Divine Intervention

I was finally able to make it to the rink this week. Work kept conflicting. But I spent 2 hours skating today - and now I'm exhausted. I worked on a variety of things

FXO's/BXO's: FXOs are much improved compared to my old skates. BXOs...I think I've regressed - just need more knee bend. CW better than CCW as usual. Great strides today.

Mohawks: not too bad other than nearly stepping on my blades. That would have been a lovely faceplant.

FO3s: I can't believe how easy these are now. L better than R. No longer need arms for LFO3. It's amazing that I could pretty much fold my arm with this and still make it work leading with my shoulders.

FI3s: Happening, but slowly. R is lagging but becoming more consistent.

Spins: I absolutely love being able to spin on one foot. Most are traveling at this point, but I did get a few really good centered spins. I just have to think to myself "be stiff as a board!" so that I don't travel. These are all from a t-stop or pivot. Attemping the wind up from BXOs, but definitely not happening at this point.

Jumps: On the back burner until I get more instruction. I can do the dreadful bunny hop....

So...I was feeling really bummed about not being able to afford private lessons at the moment, and bummed about my crazy insane inconsistent work schedule that has me working 12 hour days and nights in the same week, as well as mandatory on call shifts and blah blah blah that make it difficult to schedule lessons even if I had the money.

Then I saw it...

A flyer for the upcoming Learn to Skate session entitled "Adult Advance". It is for adult skaters who have passed Adult 4, held on Wedesday nights - 15 minute warmup, 30 minute class, then a 2 hour public skating session to follow. All for $50!!! And here's the best part: My work schedule may extremely variable...but have ALL Wednesday nights off, just for skating.

I couldn't be more elated about this. My Hubby and I may not have a ton of extra money right now, but we have agreed I need to take this class. It must have been divine intervention. :) It's definitely put some excitement into my skating.

Progress

So I've been skating in my new skates for the past week. I must say, I'm very impressed! I can actually spin on one foot now, and 3-turns are effortless. The boots are soooo stiff, but I'm glad to have the support. Now I just need the guts to attempt waltz jumps again. I can't believe how nice it is to have new boots and blades, but trusting them will come with practice.

As for breaking in the new boots, I got them heat molded, and have laced and unlaced them many times to help soften the leather a bit. I leave the top hook undone to all for good knee bend. I tried lacing up all the way today, and felt like Frankenstein!! Anyone else have tips on breaking them in? The only problem I seem to have is the tongue on the boot shifts out of place and rubs against my skin, leading to blood spots on the socks. How do I keep that tongue centered and away from digging into my skin?

Here they are!!!

I picked up my skates today. They're all ready to go, heat-molded, and about to be sno-sealed. I tested them out for about 20 minutes on the ice, and for the most part, I'm very pleased! They offer great support and didn't make my feet hurt much. My toes are very happy not being squished in the boot. The only thing that bothered me was my super sharp blades. They should dull up to my liking in the next few sessions. I would on the outdoor rink with hard ice, but I'm afraid I'd ruin my blades!

Here are some pics. My skates have an ENORMOUS toe-pick! And by some sort of miracle, I don't recall tripping over them, other than being on a nice LFO edge, catching the toe-pick and losing my edge. The first pic is of my pretty new Jackson Competitors. The second pic a comparison between my new skates (right) and old skates, Jackson Glacier recreation skates(left).

Merry Late Christmas!

Holy Cow! It's been about a month since I've posted anything. I hope people still read this blog!

I FINALLY got my skates! I tried the boots on today and they feel great!! Super stiff, but great! I'm quite pleased with the qualtiy of the skates. I'll post pics of my new Jackson Competitors in a few days. I left them at the rink so that the blades could be mounted, and then I'll have them once and for all on Friday.

As for the past month, I've just been working on moves and dodging hockey munchkins on the ice. One just about nailed me and took me down...so, yeah I yelled at him to watch out.

My forward 3 turns are very consistent, and somehow my RFI mohawks are improving too. As my blades get duller, I can actually spin. I can't wait to see what these new blades will do...

Wednesday Night Skate

Skated again tonight. I think I'll make Wednesday Night a regular thing. Worked on 3-turns extensively and I was able to do ALL of my forward 3-turns!!! Even the RFI3, which I was convinced i was going to snap my ankle on at some point.

I skated with more speed and power and it felt great! Not so fun dodging the little hockey boys though. They skate so wrecklessly sometimes!

I even tried some edge exercises I've seen other skaters do. I don't know what it is called, but say you're skating forward on your left foot, and your right foot is extended to the front. Then you do a slalom type move on the left foot going from outside edge to inside edge and repeat for the length of the rink. I can do it pretty well on the left, but not so much on the right yet.

Overall skating is improving and I feel I am finally getting back to where I was prior to October. N0w if I can just get a hold of my coach, I can have another lesson!

LFI3 and backspin

Not a lot of time to post...but, I actually did a few LFI3s last night! yaay!!! These have been so hard for me. The right side should come along soon. My forward spins are really inconsistent. I tried spinning on my right foot for a change and realized I was doing backspins! They felt really comfortable too. Not centered though. I thought backspins are supposed to be harder....I don't get it.

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!