Practice Thread

We started choreographing my new program for the next few years so that takes up most of my lesson time on Saturdays (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQW1KW00lCk). We're a little more than a third of the way done, which is really good for two lessons. By my learning program impaired standards :lol:. Otherwise, I am still doing novice MITF patterns during my regular practice sessions and the usual jumps and spins. Double salchows are getting better off ice, so there is some hope I might get around to trying a few of them on the ice before the end of the year.
Best news is the spring ice I skated on last year started right after my university rink closed down, so there shouldn't be a break in practice time this spring -fingers crossed!
 
Had a pretty good practice today! My sitspin is slowly getting back on track. For the last month or so, I was having trouble with it because my back felt a bit ache-y and reluctant getting down into the sit position. I've been trying to do a few back-strengthening exercises at home, and I think it's helping. The last few practices, I was able to get into the sit position with no back strain. Still need to work on getting it more consistent. My backspin is also improving! I'd been averaging only 2 rotations or so on it, but this week I've been able to keep it going longer, for 3 or 4 rotations. :)

Backward 3-turns are proceeding more slowly. I decided I'll try to do 10 of each 3-turn in each practice.
 
I've been forcing myself to do all 4 back three turns every time I step on the ice because I kept avoiding them like the plague :shuffle: I'm getting to the point where the back outside 3s are generally ok (if sometimes unchecked), but the back inside 3 are a struggle. I find the left are better than the right, which is the rule for most things regardless of rotation.

My lesson last night went well. Not quite as good as last week but I did get some acceptable loops and flips landed.

I also did a great A frame spin (my coach tells me), but when I tried to lift back up and push out of it, I actually felt sick and dizzy and couldn't. Hopefully practising that more and more will make the dizziness get better.

I also did some work on backspins which do feel better but I certainly don't get a feeling of spinning on that foot like I do on the left foot. I constantly go up on the toe pick and stay on it so I never really "spin", and two revs is my absolute maximum on an upright. I did some exercises with a fellow adult skater which helped me get more on an edge. I am determined to try to get something that actually looks like a backspin so i'm adding it to the list of "must practice this every time" along with those back 3s.
 
antmanb said:
I've been forcing myself to do all 4 back three turns every time I step on the ice because I kept avoiding them like the plague :shuffle: I'm getting to the point where the back outside 3s are generally ok (if sometimes unchecked), but the back inside 3 are a struggle. I find the left are better than the right, which is the rule for most things regardless of rotation.

I also did some work on backspins which do feel better but I certainly don't get a feeling of spinning on that foot like I do on the left foot. I constantly go up on the toe pick and stay on it so I never really "spin", and two revs is my absolute maximum on an upright.
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I'm in the same spot with my back 3-turns. Outside back 3s getting substantially better; inside back 3s much harder. They just feel so weird, and noninstinctive. And yeah, they're much better on the left foot than the right. :D

I am just starting to get a real feel of spinning on my backspins. I too tend to either to get up on the toepick, or too far back on the blade. The last few practices I've been inwardly whispering to myself: "Find the center, find the center." I've done it a couple times, but it's hardly consistent ....
 
clairecloutier said:
I am just starting to get a real feel of spinning on my backspins. I too tend to either to get up on the toepick, or too far back on the blade. The last few practices I've been inwardly whispering to myself: "Find the center, find the center." I've done it a couple times, but it's hardly consistent ....
Click to expand...

I need to get over my mental block on the backspin. I've been skating for 15 years and have never done what I would class a proper backspin. I remember really clearly making myself crazy dizzy practising getting a one foot forward spin, but the backspin never came, and then I avoided it and refused to try and threw in the towel.

I actually think my main problem is not keeping my shoulders (and generally my weight) far back enough. I'm thinking of putting on some padded shorts and just trying to keep my weight back and hope for the best...if I fall then hopefully land on my bum and not hurt myself. But the fear is that I've had a couple of spectacularly bad falls from forward spins, the momentum from the spin has meant that I carried on spinning as I fell and injured unexpected parts of my body so I'm quite wary of falls from spins....not that my attempts at backspins have anywhere near the momentum of forward spins :lol:
 
I get it @antmanb ... the fears involved in spinning! I broke my wrist in 5 or 6 places when I fell trying to do a forward spin ... I still feel slight nervousness every time I start a spin. And yeah the back spin feels even more "foreign" so it's got that extra level of scariness. My coach and I laugh about how I get into a "little old lady" position in my spins--instinctively hunching my shoulders in, bending forward a bit, to try and stay "safe." ;)
 
@antmanb @clairecloutier really interesting to hear about your spinning. I'm struggling with a basic two foot upright spin. I'm going into it but then I loose balance. Today the coach was very helpful, she noticed I was not on centre, my legs were too wide apart instead of keeping my right foot right under me. My shoulders were also not straight and I was bending backwards. (Of course, I'm so tense because spinning is scary). She started to correct the issues, and I know more now what I do wrong and where I will focus.

I skate only Saturdays still, the youth group during weekdays was full, but only two weeks till weekend camp now. Today we also worked more on the power pulls (forward) and it's going better every time. Then we did waltz jumps from three turns, and I started with working on the three turns alone, since they're still a bit out of control. Again the coach was really helpful. She addressed my constant issues - not stretching the free foot, not having a strong enough core:lol:Sounds familiar... But when I'm focusing on these things, the three's are going better and better and so the waltz jumps are good. I can do several in a row, and also with steps in between.

We ended with working on steps. I just love steps. I can work for so long on just threes, rockers, and the just- starting-brackets. I love the feel when my body moves in the right directions, in "harmony" with my feet. I guess that's good for an adult skater, since being good at all kinds of steps and turns, together with a few single jumps is a reachable goal (in some years time...). But I need to learn how to spin....at least a little bit better than I do now:lol:
 
After being off for a week with a nasty cold (I felt like death warmed over on Wednesday and my head was going to explode on Thursday), I jumped straight back into it today for my full dress rehearsal for the comp (dress, makeup, hair).

The first issue was that the concept of my hair is perfect. The execution needs work. Namely, it can't go into that style when wet if I want it to stay put. And the hair jewels need to be in a crown on the top of my head, rather than trying to decorate the twisted braids at the back, as they don't stay there well enough (I actually lost one during a spin; fortunately another skater picked it up before any disasters happened).

Anyway, because I like to go big or go home, and my coach was concerned about my lack of run-throughs at this point, we did two and a half today. I did the first one sans music, and landed everything, only botching my last spin. I did the second one with music, and landed everything except the loop and the flip-toe combo. The last spin was fine. So we did the last part again, from ChSq to end, whereupon I landed the flip-toe and proceeded to bork the last spin. Again. So I did the last spin again...three times. :lol:

That's a bit frustrating because the back-to-forward CUSp is actually one of my better spins and had been doing very well in practice. Hopefully I'll get a better handle on it in time. I was really pleased to land a loop in the first run-through; if I can keep doing that it will be good.

T-12 days to competition...
 
clairecloutier said:
You have hair jewels?? Awesome! :cheer2: You are clearly ready for competition, @misskarne! Would love to see a pic from the comp (when it happens). :)
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They're this kind (I have some flower crystal ones coming, but not sure if they'll arrive in time). They stayed very securely in my hair flat against my head, but they were quite loose in the braided part, so that will be a little adjustment that I'll make. Thanks, @clairecloutier!
 
@misskarne sounds like you're doing well for having had a week off with illness.

I've had a really busy week travelling back from a conference abroad and then running a training day for a full day so I got to the rink late last night and had less than an hour of practice including my half hour lesson.

I haven't done any training in the gym this week and I could tell during my practice. My moves seemed to be pretty good today but had minor disasters on jumps and spins. I eventually got a good fast centred upright spin but it took a long time to get. I couldn't do a camel for love nor money - I either swung the free leg through on the entrance instead of keeping it back, or i'd hook the spin and fly up over the toe pick and fall out of the spin. It was very frustrating and then I managed a slow calculated entrance into it and managed to get a well centred albeit painfully slow spin. I did a couple of good fast but not low enough sitspins, so I redeemed it a little :lol:

The less said about jumps the better.

I'm desperate for a blade sharpen but I'm struggling to get times that work for me and my blade sharpener.
 
Not to make anyone here :wuzrobbed: with envy, but last night I went to the regular session at the rink and....only me and my friend showed up. So we had a whole sheet of ice to ourselves for an hour!

The one thing we didn't have was a music player. But that actually turned out to make things even better. It was really nice to do stroking and slaloms and to hear the blades go ssszzz when you were pushing hard enough. And it was very cool to be able to do figures and hear what your blade was doing, instead of just feeling it.
 
It really disturbs me that I can't do things when I'm by myself that I can do when the coach is standing there. She and I actually had a quick discussion about it at the start of Wednesday's lesson.

I hadn't done a toe loop in the best part of a year, then the other day the coach told me to just do it, so I threw aside my hesitation and just did it. Today I went to the rink thinking I would be able to do a toe loop with no more than a bit of initial hesitation. Nope, I was too afraid to make myself get past the 3-turn. If I was already doing other jumps, I'd just do it as a second in a combo (which is much easier than going in solo), but of course this was the first other than a few really bad waltz jumps (meaning I'm jumping as soon as I step forward). Maybe next week.

I was fearless when I was a kid. Why do people become so apprehensive as they grow old?
 
Morning practice today.

Rubbish ice, as usual on a Saturday morning. That highly-strung feeling is starting to pervade all sessions now because of how close we are to the comp, which when combined with some of the very low-level skaters on this session can be a bit of a mess. One coach was also being especially annoying this morning - I swear she got in the way of every skater who was doing runthroughs and seemed to not bother telling her more beginner students to give way to those in music.

Two and a half runthroughs this morning with mixed results, not all of which were helped by various people getting in my way (and a seeming backslide in recovery from this blasted cold). Still, on the first runthrough with music I did land everything; on the second I landed the flip-toe and the first salchow, and my timing was more-or-less right, which has been a big issue. My CUSp was once again trying to go AWOL, but I nailed one right at the end of the session.
 
treesprite said:
I was fearless when I was a kid. Why do people become so apprehensive as they grow old?
Click to expand...
When i was a kid, I had this idea that crutches and casts were "cool." Never broke anything until 37. At which point I learned that these things are decidedly UNCOOL and a pain in the butt, expensive, exhausting, etc. Plus you have responsibilities as an adult, with which injuries interfere severely!!

We just finished our club show and I am off the ice for at least a few weeks. Dr thinks it's an SI joint problem that's been plaguing me on and off for the past several months of it. I am tired of it seeming to heal and then just the littlest bit of the "wrong" movement and BAM! I'm in agony again. So I have a course of anti-inflammatories and PT starting in about 10 days. I really, really would love to get rid of this and get my relatively healthy middle-aged body back!

@antmanb @clarecloutier I struggled with spins for ages, and my coach was at her wits' end (we tried even changing direction a couple times; both felt unnatural!). She suggested I work with the spin specialist at our rink, who has been absolutely terrific, and my spins (when I'm not injured) are one of the strongest parts of my skating now. Part of the reason was lots of practice, part of the reason was my coach breaking down spins into little bits and pieces and getting those just right before adding the next bit.
 
Well, it had to happen sometime, but the Monday before the competition was not a good day to have a bad practice and lesson. I thought my poor coach was going to strangle me at one point when we were doing flips. Or no-flips, as most of them were today.

The one run-through we did attempt (she restricted me to one because I was feeling oddly stiff and tired today) was a disaster. I failed the loop and the Salchow-toe, probably wouldn't have got credit for the flip-toe, blew both spins, muffed the ChSq. Um, I did finish on time?

Then we did spin work and I couldn't make the CUSp happen either. I was ready to beat my head against the ice. Two weeks ago this element was not a problem. Now suddenly it's so unreliable that a good one is a surprise.

So at the end of the lesson my coach gave me a hug and told me to go home, get warm, have a good night's sleep, and come back for practice on Wednesday, and she was sure it'd be better. I hope she's right.

T-5 days to competition...
 
I haven't been able to sleep all night, but I will have to make myself skate tired, because I skipped practice yesterday. I could go later in the day, but then would have to skate with a bunch of kids in the way. I hate skating tired. I am trying to psych myself into feeling like I've had enough sleep, by telling myself I can take a nap in the car between the time I practice and the time I have to actually work at the rink tonight, rink guarding and skate sharpening.

I keep debating whether or not guarding counts as practice even though I can mostly only do stuff that won't distract me from my job of watching the skaters. I don't really count it when counting practice time. If it isn't crowded, I can do forward stuff like edges, cross rolls, practice bending my knees more. If there are only a few skaters, I do a few 3 turns at the end of the rink. We aren't supposed to skate backwards while guarding, so I don't often do it. I used to do a couple scratch spins in the last 10 minutes when only a couple skaters are left, but I haven't gotten them back well enough yet to do it.
 
I ended up going later. Too many kids. I managed to do some waltz -toe combos for the first time in ages. They were not very good, but it felt good to start jumping again.
 
Yay for @treesprite jumping again! :cheer:

Got to the rink today which is a rare event for me, but I wanted to get a runthrough. I did my spins and my jumps, and everything went well. I put my music in line (4th in line) at ten past six.

The zamboni was coming out onto the ice just as I finally got to load my CD. At six-forty-five. The coaches kept coming and bumping everyone and it was just so damn frustrating. Especially since we lost maybe ten minutes to one coach bumping everyone and then skating off without playing her skater's music to do other stuff with them. Not to mention, I'm pretty sure the Zamboni came out early. They do that to us a lot when hockey is on afterwards.

So I mean, the elements were okay but I'm really frustrated that I didn't get a runthrough. I'm contemplating doing my best to go tomorrow night, but it'll probably be even more of a madhouse and I might not get a run either. I don't know.

T-3 days to competition...
 
@treesprite great that you are jumping again!!

@misskarne I can't imagine how frustrating that practice session must have been. Hope you'll had better session after that and that you Cold is disapearing. Finger crossed for the competition!!!!! (all exclamation marks ever!)


I was skating Saturday, last day of spring-ice, we did the usual stuff, but also started preparing for the flip. I'm now working on the entrance and doing a half rotation, landing forward. We also did waltz jumps in combo with 1 toes. Of course everything is going slooooow, as it's safe, but I will try to make my mind more fearless and gain more speed and hight. I look like a cow on the toe loop, but at least the waltz jump feels comfy.

This Saturday and Sunday I'm going to adult camp here, I can't wait!!! It's our coaches who organizes it, so it will be fun and pleasent and hard work and lots of ice and Viktoria Helgesson is coming to have an ice session with us. After that I fear I won't get any ice until late june, so I will try to make the most of it.
 
I'm looking forward to skating this evening and having my lesson.

Yesterday I noticed a strange sensation in my right Achilles tendon. It's towards the inside and feels like a burning sensation when anything touches it - clothing, bedsheets, my fingers. It isn't really noticeable when I walk or do anything active with it - only when something touches it.

The last couple of weeks when I've been spinning, I notice at the end of the session, that the right lower calf - near the area that hurts now but higher up was getting really sore on the RBI and push into forward spins.

Wondering if they're related, I've strapped it with K-tape as a precaution, but i'll keep an eye on it this evening.
 
So practice was....interesting. I had my skates sharpened at last and the difference is like night and day. Apparently I no longer had a rocker or edges because last night was like learning how to skate again. The edges were so grippy that it felt like I couldn't get up to any sort of speed. After some very careful stroking, cross overs and turns, it felt nice to not be falling and skidding out of edges like I had been. Spins felt much quicker (and uncentred) and then eventually I braved some jumps which were all much bigger.

It was basically an adjustment session but a good one. I don't skate enough to really warrant a new sharpen more than every six months and yesterday I realised that I actually hadn't had a sharpen in something like 20 months :shuffle:

I'm never leaving it that long again because last night was hard!
 
It's been 9 months since my last sharpening. :shuffle: Last time they were sharpened, they felt "off" somehow and it took me a couple weeks to really feel comfortable again. Of course, I was also breaking in new boots at the time, which could've affected things. Anyhow I've been procrastinating on it.

I've been going through an unmotivated period generally. Have only been to the rink once in the past 2 weeks, for my lesson. I keep thinking that if I don't go skating, I'll be able to get caught up with other stuff. But then I don't get much else done, either. :slinkaway
 
@clairecloutier i'd advise that you take your skates to me sharpened now! Having blunt skates has gotten me into some really bad habits and it really threw me off last night having the clear feeling of being on the heel of the blade for forwards movements and the front of the blade for backwards movements.

It took me the whole session to feel out my jumps again because my body position was nowhere near where it needed to be on the cleaner unforgiving turns I was doing entering the jumps. All of my timings had to be quicker - knee bend, pick in (where relevant) straighten for the jump. I've obviously gotten used to laxer timing and taking my time at the point of take off. The bonus is that when I got them back the jumps were much better (up to salchow! I fluked one loop after about 20 attempts, and got some nice two footed flips but non clean).
 
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