Hello there Sal!

I can’t believe that I worked on the Salchow today! I briefly mentioned to my coach that I had given it a try at practice on Monday and she was shocked, “Gina, you were so scared to jump at first, I’m so proud of you for trying.” I showed her what I had tried on the ground before getting my skates on and she said it was pretty close.

We started the private lesson with some stroking and forward crossovers on the ends and worked our way through the pre-bronze test. Coach says I am ready to test this summer so I am really excited about that. Every one of my practice sessions now starts with the test as my warm up.

Next she asked to see my waltz jump from backwards crossovers, she said it looked good (if you skate you know these comments are far and few in between so I was pleased with myself). Then we worked on the toe loop, which Coach T also said looked better after a few tries. And finally she asked me to see Mr. Sal. As I briefly stated before I had given this a try on my own during practice so I wasn’t exactly nervous to jump, more so just nervous to show my coach. I asked her to show it to me first, but she wouldn’t do it, she said she wanted to see what I thought it looked like first. So I gave it my best shot and looked up at her with a question mark on my face, was that it? “Sort of, not bad for doing it on your own.”

I was smiling my way throughout the entire session. When coach said we would be working on jumps I was so relieved. After working on my program for the last month I felt excited to finally be working on something new. My Salchow isn’t nearly a Salchow, it’s more like a half-Salchow, too bad that jump doesn’t exist. Nevertheless, it’s going to look much better by the end of the summer.

After my private lesson, I headed over to adult public skate. I skated my heart out, beginning with the pre-bronze test and on to jumps and swing rolls (forward and  backward). An hour later the session ended and I got off to give my feet a break before getting on the second session of open skate. I had an incredible skating morning thus far, why I couldn’t just head home after? I don’t know, but I was about to pay the price for my obsession. Just 10 minutes after being on the ice I fell on my left knee and could barely get up. After my friend begged me to get off the ice I got off and began to ice it thinking that I could just get back on after icing it for a bit. Twenty minutes later I could barely bend my leg, I knew then that it was time to head home.

After icing in 20 minute segments this entire afternoon and evening I feel much better. Hopefully by tomorrow morning I will feel even better. I am excited for skating this summer, though I know there will be more falls I also know I’ll just have to learn to get through it as I have in the past. I felt like the fall today almost broke me. For a half second, I actually second guessed continuing on with this sport. But it brings me too much joy to just quit because of a careless fall. A summer at the rink is so close I can taste it, just 10 more days!  

Why is it that I train as hard as I do?

I asked myself this question over and over again yesterday and I feel like I couldn’t come up with a decent explanation. I like to think that I am training like an Olympian - I know it’s a stretch but I eat, sleep, and breathe figure skating. I train 6-7 days a week, 4 on ice and 2-3 days of off ice. When I am on the ice I train for 2-4 hours, so on average I am on the ice 10 hours a week.

How I train:

“Ice time is precious time”

My time on the ice is no joking matter. I don’t like to chat with the other skaters, I don’t appreciate when people interrupt my valuable practice time. I go from one skill to the next with short water breaks in between so that my solid 2-4 hours are used efficiently. I have even started using this idea of deliberate practice where I write down everything I need to practice in my skating journal and check it off as I go through.

During practices I challenge myself

I often write down 2-4 skills that are very difficult for me and I try my best to do at least a couple of them during my practice so that I can learn to be fearless. Sometimes I look up a skill or move online and attempt it on the ice, within reason (again, trying not to injure myself here).

I train with a coach!

I train with a coach for an hour and a half each week, 3 out of my 4 practices happen with a coach present. This makes a world of a difference for my skating. When I was on my own for most of my weekly practices I was picking up bad habits and not spending all my time on the ice wisely.

I warm up

I never get on the ice without a proper warm-up, on busy days it is as short as 10 minutes while on free days it sometimes lasts up to an hour. Warm-ups make figure skating more of a “sport” for me. My body has grown accustomed to many of the movements I make on the ice so I feel like I am not burning as much as when I am learning a new jump or skill. As an adult skater, I feel the need to warm up my body before stepping on to the ice. I jog around the ice 2-4 times, run up and down the stairs of the stadium 4-6 times, jump rope,  and  stretch in the ballet/off ice room. My coach recently told me that I have “a pop” in my waltz jump now, so basically more distance and height and I can honestly attribute this to my exercises. Running up and down stairs allows my knees to be more flexible on the ice and gives me the “umph” I need when jumping. Do yourself a favor and warm up before ice!

Why I train:

It’s a dream

I am fulfilling a dream of mine. Every time a land a jump, or finally “get” a new skill I feel like I am one step closer to my dream. I can honestly say that I can see myself standing on the adult nationals podium in a few years. Whether or not I place, I will be satisfied with the progress I’ve made. After all, just five months ago I couldn’t skate around the rink without holding on to the boards with my life.

It makes me happy.

Figure skating gives me a whole new understanding of satisfaction and confidence in myself. Growing up I played sports, but I never considered myself an athlete. Sure, I had coaches who pushed me, but never a coach who truly inspired me to want to do my absolute best (Shout out to the amazing Coach T). Figure skating gives me the opportunity to shine and present my passion to the world. It allows me the freedom of artistry and creativity while honing in on skill, power, and control. Figure skating cannot be easily compared to any other thing that I have experienced in my lifetime, but it has become my life. I want it in every possible way. I want to breathe it, live it, achieve it, and succeed in it. And that ladies and gentlemen is why I train as hard as I do.