After last week's 1/2 hour lesson on Wednesday, I practiced at a (very crowded!) public session on Sunday afternoon for an hour and a half.  It was a very productive practice, which led me to several questions to ask Coach Dee today.  Here's a summary of the questions and answers, plus a little extra on what we did today:

Waltz Jump:

Q:  Backward entry into waltz jump - Should I go to my back right outside edge when getting ready to turn forwards?  i.e., my right foot is not straight backwards?

A:  Yes.  The right foot will curve to a back right outside edge, which allows your left foot to then glide forward. 

NOTE:  When gliding backwards on right foot, left foot is turned out and placed just a bit behind the right foot, then brought just a little forward to be at an angle with the right heel.  Do not step out (don't step forward)!  Keep the left foot close in by the right foot.

Q:  I was practicing gliding forward, then a 2-foot turn to go backwards, a couple of back swizzles, and then entering the jump from a backwards glide.  Is this OK?

A:  Yes, definitely...and good work in adding on to this on your own!

Toe Loop:

Q:  During the step where I glide on my left foot and point my right foot out front, where should my arms be?  (Since I don't need to touch the wall during this portion.)

A:  Basic answer, left arm in front, right arm behind.

NOTE:  The L-R-L step sequence before the jump is detailed like this: Left foot straight line (arms out to your side). Right foot straight line (arms out to your side). Left foot goes at a slight inside curve (L arm in front, R arm back)...hold R foot pointed out.  Step on right foot, slight inside curve, do the inside 3-turn and jump. 

NOTE:  3-turn is done at the top of the curve.

Q:  After digging in my left toe pick, what does my right foot do?  Stay on the ice? Curve around?  When does it come up off the ice?

A:  Once the toe pick is on the ice, shift weight to toe pick.  Right foot will not curve around.  As you come around on the toe pick, the right foot will just sort of "scrape" the ice as you lift it up to do the turn. 

NOTE:  Make sure you bring the leg and knee UP, as in kicking it through.  Don't keep the free leg (right leg) tucked next to the left leg.  Don't keep the right leg straight out.  Don't swing the right leg out.  It will just be an upward motion away from the body, knee up.

Salchow:

Q:  How do I keep the momentum going after the 3-turn?

A:  Do the outside 3-turn at the apex of the curve.  This will keep you going on an outside curve, which gives you space and time to bring the right leg in close, bend the skating knee, and get up on the toe pick. 

NOTE:  Start facing with back towards low wall.  Left hand is placed outstretched on top of the wall.  Do an outside 3-turn on L foot.  Do the 3-turn at the apex of the curve.  You can let go of the wall with your left hand while doing the turn, and then use your outstreched right hand to place on the wall coming out of the turn.  Continue on the curve (left inside edge now), bringing right leg in close to body, bending skating knee.  When your body is again facing with back towards low wall, get up on toe pick, kick right leg through, and jump.

That's a lot of information, and a lot of new ideas.  On the topic of jumps, I will just say that we added a new element of entering the Salchow jump from a backwards glide (similar to entry to waltz jump).  Challening, to say the least, but OH SO MUCH FUN!!!  :)

At the very end of today's lesson, Coach Dee had me glide the long way down the length of the rink, doing as many "dips" as I could do in a row.  A dip is just a crouch down, like a teapot move.  I managed to do 5 dips (down and then up again is 1 dip) before I lost speed and came to a halt.  This is the beginning of learning a sit spin!

Still very much works in progress, but here's a video update, taken in April 2013:

Waltz Jump:  My first attempts at doing the waltz jump without touching the low wall.

Two-Foot Spin:  Here is a close-up of my feet, doing a two-foot spin, and trying to pick up one foot, making it a one-foot spin.  I know this doesn't look like much, but it's actually quite an improvement over what I've been doing.  My feet are much closer together, and I was able to briefly pick up one foot while spinning!

So much fun!

I had to come back and edit this blog because I just realized I've been with Coach Dee for just over a year now!!  Wow!  My first lesson with her was on April 18, 2012.  Today is May 1, 2013.  Amazing.

So far, I've been taking 15-minute lessons with Coach Dee.  When I first started with her last year (2012), I was having one 15-minute lesson every two weeks.  Starting in January this year (2013), I've been having one 15-minute lesson every week.  Since I missed last Wednesday's lesson, Coach Dee suggested having a half-hour lesson this week, which I agreed to.  I was a bit worried because I know we do a lot in just 15 minutes, and Coach Dee can push me sometimes...I wondered if I'd be able to survive a half-hour lesson with her!

Today was the half-hour lesson, and it was absolutely amazing!!  The time just flew by, we covered so much new material, and I had so much fun!!  Now I'm not sure I can ever go back to a short 15-minute lesson again!  I better get a part time job to fund my skating!  Oh, we're having another 1/2 hour lesson next Wednesday, too, but that's because Coach Dee will be out of town the following Wednesday, so I'll end up skipping a lesson that week.

I'll try to sum up what we worked on today:

1.  Waltz Jump:  We only did 1 or 2 along the wall to warm up (we did the ones where I stroke L-R-L, push R, kick R leg through, and jump).  Then Coach Dee got me away from the wall, where we tried several in the middle of the ice, with me touching her mitten (this is a very cool technique she uses).  After a while, though, she said I keep over-rotating the jump.  It seems very hard for me to downsize my jumps!  She said this is very unique in me, as most people are afraid lost contact with the ice, whereas I have a hard time doing just a tiny hop.  It's like I want to fly away! LOL  And my over-rotation, too, she said is unusual...but I don't mind being unusual, I like it that way!  So, we went back to the low wall and Coach Dee had me learn the entry to the jump from skating backwards instead of forwards.  Now THAT was cool to learn!!  For now, I just have to get some glide going backwards on 2 feet, then pick my left foot up, turn it out just a little, while turning my body counter-clockwise.  When my L foot touches down on the ice, rotate my body counter-clockwise, and go into the little arc which is the entry to the jump...then...JUMP!  This backwards entry to the waltz jump feels a lot more natural, and in the future this will be done from back crossovers, so we're getting there!

2.  Toe Loop:  This is the jump I think we worked on most today.  Coach Dee added on a whole new entry to this one!  I skate L-R-L, glide on the L foot, bring R foot forward with toe pointed out, then step onto R foot, do the inside 3-turn, dig in L toe pick behind, and... JUMP!  The whole beginning section, up to the 3-turn, was new to me, and I love it!!  It's so pretty, it makes a very elegant sequence, and feels like "real" skating!!  One of things Coach Dee changed on this jump today was the way I do the inside 3-turn.  Before, she had me keeping my L leg in tight next to my R leg when doing the 3-turn.  But now that I'm skating up to it, she has me stepping onto my R foot in a tiny arc, holding my L foot out a bit behind (not extended too far, though), and then keeping in that position while doing the 3-turn (in other words, not keeping it in tight next to my R leg).  That way, too, my L foot is more ready to dig in the L toe pick.  The rest of the jump is the same as Waltz jump, above.  Nothing about the actual jump in the air changes on any of the three jumps I know (so far!).  I can tell I'm going to enjoy practicing the toe loop a lot more, now that I have such a fun and pretty way to enter it!

3.  Salchow:  We didn't add anything new to this jump today, but Coach Dee tweaked the way I do some things.  We hadn't practiced this one together in quite a while, and I was doing some things in bad form.  That's the downside of not having a lesson...when you practice on your own, you tend to do what comes easily or what feels good to you...not necessarily the correct form.  First of all, I was rushing the 3-turn and the spin part of the jump.  Interestingly, I was just reading about the timing of this jump on the online skating forum I belong to.  You should say "I love seven up", and that's the way it is timed.  I was doing something like "Ilovesevenup".  LOL  Also, I was swinging my R leg out too far during the 3-turn.  It's a much more subtle move.  Coach Dee also reminded me to bend my skating knee a lot when doing the spin portion of this jump.  I'm going to have to find out the real name of that piece - is it a spin?  Is it a pivot?  Is it a turn?  Hmmmmmm.  Note to self to ask Coach Dee.  I was feeling so comfortable doing the Salchow my own way, that with these tweaks it became more difficult again today.  Definitely need to practice this one!

4.  One-Foot Spin:  At the very end of the lesson, we just did a couple of 1-foot spins by the low wall, keeping my R foot crossed over my left.  Make sure to keep the R foot tight against the L foot, and to make the R foot pigeon-toed inward.

I can't believe half an hour went by so fast.  I can't wait until next week!!  I'm going to try to skate tomorrow morning before work so I won't forget everything I did today.  I can probably go again Friday night to public skating, but then my husband will be in town Saturday and Sunday, and I'm not sure I can get to the rink.  I wish he would try skating some day, but that's for another blog!  :)

Wow, I can't believe it's been a month since my last blog entry!  April has been a busy month, on and off the ice.

The most exciting thing that happened in April, on the ice, is that I finally am doing a very teeny tiny waltz jump WITHOUT any help!  That's right folks, without the wall and without the coach!  Wheeee!  It's sooo much fun, and it's actually a lot easier than I thought it would be.  Of course my little tiny hop is not really a full-fledged jump yet.  But I take very slow baby steps.  It's just so exciting to feel confident and balanced enough to even attempt such a thing, and then to have it work out is just amazing to me. 

Coach Dee is the best.  She really knows how to start out slow and easy, drill each step, understand when you're ready for the next step, and then put it all together until voila!  You are doing a waltz "hop" on your own!

In other skating news, my spins are coming along nicely.  I can get a good start from a standstill now.  And we've been working on doing some swizzles into a spin, which are feeling more comfortable to me now.  I'm still not getting more than 2 or 3 revolutions, but I'm sure part of that is out of fear.  If I get a really good start, it surprises me, and I tend to slow myself down.  I really need to stop doing that!

I've been practicing one-foot spins by the low wall, and those are also coming along.  I can still only get 1/2 a revolution on one foot, but just the act of picking up one foot is far less scary than it used to be, and I don't feel so off balance when I pick that foot up.  I'm also keeping my feet much closer together than I ever have been, so that's a huge improvement, too.

So things are just moving along as they should, with marked improvements each week...even if that improvement is internal (such as feeling more confident, moving faster, feeling more at ease with certain moves, finding they take less effort, etc.).

I'd have to say, the first shock of the month was when I did the waltz "hop" all alone.  And then managed to do 7 of them during one practice session all on my own!  But my second shock came yesterday when I was at public skating.  It had been 10 days since I last skated, due to being super busy at work and then out of town for 4 days on vacation.  I didn't think I'd do well, after not skating for 10 days...but to my surprise, I did the best Salchow jump I've ever done!  Twice!  I'm still doing these by the low wall, of course...there's no way I'm even close to trying them without support.  BUT!  On my very first attempt, my leg swung out and around, and then came in close to my side, and I did the little turn portion of the move without even holding the wall!  It felt so natural and balanced and FAST!  After I did the jump portion of the move, I was just so surprised at how well that all flowed together, and I had my first inkling  of what the real jump must feel like out in the middle of the ice...and it felt GREAT!  I think that's going to be a really fun jump, now that I got a taste of doing the whole element in a nice flowing manner.  I did that one more time, right away, and it was just as good.  Unfortunately, they all went downhill from there!  I'm not sure why, maybe I was trying to hard to replicate it....all I know is I never did another really good one like that during the whole hour and a half I was on the ice!  Oh well, better to do 2 than none!!  :)

I had to skip last Wednesday's class, as I was just way too tired after coming back from the Oregon vacation.  To make up for it, though, Coach Dee is letting me have a half-hour lesson this week, instead of just 15 minutes!  She's very intense...I hope I survive!  Will report back with results after Wednesday this week!

In today's lesson, I asked Coach Dee to continue showing me the "half-swizzle into a 2-foot spin" element.  She had shown me this only once, about a month ago, and we never really practiced it.  So today was the day!

First she had me pick a "spot" on the ice, and then holding my left arm at 11:00 and my right arm at 3:00, she had me walk (step) in a circle, then bring my right arm around to spin.  It had zero energy and walking in a tight circle like that was not easy.

Then she had me do 3 half-swizzles in a small circle.  After the third one, I was to put my weight on my left foot and keep the circle spiraling inwards until I couldn't anymore, then come up in to a 2-foot spin.  After a few clumsy ones, she showed me the "trick" to it....ARM placement! 

When doing the half-swizzles, my arms should be hugging the circle (as when doing crossovers).  At the end of the inward spiral part, I'm to bring my left arm sharply back behind me, which snaps my body around to the left quickly.  Right arm comes around to increase momentum, while left arm comes in front again to meet the right arm. 

She also had me cut down the number of half-swizzles to just one.  One half-swizzle, directly into that spiraling motion, a quick snap of my left arm behind me, and BOOM, I'm spinning!  Once I practice this a lot more, I think I'll really enjoy it.  The spins already felt better than starting them from a standstill position.

For practice along the low wall, she had me face the wall, then slowly turn to the left (as in spinning), then when my back is to the wall, I hold the wall with both hands behind me.  At that point, I should KEEP HOLDING my left arm on the wall, and use that to pull my body around quickly to the left, completing the spin, only letting go of the wall when I'm 3/4 of the way around the spin.  Coach Dee said to do a few of these at the wall, then go out on the ice and do a few swizzle-entry ones.  The back to the wall, and repeat.

Coach Dee is so funny sometimes.  One of my spins was really weak (hey, I was tired!), and her comment was "Oh come on, that had about as much energy as a slow turtle!".  LOL  Also, she can be very animated.  At the low wall, I was letting go of the wall with my left arm too early..."NO! NO! NO!"  she cried!  ok ok ok......got it.  :)

Besides learning this wonderful new spin entry, today I learned that 10 full minutes of repeating half-swizzles into 2-foot spins makes your legs REALLY tired!!  :)

By the way, the first thing we did in the lesson was run through all 3 jumps I'm learning.  I did them without any coaching, by the low wall, with a bit more speed than I've been doing.  Coach Dee had no comments or corrections, which means she's impressed. Yay!!

When I started skating, I was wearing regular workout clothes, which was fine for a while.  But the more I got into skating, the more I realized "real" skating clothes work much better for practicing.  They are warm, durable, and stretchy.

In another blog, you saw I bought some "real" skating pants, Chloe Noel polar fleece pants.  I wear them at every practice and I adore them!

I already own a stretchy, warm pullover from US Figure Skating Store.  My sister bought it for me (what a great sister!) when we attended the 2011 Skate America competition in California.  I've worn that pullover to almost every practice, too, and I love it!  Here's the link to the pullover:  http://www.shopusfigureskating.com/LadiesHalfZipPullover.

But, now that the weather is getting warmer in Arizona, I'm realizing that pullover is wonderful inside the rink, but it's too warm to wear to and from the rink, in the car.  Since the pullover is very tight, it's hard to get it on and off over other clothes, and it's also uncomfortable (for me) to layer like that.  In the past, I've worn a regular Adidas jacket to the rink, but I now feel that jacket doesn't let me move as much.  It's not stretchy, it's not lined, it's not warm.  Sooooooooo, I went to the Figure Skating Store again and bought this jacket:  http://www.shopusfigureskating.com/LadiesSKAMJacket.

It's fleece-lined but lightweight, stretchy, and fits very much like the pullover, which is awesome.  The difference is that this one is a full zip-up-the-front jacket, which is easy to take on and off at the rink.

According to the website, this jacket is $90.  But somehow I got lucky and managed to place an order on the website just before they raised the prices a couple of weeks ago, so I got it for $80.  $80 is still a LOT to pay for a jacket, but considering how much use I get out of the pullover, I imagine I'll get just as much use (if not more) out of the jacket. 

Really looking forward to skating in it!!  Soon!!

p.s. - I had also ordered the Soft Shell Jacket from that website, not knowing which one would suit me better.  Right away I could tell the soft shell jacket was too heavy, not as stretchy, and not suited for what I wanted.  So I returned it, no problem.

So, I'm practicing 3 different jumps now, all at the low wall of course.  But coming along nicely.  Here are the videos.  First is the Waltz Jump (please ignore the first attempt where I run right into the wall, LOL).  Then the Toe Loop, then the Salchow.

Waltz Jump:

Toe Loop:

Salchow:

And then still practicing 2-foot spins...argh!  This is my most frustrating element at the moment because I can't seem to ever get any more than 3 revolutions, and I still haven't managed to learn a 1-foot spin yet.  Sigh.

2-Foot Spin from Standstill:

2-Foot Spin from Half Swizzle Entry (only had one lesson on this so far):

... And the practicing continues!!

Whoo Hoo!!!  Today I started learning back crossovers!  I've been skating 3 years and still haven't learned these yet.  We were just about at that point when I stopped taking group classes.  Tabitha and I got just about to that point when we had to stop our private lessons.  Coach Dee has been getting me doing jumps and spins until now.  But today was the day for Backwards Crossovers!  I'm VERY excited (in case you couldn't tell).  Backwards Crossovers just look so cool and professional, you look like a "real skater" when doing them.

In my previous two other (very short) attempts to learn back crossovers, we were trying to learn them on the hockey circle.  Very basically, let's say you're skating backwards in a clockwise circle.  You'll put your weight on your left (inside) leg, pick your right foot up, cross it over your left (skating) foot, put your right foot down (so your feet are crossed), transfer your weight to your right foot, pick your left foot up, and place it parallel to your right (skating) foot.  Then repeat. 

These were always hard for me because I couldn't yet do a backwards 1-foot glide, so had a very hard time shifting my weight back and forth while moving backwards.  Coach Dee has been working on backwards 1-foot glides for a long time now, and although I'm by no means very good at them, I am more used to shifting my weight back and forth now.

One thing I love about Coach Dee is that she doesn't announce what we'll be learning.  She just shows me what to do, and lets me come to my own conclusions.  I imagine her philosophy in doing this is not to scare me with a move I know the name of and know I can't do.  She knows I can't do back crossovers yet.  If she suddenly said "OK, today we're learning back crossovers", I might start to panic or get a mental block because I know I can't do them.  But her approach is just to start doing a few simple things which will lead up to doing a back crossover.  As I try the simple things, I see I can do them (maybe not easily, but achievable).  It breaks down any fear I might have had.  She's used this teaching approach on other moves and it works very well for me.

So today, to start with, we did forward crossovers, still working on not pushing after crossing my foot over, bending the knees more, and getting the right rhythm going.  Then she had me come to the wall and do crossovers in both directions while facing the wall and holding onto it.  Then she had me stand facing the wall, cross my right foot over my left, put my weight on my right foot, and then try to push away from the wall and glide backwards in that cross-footed stance.  THAT was scary!  She held my hands once I pushed off from the wall and I did a few of those.  Then she said "OK, now....after you push off and are gliding with crossed feet, I want you to make sure your weight is on your right foot, and then quickly pick up your left foot and put it parallel to your right, as you're gliding backwards".  I must have given her a funny look, because she asked me "Do you know where we're going with this?"  I calmly said "yes, backwards crossovers!"  She laughed and said "oh boy, you're good!  Do I have that written across my forehead or something?" LOL  I said I can read your mind!!  It was pretty cute.

So, back to skating...we did several of the "push off the wall" moves, having her hold my hands as I tried picking up one foot and moving it parallel (which was very difficult, by the way!!).  She said I can practice these on my own, but honestly I think I won't.  It's too easy to tip forward after pushing off the wall, and I could fall forwards on my own, without her there for stability.

After we did several of those, we went in to the middle of the rink, away from the wall.  That's another thing I like about Coach Dee.  She doesn't spend a lot of time at the wall if it's not necessary (we did, and still do, with the jumps, but those are more difficult).  She gets you right out in to the middle of the rink, so as not to get used to using the wall as a crutch.

So with Coach Dee holding both my hands, she had me do backwards swizzles on two feet, hold, then cross my right foot over my left, pick up my left foot, and place it parallel to my right.  This is the basic crossover.  We did these in a straight line, although they are usually done on a curve.  I managed to do a couple of pretty good ones.  My biggest problem (besides being scared to lift a foot!) is not picking up my left foot enough off the ice...instead, I kind of drag it back which makes a horrible scraping noise on the ice!  She said that's perfectly normal for a beginner to do, and I just need to focus on picking UP my foot, rather than letting it drag on the ice.  Shifting my weight all the way over to my right foot will help with that, too.

Learning backwards crossovers today was a total surprise for me, and I was sooooo excited and happy!!  It was funny, too, because although she had said last lesson that we'd be working on the waltz jump again today, I kind of arrived at the rink this morning wanting to do something new!  So that worked out great!

We did actually do a few waltz jumps, first at the wall to get warmed up, and then in the middle of the rink, with Coach Dee's help.  The first one wasn't so great, as I didn't shift my weight over to my landing leg enough.  Also, I rotated my hips too much.  But the last one I did felt really good...easy takeoff, easy turn in the air, easy landing, with weight directly over my landing leg, which did indeed feel MUCH better and more stable than my previous attempts.

So all in all, it was a superb skating day today!!!  I can't wait to practice everything more this weekend during public skating!  Heck, if I can manage, maybe I'll get up early and practice tomorrow, before I forget what I've just learned!  Bring on the backwards crossovers!!!

Wednesday’s skating lesson must have been intense, because I felt like I dreamt about skating ALL night last night!!  A little disjointed, but here goes:

I showed up at a huge rink.  There weren’t many people there; it must have been a freestyle session.  I noticed all the skaters were very elite level.  As I was standing on the side, wondering if I belong on that ice, a girl walked up behind me and I recognized her as being a famous elite skater (although in real life I have no idea who she is).  She was smiling and friendly, so I asked her if this was for elite skaters only.  She said oh no, you can certainly join us!  I said well, I don’t want to look foolish.  She smiled and said no, don’t worry about it…we were all once where you are right now (meaning the level).  So I put my skates on and headed on to the ice.  The one thing I remember was that there were no barrier walls at the place where you step on the ice…it was just a smooth transition going from floor to ice.  All you had to do was step right onto the ice and skate away.  I remember thinking this was GREAT!  No step up, no step down, nothing to step over.  And the ice was absoolutely fabulous…very smooth and clean.

I think I woke up from that dream, got a drink of water, went back to bed, and had the following segments of dreaming:

I was at a place which had 3 or 4 very small ice rinks.  It was one facility, but had a few very small separate rinks.  And I mean they were SMALL.  I was skating on one of them, but couldn’t do much because it really was way too small.  All you could do is go around in a small circle.  It was pretty crowded, too, although I saw one of the separate rinks was for children only, which I liked.  The one I was on was adult-only.

After going around a few times, I went to another area of the facility and saw 2 more small rinks like that….split level, with glass and stairs in between them.  Very interesting looking.  I went to the lower level one, and when I looked up, I saw my friend Becky sitting alongside the rink on the upper level.  I waved at her to come down and skate with me.  She stood up and started heading my way.  I never saw us skating together in the dream, though.

In the next scenario in this same dream, I was headed back to the first small rink I was on.  But when I got there, I saw it had turned into a big hot tub, and all the skaters were in it (fully dressed!).  I thought to myself wow, that’s soooo cool.  When they’re done with the ice, they simply melt it all down and turn up the heat, and it becomes a big hot tub!!!   What a great idea!

Now, at the end, I remember two things happening, but I can’t recall which order they were in.  In one scene, I was jumping fully clothed into that hot tub, skates and all.  In the other scene, I was hurrying back to the other small rink (where I had skated with Becky), hoping to skate again before they turned THAT rink into a hot tub.

Some of the meaning is obvious in these dreams...such as the smooth transition from floor to ice in the first dream; my subconsious is telling me it's an easy transition to skating.  The elite skater telling me I belong out there with them; my subconcious giving me encouragement and telling me not to feel behind or feel less capable.  The other dream(s), I guess just reminding me how much fun skating is (by including my friend Becky), and the fun of soaking in a hot tub after skating.  Not sure what's up with the very tiny rinks, though...and sectioning them off like that, and the interesting architecture.  Also, I noticed it was snowy outside the rink facility, so definitely was not in Arizona!

I tell ya, I have some vivid dreams.  But fun!!

Wednesday’s lesson was awesome!  I love Coach Dee.  She and I work really well together.  She’s got just the right combination of using praise, encouragement, and corrective action.  She pushes you to do just a bit more beyond your comfort level without making you feel like you can’t do it.  She ends each task on a good move so you have a positive thought of it.  She uses a variety of ways of explaining the move we’re practicing.  She breaks it down into achievable segments.

Anyway, Wednesday’s 15-minute lesson was all about prepping me to do a 1-foot spin.  Yes, we’re still working on this.  We’ll be working on this for a LONG time, I’m sure!  But slowly I feel I’m getting the hang of it, and to me it’s very important to feel confident that I can do it.  All this preliminary work is to build up not only my technical knowledge of the move, but to build up my own confidence. 

Here are the steps we went through, in order, during this 15-minute lesson:

• Skate forward into a 2-foot glide.  Lift the right leg so doing a 1-foot glide on my left foot.  Hold the glide, put my right foot down, pick it up again, glide.  This was to practice balancing on my left foot, and making sure my right knee is pulled in very far across my left knee, with my right foot held tight against my left ankle.  I can do this with no problem at all.
  
  
• Skate backwards into a 2-foot glide.  When it feels comfortable, let my body come around to do a small counter-clockwise circle.  This is to get the feeling of the “backspin”, and starting the spin from a backwards motion.  I could do this with no problem, either.
  
  
• Along the low wall, practice standing still, facing the low wall, in the 1-foot spin stance.  That would be all my weight on left leg, knee slightly bent, posture upright, head up, chin up.  No looking down!  Right knee is pulled far across left knee.  Right foot is placed tight against left ankle.  Core is held strong.  Hold that stance, relax, repeat.  No problem doing this.
  
  
• Holding on to the low wall, using my arms, push myself slowly around in a counter-clockwise rotation, holding the 1-foot spin stance.  Don’t let go of the wall; always keep one hand on the wall for support.  This was a little tricky because now there’s movement involved.  Although it’s not difficult, I know it’s because I’m using the wall for support.
  
  
• Last move of the day was to do the same as above, but this time as you come around so you’re back is to the wall, try to use the right hand to gently push off the wall, before you grab the wall with your left hand.  And, when you do grab the wall with your left hand, use that to pull yourself around a bit more, so you end up making about 1 and 1/4 rotation.  So you are letting go of the wall in two places – one after you push off with your right hand, and one after you pull with your left hand.  This was difficult!  Without using the wall for support, it was all up to me to stay upright and in correct posture.  I kept wanting to fall out of the stance after I pushed off with my right hand.  I need to push firmly but very gently, just enough to get some oomph to spin ¼ ways before touching the wall with my left hand.  This needs a lot more practice!

Important Notes: 

• When doing the last move above, do not spin more than 1 and ¼ rotations near the wall.  Not even if it feels comfortable and you know you can do it.  This is because you might be too near the wall, and your skate blade can catch on the wall, causing you to fall.
  
  
• The spin should be done using the left outside edge.  Coach Dee watched me and said thankfully my natural tendency is to use the correct edge…the back outside edge.  She showed me the difference…doing one spin on the inside edge and one on the outside edge.  Honestly, I can’t really tell the difference.  And I can’t tell that I’m doing it on an outside edge, myself, either.  This is annoying to me, but maybe one day I’ll understand the difference.  For now, I guess since I naturally do it the right way, I won’t worry about it.
  
  
• Coach Dee wants me to the lowest point on my toe pick when I spin.  This is contrary to everything I’ve heard/read/learned about spinning.  I don’t know if this is just to help with stability at the beginning, and later on we’ll stop using it, or if this is just her method.  But she’s mentioned it several times, and she showed me on the ice where she gets a double line after spinning (one line from the toe pick, one parallel line from the blade edge).

So, now I have more to practice in anticipation of doing a 1-foot spin away from the low wall….eventually!!!!

We've been working more on spins in my last few lessons.  First of all, this year I've decided to do weekly lessons, rather than every two weeks.  I tried having a lesson 3 weeks in a row, and saw such a noticable improvement, that I decided to spend the money and go for it.  This time of year, there's not as much public skating going on, so that makes it harder to practice on my own over the weekends.  I really miss working close enough to Chandler Polar rink where I used to go Fridays during lunch hour.  Our office moved, and now we aren't close enough to that rink anymore.  The rink I have my lesson at (Oceanside) is only 10 minutes from work, which is awesome, but unfortuantely they NEVER have daytime figure skating ice available.

So anyway...spinning!  We are still trying to get to a 1-foot spin.  I had a little bit of a breakthrough last Wednesday.  I was telling Coach Dee that I wish there was a way I could do a 1-foot spin just to see how it feels, because right now I don't know what to expect, I have no idea what it's *supposed* to feel like, so I don't know what I'm shooting for.  She said she could hold me while I spin, so I could try it with her help and feel it.  I said great!  Well, what that entails is her standing on the ice behind me (both of us wearing skates), her putting her arms around my waist, tight, and trying to get us both spinning at the same time, and then have me pick up my leg while she has her arms around me.  We tried a few times, but I felt really restricted and claustraphobic with her holding on to me like that.  I felt like I couldn't move at all, never mind trying to spin around!  I actually started feeling panicky, which isn't like me at all. 

So we went over to the low wall to find another way to practice.  This time, she had me stand facing the low wall, holding on to the wall for support.  Lift my right leg into the correct spinning position, and get a feeling for where the "sweet spot" is on my left skating blade.  Then turn myself slowly around, counter-clockwise, all the while holding on to the wall (which is difficult to do, because as you turn with your back facing the wall, you have to maneuver your hands and arms around accordingly...it's just awkward).  But, it does help get the feeling of being on one foot as you turn.  I know we've done this exercise before, but this time she encouraged me to sort of "push off" the wall and get up a little more speed.  After a few turns doing this, all of a sudden, as I came around almost facing the wall again, I happened to let go of the wall, and continued on around, about another 1/2 turn!!  On my own!  On one foot!  Without the wall!  It took both of us by surprise, and I think our expressions mirrored one another...I know Iooked surprised, and when I looked at Coach Dee, her eyebrows were up, and her mouth was open, too!  LOL 

I know it doesn't sound like much, but to me this was a HUGE step in the right direction.  It made me feel what it would be like to spin on one foot.  I was on the correct part of the blade and if I hadn't been so surprised, I might have been able to continue one full revolution!  I now have faith that one day I CAN do a 1-foot spin!  Coach Dee was so proud of me.  She said she thinks I'll actually be a very good spinner once I get this down.  My balance and form is always very good...it's just a matter of getting over the fear of picking a foot up.  So I will definitely keep practicing that at the low wall, and hopefully soon be doing at least one full revolution on one foot.

I was sooooooo happy to have had this little breakthrough, that right after I did the 1/2 revolution, I got tears in my eyes.  It reminded me of the first time I skated backwards on one foot last year with Tabitha coaching me.  The first time I was able to pick that foot up off the ice, I just started crying!  It just feels SO good to have these accomplishments, and knowing my hard work is paying off.  I might not progress as quickly as a younger, more agile skater, but I enjoy myself and my accomplishments just as much, if not more.  :)

Also in the spinning category, Coach Dee has started teaching me a new way to get into the spin, instead of from a standstill.  I am to do 2 half-pumps in a circle (I can skate around the circle, I don't have to be stationary).  On the 3rd half-pump, I am to hold that position (right leg out to the side, but on the ice) and curl the move inwards like a spiral.  At the very end, when I can't curl or be on a curve anymore, I am to bend my knees, bring my arms around, and turn it into a spin.  I tried this a half dozen times with Coach Dee helping me, and it seems do-able.  It is definitely something to practice a lot on my own.  Oh, and Coach Dee had me pick one foot briefly up off the ice at the very end, as my spin slowed down.  I was able to do it twice.  The first time my foot was turned out, so she correct it to be pigeon-toed inwards.  Then I chickened out on the next attempt, but on the last one I did it perfectly (or at least to her satisfaction, lol).  But she said not to practice picking the foot up at the end on my own...only with her there to help me.  Fine by me!!  I'm happy enough to just practice the inward spiral motion into a 2-foot spin.

I'm so enthralled with this new spin entry that I had a dream about it last night.  I was on the ice, during a lesson, with Coach Dee.  A few other people where on the ice also.  I was doing that move, with Coach Dee watching me, and I was doing really well.  I was going faster than in real life, and getting a much deeper knee bend than in real life.  After I did it a few times, I was asking Coach Dee what to do with my arms...what position should they be in, when should I bring them around, how to get the oomph I need to start spinning, when coming from this angle.  I woke up feeling really good about learning this new move!  Plus, now I know what to ask her at the next lesson!  Thank you subconcious!

In today's lesson we mostly practiced jumps, concentrating on getting the correct landing position.  The correct position LOOKS easy...and if you're doing it on solid ground for practice, it's not too bad, and even standing still on the ice, it's easy enough to quickly get into the correct position.  But landing that same position after a half or full rotation is HARD!  You naturally want to keep rotating, and your hips want to keep opening up, and your free leg wants to turn out, and you have to remember to counteract that movement by keeping your hips aligned forward, your upper body held tense and turned the opposite way, and your free foot turned in so it feels pigeon-toed.  Just so you know, these are not natural feelings!  It feels awkward and wrong, but that's what it takes to get a good landing position.  Practice, practice!

So today we ran through lots of waltz jumps and toe loop jumps.  We did a few 2-foot spins.  Then at the end of the lesson, Coach Dee taught me the basics of a Salchow jump (always capitalized because it's named after someone).  This one seems fun, but quite a challenge, much more of a challenge than the other two, because of the interesting entry into the jump.  Let me explain further.....

The basic jump is the Waltz Jump.  That's the basis for at least these 3 jumps that I'm learning.  The toe loop and Salchow use the basic waltz jump, but have different entry methods into the actual jump.  Here's a recap and breakdown explaination of the BASICS of all three jumps (all rotating counter-clockwise (CCW)):

Waltz Jump:
Start by doing a forward glide on the left foot.  As you bring your right foot up, come up on the left toe pick and push off.  In the air, do a 1/2 turn to the left (CCW), landing on the right toe pick and then gliding backwards on the right foot.

Toe Loop:
Start by doing a forward glide on the right foot.  Do an inside 3-turn on the right foot, which turns you backwards.  Dig your left toe pick into the ice just behind you, and rotate your body CCW, continuing as if doing a waltz jump.  It's just that instead of starting the jump facing forwards, you're starting facing backwards, so you have to get yourself one whole turn in the air, instead of just the 1/2 turn.  As before, land on the right toe pick and glide backwards on the right foot.

Salchow:
Start by doing a forward glide on the left foot.  Do an outside 3-turn on the left foot, which turns you backwards.  Continue the turn another 1/4, and then come up on the left toe pick and push off.  Continue as if doing a waltz jump.  As before, land on the right toe pick and glide backwards on the right foot.

My biggest problem (besides nailing the landing, which just takes more practice), is that in 3 years of skating, I never learned how to do 3-turns.  I was just about to that point when I quit taking group lessons, and I have never revisited them since.  So the entry to the toe loop and Salchow will take a LOT of effort and practice, because although I know how to do 3-turns on paper, I can't actually do them on the ice.  I have to say, though, I love Coach Dee's approach to this.  When I told her I can't do 3-turns, I've never learned them, she told me not to worry about that.  I thought that was strange at first, because I know 3-turns are an integral part of skating and are really important to do many other elements.  But now that she's incorporating the 3-turns as part of jumps, they aren't as scary, and they make sense to me.  I am sure I'll learn them much more quickly as being a component of a jump, rather than just learning them as a separate element. 

I'm very excited to learn all these new things!!!!

I've been taking a lesson every week this month, and I have to say it helps a lot.  Hopefully I can find a way to afford taking a lesson every week all year long.  I'm finding it makes a difference in my progress.

Will report back when I've made some more progress with all these jumps!

Ever since I fell down 3 times in a one month last summer, I've been having some upper leg pain and flexibility issues.  I finally had a routine doctor appointment a few weeks ago, and mentioned it to her.  She said it sounds like an IT band issue, and sent me to physical therapy (PT).

IT Band Wiki Entry:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iliotibial_band_syndrome

I've been to PT before, several years ago when I had a shoulder problem (rotator cuff), unrelated to skating...in fact, way before I even started skating.  What I remembered from PT was that they work the problem area with massage, heat, ice, and exercise.  It was nice.

This is a different place than I went before, and quite a bit more intenstive.  The place is called Rehab Arizona, and my PT (this time standing for physical therapist) is Chris.  I've been to a few sessions now, and it's tough!  First they do some electrical pulse stimulation on my leg to warm it up.  Then they do a deep-tissue massage to work out the kinks.  Then they have me do about 6 different leg and core exercises.  Finally they ice the problem area and rub some "icy hot" balm on it.  I'm there on site for a full 2 hours each time, at least.  So far it seems going Monday and Friday are working out for me, after work.  It makes for a very long day, though.

Now, how is the PT affecting my skating?  Ugh!  First of all, it's my own fault for not finding time to practice for 2 weeks.  I had a lesson on January 2, but then I didn't skate again until my next lesson on January 16!  That's waaay to long not to skate.  On top of that, I was sore from PT.  The massage at PT feels good, but it really works the muscle and all the exercises they have me do really works out my legs!  When I got on the ice to warm up, I almost felt like a beginner again, my goodness!!  But, I took it easy and didn't do anything like spinning or backwards skating, I was really wary of losing my balance.

I got Coach Dee caught up on what's going on with my leg and PT, and we had a lesson where we kind of went back to basics.  We did forward crossovers, which for a change were better going clockwise (because my sore leg is my left leg, which carries all the weight going counter-clockwise).  But it's good to practice clockwise anyway, maybe this is a blessing in disguise, forcing me to practice clockwise crossovers!

Then we did one-foot glides forwards.  Usually I can hold the glide a fairly long time, but this time my legs were weak and I couldn't hold it as long, but Dee was satisfied that they were still very balanced and done correctly.  We then worked on the jumps at the low wall, and again worked a lot on the correct landing posture.  To our surprise, I can land better doing the toe loop rather than the more simple waltz jump.  Maybe I just have more momentum doing the toe loop, but somehow it flows better than the waltz.

We did just a bit of backwards skating, right next to the low wall, having me try the 1-foot backwards glide.  Coach Dee didn't want me to get out of practice with those, and she's right.  I did OK with them, but my gosh were my legs sore!

Since I don't want to miss so much skating, I booked my next lesson for next Wednesday instead of 2 weeks.  Hopefully I can afford to have a lesson once a week for a while, maybe as long as I'm in PT.  I feel it's necessary.  Plus, I vowed to myself to get up EARLY tomorrow to skate before work, just to practice.  That will mean skating and PT in the same day, plus a full 9 hours of work in between....but I think I'll survive!

First of all, since I’ve been skating so much this past week (3 days in a row, then a day off, then 2 days in a row, today being my 3^rd day in a row again!), I felt a little sore.  I almost fell practicing a backwards 1-foot glide, but managed to catch myself before falling (this is something else I’ve improved on...I can usually catch myself now, rather than going SPLAT!). 

So when Coach Dee got there, I asked her to take it a bit easy on me, and not to do any backwards skating this time.  We did forward crossovers, she said they’ve improved, gave me some feedback, I tried again, and did even better!  Her feedback was to feel myself "pressing into the ice" with my skates, rather than just "gliding on top of the ice".  That way, instead of just a simple knee-bend, I actually get the full hip/knee/ankle bend going on.  She was right, getting that feeling of pressing into the ice DID make me feel more stable, and my posture felt better, too.

Then we did the waltz jump along the wall.  I showed her what I’ve been practicing, without her input at first, and she said it looked great, much smoother than the last time we did them together.  So we worked mostly on the waltz jump; she showed me how my body should be angled on the landing, how my skating knee should be bent, how my free leg should be angled, how my upper body should be rotated, how my arms should be placed when landing the jump.  We worked on this a lot, and I felt I took another big step forwards with this jump, and have a lot to practice again.  The landing position feels awkward because it’s new, so I have to practice to get it to feel natural.

For those wondering what this landing stance should be, here's a description:  Land on right toe pick, glide back on right outside edge. Feel that "pressing into the ice" feeling with the right foot on the ice.  Deep knee bend in the right leg.  Left leg does not swing out, but is placed at about a 7:00 or 8:00 position behind you.  Don't turn the foot out, concentrate on keeping the foot turned in towards your body (almost pigeon-toed).  It's OK to flex the foot so as not to accidently touch the toe pick to the ice.  Hips should be facing foward, no opening of the hips as you land and glide.  Upper body should be rotated to the right (still keeping hips facing forward).  Left arm is held in front, chest height, slightly bent, but held firm and strong.  Right arm extends behind you, straight out, raised above shoulder height (but don't raise the shoulders at all...shoulders down...no shrugging).  Now...try to incorporate all those positions at one time!!  It's not easy!!

Then we only had time to do a few practice toe loop jumps at the low wall.  I again showed her what I’ve been practicing, without her input, and she said it was perfect,  and just to incorporate the stuff we just learned about landing position, and do that with the toe loop as well.  I asked her one quick question about my arm placement when doing spins, and then our time was up.  (My question was whether my left arm should swing to the left as I start spinning...the tendancy is to do that, but I thought it might be wrong.  I was right, it's wrong.  The left arm should stay stable directly in front of me, and only the right arm swings around to meet the left arm in front.)

I was embarrassed, I forgot to bring money to pay her today!  She said it’s fine, I can pay next time.  As I was leaving the rink, I noticed there’s an ATM there, so I guess I could have gotten money out to pay her, but I needed to get to work by that time...so I’ll pay her in 2 weeks. 

So Coach Dee was happy that I’ve been practicing so much, and noticed the improvements.  Yay!  But I think in the future, I won’t skate the day before a lesson again.  I think I do better with a day of rest beforehand.

2013 is going to be a totally AWESOME year for skating!!!

Just skating around in a public session, practicing, wearing my new "real" skating pants.  I am sooooooooo loving this sport, even if all I do is glide around on the ice. 

Enjoy!

.... And here are my new "real" skating pants, on me!

And so begins my third year of skating!!  Hard to believe this much time has passed already.  I've come a long way since I started in 2010. 

So, this past year of 2012, what have I achieved in skating? 

• I hired a new private coach and have been taking private lessons regularly.
• I bought new intermediate level skates, and have broken them in and am very comfortable in them.
• I've picked up speed on forward stroking and glides.
• I've become even more comfortable on the ice.
• I've improved forward counter clockwise crossovers.
• I've improved my 2-foot spin and am working on a 1-foot spin.
• I started learning the waltz jump.
• I started learning the toe loop jump.
• I bought "real" skating pants!

Unfortunately, I still only managed to skate once a week overall, when averaged out all year.

My skating resolutions for 2013:

• Skate more than once a week.
• Achieve a 1-foot spin.
• Achieve a waltz jump without holding on to the wall or my coach.
• Improve the toe loop jump.
• Buy another pair of "real" skating pants, because I love them!
• Start learning 3-turns and backwards crossovers.
• Skate in the 2013 Christmas show at the rink.

Here's hoping 2013 turns out to be an AWESOME skate year!!

So Wednesday, December 19 was my birthday.  I'm not ashamed to admit I turned 53 years old.  I don't know how one is supposed to feel at age 53, but I certainly don't feel "old" in the least!

Wednesday is my regular skating lesson day with Coach Dee.  In honor of my birthday, I took the day off work and was able to do a later lesson time.  Instead of the usual 7:30 lesson time, we did 8:30, which helped a lot.  Amazing what 1 more hour of sleep will do for you!  I had a lot of energy for the lesson.

I got on the ice at 8:00 to practice for half an hour before my lesson.  Coach Dee was running a bit late, so we started our lesson at 8:35.  A typical lesson is only 15 minutes long, and Coach Dee is very strict about keeping to that.  But because we were the only ones on the ice, and they close the rink at 9:00, and maybe because it was also my birthday, we had our lesson from 8:35 to 9:00!  I got an extra 10 minutes in there, which was great!! 

It was one of my best lessons ever!  First of all, I was wearing my new fleece-lined REAL skating pants, and I have to tell you, they are superb!!  Kept my legs warm and toasty, which I think helped my skating.  I knew my legs got cold before, but I didn't realize how that probably affected my skating.  Coach Dee and another student there, Colleen, were impressed with the pants, too.

So, the first thing we worked on were 1-foot forward glides.  Coach Dee had me balance on my left leg and then pick up my right foot, put it down, pick it up, put it down, 3 or 4 times in a row, keeping my weight on the left leg.  I can do this easily and she was happy with it.  Then she asked me to stay on one foot as long as I can.  She actually asked me, "can you stay on one foot?"  I said, "oh yes!", and proceeded to do 1-foot forward glides on each foot, holding the balance on one foot for most of the long length of the rink.  Coach Dee was impressed and said she didn't know I could hold the glide that long.  hehehehe.

Then she had me do backwards 1-foot glides, which are still hard for me, but getting better.  Each time I do them, I gain a bit more confidence when I don't fall over.  I've actually never fallen doing any backwards moves at all, but the fear is still there.  But, I was able to do 3 backwards swizzles, pick  up one foot, do 2 more swizzles, pick up a foot, 3 times in a row.  I still can't hold the glide very long, BUT at least I feel I'm picking my foot up higher each time I try, and feeling more balanced throughout the exercise.  Coach Dee was satisfied with what I did, too.

By the way, Coach Dee had foot surgery recently so she's not on the ice with me at all while I'm doing these things.  That's a new experience for me, too, especially backwards where I'm used to her being nearby, or holding my hands lightly to help out.  Not this time!  I was on my own!

Then we practiced the waltz jump at the low wall.  I have a bad habit of swinging my left leg around when I land the jump.  DON'T DO THAT!!!  We spent quite a while practicing the landing, so that my leg doesn't swing out, my hips don't open up (they stay facing forward, no rotating), and my free leg should be extended out behind me, between the 7:00 to 8:00 position.  I was swinging my leg around and then bringing it too far back, like to a 6:00 position.  The good news is that I can actually land and glide backwards on my right foot only, without holding on to the low wall!!!  I can do that best when I don't really think about it, I just let it happen.  Yay!

Then...we did something NEW!  Coach Dee taught me the basic steps of a toe loop jump!  I am going to love this jump!  It somehow feels "right" to me.  The toe loop involves some of the movements of the walz jump....one can think of the toe loop as a waltz jump with some preliminary steps.  A waltz jump is basically simple....it's just gliding forward on the left foot, then bringing your right leg up in front, going up on the toe pick of the left foot, making a half-turn in the air, and landing on the right foot, left leg extended behind.

The toe loop goes like this:  glide forward on the right foot, do an inside 3-turn on the right foot (so now you're gliding backwards on the right foot, extend left foot behind and dig in the toe pick of the left foot, almost in line with the skating foot, do a half turn on the toe pick (so you're facing forwards again), and then lift the right leg as if you're going to do a waltz jump.  Do the half turn in the air and land on the right foot, left leg extended behind.  So basically a toe loop jump is a waltz jump, but with a 3-turn in front (well, that's actually TOO basic. LOL)

We practiced the toe loop jump VERY slowly along the low wall.  I held on to the wall a lot, of course, especially during the "dig in the toe pick" portion, because that's a totally new move for me.  The funny thing is, when Coach Dee was describing what to do, she was telling me to glide on my right foot, then do a counter clockwise turn so I'm heading backwards on that same foot.  I did this a few times, holding on to the wall, and then I looked at her and said wait...isn't this called an inside 3-turn?  She smiled and said YES!  Very Good!!  She said I didn't want to call it a 3-turn because I know you said you can't do those, and I didn't want you to get this automatic idea that you can't do it.  I shook my finger at her and grinned and said youuuu are sneaky!!!  Because, as it turns out, I can do it.  Of course I was holding on to the low wall, but it wasn't scary and I can see myself doing it without the wall very soon.

Finally, at the end of the lesson, we did spins.  I did a couple of 2-foot spins and Coach Dee was impressed and said these look the best I've ever done!  I admit the spins have become easier, more gentle, I can get the rotation going without that OOMPH of effort it used to take.  I can spin 3 or 4 revolutions and then do another push and spin another 1 or 2 revolutions.  So the 2-foot spins are coming along very nicely.  Then I came back to the low wall and Coach Dee instructed me to put all my weight on my left leg, and then bring my right leg in towards my left leg, pointing my knee waaaaay in, almost so it feels crossed over my left leg.  Not my foot, just my knee.  Then she had me bring that leg down again to touch the ice.  We did this several times...very similar to what I was doing before on the 1-foot forwards glides, but this time just standing in one spot.  Then she wanted me to go out and spin, and bring my right leg up exactly like that, just as I started to spin.  THAT is SO difficult!!  I could only do it once, and I'm sure it didnt' look good, but my foot did come up off the ice, which is all we are looking for at this point.

So all in all, it was really a fabulous lesson, we accomplished a lot, and I did very very well.  Coach Dee gave me a birthday blueberry muffin with a candle on top (very cute!).  I gave Coach Dee a very cute Christmas card with Snoopy skating on the front of it (when you open the card, Snoopy twirls around and it plays music), and a Starbucks gift card.  Coach Dee also gave me 3 Christmas presents, wrapped up, I don't know what they are yet...I'm saving them to unwrap on Christmas Day!

I am sooooooooo loving skating even more this year than in the past!  :)

Ever since I started skating, I've only worn two types of leggings at the rink.  Both are regular exercise gear.  One style is made of a thin stretchy material which is very soft and comfortable, and they are good because they are tight around my ankle.  The bad thing about them is that the material is a little too thin for the cold rink.  In the summer, it's not too bad.  But now that it's winter again, the rink is much colder, and I can't wear those.  I don't recall the brand name offhand.  I have this style in both black and dark grey.

The other style is made by Champion, and they are thicker material.  Still very soft and comfortable, and actually more comfortable than the thin ones.  I have three pairs of these, all black but with different color waistbands (the waistband can be folded over, but I never do, as it keeps my tummy warm!).  The bad thing about this style is that it has a flared leg, which Coach Dee is worried will get caught in my skates.  I have to agree with her...now that we're doing more things on one foot, the free foot has a chance to get caught. 

For a while now, I've been searching for real skating pants which are made specifically for skating.  I finally found some, but they are very expensive!!  Normal exercise stretch pants are around $15 up to $25, which I would pay for good ones.  These are $50+ each pair!  Yikes!

So I've been putting it off, kind of hoping for a sale or finding some other brand, but these seem to be the popular ones.  Naturally, our local skate shop doesn't  have any adult sizes for me to try on, so I have to order online and hope they fit.  It's been several months now, and I haven't seen any sales or found anything else that compares...so I bit the bullet and bought two pairs for myself yesterday!  I'm considering it an early birthday present to myself. :)  I got them on Amazon and they should be here by next Monday.  I sure hope they fit!!

Here are a couple of photos of the pants.  The first one looks more snazzy but I don't think it's fleece lined.  The second pair is all black, but they are fleece lined.  The brand name is Chloe Noel.  The main thing to look at is at the ankles.  You'll see that the back of the pant leg stretches over the back of the skating boot, and fits snug around the skate.  That will keep my free skate from snagging on any loose flopping material like I've got going on now. 

Can't wait to try these on, and hopefully skate in them next week!!

Nooooo, not like THAT! 

In last Wednesday's lesson, Coach Dee had me try the 1-foot spin again.

Last time we tried it, a few weeks ago, I was instructed to do a 2-foot spin, and then after 2 or 3 revolutions, to lift my right foot (leg) briefly off the ice and put it down again. 

Technically, in a 1-foot spin, my weight should be centered over my left leg.  It's very hard to do that, and also very scary to pick a foot up and be slowly spinning around on only one foot...somehow staying upright with only a small bit of contact where the "sweet spot" of the blade comes in contact with the ice.  All your weight is balanced on about 1.5 inches of blade length, said blade being only 1/8 inch wide.  Yikes!

So this past Wednesday, Coach had me skate forwards, do a 2-foot glide, then shift my balance to my left side, and then lift my right foot up and put it right back down.  Continue gliding, lift, drop.  Three times in a row during the same glide, without putting any weight (balance) on my right side.  I could do this forwards with absolutely no problem...yay!

Then she had me do the same thing backwards.  Backwards 1-foot glides are still my work-in-progress, so I was not as fluent with these.  But I managed to finally do 2 in a row backwards, just like I did forwards (but not as elegantly).  Coach Dee was satisfied with that, so we started spinning.

This time, she had me lift my right foot up just as I was coming into the spin, instead of waiting for a couple of revolutions to happen.  She had me start out with a half-swizzle, and right at the point where my right foot comes around and starts to look pigeon-toed, that's the point where I was to bring my foot up close to my left leg and then drop it down again.  Then immediately do another half-swizzle, lift leg, and drop.  And repeat. 

This was pretty difficult, as I'm not yet used to shifting ALL my balance over to the left side.  But I think I did OK for the first attempt.  Coach seemed pleased with the progress...and I'm just grateful I didn't fall or feel off-balance at all, or even dizzy.  Yay!  After that dreadful fall while trying a two foot spin WAAAAY before I was ready for it, 2 years ago, I've been nervous about learning the 1 foot spin again.  But I'm clearly ready for it now, and I no longer feel that panicky fear I felt before.  A little unsure, yes...it's a new move and a bit scary, but not the panic anymore.  I have a lot more confidence now that even if I feel off balance, I won't fall and crack my head open.  Horrible thought, I know...but I had that thought for the longest time, and now I don't. 

Skating is not all just about the physical aspect, it's also about the mental aspect.  Overcoming fears, feeling confident, feeling calm and happy....those are just as important as knowing correct arm and leg placement and balance.  Once when I was practicing the waltz jump, Coach Dee said I was doing everything correctly, but my problem was that I wasn't "attacking" the move.  I wasn't going into the jump full force, with confidence...I was holding back.  I realized she was right, and the next time I tried it I gave it much more "oomph" and it turned out much better!

I was so excited to have this new little triumph, of being able to lift my leg briefly at the beginning of a spin, that I hired Coach Dee for another lesson next Wednesday, before I forget what it feels like!  I normally do a lesson with her every 2 weeks because of the cost...but I really want to get a solid grasp of this element so I can practice on my own....with confidence!!