few revolutions on the camel.  We only got to the Canasta Tango and Rhythm Blues for dance, but those are feeling a lot better.   I won't be testing these until April, so I think we might start on the next 3 dances.  April is a long time to go on the first three, although once we get closer we will drop the next 3, as I don't want to test on contingency.  Unlike better skaters, I'm quite apt to do something stupid like catch a toe-pick and fail the Dutch Waltz…

LTS with Hannah was fine.  She still doesn't have a lot to say for corrections, but it does force me to practice elements I wouldn't necessarily do on my own.  Plus she really hates scratchy waltz jumps (Carson only picks on my salchow for some reason) so I am forced to focus on fixing that.

LTS ice drama:

LTS was, however, ice rink space battle ground again.  The Burton-Carson war had finally been settled, and Burton, Carson, and Carlos were all given a third of the ice.  This system seems to be working.  (Hannah gets Carson's Axel Plus ice until his kids come on, but they do off ice first.  For the last 5 minutes of our class, we go off behind the hockey goal to do spins in place.)  Well, Sergei apparently decided he wanted to teach his own student in axel plus, and not have Carson do it.  So Sergei now has a student out on the ice.  And he decided she should do the 30 minutes in the harness.  The harness which takes up half of Burton's ice!   Burton's class is huge, and they were using 1/6 of the ice for a freestyle class.  Not okay!  Finally, Burton asked Hannah to switch with him (because there are only 2 of us), and that was fine- it did crowd Carson's axel plus class, but they just set up through Carlos's space, and he seemed okay with that.  But using the harness in the middle of a crowded group lesson- it makes no sense.

Monday:

On Monday I skated again, with JSM from SkatingForums.  It is always fun to meet someone from online.  This is the second time she's been at our rink.  I don't usually skate public sessions, but this one wasn't too bad. I was spinning pretty well (kind of travely), was able to jump, and able to dance a bit.  Near the end it got a lot more crowded (with a few speed skaters!) and the dances became quite scary- not sure how AgnesNitt does it, since I think she is always on publics.  I think I'll stick to freestyle!

Rowing:

On Sunday I rowed again.  This time, there were only 2 of us at practice, so I rowed a recreational single- though not the big tub one, but the skinnier one.  It had pontoons on it for stability, but I removed them. That seems like cheating, besides which, balance isn't really my problem. My problem: stamina.  Holy crap.  This was HARD.  I never realized how much work the other person does in the double, even if I actually row twice as fast in it. I was slow as a snail and dying!  I'm really a little confused by it- because the practices are all the same length, the double goes much faster, but in the single I rowed the furthest I ever have.  Maybe the boats get into the water quicker with fewer people, so it was more on the water time? But I went from the Boathouse to Crandic Park, Crandic Park to Hancher, and then back to the Boathouse.  Which means nothing to those outside of Iowa City.

Always injured drama:

And here is the problem: I'm getting nerve pain in my elbows.  When I bend my arms, it HURTS.  I've had this happen before and was tested for a trapped nerve. I was told the nerve conduction tests/emg would be fine, because I wouldn't feel anything. I didn't have a trapped nerve. What I had was a spinal cord injury, which I knew about.  The solution- don't bend your arms.  It eventually went away.  So I don't know what to do.  It doesn't hurt at all during rowing, but is really aggravated outside of rowing, and it has to be rowing that is doing it, because nothing else is new.  Not to mention yesterday my left wrist was killing me, and that is clearly from feathering the blades.  I really want to like rowing (even though it is getting harder! OMG what a workout) but I don't want new problems. I paid for two months, so I guess I will re-evaluate then.

Withdraw...

I got my refund for Iowa Games today.  The competition is on the 11th.  I bet I would have been fine to skate by then (maybe in a brace) but it is unlikely I'd be able to practice before then.  I will definitely skip my private lesson again next week, but am not sure if I should go back to groups (which are essentially private or semi-private).

Kevin says I shouldn't go to skating until I can tie my skates, but that might leave me off the ice for a LONG time.  My test is March 4- I NEED to practice.  Especially my backspin, which had gotten reliable and then failed me.

Overall, the wrist is much better.  I go all day at work on just 1 ibprofeun, and then take a Lortab at home.  Today I've started using my right index finger to type (slightly quicker than only left hand).  This morning, I put my own socks on.  I still can't do a lot though- turn the key in the car ignition, hold a pencil.  It's going to be awhile.  

I do have some upward bend now- maybe 5 degrees, and the downward bend might be up to 30 degrees!  The bruising has shown up- my wrist is pretty much entirely yellow.  Kevin tells me this means the bruises were deep since the red/purple bruises never appeared.  I'm kind of glad it bruised.  Everything I read about sprains was that moderate sprains would have a lot of brusing (a severe strain is a tear... I'd call this severe, but there is no tearing, I don't think).   No way this was a mild sprain- I've lost all function, but until yesterday, no bruise.


Oh, I take that back- I probably shouldn't type more than a few words with the right hand.  It kind of hurts now.  More like it feels tired...

Down she goes again...

What the heck? Two bad falls in a week!

But first- Friday exhibition went okay. My jumps weren't fantastic, as a result of the Wed. fall, but I didn't cheat my single toe loop. My backspin reverted to the foot tuck- NOT cool. And my loop was atrocious.That skate would not have passed. I have Iowa Games in 2 weeks, andcomp/test early march.Well then Saturday morning the zamboni had broken after one line, so we hada strip of clear ice through the aftermath of a crowded Friday night public- ick. Still, it was an okay practice. I stayed up late the night before (NOT watching men's short, sadly. We had people over for a fun gamenight). All my jumps were decent except toe loops in combo- still hurts.My backspins spun but were hit and miss on being good or just passable. It had gotten so reliable!So then the zamboni was fixed and we got beautiful ice for LTS. I did my 3warm up alternating F xover laps and was either turning or had just turned to do backwards, and then I was belly flopped on the ice.I have no idea how this fall happened. I didn't toepick, I didn't click.I landed first on the right butt cheek, then slid on my stomach, which makes no sense that I didn't fall left.I don't remember catching myself with my hands, so I think rather than trying to save the fall, my wrist got caught while I slid. I had to be helped up because I couldnt bear weight on the hand, and my legs were shaking, though nothing else hurt. Z., a novice skater waiting for axel plus group, untied my skates for me, while Sergei got me ice. The pain was just getting worse, so I was pretty convinced I broke it. I had Kevin'scar, so a skate Mom drove me home (I can drive my car one handed, but not his). She offered to take me to the ER, but it was not really a time sensitive emergency.Kevin and I went to the ER, and the x-rays did not show any fractures, itis "just a sprain". This is very small consolation, because I still can't move it, and even taking Lortab and Ibprofen, I'm in a ton of pain. At least I ca take the brace off when it gets itchy! Right now I have 5-10degrees of downward bend (with pain) and no upward bend at all. I can move my fingers with less wrist pain than yesterday.I'm trying to find out if Iowa Games will do a medical refund, if not I'll decide the day of if I should skate. This week I will be staying off ice.

Thursday, June 19th, 2008

Time

Event

4:35p

Stupid tailbone STILL hurts. Usually it's not too bad, just a short sharp pain if I accidentally lean back (but I can sit normally), however, I was doing situps today, and instead of rolling to my side to get up, I rolled up through my back onto my feet like I used to do. It's been 40 minutes and my tailbone is still screaming at me for that. My goodness it hurt. So I guess it's not actually getting better. I don't know if it's bruised or broken, but I'm not going to go to the doctor. When I fell on my rib I went because we were worried about my appendix, but even then she didn't x-ray to see if it was broken- same thing here. Even if it's broken there's nothing she can do. I'm debating getting a tailbone pad. The skating safe ones are $50 which is a ton of money, but the only thin ones I can find. My backside is big enough- I don't really want a huge pad shoved there too. I don't know if my vanity can handle a pad, but I don't think my tailbone can handle another fall... Skating this week: Monday- didn't go because of flooding and worry about no hospital access in case of a fall. Tuesday- Taught LTS, took class, and practiced. This was the worst set of LTS classes I've had, but Jessie and I were going crazy, the kids would just not listen to anything we said. Unfortunately, the theme kind of continued into my lesson. During my lesson we were to test FS3. I actually passed it back in december, would have been able to pass it a month ago, but now thanks to my ever getting worse blades of suckitude, I can't do it. I told Andy that, and the other adult also said she wasn't ready to test, so just test the one kid skater (who is way beyond that level anyhow) and then go on with class. Nope- he wants us to test. I really suck on the swing rolls, falling off the edge towards the end of each and not getting much swing. I can't do the back inside 3 turns, and I am terrified of the backspin. And honestly, to some extent I wasn't trying. I have had bad fall after bad fall this month and on some things I've given up because I don't want to hurt myself. Once the blades come in, I'll pick it back up. I had the backspin down last month. I know I can do it, just not right now. I really hope he doesn't think I have a bad attitude or am lazy, because I left class kind of feeling that way, but more than anything right now I'm just scared. My own practice went really well. Did all the moves, even power 3s :). Worked on progressives, and they are definetly getting better. Worked on forward spins and it was great fun. I can keep spinning in my lean back position, though I'm sure my leg is fugly! I can also do 2 revolutions in camel, and then come up into a scratch spin, instead of just stopping. Adding that nice scratch onto the end is definetly an accomplishment. Wednesday- Synchro. The whole team (who came) was having a bit of a lazy day, but we still did a good amount. Forward stroking my legs were not working, I was exhausted. Then we did some 3 turns (PB pattern) and the outside (? I mix these up- the first one) going my bad way was just terrible, I was so scared, but the 2nd one I was doing just fine. I thought I was getting nice extension on my good side. Then Brianna had us do 3 turns with side toe hops. Then we worked on the step behind, tap toe hop thingy in thriller. I think a lot of people don't like that, but I'll hop around on my toe picks all she wants if it means I don't have to do a CCW turn. The most fun was working on a new spiral move. We swizzled in a choo-choo train line, then did a forward spiral (on a flat), dropped hands and curved the edgee to hook back up spiraling going in a perpendicular direction. Very cool. Then we worked on crossovers and Brianna told me that my pick foot up crossovers made it look like I was falling each step (oops... I thought that was a nice 2nd push...) but that my progressives are looking very natural. Guess that's a good thing. Thursday- Meant to skate but work was exhausting, so I didn't. Did I post about my new blades? Stupid rink ordered them by boot size instead of blade size. So when I wrote 8.5" on the form, they thought that was my shoe size. Why would you order a blade by shoe size? Multiple blades fit onto each size boot. (For example 8.25 is ideal for the size boot I have, but I think I'm going to go up a size and 8.5 fits, so that's why I want it). That's what happens when the manager isn't a skater. So now I'm playing the waiting game and enjoying my pink blades. (The green wipes off for some reason, the pink doesn't.)

Monday, June 9th, 2008

Time	Event
9:36p	I'm starting to think my tailbone is broken. OW.

August 7, 2007

3:50p
YAY for stronger drugs
After 4 days of pain killers doing nothing, I called the doctor and begged for a muscle relaxant. Today felt like a normal day after a bad fall skating. (meaning it still hurt- but not unbearably)

I was going to tough it out and take my lesson- since I test in 2 weeks- but the new drug (cyclobenzaprine) makes me really dizzy, so it would be unsafe to try to skate. I feel so badly because this week is LTS test week and I have a student I need to test, so the skate director will have to take my place, which is an inconvience for her. That also means the large snowplow class won't have a helper- but drugs or not, I can't pick kids up right now, it would hurt too much.

My coach was okay with me canceling and even asked me if I wanted to postpone the test (which would probably be sensible?) but I said I'm definetly still doing it. It's 12 days away, and I'm bound to be feeling fine by then. I am so bored of PB moves that I don't want to have to wait for another test session to do them! There is only one I'm worried about, and the rest I should pass without a problem. So as long as I get one or two practices before the test, I should be okay.

Back to resting!

August 5, 2007

7:29a
This is why I don't like to fall
The pain in the front half of my body is mostly gone. Occasionally I'll feel a bit of a sharp pain in my rib. However, now that it is gone, the pain in my back is unbearable. I am going to stop taking the naproxen the doctor gave me and send kevin out for some muscle relaxants. As the naproxen helped slightly for the ribcage, but not at all for my back.

I also have bruises all down the front right side of my body- it's funny looking!

August 2, 2007

5:05p
Went to my NP today because the pain was getting worse, not better. She said it doesn't appear to be my appendix, which is good news- but that I may have cracked my lowest rib and definetly have deep soft tissue bruising.

The lower right side of my abdomen hurts so badly I can barely walk, and hurts just to sit and worse to lie down. She prescribed some Naproxin, but honestly it hasn't really made the pain go away, just go down slightly. It is still extremely painful.

Glad it's not my appendix, as that would have put me off the ice long enough to screw up my test. I probably won't skate this weekend, but even if it hurts, I'll skate Tuesday- MITF aren't to vigorous.