Skating on Monday Nights Too? Sign Me Up!

About a week ago I mentioned that I had visited a secondary rink to skate at and initially I thought that I would end up at the rink in Royal Oak, but after some serious consideration I decided to give the rink in Troy a try. Despite the fact that I’ve had bad experiences there on the ice (it’s just not as smooth as the ice at Onyx) I figured that I needed to get used to it before my competition there in June. If skating there was anything like the public session ice I did a month ago, I would probably fail at my competition. So, after talking with the learn to skate director and adult coach (I’ll be referring to her as Coach M on my blog from now on) I decided to sign up.I attended my first class today and have mixed experiences about it.

Coach M did give me a heads up that there would be a couple children in the class and I was okay with that, but it basically became a four level class with four students. There was one other adult that was working on two foot turns and half pump swizzles, the children were starting crossovers, and I needed to really start to “feel the edges” on my crossovers because I was cutting them too short. Sure, I have made advances, I am working on skills like the waltz jump, toe loop, and footwork patterns, but I still really need to work on the basics.

Practice time was okay, I worked on several of my elements but forgot to work on spins, argh! We moved to the class space on the ice - which made me somewhat anxious because I wasn’t anywhere near the boards where I keep my binder, skating journal, and water but I got over it...somewhat. First we did stroking with T-stops for me, the others were doing hockey stops. Then we moved to the circle for crossovers (forward and backward) which took most of the class time. I am so sick of spending my money on these classes and just working on my crossovers, but they need work. I know it and I am still annoyed by it. Why can’t I just break up with crossovers in this sport?

After class I showed Coach M my binder so that she could see where I was at and what I needed to work on. I made it fairly clear that I really just signed up for the class because I needed more practice ice time to prepare for the competition and she seemed understanding so that’s good. It looked like we were missing some people today, while I spoke to coach M on the phone she had mentioned that there were some women who were practicing 3 turns and other adult 4 elements. Hopefully next week they’ll work with me and I won’t feel like there’s such a big gap in the class.

I think that overall the money I spent on the class will be worth it to prepare for my competition. It seems like it might just become practice ice for me, but I am okay with that. Plus, it’s another valuable day on the ice, even if it is only one hour. I guess I’ll have a better idea of how it went once it’s all over.

Skating Withdrawals

20 hours of skating last week may have done more mental harm than good, yikes! I am having skating withdrawals. I feel like a part of me is missing. Yesterday I could have gone skating in the afternoon, but I chose to hang out with my friends knowing that I wouldn’t be able to skate again until Friday. I had a great time with them, but open skate starts in a half hour and I am longing to be there.

I woke up an hour before I had to, on a Monday morning, the day after spring break no less; and all I could think about was getting back on the ice so I started brainstorming. I would do anything at this point for more ice time, but all the available ice time is during my work day. It’s far too late  in the season for me to join the skating club for afternoon drop in sessions (which are all to expensive anyways at $14 an hour!). I could join the adult skating class on Wednesday evenings, but that only guarantees me one extra hour a week. Plus, there’s a new coach in that class and I don’t know how I feel about having another coach instructing me. I have gotten really close to Coach T and I am used to Coach C’s methods. If I have learned anything in these last few months, it is that every single coach instructs differently! It could be a nice addition to my skating schedule, it won’t hurt my finances too much, and this coach could very well be a great coach...but there’s an even better option!

The edge program at the Onyx is for skaters who have passed basic 1-5 and are looking to learn more advanced figure skating skills without having to join the skating club. Coach T said that I have met the level, but I am not quite sure how I feel about joining before the summer. This program has many positives and only a couple negatives so I will start with those. I am worried about joining edge because I would be in a class with children. There are skaters in edge as young as 4 and 5 years old. There are some older students, but I would still feel like a giant next to them. Compared to the adults in my previous classes, I have learned relatively quickly, but I am about to be the tortoise in edge. Edge is also more expensive than the regular classes that I’ve been taking, even more than my private lessons, but for good reason. If I join edge I would have class instruction time, regular practice time, two additional practice sessions (on LTS ice) per week, and 20 minutes of off ice training (which I so desperately need). That would mean that I could skate on Wednesday evening, Friday evening, and Saturday morning. My skating time would triple, for a little extra moola ($$) that is!

I need a decision to be made by Wednesday, because that is the next edge class. I’ve already missed one week that I’ll have to make up, but I can only make up one class per session. I’m excited to say the least, because either way I’m going to end up with at least an hour of extra skate time per week in addition to my weekend public sessions.

Half Way Through Session 2!

Today I had the third lesson in session two which means I am already half way through! I got on the ice an hour before my scheduled practice time, I absolutely love the girls that are on the ice at that time because they always let me on early. I learn so much more when I’m acclimated with the ice before lessons. I began with simple stroking and moved on to one foot glides and swizzles. Then started to work on stopping again, I really need to get that down because my habit of turning to stop is silly. 

During class we began with stroking, then worked on crossovers for a little. I am really glad that I didn’t work on them the entire time like I feel like I have been these last two weeks. Next Coach C took about half of us on the circle to teach us how to do a two foot turn. Now, technically I already know how to do this, but she showed me a different way to make it a little more challenging. After we worked on that for a bit she moved everyone back on the circle to begin learning Mohawks! I didn’t think I’d be learning this skill for a while since it’s listed as an Adult 6 lesson on the US Figure Skating Curriculum. 

Coach C showed us what the first part of it looked like, make a T on the circle (right foot in), push out so boots like like a spread eagle then bring it back to the circle. I had that down very quickly, I was astonished! With only a few minutes to spare coach came over and said I had it down and that I was ready for the second step. She also said I would have it down by the end of class, that’s in 4 minutes, but okay! I like a challenge! Do step one, then instead of keeping my body weight on my right leg I shift all my weight to the left leg and lift my right leg up. After trying it a few times I had it! I am really looking forward to working on this new skill at my next open skate practice session. Right now I have that scheduled for Saturday night, but if I don’t get an afternoon job tomorrow I will be heading to the rink! Get excited!

First Official Progress Report

I am pretty sure the women in my class and maybe even my coach think I am a little crazy. I just think I am super organized, committed, and motivated. I took the time to google the US Figure Skating adult curriculum so that I can track my progress, I even began comparing the adult curriculum to the children’s basic curriculum. From now on I think I am going to try paying more attention to my progress in a systematic way like this. I know that I am just starting so I’ve learned a lot and I am aware that it’s going to start slowing down at some point. There’s no way that I am going at this much speed for much longer. The exercises are going to get harder and will take more practice. Nevertheless, I am going to post an official update every 1-2 months using the curriculum guide to note what I’ve learned and what I want to learn in the coming months.

I showed it to my coach at the last lesson and she confirmed that I knew these skills, she even questioned a few that I had circled because she thought I already knew them. I love that she also looked at what I want to learn. By checking this out she knows that I am serious about skating, but more importantly she knows what I want to focus on for the remainder of the session!

I really can't wait to see where I am at in a month, you know that is if I am still in one piece!

Last Learn to Skate Class (of session 1) & An Incredible New Skill

Wow, today was the last day of learn to skate. I feel like it was definitely worth the money I paid for it. Today as soon as we got to practice there was no “warm up time” we went straight to the circle and began with challenging moves, half-pump swizzle (right and left legs), then one foot glides, and finally crossovers. Coach T came over to help me with those, what a relief! Unfortunately, it didn’t last long. She let me do them on my own….and I took a great big fall. Flat on my face. It didn’t hurt that much, until I got home and saw the bruise, but at this point falling is a learning opportunity for me. I’ve learned how to fall and not completely hurt myself and I’ve learned how to pick myself up and continue doing what I was doing. Now as soon as I did so, my favorite hockey coach told me that the “toe pick” got me. No shiz bro? I know that...thanks for letting everyone else know too.

After our circle exercises we moved on to the normal layout of exercises moving from one end of the rink to the other. We did swizzles, half pump swizzles, one foot glides, and then the awful half pump backwards swizzles. Dun Dun Dunnnn. I am not about that life. So...I moved over to where Coach T was, working with the really beginner group again. It was near the end of class so I asked to work on my spins, thankfully another woman in class was thinking the same thing and came over with me. We attempted on working the spins again, but didn’t get much farther. I understood what I needed to do, but had a difficult time actually doing it. So….Coach T decided it was time to move on….to JUMPING!!! I’m sorry? What’s that you say? Jumping in the first learn to skate session? I didn’t think so either. But apparently we were going to jump! ARGGGHHHH!! Excitement through the roof!

[So, here’s the thing. I’ve been going through this process and it’s been really exciting, motivational, and challenging in so many different capacities. I never thought I’d be doing any jumps in the first year of this, yet alone the first two months! I was shocked, excited, and very nervous!]

Coach T grabbed my hands, explained what I was going to do (very quickly I might add) and had me do exactly what she described. I basically had no time to think. I took a leap of faith (literally) and landed. Sure, most of my success was dependent on the fact that she was basically holding me, but I landed my first jump! After doing it with her, she did the same with the older woman that came with me to practice spins. The best part: there was still a few minutes left of class. So, she showed us how to practice on the wall!

This first jump is called the waltz jump, fairly simple to explain and incredibly difficult for a first time adult skater! You essentially swing your foot back, then swing forward, jump up (turn 180) and land on the opposite foot.

At the end of class I thanked Coach T for everything and asked if she taught private lessons. I’ve considered this a little over the last few weeks, but I thought I would ask just to get it out of the way since I am no longer taking Saturday classes. She said she was fully booked for the upcoming session, perfect for me since I wasn’t going to do it until the following session! Get excited folks, this is getting serious!

Open Skate:

I went to open skate today and spent every minute on the ice working on my spin and the waltz jump by the wall. I was annoyed because I had to keep moving away from the wall for first time skaters, but I had to keep myself grounded. I was a first time skater not too long ago (literally 2 months) so I should give them the space that I also needed at the time.

Learn to Skate Makeup

Class was amazing today. Shocker. I spent most of class just working on a couple skills, but it was incredible because I feel like I’m actually learning the proper way to do things. My coaches are fixing my posture, they tell me where my arms and weight should be and this really makes it easier to learn the skills. My muscles hurt from doing things the “right way” over and over again, but I know I need the basics down before I can successfully move on to bigger and better things. Today I mostly worked on half pump swizzles on the circle, both my right and left legs. My right foot has got it down, but the left foot is much weaker. I was also taught a simple combination, 2 swizzles and then a one foot glide. I was really pleased with this warm up because I was combining skills.  At the end of class, I asked one of the coaches to show me how to do the spin properly, unfortunately I was still unable to get it. I was told initially to split my body in two, upper and lower half, but I think it’s confusing me because I am not able to move both sides at the same time. I’ll work on it and it will come in time. On the plus side, I showed them the turn that I taught myself to do on like day three and they said it was a legitimate move! I am excited by the idea that I am capable of teaching myself how to do certain things on the ice.

Saturday’s: My New Practice Sessions

Today’s class was pretty good, not as great as Wednesday’s session but I don’t think they can be compared at this point. I am basically considering my Saturday class a practice session from now on and my Wednesday's will become my learning classes. I’m pretty good with that setup, plus it means two days on the ice. Perfection. I was on the “advanced” side of class again today which meant...hockey teachers. Although there were several people missing from class today so it wasn’t as bad. Plus Coach T (the one that referred me) came over to help me start doing crossovers. I swear every time my foot crossed over the other, my heart dropped. It was a very uncomfortable experience, but for the first couple rounds most of my weight was on Coach T. Unfortunately she had to leave and I didn’t feel like I could do it on my own so I began doing one foot glides, which I thought would be somewhat helpful because when I am doing crossovers I have to be comfortable with the idea of just one foot being on the ice at a time.

In the last five minutes of class I ditched Mr. Hockey coach and headed back to Coach T. I wanted to learn how to do a proper spin! I asked and she showed me how. I’m pretty sure I fell three times in the 5 minutes. I wasn’t really sure how it worked, she kept showing me but I wasn’t exactly getting it. Ultimately my feet were moving before my upper half. Class ended before I knew it, but I was definitely going to work on it during free skate after class.

I cannot wait to be on the ice again this Wednesday with the other coaches. I might actually learn the proper way to do a spin!

Where have I been the last few weeks? … Missing out

OMG. I cannot believe how much I’ve been missing out. I love my Saturday coach, she is the one who referred me after all, but the coaches on Wednesdays have so much more experience. Geeze. I feel like I’ve learned more in that half hour than I have in the last two sessions. The coaches today taught me how to skate as opposed to Saturday when I’m just told how to skate. Big difference. You see the coaches today actually told me what my toes need to be doing when I’m practicing swizzles (I have to squeeze them together to gain speed when I’m pulling my feet back together). I also learned where my weight should be when I am skating backwards, on the balls of my feet. Bits of information like this has  truly transformed my experience on the ice. Who knew that your toes had to be doing something particular while doing a move? I know I have a lot to learn, but just after this one session I’ve realized that skating is made up of lots of little parts. For example, when doing the one foot glides I need to push off of one foot, tighten my core, and pick up my foot allowing it touch the side of the boot that is still gliding on the ice.

I’m so glad that I am making up another class with these coaches next week and frankly Wednesday evenings work so much better in my schedule than Saturday mornings, so if I am going to start session two I should really consider switching into this class. The other thing that is awesome about this session is that there are fewer skaters, only 4 as compared to the 10 skaters on Saturday. AND no hockey skaters, woot woot! Definitely looking to spend some more time with these coaches!

Makeup Sessions - Thank God!

Well sure enough I was still sore from the strain on Saturday and didn’t make it to class, but I called the rink and they said I could make up both classes! The only other day that works in my schedule is the Wednesday evening class. I was a bit apprehensive about going since my favorite coach isn’t going to be there, but I have to make up those days somehow. The good thing here? I get to skate on Wednesday nights and Saturday mornings for two weeks in a row, horah!

Today I also re-started my membership at Lifetime fitness! I am overjoyed about this, it’s been on hold for like a year. It’s so freaking expensive, but will ultimately be worth it. I know that getting shape at the gym is really going to impact my ability to skate. My goal is to be at the gym every single day. I know everyone says this and doesn’t follow through, but I am headstrong. If that membership is costing me $70 a month that means I am going to be there every single day. Or else (I’ll come up with a punishment soon).

Missed Class

I missed class last Saturday, because unfortunately I was sick. I had to rest up at home, I knew that if I decided to use my energy (or lack thereof) on the ice I’d probably end up in bed for another week. Thankfully I did get better, so I decided to also get back working out at home. I found some “awesome” off the ice workouts online and combined them with my usual for a superhuman workout. I call it superhuman because well it will practically destroy anyone who attempts it. I’ll post a picture of it soon! So, I attempted this new workout and while doing the superman move (which I’ve never attempted before) I strained two muscles in my thighs. Just lovely. I doubt I’ll be on the ice this Saturday. Again.

Learn To Skate Day 2

Today is day two of learn to skate and I am really eager to get back on the ice, I haven’t skated since last Saturday but I’ve literally been thinking about it all week. I am excited to see what we will learn today but I am also really worked up about skating backwards. This is my first learn to skate session, I don’t understand how they expect us to be skating backwards! It’s probably because I ended up on the advanced side of the class - I am not an advanced skater! Today we worked on one foot glides and continued working on stroking, we also started doing this thing where we are doing half-swizzle pumps (is that what they are called?). About halfway through class our coaches asked us to do the half-swizzle pumps backwards...at this point in time I didn’t even have regular swizzles down so I was basically like, hell to the no.

To this point, I had signed up for this class because the girl I’d met at the rink last month said she was teaching it (Coach T). Now, unfortunately for me, because I got put in a separate group I got stuck with the hockey player teachers. I think I maybe forming a little dislike towards them, maybe it’s just because I don’t feel like they are genuine/I just don’t feel comfortable learning to skate from someone who skates on different skates. Stupid, I know. Whatever, they honestly just seem like jerks. I moved over to Coach T once they started working on those pesky backwards half-pump swizzles. I asked her to help me figure out the backward half pump swizzles, but because I didn't have the forward half pump swizzles down we worked on that. By the time we were done class was over, thank God. I didn’t want to go back to the other guys (darn hockey players).

First Class!

Today was my first learn to skate session! I literally can’t believe that I did some of the things that my coaches asked me to do today. In addition to forward stroking and swizzles, they had us jump on the ice and begin backwards swizzles I did the jump, but there was no way I was going backwards on day one. Sure enough, after what seemed like an entire 5 minutes I was able to “walk” myself backwards across the ice. It was painful and with every step I felt like I was going to fall, but I knew that in the end it would be worth it. Somehow throughout the class I ended up on the advanced side, little did I know at the time but everyone on that side had already taken the class. Argh, I was behind for what seemed like the entire class. It took me longer to make my way from one end of the rink to the other. I felt embarrassed at times, but I was giving it my all and that’s worth something right?

Learn to Skate

Today I called the Onyx and registered for my very first learn to skate session. I am very excited to start on Saturday, but I haven’t been on the ice since mid last week. Since I have jobs set every day this week I probably won’t be back on the ice until the morning of practice. Sounds to me like I need to start off ice training.