Practice Thread

[Willin]

I've only been skating like 10 times since starting my degree, but I'll be done in May so I started going again today. I'm so out of shape. I swear I can't do anything I used to be able to. I guess that's a reason to go in more (and get my skates sharpened)? At least I'm part time this semester...

 

[misskarne]

I think they're exploring a variety of options for next year, but stay tuned to the website for details.

I don't suppose you heard anything about what those might be looking at...? I'm hoping to do the camp next year but am on limited date range.

Can I ask where you stayed? And did you hire a car while there? What were the roads like?

 

[Theoreticalgirl]

I don't suppose you heard anything about what those might be looking at...? I'm hoping to do the camp next year but am on limited date range.

Not sure. They announced this year's camp in late August; registration went live in September. If it's on the same schedule as this year, that will probably be the same. Like I said, they might be exploring different times of the year for the next version, but the only place to find out is via the 7K website.

Can I ask where you stayed? And did you hire a car while there? What were the roads like?

There are a slew of chain hotels (Hampton Inn, Drury, etc) within 10-20 minutes of the rink. Some skaters that came with groups of people opted to do the AirBnB route. Hotel prices are around $100-$150, which is reasonable if you find someone to split the cost (there's a FB group for camp attendees where you can find a roommate/rideshare/etc).

Your options for flying in are Colo Spgs airport or Denver. I fly into Denver because it's cheaper for me, and then I rent a car (also inexpensive). It's an hour south, and all interstate, so the roads are totally fine. Unless you're driving up a 14er, the roads are fine. Colorado is on the upswing and there's new construction everywhere.

Re: Food - Camp caters lunch (e.g. Panera, Jimmy Johns), but you're on your own for breakfast and dinner. I stay at Hampton Inn because of the free breakfast buffet and then I stock up at King Sooper's/Whole Foods for anything else. CS has a ton of great dining options, if you can will yourself to a restaurant after a day on the ice.

 

[livetoskate]

Thank you for your detailed post about the skating camp! Regarding the high altitude-- did you feel the effects and feel really exhausted during the camp? I ask because when I went to Lake Arrowhead many years ago, my skating totally regressed because I wasn't used to the altitude. It took almost a week to feel normal. Glad you had a great time!

Whoops, the last month has gotten away from me with starting a new job and all, but wanted to follow up on everyone's Q's re: 7K Adult Getaway... (Warning, long-ass post)

This year the camp had about 60 skaters–an increase from last year's event–and they shifted the hours around so that we had spent more time at the rink (about 8AM to 8PM most days). Ice time felt less this year, though I'd have to check, but it didn't feel that different.

Last year, I put myself in the lower level group since I wasn't sure where I fit (and ultimately felt unchallenged), but this year I bumped myself up to the next group up, which they combined with the super-duper advanced group (which was fine). There was also an Ice Dance track, but I really did not cross paths much with them.

So if you're considering the camp, the groupings broke down accordingly: Group 1 I'd say was USFS Pre-Bronze to Silvers Who Don't Have An Axel, Group 2 was Silvers With An Axel to Int-Novice; Group 3 was a handful of skaters who could do 2As.

Group 2 worked a lot on the technical aspects of crossing the foot and jump theory. If you've ever watched the videos on icoachskating.com, a lot of the concepts discussed here are mentioned there. (If you don't use icoachskating.com, as as subscriber I can say it's definitely worth the price.) Our spin classes focused on difficult variations (i.e. Y/I/A spins, laybacks). For me, Y/I's weren't commonly taught when I was a competitor, so this was new territory and it was great to discover how easy it is to get into a Y spin. Does mine look great? No, but at least I know now that I cando it, and it's something to consider for next year's program.

My favorite part of the camp were all the ITNY-style edge classes, as well as the improv class we had in the dark (we wore glow sticks, it was totally wild and tons of fun). Technical stuff is super-important, but I think as adults we are not encouraged to have fun and play around on the ice, so I think this kind of creative outlet is equally necessary.

Also handy were the off-ice sessions, we had ballet, cardio, jumping/strength, stretching, theater, and team building exercises. Additionally there are sessions about how to incorporate periodization into your training, how to warm-up/recover like an elite athlete, as well as learning how to track your progress and consistency with elements and programs. (You get a bunch of worksheets for these, they are SUPER HANDY.)

You might think to yourself, "I don't need any of this because I'm just an adult skater," but I would challenge you to think otherwise. In fact, we might need more of this because our bodies are aging, and anything that can prevent injury, build strength, etc is good in my book. The recovery stuff was new to me this year, so I have been working on incorporating that into my overall routine (ice baths aren't fun, but they work). Plus, that high altitude training has really done wonders for my competition prep!

Overall, another good year in the books. I think they're exploring a variety of options for next year, but stay tuned to the website for details. I don't do a lot of competitions, but the camp is something I enjoy a lot. It's nice to be able to take a break, regroup and focus, on top of being able to connect with a bunch of great folks from across the country/world.

(P.S. Colorado Springs is gorgeous and the weather's been excellent each time the camp has happened [it was around 65F one day last year], though some folks who stuck around after the camp did get hit with a touch of snow.)

 

[treesprite]

I thought today would be my first official skating day since the combination of getting skates and getting over back injury. But when I was getting ready to go, I managed to pull the muscle by my shoulder blade. I figured, it isn't my legs or lower back, so I went to the rink anyway. Lasted 10 minutes. The pain was getting worse and worse and worse. By the time I got to urgent care, I hurt so bad that I could barely breathe and was light-headed. It felt like I had a sword stuck through me, nto my back and coming out of my chest. Pain worse than when I broke my wrist. They gave me an injection of pain medicine and it only took the edge off enough to breathe without pain. Went home and took muscle relaxants, and more pain meds. Now I feel like cutting off my hair, because brushing it is how I pulled the muscle. Stupidest thing ever.

 

[antmanb]

I didn't really have anything to post about my lesson last week - traffic worked out fine so I had loads of time at the rink, but I had a sore back instead so had to be very careful about what I did. Generally skating and raising my body temperature loosened my back up, but I couldn't jump or spin, and some turns were out of the question because of the torque on my lower back.

Finger's crossed that tomorrow I get good traffic and back remains injury free

 

[Theoreticalgirl]

Thank you for your detailed post about the skating camp! Regarding the high altitude-- did you feel the effects and feel really exhausted during the camp? I ask because when I went to Lake Arrowhead many years ago, my skating totally regressed because I wasn't used to the altitude. It took almost a week to feel normal. Glad you had a great time!

I flew in a day ahead to adjust to the altitude and took it very easy. I made sure to drink a lot of water, give myself breaks, and brought along my travel humidifier. The first hour on the ice was when I felt it the most, but I also chalk that up to not having been able to skate in the days leading up to CO. Running a program at that elevation is a huge challenge—even a step sequence is a lot—but if you get the opportunity, it’s waaaaaay worth it.

TBH, I was more tired from being stuck on Eastern Time and waking up at 4AM every day (6AM ET) than the altitude.

 

[GarrAargHrumph]

I have my Adult Bronze MITF test on Sunday. On STATEN ISLAND. I don't even know how to get to Staten Island. And it's going to snow. Please don't cancel the test - it's the only weekend test I could find that would be held when I'd be ready to take it!

 

[SmallFairy]

Good luck @GarrAarghHrumph Fingers crossed for the weather and everything!

 

[treesprite]

I have my Adult Bronze MITF test on Sunday. On STATEN ISLAND. I don't even know how to get to Staten Island. And it's going to snow. Please don't cancel the test - it's the only weekend test I could find that would be held when I'd be ready to take it!

Good luck and safe travels!

 

[antmanb]

I have my Adult Bronze MITF test on Sunday. On STATEN ISLAND. I don't even know how to get to Staten Island. And it's going to snow. Please don't cancel the test - it's the only weekend test I could find that would be held when I'd be ready to take it!

Best of luck - I hope the test goes ahead as planned and that you ace it.

 

[Clarice]

Hi, All! I am in the throes of preparing for this season's competitions - first one a week from Sunday. It's the debut of my silver solo free dance, but entered as a silver free skate because the competition doesn't offer solo dance. Placement is clearly not a priority for this competition, haha! I just want to get through it from beginning to end at this point!

 

[Theoreticalgirl]

I have my Adult Bronze MITF test on Sunday. On STATEN ISLAND. I don't even know how to get to Staten Island. And it's going to snow. Please don't cancel the test - it's the only weekend test I could find that would be held when I'd be ready to take it!

I didn't even know there was an ice rink on Staten Island, and I grew up 15 minutes from there! Fingers x'ed!

 

[Yazmeen]

Best of luck on that test!

 

[artika]

Hi, All! I am in the throes of preparing for this season's competitions - first one a week from Sunday. It's the debut of my silver solo free dance, but entered as a silver free skate because the competition doesn't offer solo dance. Placement is clearly not a priority for this competition, haha! I just want to get through it from beginning to end at this point!

What are the requirements for silver solo free dance, is it same level as silver pattern dances? And is it an adult category?

 

[Clarice]

Solo free dance is new at US Adult Nationals this year. It is not the same as pattern dances, but is more like a free skate. There are required elements for each level. Mine are two edge elements (things like spirals or spread eagles), a dance stop, a twizzle sequence, a dance spin, and a footwork sequence that must include certain things like mohawks, counters, and brackets. I took the silver free dance test with my coach last year, and when they added this event thought I would challenge myself with a solo free dance. When I get around to testing with this dance, it will be a Masters Novice test.

 

[Bunny Hop]

I have my Adult Bronze MITF test on Sunday. On STATEN ISLAND. I don't even know how to get to Staten Island. And it's going to snow. Please don't cancel the test - it's the only weekend test I could find that would be held when I'd be ready to take it!

Best of luck! Hope it all goes well.

 

[antmanb]

Practice and lesson was a mixed bag last night. Moves were awful I had a total mental block with back inside three turns - I kept psyching myself out about them - having totally destructive thoughts going into them like "haven't people you know broken limbs falling on these?" and totally negative thoughts that sabotaged every attempt.

After that I thought it probably wasn't worth trying jumps and spins but coach insisted so I ran up through waltz, salchow, and toe-loop without a problem - I got a few minor corrections that I did on the second attempts to do better jumps overall. Then did a couple of two footed loops, and eventually got a nice loop by itself We moved onto flips which were wild and all over the place but with corrections I managed to get a better pick placement, then got my upper body and arms under control and I did some nice big two footed ones but coach was happy to get it going.

My lesson finished and I had just enough time left on the session to do a few spins so I did upright a couple of times, then a camel that looped around all over the ice, and one fairly decent not quite sit spin.

So it finished on a positive note.

 

[vesperholly]

I have my Adult Bronze MITF test on Sunday. On STATEN ISLAND. I don't even know how to get to Staten Island. And it's going to snow. Please don't cancel the test - it's the only weekend test I could find that would be held when I'd be ready to take it!

Good luck!! You'll be great!

I've been struggling to break in my new boots because I both changed from Klingbeil to Jackson, plus I am not practicing consistently. I finally put new laces on them and what a difference! The laces that they came with were thin and slippery. My spins were so much better. Only bad thing is that the new laces are a bit yellow because the Jackson white is a little blue-toned.

This is an interesting invention!! https://figureskatingstore.com/edea-lace-strap-for-figure-skates/

 

[antmanb]

Good luck!! You'll be great!

I've been struggling to break in my new boots because I both changed from Klingbeil to Jackson, plus I am not practicing consistently. I finally put new laces on them and what a difference! The laces that they came with were thin and slippery. My spins were so much better. Only bad thing is that the new laces are a bit yellow because the Jackson white is a little blue-toned.

This is an interesting invention!! https://figureskatingstore.com/edea-lace-strap-for-figure-skates/

Definitely better than duct tape!

 

[Theoreticalgirl]

I've been struggling to break in my new boots because I both changed from Klingbeil to Jackson, plus I am not practicing consistently. I finally put new laces on them and what a difference! The laces that they came with were thin and slippery. My spins were so much better. Only bad thing is that the new laces are a bit yellow because the Jackson white is a little blue-toned.

The "slippery" laces are use only during the break-in phase–or at least that's how I learned it. Once you've moved past break-in, it's a good idea to swap to regular lace.

 

[treesprite]

I'm curious, what Jackson's come with slippery laces? Mine have always come with regular laces. Are you sure the shop didn't switch them?

 

[GarrAargHrumph]

I've never heard of slippery laces that need to be changed soon after purchase. My daughters Jacksons all come with normal laces.

 

[Theoreticalgirl]

I've never heard of slippery laces that need to be changed soon after purchase. My daughters Jacksons all come with normal laces.

I got them with all of my Klingbeil customs; Harlick does it as well. It was explained to me that these laces have some synthetic fibers, allowing them to give and provide support during the break-in process, but aren't meant to be used for long-term. I'm just as surprised as you are that boot from a Jackson would come with a pair–that certainly wasn't the case with mine.

 

[vesperholly]

Maybe they weren't "officially" slippery, but they were definitely thin and cut the hell out of my fingers trying to lace them. The new laces feel thicker and stronger.

I always had Klingbeils before the Jacksons, and I always changed out the laces. I just never liked the laces that came with the skates. My skate shop had poly, cotton-poly blend and all cotton laces. I honestly can't remember what I was switching to and from - I think I switched to cotton-poly. The laces I just put in my boots were ones I already had.

I've never heard or been told to use certain laces for breaking in and then change them, though. Interesting though that I had a pair of Harlicks before the Klingbeils, and this is my first pair of Jacksons.

 

[treesprite]

It sounds to me like perhaps the vendor switched the laces before selling the boots.

 

[GarrAargHrumph]

I passed my bronze MITF test today. I even found Staten Island! I only accidentally drove passed the rink once, so I didn't even get that lost.

 

[gkelly]

Congratulations!

 

[SmallFairy]

I passed my bronze MITF test today. I even found Staten Island! I only accidentally drove passed the rink once, so I didn't even get that lost.

Congrats, that's awsome!

 

[treesprite]

Congratulations!