After 2 years of being a Beginner, I have graduated to Intermediate level.  This means I needed new blades.  My old ones were beginner blades, and I needed a blade with sharper edges, more curve, and a bigger and sharper toe pick.  Unfortuantely, my beginner skates were the type where the blade cannot be removed from the boot, without damaging the boot.  So I had to get new boots AND blades.

I went to Dave Kimmel, who now works at Ice Den, to get new skates.  He had 3 styles that had the separated boot and blade, but he only had 1 style in my size.  I tried it on and it was very uncomfortable.  I know new boots will be stiff and uncomfortable at first, until they get broken in, but I mean this was really uncomfortable, right away.  So I had to order the other two styles in my size.  They came in a few days ago, and yesterday I got off work early to go up there and try them on.

I was wondering what would happen if neither of these boots fit me?  Where would I go for new boots??  Dave is the only supplier I know of in the whole Phoenix area.  So I went with fingers double crossed!  Thankfully, the first pair I tried on fit perfectly!!  Plenty of wiggle room in the toes, but snug in the arch and ankle.  They are Jackson brand (made in Canada), "Freestyle" style.  They are soooo well padded inside, it's like my feet are on pillows!!  Just to make sure, I tried on the other boot (Edea brand, made in Italy).  I had thought these were the ones that I'd like better, but actually the boot was not as comfortable on my foot.  It was a lot lighter weight, but I'm already used to the regular weight of the boot on my foot, so I didn't mind keeping the heavier Jackson boot.  The padding inside Jackson Freestyle boot als conforms to your foot as it warms up, so that's another reason they fit so well.

The blade is called "Mirage".  I don't know that much about blades, but I know this is an intermediate one.  I'm sure it will last me a good long while.  Oh, another interesting thing is that my old blade was 10", but this one is 9.5". 

The cost of the boot and blade together came to $260 plus tax.  Not as bad as I thought it would be.  I was expecting to pay between $300 - $400!

I was sooooooooooo excited to have my new skates!!!!!

So today I tried them out for the first time.  I had my morning lesson with Dee.  To my surprise, these new blades feel quite different from the old ones...not just because the toe pick is bigger (and easier to trip over!), but just the balance and everything will take some time to adapt again and feel confident.  One thing I noticed was that it was MUCH easier to go backwards, which had been my main problem in my old blades.  So I know this will cure that problem!!  Also because of the placement of the toe pick, it was a lot easier to come to a stop going backwards, and also easier to do my "toe pick" exercises by the low wall (in preparation for a waltz jump!).  I am 100% sure that once I get these boots broken in more, and get used to the new feel and balance of them, I will be able to progress pretty quickly from now on!!  That 1/2 inch shorter blade in the back makes a huge difference on the ice!

I'm soooooooooo happy and excited to continue on with this lovely sport!!

Here's a photo of my new boot toe pick vs. the old boot toe pick:

And here's a photo of the whole new boot and blade:

Yes, I still do dream about skating. :)  Recently I had a dream that I was out there, skating somewhere, and suddenly I was doing backwards crossovers like I'd done them all my life.  Effortless and flowing.  In my dream, I was thinking to myself Oh!  This isn't as hard as I thought it would be!  (But of course, in real life, it IS as hard as I think it is. LOL)

I"m always happy when I wake up from a skating dream.  My subconscious is trying to urge me to keep practicing, making it seem easy so I'll feel inspired to continue. :)

So ever since Tabitha couldn't coach me anymore, I haven't found anyone I like.  The two coaches I had at the group lessons at Chandler Polar didn't enthrall me and make me want to hire them.  So I"ve just been practicing on my own (and developing some bad habits, no doubt).

But when I started up at Oceanside again, going before work, earlier this month, I ran into Tabitha's coach there.  Tabitha still takes lessons from her, too.  I'm not in touch with Tabitha, she's so busy, but I see her name on the roster.  Anyway, the coach's name is Dee.  She's very nice, I had met her several times when I was skating with Tabitha.  So Dee knew who I was.  When I saw Dee that morning, April 4, I asked her if she was available for coaching.  Her answer had lots of integrity...she said she wanted to check with Tabitha first, to make sure she wasn't "stealing" one of her students.  Awwww. :)  That impressed me.  Since Tabitha and I haven't skated for a very long time now, it's safe to say our time was done, so Dee said it was OK. 

I had my first lesson with Dee this morning, and wow!  It was GREAT!  She really had some unique ideas, a unique way of going about teaching, and we got a lot done in just 15 minutes.  Oh, right....she coaches in 15 minute increments!  And, it's very expensive!  $22 per 15 minutes.  But I decided to try one lesson, just to see what I might get out of it.  And I ended up getting a LOT.  Besides pointing out some things I was doing wrong (in crossovers and 1-foot forward glides), she really had me work on using my toe picks.  She held my hands as I skated backwards, and she helped me figure out where my balance needs to be (I was too far back on the back of my blades...she had me work on keeping my weight on the ball of my foot instead).  She had me stand at the low wall, facing the wall, knees deeply bent, back straight, and had me practice raising up onto my toe picks and then back down again.  I tell ya, what a calf workout THAT is!!  Then, when I'm on the toe picks, she had me do a little hop and land back on the toe picks, then drop back to the whole blade.  Then, the next step was, when I'm up on the toe picks, lift one foot, and hop onto the other toe pick on the other foot, then come down to the full blade again.  This exercise is to prepare me for doing a waltz jump!  My goodness, it was NOT easy!!

Speaking of blades, Dee says that's why I've hit a plateau.  My skates (and blades) are for beginners.  The toe pick is very small, very short, and set way in the front of the blade.  That's so beginners won't trip over the bigger toe pick that more experienced skaters use.  I told Dee, well, I AM a beginner.  She looked surprised and said no, you are not!  She said I"m more than ready for the more advanced blade, with the bigger toe pick, and sharper edges, so I can start doing the things I'm struggling with.  I was so proud of myself, to hear a professional coach tell me I'm not a beginner anymore!  Even after 2 years, I was still feeling like one...but maybe now, I'll set my sights higher and think of myself as Intermediate.  Soooo cool...

Since Dee's rate is so expensive, I think I can only afford her every 2 weeks, which is better than nothing, I guess.  Maybe once I get new skates, I can save up to get her once a week, to learn how to use the new blades.  I'm sure it will be like learning all over again!  But how exciting!!!  :))

Time to move up in the skating world!!

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!!!  :)))

Since Tabitha can't coach right now due to her school schedule, I figured I better find another class.  Just my luck, Chandler Polar Ice was just about to begin the Fall Session, so I signed up.  My class is Adult level 3/4, Wednesday night from 6:15 to 6:45.  I know half an hour doesn't sound like much, but believe me, you can pack a lot of skating into 1/2 hour, and if you're constantly moving around, you get pretty tired!

My first lesson was this past Wednesday.  As it turned out, I was the only student!  There is another woman signed up for the class, but she didn't come to the first class (last week...I couldn't go because I'd been sick with the flu), and she didn't come to this lesson, either.  So essentially it was like a private lesson for me.  Unfortunately, I wasn't too impressed with the instructor....at least not yet.  Maybe it was due to being "new"; maybe we will warm up to each other over some time. 

It could have also been due to her not knowing what level I'm really at, and me not knowing as well.  The thing with taking private lessons somewhere else is that you learn at your own pace, you focus on things you want, and you don't follow this pre-set list of moves that an "Adult Level 3/4" should know.  There are some things in Level 4 I can do well, such as spirals.  There are some things in Level 3 that I can't even do, like backwards crossovers.  So I'm kind of a mongrel skater right now.

So, I guess the next 11 weeks will be spent getting me up to speed on what Polar Ice considers to be a Level 3 skater.  Which is fine, actually.  I need the practice, and I certainly do need to practice more backwards.  And if I'm the only student, it will be like a private lesson, which is nice.  I'm just hoping the instructor finds more enthusiasm...she wasn't very energetic...but maybe that's because it was a Wednesday evening.

Since I missed the very first class, I can make it up any other time they have an Adult skate class.  There's one on Saturdays at 11:55 am, so tomorrow I plan to go to that class and see how it goes.  It's the same instructor, but maybe the energy will be different on a Saturday.

Oh!  And on the Wed night class, they didn't zamboni the ice before we had our class!!  It was the worst ice I've ever been on...very choppy, very rough, and very white.  Ugh!  (that's my excuse for not skating well, and I'm stickin' to it!!!)   :)

This skate class runs from October 5 to December 21.  It was $169 for the class fee, plus $15 to register in USFS, bringing the total to $184.  That comes to $16.72 per lesson, which is pretty expensive.  Besides the Wed night lesson, I also have some time left at Oceanside, so I could go before work in the morning sometimes.  I also still plan on going to the noontime coffee club skate during lunch hour on Fridays.

Happy skating....

It's been a while since I blogged.  Skating had been going really well up until August  this year.  I took the month of August off for personal reasons.  Then our office moved and I was caught up with that process and working lots of overtime, so I didn't have time to skate, so another couple of weeks went by.  Then my coach just let me know a few days ago that her school schedule doesn't work out right now for coaching (there's very limited time to coach at Oceanside rink, only very early mornings Monday through Friday.  So I haven't really skated much in 2 months...only a few times during the past few weeks.  I have a plan for getting back into it, though, I really miss skating!

Anyway, this blog is about a dream I had this afternoon about skating.  I dreamt I was in a small show, in a very small rink somewhere.  I was part of a class, I guess, but I was the only adult skater.  I was practicing spinning off ice, before the show, and I was spinning on one foot (which I can't do in real life).  I was trying to figure out the best positions for my arms during the spin.  I finally decided to first hold them right up over my head (ballerina style - again which I've never done in real life), then switch to left arm in a half-circle with right arm outstretched, then both arms in the circle (which Tabitha refers to as holding a beach ball).

At some point before the show, I was on the ice, practicing, and I gathered up some speed and then picked a foot up and went along on the inside right edge (which I can do in real life), but this time I kept up my speed and did a very wide turn on that foot at the end of the rink.  I can probably do this in real life although I've never tried it, and in my dream I had really good speed, I've never gone that fast in real life.  It was exhilerating!

So, the show starts and it's got 3 main skaters and then the others (including me) do a short thing on the ice as our little part.  We had to sit on the floor next to the rink, which was very small and kind of like a half-racetrack shape, with the audience sitting all around the track.  So, two skaters went before me and then it was my turn.  The director of the show was telling me "OK Rene..hurry!  hurry!  It's your turn!!"  I had a hard time getting up off the floor, so was kind of late onto the ice, so I felt in a hurry to do my part and get off again.  I took a few strokes to get to the center, then I couldn't remember the spin sequence I had practiced off ice, so I just did whatever came into my head, and of course I had to do 2-foot spins because I can't really do a 1-foot one yet.  I didn't do as well on the ice as I did practicing off ice, but I did OK, I didn't fall, and skated gracefully off.

When the show ended, each person who performed got up and stood in a line as their name was called out, so the audience could clap.  The 3 main performers got up first, one at a time, and then the few people before me got up, and everyone clapped each time.   Then the director says, "Our next performer is not part of our regular team, and she's an adult skater."   I got up and stood in the lineup and did a little curtsey, but no one clapped for me.  I was disappointed, but I figured by that time, they had clapped a lot and maybe were getting bored just hearing about everyone at the end.

Then I woke up!  I don't remember what I was wearing in the show, but I know it wasn't a costume...it was probably my regular skating workout clothes.  I love to dream about skating because I think it shows some of my insecurities, and also builds my confidence that I can do certain moves that I might be nervous about trying in real life.  Like the 1-foot spin. :)

OK, so another new thing I'm working on is called a pivot.  If any of you out there watched the sitcom "Friends", you'll remember the episode where Ross, Rachel and Chandler are trying to get Ross' couch up a narrow stairway.  Ross keeps yelling out PIVOT!  PIVOT!  PIVOT!!  It's hilarious!  And when I heard this move is called a pivot, I decided the only correct way to say it is PIVOT!!!  So I always write PIVOT in caps.

So a PIVOT is when you plant your toe pick into the ice firmly, and then "pivot" your free leg around it in a full circle.  When Tabitha does this, it looks pretty and graceful.  When I do it, I look like a Heffalump.  It's a very interesting move, though, and I want to master it, because it's a great way to start a routine.  Now that I know this move, I've seen professional skaters begin their program with it.  I'm sure it will be a fun move once I can actually complete a full rotation! 

When I plant my left toe pick into the ice, and move clockwise around it, I can't get further than halfway around.  That's it.  I run out of steam.  I don't know why I can't get momentum in that direction!  I'm sure part of the reason is that I'm not putting full weight on my toe pick leg.  I think I'm distributing my weight too evenly on both legs.  My weight should be mostly on my toe pick leg, and the other leg just skims the ice around it.

When I plant my right toe pick into the ice, and move counter clockwise around it, however, I can get around much more easily, and can make it about 3/4 of the way around.  I am sure I'll be making a full rotation in this direction first, with more practice.  It's so weird how one foot can do things better than the other foot.  Or one direction can be so much easier than the opposite direction.

So PIVOTS are another new move I'm working on.  Just today I took my first video of me doing PIVOTS.  I'll do another video in a month or two, to see if I"ve progressed.  Here's today's video of me doing PIVOTS:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uf1jRn_20Ao

Happy skating!

Skating backwards.  Others make it look sooo easy.  It's NOT.  It takes a lot of leg strength and balance.  I admit I'm improving, I can now skate backwards with more confidence than before, I feel more balanced, and can go a tad faster than I used to.  I remember not too long ago it was a huge effort just to get around the practice circle even once...it was exhausting.  Now I can go around 2 or 3 times before my legs start cramping up.  So, improvements are slow but sure.

Tabitha is trying to get me started on doing backwards crossovers.  While going around the practice circle backwards, you move your inside leg a little behind the outside leg, and bring the outside leg in towards the circle.  Eventually, the outside leg should cross over the inside leg, and the weight transfers to that outside leg, freeing up the inside leg to start over again.

Believe me, watching someone else do them, it seems pretty easy.  Once you know what your feet should be doing, you think to yourself Oh!  I can do that!  Then you try to put it into practice and it's like Oh!  I can't do THAT!  Here is a link to a video on YouTube, showing how it's supposed to look:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ietq5bz9Lbo

Right now, I can do the backwards swizzles in a circle, both clockwise and counter clockwise.  That part is becoming a lot easier for me.  I'm working on getting my outside leg to go in front of my inside leg.  THAT is the hard part.  I can get it almost there, I think.  But it's hard to maintain going in a circle that way.  As soon as I move my inside leg back a little, and bring the outside leg inwards, I end up wanting to move backwards in a straight line instead of a circle.  I think I need to be more on the inside edge of my skate.  I don't really practice this TOO much on my own, because it's hard to stay balanced and I don't want to fall.  I prefer practicing this with Tabitha, so she can hold my hands to stabilize me.  I know, I'm a wimp.  :)

So that's mostly what I'm working on right now.  Backwards crossovers.  Sometimes you have to go in reverse before you can move forward.  ;)

I'm still skating, just not blogging as often.  But still enjoying skating more than ever!  I'm still going once a week in the early morning before work, with my private coach Tabitha.  Also going once or sometimes twice a week on my own to practice. 

Interestingly, I still dream about skating now and then.  Just this past week I dreamt that I was doing counter-clockwise forward crossovers, which I can do in real life too, but in my dream I was doing them very fast and building up a lot of speed.  I did 4 or 5 in quick succession, leaning further into the circle than I do in real life, and using more force to push off the edge than I do in real life.  In my dream, I was practicing this on my own and building up so much speed I felt like I was flying.  It was awesome!

So then a few nights later, I dreamt that I was telling Tabitha about my dream, and showing her what I had done in my dream, but since in this dream I was doing the move in "real life", I didn't do it as well as I did in my first dream.  Talk about a dream inside of a dream. LOL  It was very cool. 

So today, in real life, I went to practice, and tried to do what I had done in my dream.  I did indeed build up more speed that way, but I know I still wasn't doing it as gracefully as I was in that first dream.  But hey, it's encouraging!  :)

Wow, it's been a YEAR since I started skating!  My very first lesson was April 2010.  I can't believe this much time has gone by.  I haven't gotten bored with skating at all, in fact my interest is even higher, now that I can do more moves.  I still have certain moves that I have a mental block against....such as clockwise crossovers and 1-foot spins.  Physically I know I'm ready to do these, but mentally I just can't....yet.  But that's OK.  I am just excited to have found a sport I can enjoy so so so  much!!

The good news is that I'm improving on the moves I could already do, plus I'm learning to do a spiral, which is new for me.  The best news of all, is that my favorite skating coach, Tabitha, was able to get permission to coach at Oceanside rink!  So I have been taking private lessons with her once a week for the past couple of months!  We've had 7 lessons, but had to take a few weeks break due to my busy schedule and her illness.  But we are back on track now, and these private lessons are a HUGE help.  I absolutely love Tabitha, she's such a wonderful, patient coach, and becoming a good friend as well.  Somehow we "get" each other, I think.  We aren't really working on any new moves for me (other than the spiral), but rather fine-tuning the moves I already know, so they look more polished, professional, and artistic.  Also we are learning to transition from one move to the next, and a couple of weeks ago was the first time I really felt like I was "Skating", not just doing independent moves.  It was SO awesome!!!  I would much rather do a few things really well, than do many things but sloppy.  I do NOT want to be a sloppy skater!!

I've picked out some music to start skating to, maybe it will become a short performance by the end of the year.  That's my goal, anyway, so now I have something more to work towards. 

So in addition to my early Monday morning (6:45 am!) lesson with Tabitha, I also try to go once a week to the Coffee Club skate during my lunch hour, at Polar Ice Chandler.  I went today, as a matter of fact!  I've also recently discovered Polar Chandler's freestyle sessions on weekend mornings!  I've been to one, and I will try to go at least one weekend morning from now on.  I was really happy to find a quiet time to skate over the weekend.  That means I try to skate 3 times a week!  Yay!

Here are some recent videos of my progress, taken during my private lesson with Tabitha, working on the transitions I mentioned above.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNsorplk-zs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSbEVUh15Rk

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DT1ldTin0PY

Happy Skating, and Happy Anniversary to me! :)

So this past Wednesday I started my private lessons with Tabitha.  Sooooooooo much FUN!!!  I knew it would be!  It's back at Oceanside skating rink, where I started almost a year ago, with Tabitha being the adult group class coach.  Interesting how it's working out, with her being available for private lessons at Oceanside now (for which I'm extremely grateful!).

We met at 6:45 a.m. (gasp!!), and skated until 7:30 a.m.  We have to meet that early because Oceanside only offers figure skating freestyle time from 5:00 am to 10:00 am, Monday through Friday.  And since I work from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm Monday through Friday, the only time was before my workday starts.  Fortunately, I only work about 10 minutes from the rink, so finishing up at 7:30 gives me time to get to work, change, and have some breakfast.

So Tabitha coaches me for 1/2 hour and then I have 15 minutes to practice on my own.  After this past Wednesday, we decided that I should give myself 10 minutes on my own on the ice first, to warm up, then have 30 minutes of class, then 5 minutes to do my own things at the end.  Class is more productive when I'm already warmed up and used to the ice.  Each session is 45 minutes long, but we can divide it up any way we want, and make it any time that we want.  So it's a pretty flexible arrangement overall.

I had to buy a punch card to use for the ice time.  It was $40 for 5 sessions.  Each time I come, I write my name on a list and then punch the card.  After 5 punches, I buy a new card.  You can buy cards with longer validity, and saves a bit of money, but for now 5 was enough.  I also paid Tabitha for 5 lessons up front, so I'm all set now for the next 5 weeks!

Tabitha and I are going to meet once a week.  I chose Wed this week because Monday was already a very long day for me, with working, Turkish class, and a goodbye party for a friend of mine.  But next week we'll meet on Monday, as Tabitha says it's less crowded at the rink.  I didn't think it was very crowded Wednesday, but she says there are even fewer people there on Monday.

Our lesson was fabulous!!!  Tabitha is such an inspiration to me.  She's just got this way of coaching and teaching that's gentle yet strong.  She's very good at showing what should be done, then explaining how it feels physically, and it's very easy to follow what she's doing.  She's VERY patient!  She's very constructive with any criticism, she's quick to praise when you're doing it right, and very encouraging when it's a struggle.  Maybe we knew each other in another life, because I feel very comfortable around her, I instantly felt like I knew her forever.

During the lesson, we sort of just got to know what I can do on the ice again, since she hadn't seen me skate in several months.  We practiced forward stroking, forward crossovers, backwards pumps on the circle, one foot glides, and 2-foot spins.  She says my 2-foot spins are still just as good as ever, yay!  In fact she said I've improved overall since she saw me skate last.  I have been practicing on my own, and haven't stopped skating, so I'm sure that helped a lot.  We also practiced outside edge c-cuts, which I had forgotten to practice on my own!  It was hard to get started doing them again, but after a few tries, I managed to do them all the way down the short length of the rink with no problem.  I'm sure my posture wasn't perfect, but at least my feet were doing the right thing!

Next time we meet, we'll practice those again, plus inside-edge c-cuts.  We also will practice transitioning from forward to backward skating, via a 2-foot 3-turn.  I've been practicing this a lot on my own, so hopefully I'll do well.  This is in preparation for a 1-foot 3-turn...something I reallllly want to learn!  Tabitha also mentioned doing something new with my 2-foot spin...something about spinning with my weight on one foot (but both feet on the ice), then shifting my weight to the other foot (still keeping both feet on the ice).  It looks like fun, so I'm looking forward to learning more about that!

On the overall long term agenda, we want to work more on doing things on 1 foot...1-foot 3-turns, 1-foot spins, 1 foot backwards gliding.  I want to work on transitions, so I can go from one move to another without stopping.  I'd like to work on doing something nicer with my arms rather than holding them out straight...I feel so much more comfortable on stroking and gliding, that I feel I can now do something more graceful with my arms.  Eventually I'd like to be able to skate to some kind of slow music, with timing and rhythm.  That's a lot on my plate, eh?  But soooooo much fun!

Happy Skating!

I've had an email from my previous skating instructor, Tabitha.  She got approved to coach over at Oceanside, where I used to take lessons!  So I plan to hire her for private lessons once a week, early morning Wednesdays before work!  I'm so excited to be skating with her again.  I really love her coaching, she's just got a special knack for it, and I feel inspired by her.  Yay!!  Will keep everyone updated on how that goes!

It's been forever since I blogged, but then it feels like forever since I skated!  Too much else has been going on, I guess.  The new session started January 8, but I missed it because I felt like I was coming down with a cold, and was planning to go on vacation soon and didn't want to spend time in a cold rink before going on vacation.  Then, I was on vacation the following Saturday, the 15th (I didn't get sick, yay!).  But, I guess things caught up with me anyway, because I got sick with a bad cold right after coming BACK from vacation, so I skipped Saturday and 22nd as well.  By late this week I still didn't feel better, and knew I'd not be able to make it to the 29th class, so I called the rink and asked them to put my funds on hold for now, and I'll just skip the rest of this session.  I'll get some really good rest, recouperate, and then go at it fresh in March. 

I haven't been able to attend the Friday noontime Coffee Club skate in a long time, either!  Work has been crazy busy so I've not been able to take an extended lunch hour lately.  That, plus being on vacation myself, and now sick, has put THAT on hold as well. 

I still love skating and don't plan to give it up, I'm just beginning to see some results of the exercise (dropped a whole pant size, woo hoo!), and I really really miss being out on the ice.  But I think February will be a month of taking it easy and gearing up towards starting up again in March.

In other off-ice news, my husband and I had a fantastic time for 5 days in Hawaii (Maui).  We realllly needed the vacation together, and it was one of the best vacations I've ever had!  Expensive, but totally worth every penny.  The most amazing thing was that it was whale season, and we saw tons of humpback whales while out on a sunset dinner cruise.  It was very exciting to see them in "real life" rather than Sea World.

I'm starting a new class.  Every Monday and Wednesday evening I'll be taking a Turkish language class from 5:30 to 7:00 pm.  The class is offered through the Foundation for Inter-Cultural Dialogue, and held at the Turkish Cultural Center, not far from where I work.  Monday and Wednesdays will be long days for me, what with working all day and then going to class till 7 pm .  I'm so looking forward to it, though, I've been waiting for a Turkish class to happen for about 6 years now!  Finally!

So with other things taking up my time, maybe it's a good thing to put skating on hold for a month or so until I get settled in a new routine again.  I can't seem to shake being in vacation mode.  :)

I sorta feel like I've come to a plateau.  I don't think I've done anything new for months.  I keep working on the same old things...mohawk turn, backward gliding on one foot, one foot 3-turn, 2-foot spin....and although I can tell I'm just more comfortable on the ice overall, I haven't overcome any of these challenges yet.  Yes, I guess I can pick my foot up off the ice a fraction of a second longer than I used to, so I GUESS that's improvement.  ???  I know these things take time, and I'm not bored with anything, but I just wish I could have a huge breakthrough moment where I can suddenly DO one of these moves!

Don't get me wrong, I'm still in love with skating, I still love going to class, I still love the feeling of gliding on the ice.  But it's been 8 months since I started now, and I have a nagging feeling I should be a little further along.  I know everyone is different and progresses at different speeds...and I'm not a little kid who is very flexible or fearless on the ice.  I admit I'm still afraid of falling.  I do have a lot more confidence than I did right after that bad fall where I hit my head on the ice.  At least I've gotten over that now.  But I know I hold back sometimes because I fear falling.  Especially backward on one foot.  That is a huge challenge, and the mohawk and 1-foot 3-turn both involve skating backward on one leg. 

Each time I got to practice, I try to improve these particular moves.  And at the time, it's really fun just doing the same move over and over, figuring out which way feels right, which motion works better, where my blade should be on the ice, how my body should be torqued to get the right results.  There is SO much more to skating than I ever imagined.  So much more!  So at the time I'm practicing, I'm having fun.  But then off the ice I start thinking I'll never get over this one hurdle.  Then I have to talk myself into feeling that it's OK even if I don't get past this hurdle...maybe this is as far as I can take this sport!  I mean really, I'm going to be 51 next week, what the heck to I expect of myself?  I have to start reminding myself that I'm doing this for fun (which it is!) and exercise (which it is!) and the challenge (which oh my gosh it IS!).  I think I start taking it too seriously and comparing myself to others I see.  That's so wrong.  I have to relax, just do what I can, and so what if it takes me another year to do a mohawk turn?  There's no deadline here...I'm not competing, I'm not heading to the Olympics; I'm just out there having fun.

I used to think I was the type of person who didn't like a challenge.  That's changed over the years and now I see that I do like the challenge, I do have the spirit to keep trying something until I get it right.  That's part of what I love about skating, besides the sheer joy of gliding free across the ice.  Other aspects of my life are pretty laid back and easy...skating gives me something to work on, a challenge, a goal. 

I also have to remember that I only go to class for 1/2 hour a week.  That's not much.  And I only practice maybe another hour or two a week outside of class...and that's not every week either.  So I'm really not getting in much practice or ice time...not like the people who have this as their sport of choice and are trying to compete, who come to the rink daily for 3 hours at a time.  I guess, when I break it down, over the 8 months I've been skating, I've had approximately 30 lessons....again, that isn't much.

Just have to keep practicing!

My sister Linda took a 7-minute video clip of my skating class at Polar Ice Gilbert.  This is my Saturday morning class, Adult Level 3/4.  (Date of class was November 20, 2010)  We practiced a lot of things, but this particular clip shows us practicing forward and backward inside and outside edges on one foot.  As you can see, I still have trouble going backward on one foot...the coach was holding my hands.  I also didn't realize I leaned to far forward, the coach was getting me to hold myself more upright and have better posture, so I'm very glad to see this on here, it helps to know what I look like out there so I can improve.  On a positive note, I do look at lot more comfortable on the ice, more confident than I did during the last clip several months ago.  Also noticed I can do the forward to backward turn much more quickly, with less effort, and with more confidence.

Here's the clip.  I'm the short gal with the  ponytail and black jacket with white strips on the front.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwGzv94HLWk

Enjoy!  :)

Well, the holiday season has officially begun.  It's going to be interesting finding skate time during the holidays.  I was off for 4 days for the Thanksgiving holiday (Thursday through Sunday), but because of the holidays, there was no skate class Wednesday evening, no Coffee Club skate on Friday, and no class on Saturday.  There was public skating Saturday, but I didn't feel well.  There is public skating today (Sunday), but there's skating on TV that I want to watch.  Ugh.  If it's slow at work this coming Wednesday, I'd like to go to my last Wednesday evening class...they changed the time from 6:15 to 5:40, so I'd have to leave work early to make it, and that means I won't be able to join the Polar Chandler skate class anymore during the week.  Bummer.  It really helped skating mid-week!  Polar Gilbert has evening public skating Wednesday night from 7:30 to 9:30, so maybe I'll have to practice then, among all the little kidlets and teenagers.  As it stands right now, I haven't skated since my 1/2 hour class last Saturday, so it's been 8 days now.  And looks like I won't really skate until this coming Friday at Coffee Club...so a total of 13 days!  Yikes!  That's not good! 

However, not skating doesn't prevent me from still dreaming about it!  Early this morning I dreamt that I was at skate class, but it was at a huge outdoor facility with several rinks.  No idea where this was, but definitely not Phoenix!  We were going to be doing a little show as a test in class, and there were people sitting in the stands to watch.  The coach was handing out little objects for us to use while skating...like props...but as it turned out, these were live animals (I know, dreamland is very odd...).  I got presented with a tiny green frog to use as my prop.  (No idea why a frog!!)  I put the frog in my jacket pocket for safekeeping.  The pocket didn't have a zipper, so I kept putting my hand in my pocket to make sure the frog was still there.

The next scene jumped to me in a locker room, trying to find my skates (I've had this variation of dream before...I remember a previous dream where I couldn't find my skates...hmmmm...will have to look into the meaning of that!).  The lockers were not all evenly place or numbered, so I was just opening all the lockers, trying to find mine.  I started putting on a pair of blue skates, then realized those are hockey skates, and are too big for me anyway.  Thankfully, I finally found mine, and went outside to put them on.  Keep in mind it was all outdoors, a little bit snowy, and VERY cold.  I sat on a bench to put on my skates, and one of my classmates came up to me and said hurry up, they're getting ready to put on the show!  I said wow...which rink is ours?  (Remember, the facility was huge, and there were several rinks).  He pointed and said waaaaay over there, you've really got to hurry, it's like 3 miles away!  I had gotten one skate on by that time, but realized I could never walk that far very fast in my skates, so took it off again and walked in just my socks (I know, in the cold snow, right?  LOL  Only in dreamland!)

We arrived at the edge of the rink that was for our show/test, and everyone was all dressed up in pretty skating costumes, they were practicing their moves and warming up.  I still had on my workout pants and plain jacket.  I felt bad that I hadn't dressed up or realized this was going to be a show.  I also realized I don't have any kind of routine planned with my frog...I didn't even know if I'd have music to skate to, or what.  I guess I felt kind of scared and unprepared.  That's when I woke up.

So although the dream was about skating, I know it can have meanings beyond what I see in the dream.  I'll have to give it some thought and see what it might mean.  Meanwhile, I need to get back on the ice, I miss it!! 

Aren't dreams great??  You can do ANYthing in your dreams!  I mean dreams literally, the ones you see while you're sleeping at night.  Last night I had my second memorable dream about figure skating.  I never blogged about the first one yet, so here's both:

I had this dream shortly after I started taking lessons, about 5 months ago.  I dreamt that I was in the parking lot at work, and that I was out there practicing skating.  Now the funny thing is, I didn't have skates on!  But I was moving along as though I did, just gliding easily over the pavement!  I remember it being effortless, and the most memorable thing was that I was going backwards, and whenever I hit a speed bump, I would just glide easily over it.  Never lost my balance at all.  In my dream I was thinking how easy this was, even backwards, even with obstacles like speed bumps!  When I woke up, I felt like I could actually do that on the ice....although I hadn't yet learned to skate backwards at that point.

The second dream, the one I had last night, was more realistic.  At least I had skates on in this dream, and I was at the rink, on the ice.  One thing I've been working on in real life are clockwise crossovers.  I have some kind of mental block against putting my left foot over my right.  In my dream, I was practicing these and doing them well.  Actually, I was doing an exercise where I would do a counter-clockwise crossover (which I can do in real life), and then immediately doing a clockwise crossover (which I can't do in real life).  The effect was like cross..glide...cross the other way...glide...cross...glide...and continue the pattern.  In my dream, it was great fun and I could do it easily.  I think I will try this exercise in real life and see how far I get.  The other magnificent thing I could do in my dream, was that I could glide forward on my left foot while bringing my right foot all the way up in the air, holding it with my right arm.  I can do this in real life, standing on the ground, and I've actually been thinking I can do this on the ice some day, when I get more balanced and talented.  So it was nice to actually see myself doing this in a dream.  I think that means it will one day be possible.

I love these kinds of dreams.  I wake up feeling invigorated and ready to accomplish things.  The dreams encourage me to try keep trying.  I hope I have more dreams like this soon!

I haven't blogged in a while.  Things are just moving along at a good rate.  I'm taking Wednesday evening classes at Polar Ice Chandler, from 6:15 to 6:45.  There are 2 more classes in this session.  I might not continue these Wednesday evening classes, though, because trying to get to the rink right after work is kind of a headache.  It's during rush hour traffic, and it takes me 45 minutes to an hour to get to the rink!  The class is only 1/2 hour so I'm feeling it's just not worth the long drive and fuss with rush hour traffic.  As much as I enjoy a mid-week skating session, I detest rush hour traffic!

I'm still going to the Coffee Club adult skate open session on Fridays during lunch.  This is also at Polar Ice Chandler, but since it's lunch hour and not rush hour, I can make it to the rink in only 15 minutes.  Amazing, right?  Such a difference in traffic!  Work is still being great about giving me a 2-hour lunch on Fridays, so I can get in at least a full hour of skating.  I really love the Coffee Club...such nice people, so very helpful, and all adult ages and skill levels.  It's a great supportive atmosphere in which to practice!

Today I was supposed to start the new Saturday classes at Polar Ice Gilbert.  I had to miss today, though, I had some other important things to take care of.  I actually was planning to miss this first class anyway, I was supposed to be away on vacation...the vacation plans fell through, but as it turns out I had other stuff to do anyway...so I'll start those Saturday classes next Saturday.  I'm sure getting a lot of skating in!!  I love it!

Tomorrow is Sunday, and as part of the Gilbert classes, I received several free public skate sessions plus two free guest passes.  So one of my Turkish friends and her husband will come with me tomorrow for public skating to try it out.  They've never skated before, so it will be new for them, and so much fun!  I don't feel too bad about missing today's class, knowing I'll be skating tomorrow anyway.

As for what I'm working on, pretty much the same as I've been doing.  I can see two areas of improvement:  one is that I can build up quite a bit of speed now, stroking forward.  I know speed is not of the essence, form counts for a lot more, but it's good to know I'm getting so comfortable on the ice and keeping form even when I build up more speed.  Of course I'm afraid to try any kind of move going that fast...so I end up stroking forward and gliding for a while, then stroking again....which is fine.  For variation, I do a knee bend while gliding, and then stand back up straight again.  That helps build up the leg muscles!  And I suppose it's good preparation for a sit spin, if I ever get that far!  The other thing I'm improving on is the 2-foot 3-turn.  This is the move which takes you from forward gliding to backward gliding.  I have to credit the Wednesday night instructor for helping with this move, she had some great suggestions and her instruction really helped me understand where my arms and hips should be in order to get that clear, sharp, sudden turn in direction (without falling!).  I can turn pretty easily now in a counter clockwise rotation, and am working on clockwise, which is more difficult.  The trick is to do it in an arc, not in a straight line.  As you come around the top of the arc, you twist your upper torso into the circle, and then shift your hips to match in a sudden smooth move, and suddenly you're facing backwards, gliding along!  It's a very cool feeling!

I'm also practicing my 2-foot spins.  I think they're getting better, actually.  I still can't revolve more than 3 times around, but I feel like my balance is better, my form is better, and the initial takeoff into the spin is much better.  It just takes so many tries, over and over again, to get just the right moment where you say to yourself "aha!  THAT's how it should feel!"  Then it takes time to duplicate that move again!  Slowly but surely.  Still afraid to pick one foot up, though, and try it on one foot.  I still remember falling and hitting my head on the ice trying to do that.  I don't want to do that again.

The other major thing I'm trying to conquer is skating backward on one foot.  I see a tiny fraction of an improvement here.  I'm afraid to try this out in the middle of the ice, I just don't feel confident in my balance to pick one foot up.  So I've started using the low wall as a crutch of sorts.  I skate backwards a couple of strokes, along the low wall, then try picking one foot up while keeping one hand resting on the wall.  Not holding on tight, but just resting there as I glide.  Just yesterday while practicing this way, I felt I held my foot up longer than the usual nonosecond, and I got all excited!  It gave me hope that eventually I CAN do this away from the wall.  One of the nice guys in the Coffee Club group, Gordon, was also giving me some tips.  I asked him for help because I noticed he was practicing his backwards 1-foot gliding a lot.  He watched me and said my form is good, my balance is good, my foot placement is correct, so it's really now just a matter of practicing to the point of gaining confidence.  I am sure he's right.  I know HOW to do the move, I just need to practice more and build up my own confidence.  I remember when I couldn't even more forward on the ice at all, which wasn't all that long ago!  It will all come together in good time.  It's a challenge, but I love it!

Happy Skating!

I did my BEST 2-foot spin EVER today!  It was so exhilerating that I had to take a break afterwards because I was so excited!  I had never felt THAT good doing a spin before.  It was just exactly the right balance, the right posture, the right spot on my skates, the right speed, the right arm position...it all came together exactly right, and it was soooooo much fun!  It's enthralling to feel such a feeling.  If I can ever manage to do another one like that, I know for sure I could pick my foot up and do a 1-foot spin from it.  I just know it! 

It's really amazing how good it feels to skate and accomplish something new like this.  I've definitely found my "happy place". 

I'm so excited!!  Quitting Oceanside and moving on to new adventures was a blessing in disguise.  I have found a whole new group of adult skaters just like me!  They have a little "club" that gets together every weekday at Polar Ice Chandler, from 12:00 to 1:30.  Teri is the one who told me about it, I met her while I was observing the adult skate class in Gilbert a couple of Saturdays ago.  It sounded like so much fun, I just had to check it out.

I wasn't sure how I was going to manage it, though, since I work full time and only have an hour for lunch.  The Polar Chandler rink is not very close to my work, BUT it's easy to get to.  It's a straight shot from where my office is, south on a freeway all the way to the rink.  I decided I could do it if I had a 2-hour lunch, so I asked my boss if I could have a 2-hour lunch on Fridays if I make up the time during the week.  Bless his heart, he said yes!

So today I brought my skates to work and went to Polar Chandler during my lunch hour to check out the Coffee Club.  It was wonderful....absolutely wonderful.  What a nice group of people!!  All adults, I'd say about 35+ in age, and maybe up to my age or even older.  There was one girl who looked a lot younger, but it really looked like the average age was in the 40's.  Very very cool.

Teri introduced me around, and of course I will never remember all their names when I see them again, but from what I can remember, there was:  Teri, Mary, Donna, Robin, Gordon, Drew (?), Laura, Jo, Pam, and myself.  There was one other lady and one man I didn't get introduced to.  All in all, there were 12 of us out there skating, with the whole rink to ourselves!  It was fabulous!  I had a chance to practice everything I know, in a nice atmosphere with no hockey players and no children!  PERFECT.  The group is very supportive, very friendly, and very energetic.  There was such a positive vibe out there it was amazing.

There were all levels of adult skaters, too.  Some very beginners all the way up to one man who was doing all kinds of jumps and spins.  It was fascinating.

I managed to do my best 2-foot spin ever today, too!  Must have been all that positive energy put out there by the Coffee Club.  I will definitely be going back every Friday, for as long as possible!  I'm just so excited!