Skating is good….in moderation.

My name is Gina and yes I know I have a problem. I am obsessed with figure skating. If you know me at all in real life you probably know that I am easily obsessed with things. A nicer way to put it is perhaps that I become passionate about everything that I put my heart into. When I was growing up I was obsessed with Harry Potter, the High School Musical Series (Zac Efron to be exact), and the Twilight Series. As I got older I became obsessed with the ideas of a “perfect” future so I planned a fake wedding, designed my dream home on floor planner, and pinned to my “for the future” boards on pinterest.

So, when I began to take figure skating seriously in late February it was clear that it was becoming another obsession of mine. I lived and breathed figure skating (and still do). I ate healthy for figure skating. I went to the gym, for figure skating. I didn’t play other sports, so that I wouldn’t get injured...so that I could skate. I slept, so I could recover from skating. I ate more after skating to recover from skating. I even read about skating for hours on end. It quickly became a lifestyle rather than just a sport. Unfortunately for me, it is clear that I need to be careful with this rather obsessive lifestyle.

My knee is injured and when I skate for several days in a row, usually by the end of the streak I start falling...a lot. I’ve decided to mandate non-skating days. I am absolutely, positively not allowed to skate on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and at least one day on the weekend. Since I have skating classes on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday it’s really all the skating time I need. This mandate has gone into effect this week. The pain I get in my knee is from over training, I am almost positive of this now despite not yet having MRI results.

If I want to be healthy and fit for my competition I need to be more aware of what I am doing to my body. If that means limiting my skating then that’s what it means. In the past two months I’ve skated for more than 75 hours (averages out to ~10 hours per week). I’ve learned a lot. It is time to perfect the skills I am presenting in my program. I will have two months in the summer to learn some new skills. I’d love to learn a couple more jumps and have my pre-bronze test passed by September #goals.