It's been quite some time since I posted an update on my skating!!  That's because I've hit a plateau and haven't been progressing much.  Over the recent past, I've taken 2 different group classes at Chandler Polar Ice, with 2 different coaches.  I got a little bit out of each one, but no huge strides.  I decided I really don't like the group classes anymore.  There are too many people on the ice, we only get one small corner to skate in, they never zamboni the ice before class, so it's always very rough and choppy...it's just not a pleasure to skate.  Plus, the class is only 1/2 hour, and you can't warm up or cool down on the ice before or after class.  I tried one class on a Wed night, right after work, but it was a madhouse trying to get there in time with rush hour traffic, so that was more stressful than fun.  Then I tried another Saturday class, but it ended up just being a long ways to drive on my day off, for only 1/2 hour on the ice.  So, I didn't really get too much out of those classes.

I tried to practice on my own, but I only skated sporadically because the ice time rarely matched my free time.  On the weekends I was free, they ended up not having any freestyle sessions.  I love the adult coffee club noontime skate, but I'm so busy at work now that I can't take 2 hours off to do that on Fridays anymore.  I tried a few session of public skating, but again, I don't get much out of it....waaaay too crowded, too many kids, too many hockey skaters, too many people not knowing what they're doing, and choppy ice.  Oceanside rink was still an option, but I admit I was too lazy to get out of bed at 5:00 when it's still dark outside and chilly.  Oh, and with the price of gas being so high, I've been trying not to drive if I don't really have to.  So, I actually (without realizing it) took 5 weeks off skating completely!!

Then I realized I really truly miss skating, and I really don't want to lose how far I've come.  Since it's been getting light out earlier now, I don't mind getting up at 5:00 (if I take my shower the night before, I can sleep till 5:30) and going to Oceanside before work.  This has worked out GREAT!!  Oceanside is actually on my way to work, so I'm not driving out of my way.  The rink is less than 10 minutes from my office, so it's no problem getting to work on time.  It's cheaper to skate at Oceanside than Chandler Polar.  The only down side is that Oceanside ONLY has freestyle time from 5:00 am to about 9:00 am, Mon through Fri.  So I can't skate there on the weekends.  But that's OK.

Starting on April 2, I skated Mon, Wed and Fri of that week, before work.  The following week, I skated Tue and Thurs before work.  This week, I skated Mon and Wed, and plan to go Fri as well.  I can already see an improvement in my skating, just from going so often and so regularly!  It's awesome!!  I still feel like I'm in this plateau stage, but I'm at least out there practicing now, and it feels wonderful.  I really missed the feeling of gliding across the smooth ice, effortless and (what I like to think of as) graceful.

Soooooooooo happy to be back into it!!!  :)))