Thank you US Junior Nats!!!

My Husband rocks! He works at the airport and happened to help a customer last night....get ready for this....One of the Spiteris from SP Teri. He came in town for the U.S. Junior Nationals, which is being held at my rink this week. My husband told him about me and my skating, so he already knew of me when I stopped by the SP Teri booth tonight. I told him I have unfortunately already ordered Jacksons which will be in next week. But I went ahead and had a fitting done. I learned a lot about skates and breakdown and propper fitting. He gave me some suggestions for my pronation, and they have a custom insole that can be added to the stock boots (ProTeris in this case).

Here's the dilemma: I was fitted for a 6D in Jacksons, though the heel size was not taken into consideration. I have a narrower heel, and I'm afraid my Jacksons are going to fit well in the toes, but slip in the heel. For SP Teri's, I'm a 6B with a C ball. If I have a combination fit in one brand, does that mean I'd have a combination fit in another brand? I know that all boots (like street shoes) are different, but I'm sure there's some similarity in sizing. As for blades, he suggested a few, including the Coronation Ace. I've heard tons of good things about that blade from www.skatingforums.com.

So....If the Jacksons don't fit right, I'm going to try and get a refund and go with SP Teri's. He said he'd keep my info for about a year. Whatever happens, I'm going with the boot that fits best! And maybe I can upgrade when necessary to SP Teris.

I haven't skated for about a week due to work and rink schedule conflicts, but my last skate was amazing! I felt that I had so much power and control with alternating crossovers and edges - especially backwards edges. 3-turns are also happily coming back - both directions! And I did a few good spins. Mohawks are about the same. Still holding off on jumps until I'm out of these darn recreation skates. Sometimes I think skating is 90% Mental. If I think I can't get an element right...welll...I end up messing it up! If I skate with the attitude of "I can do this!" then, I can!

The Basics

Felt like skating today. Went to the outdoor rink. The ice feels really different - much harder. I worked on just the basics: Edges, crossovers, mohawks, and a few lousy FO3s. Ok, so maybe a couple of them were good. And crossovers felt really good! My spins have gone missing, though. It may seem crazy, but I think the sweet spot on my blades got sawed off when it was last sharpened.

Skating outside is wonderful, but people walking by like to stop and stare...and I'm a bit bashful... But the weather was great, and nothing beats skating in mild fall weather during sundown.

Two weeks and counting until I get my Competitors...

Winter is Here!!!

Image from www.utahvacations.org

Yesterday the Gallivan Center Rink opened up downtown. I dragged my husband along, and he just observed from the sidelines. It's a decent size rink for outdoors, but much smaller than the olympic sized rinks I'm used to. And there were SO many people! Everyone was having tons of fun. And the ice was all snow when I got on. I never knew it was possible to skate on snow. :)

Then they zambonied the ice. And I have to say, the ice was fantastic! And many many people slipped and fell on their bums once they discovered the glossy ice. hehehee.....

The weather was perfect, the sky clear, and no polluted inversion air. It was sweater weather, and although I could only do a single 3 turn and a couple of crossovers, and basic stroking (minus good extension due to the crowdedness) it was a blast!

Update on New Skates

So....because of my duck feet my skates won't be in until at least DECEMBER 2nd! It's a long time to wait, but it will be worth it. And as much as my skates are hurting my feet and hampering my progress, I WILL skate downtown once the outdoor rink opens up Nov. 16.

As for skating, I haven't been to the rink lately. it's been a rough month and to finish it out on Halloween, my car and my husbands car were both wrecked and mine will take at least a month to fix. Back to skating: I am getting a bit better at my FI3s, as well as change of edges.