Happy Halloween

Last night, we went to a Halloween party.  Of course, I intended to go as Dorothy Hamill.  But, when reality set in, the costume had to be scaled back to "generic figure skater".  I even ran out of time to make myself a gold medal. 

Fortunately, The Devil showed up at the party, and by gum, he had a medal around his neck.  It didn't take long for us to strike a deal:  my soul for Olympic gold.  Soon, I was trotting around with my medal. 

But deals with the devil have a way of not going as planned.  "Gold in 2014, right?"  I asked him the next time I saw him.

"No, 2012 Summer Games."

Ice Pact: Fantasy Meets Reality

Ice Pact: Fantasy Meets Reality: "It turns out my fantasy figure skating is worse than my real figure skating. If that's even possible. After NHK Trophy, I'm ranked 506 out o..."

I didn't fare much better. 374 out of 574. My strategy this week: use Ice Network's skater rankings and just choose the highest ranked skater for each category. With the exception of the C team - that's just guess work.

2010 Skate Canada International Event
Ladies A Alissa Czisny, USA	Ladies B Sarah Meier, SUI	Ladies C Alexe Gilles, USA
Men's A Nobunari Oda, JPN	Men's B Alban Preaubert, FRA	Men's C Jeremy Ten, CAN
Pairs A Lubov Iliushechkina/Nodari Maisuradze, RUS	Pairs B Huibo Dong/Yiming Wu, CHN	Pairs C Kirsten Moore-Towers/Dylan Moscovitch, CAN
Ice Dancing A Sinead Kerr/John Kerr, GBR	Ice Dancing B Madison Chock/Greg Zuerlein, USA	Ice Dancing C Stefanie Frohberg/Tim Geisen, GER

Life on the Edge: Musings - "Old School" Part II: The Ladies..

Life on the Edge is one of the blogs I read. I just had to share this post with you - it has lots of vintage videos of skating's most iconic ladies, including, of course, Dorothy Hamill.

Life on the Edge: Musings - "Old School" Part II: The Ladies..: "I just realized that I never posted my 'Old School' favorites from the ladies. After I re-posted the link to the men's videos, several peopl..."

Judging

Today was Autumn Fest at Texas Gulf Coast Figure Skating Club in Sugarland, and I got to participate in the sport in a very different way than I normally do:  judging.

Although joining USFSA was one of the most exciting things I've ever done, I had to be honest with myself.  Even though by being a member of USFSA,  I could qualify for the Olympics . . .

Everything is a blur around me as I exit my final combination spin.  The crowd explodes.  I curtsy to the judges, then turn to the audience.  Seeing the American flags, the posters, and the signs, it finally sinks in:  I won the gold.  Overcome with emotion, I wipe the tears from my face, leaving long streaks of mascara on my cheeks. . . .

Oh, excuse me.  Was I daydreaming on the keyboard?   

Reality is that I will probably need a walker to hobble onto the ice by the time I'm ready to take my senior MIF test.  Let's forget about qualifying competitions.

Judging is my way of participating in the sport of figure skating at a higher level than my skating ability.  There are lots of other ways to do this, but honestly, the judges have the best seats in the house, so that's where I want to be.

To everyone at  the Texas Gulf Coast Figure Skating Club, thanks for inviting me to judge today and congratulations on a well-run basic skills competition.

Mer11 at Ice Pact decided to make a Fantasy Figure Skating for NHK, so I thought I'd join her.

I don't follow international figure skating that much, so a lot of the names were unfamiliar to me.  A lot of my choices were just made because, "China has a strong pairs program," or "Gee, I don't want everyone on my team to be from the US". 

Ladies: 
Rachel Flatt - I love watching her skate
Caroline Zhang - I think her "pearl" layback is amazing
Jenna McCorkle

Men
Daisuke Takahashi - he's hot
Kevin Van Der Perren
Jeremy Ten - Mer11 chose Dennis Ten for her team.  Is it possible they are related? 

Pairs
Pang/Tong - Mer chose Caydee and her partner, so I thought I'd choose the Chinese.  And they are incredible skaters.
Brodeur/Matatall
Zhang/Wang

Ice Dancing
Davis/White - I have always loved Meryll's smile.  They are incredible to watch
Reed/Reed - representing Japan.  Really?  These guys are Japanese?
Coombes/Buckland

Gam

My grandmother, aka Gam, grew up in St. Louis.  She learned to ice skate on frozen ponds in the parks near her house.  It was something that she always loved.

When my mom went back to work, I spent my summer days at my grandparents.  I started bringing my roller skates so that I would have something to do in the afternoons.  After a summer of watching me roller skate (and beg to go ice skating), Gam decided that everyone needed to go ice skating at least once.  So, she took me to the Galleria one afternoon to skate.

By this time, she'd already broken a hip, so there was no question about her joining me on the ice.  She just sat on the bleachers and watched me trying to figure out how to make the transition from 4 wheels to a blade.  It wasn't long before I was off the boards, making my way around the rink in circles.   

I don't know exactly what happened between her and my mom that evening, but I suspect there was some arm-twisting because it wasn't long after this that I got to take my first ice skating class.  Since I couldn't get to the rink to practice more than once a week, I practiced my figure skating on roller skates in her driveway every day during the summer.

For my 9th birthday, she and my grandfather gave me tickets to the Ice Capades.   Dorothy Hamill was skating with them!  I was so looking forward to seeing her in person.  I was hoping that somehow, I could get backstage to meet her.  But, the day of the performance, I was coming down with one of the worst ear infections of my life.  I fought to stay as long as I could, but after seeing Dorothy skate a few times, I asked my grandparents to take me home.  I still remember overhearing them talking with my parents:  "We knew she had to be awfully sick when she asked to leave . . ." 

When I started skating again as an adult, I could literally hear the smile on her face from 1000 miles away.  She never got to see me skate, but it was a love we shared.  Unlike my mom, who shared my love of watching skating on TV, Gam loved being on the ice.  "I never did anything fancy, like you do, but it was always fun."

Then she'd add, "And it's good exercise, too."  (That's Gam for, "You know, you really need to lose weight.")

It's a sad time

Today I had to admit that I have to cut back on skating.  My husband is taking 3 teacher certification classes this fall, which doesn't leave him a lot of time for working.  My job pays the bills, but there's not much left over.  


This year has been full of change.  We moved from Phoenix to Houston.  I left a job I'd been at for 8 years.  I made a decision not to take another desk job and am working in retail until I figure out what I want to do next. 


During all of these changes, skating has been my anchor.  Even though the locations and faces changed, it's still skating.  I've been able to take the status change of going from Management Assistant to Retail Sales Associate because I've been so successful skating.   I told myself,  "It's OK.  This job lets you skate three times a week." 
 
I was blessed with being able to skate 3 times a week this spring and summer.  Now, I've got to remember that there will be other competitions, other test dates, and other Adult Nationals.  I don't have to do it all this year. 

I am trying to remind myself that it's temporary. Slowing down for a few months isn't the same as giving up. 

How good is perfect?

Xanboni wrote on her blog . . .

One of the most common whines I hear from students (and parents, truth be told) is "but I already know how to do that, can't we learn something new?" And the answer is, yes, you can learn to do this skill at a higher level, with fewer errors and more art.

 Maybe I haven't reached this level in my skating yet, but I can't imagine whining about improving any of my skills.  Yes, maybe I whine a little about the stuff I don't want to do (I wouldn't be thrilled if my coach asked me to drill my backward edges), but a chance to improve a skill is always a good thing.

One of the things I like about the testing system in USFSA is that  just because you pass a test doesn't mean you have mastered the skill.  In USFSA, tests are judged on a continuum. A preliminary skater is judged on the same scale as a senior.

This is so different than the schools, where a 1st grader can get an A the same as someone in high school.  An A means you've mastered the material for your level.  In USFSA tests, passing means you performed the skills at an acceptable level, not that you've mastered them. 

There's always room for growth in the USFSA test structure.  Just look at how many times skaters are tested on crossovers:  preliminary skates them in figure 8 patterns; pre-juvenile does them again in the forward and backward perimeter power stroking move; juvenile skaters preform them again in the power circles.  Each time you test, you should have improved your power and stroking technique.

Sit spins

"OK, let's see a sit spin," my coach told me this week.

The last time I attempted a sit spin was in a group lesson when I was 12.  I don't remember exactly what happened, but I do remember that it was one of the first times in my life that something didn't come easily for me. 

I watched enough skating on TV to know that sit -spins were essential to competition.  Dorothy Hamill did them.  So, if I couldn't do them . . . I didn't like to think what that might mean.  Rather than ask for help, I avoided them and never did another sit spin.

Until this week. 

Even 30 years later, I'm a still a proud woman.  Did I ask for help?  No, not really.  Instead, I tried to control the situation with lots of questions:  "Do you sit, then spin?  Or spin, then sit? . . .How much of a sit am I aiming for?"

"Thigh parallel to the ice."

Oh, crimety, I've got a LOT of work ahead of me.  For months now, I've been doing wall squats in a sit spin position to try and prepare for this.  Except, well, I got lazy a few weeks ago.  What if I've lost the strength I've been trying to build up in my legs? 

What if, no matter how much work I put into this, I can't do a sit spin?

Ice Network available for $39.95

Yesterday, I got an e-mail from US Figure Skating saying that Ice Network subscriptions are available for $39.95.  That's up $10 from last year.

Is it worth it?

Adult skating workouts off the rink

Anyone who has ever put on a pair of ice skates knows how physically demanding a sport it is.  In terms of calories burned, it's about the same as running.  Figure skaters have to be as flexible as ballerinas.  And of course, it requires a LOT of strength to pull your free leg up above your hip.  It goes without saying that skating takes a lot of practice.

My friend, Annie, was my personal trainer in Phoenix.  We would meet at the gym two or three times a week and she'd plan our workouts.  When I started to get chatty, she'd see right through it and make me start doing her signature "killer crunches".  In killer crunches, you lift a balance ball with your legs while bringing a medicine ball up over your head so the balls "kiss".  (Oww.)

In Houston, I've been on my own, so I've tried a lot of DVDs and read a lot of books.  My current favorite workout is Tony Horton's "Power 90" workout.  Skip the promises that if you do this for 90 days, you'll have a beach perfect body.   What I really like is that so many of the exercises translate directly into what I'm doing in my skating lessons.

• Touch your knee to opposite elbow:  this is essentially the same position you use for a back spin or loop jump
• Right-cross:  this boxing movement is pretty much the same torso and arm movement as spins.  Do this in your socks to get the whole spin movement down.
• Throw in 1/2 jumps (or full jumps if you can) to the cardio and kicking sections to practice your jumping skills.  

What do you do off-ice to improve your skating?

More adults give ice-skating a whirl for fitness | Active.com

More adults give ice-skating a whirl for fitness | Active.com

Bronze workout

Jana Kading, one of my coach friends in Phoenix, used to provide workouts for various levels of skaters on her website.  Her Pre-Bronze workout was the basis of my skating practice for a long time.

Now that I've passed my Pre-Bonze tests, I've modified it for Bronze MIF.  If I were to do the entire workout without stopping, it would probably take a little over an hour.  Since I do stop for water breaks (that's adult skater for "gasp for air") and to visit with other skaters, I takes closer to 1.5 hours.  No, I don't really have that kind of time, so I cut back on the number of repetitions or leave sections out (adult skater for "forget to do something")
 
Holly's Bronze Workout
Warm-up/Bronze MIF

• Forward and backward perimeter power stroking.  
• One full lap forward, end pattern per rulebook, one full lap backward
• Forward power 3 turns (2 laps)
• Alternating backward crossovers to backward outside edges (1 full lap)
• Forward circle 8 (x2)
• Five-step Mohawk sequence (1 lap)

Plus . . . 

• Alternating 3-turns:  1 hockey line each FO & FI 3-turns

Or, if that's not working very well, 

• Pre-bronze 3 turn pattern, since it uses all 4 forward 3's

Spins: 5x each

• 1-foot spin
• Scratch spin
• Backward outside edge on hockey circle with free leg in back-spin position
• Back spin
• Change-foot spin

Jumps:  5x ea

• Individual jumps
• Waltz (5 in a row, if possible)
• Salchow
• 1/2 flip
• Toe loop
• Combo jumps
• Waltz/toe-loop
• Salchow/toe-loop
• Toe-loop/toe-loop
• Jump sequence:  waltz-1/2 flip-Salchow-toe-loop

Footwork - 1 length of rink each

• Mohawk footwork
• Alternating crossovers/tap-toe

Program:  run through entire program at least once

Cool down:  2 laps (any pattern)

What's your workout?

One thing that has really bugged me since I took up skating again is how little guidance is available for adult skaters.  Obviously, you can't teach someone how to do a layback spin in a blog, so I'm not trying to take the place of your coach.

I can find tons of information and step-by-step instructions for all sorts of activities, like yoga or exercise for general weight loss.  Not so with figure skating.  I know of one ice dance instructional video, Learn to Ice Dance.  I've seen one video, Sk8Strong, that provides an off-ice workout.

So my first question:  have you used any of these resources, or anything similar?  If you have, please share!

My next question, what do you do for your workouts, both on- and off-ice.  I'll post some of my current workouts in separate posts.

Wasn't this rink bigger when I was 10?

Saturday morning, 1978.  My mom wakes me up, then comes back in 5 minutes later and wakes me up again, and again.  I finally get up, wolf down breakfast, and put on my skating outfit.  "Time waits for no one . . . " I tune out the weekly lecture about late as I lace up my skates in the car. 

"Yes, I know," I answer when she stops talking.  That's 10-year-old for "What's the big deal?  Isn't this why they make blade guards?" I jump out of the car as soon as she pulls into a parking spot and run through the mall, toss my blade guards on the boards, and skate out to my class just before the coach starts teaching. 

30 minutes later, it's over and now we have time to kill before the public session.  We have the usual debate:  Farrell's Ice Cream Parlor, The French Bread Bakery, or McDonald's?  This week, it's special, so we go to Farrell's where I have a hamburger and a marshmallow sundae. 

The next argument is about whether or not we can ride the glass enclosed elevators that go to the top of the office complex.  Mom wins that one and instead, we go to the clock shop and try to decide which grandfather clock we would get if we could.  And of course, we can't pass B. Dalton Booksellers without stopping and getting the next book in the Little House series.

Finally, it's time to go back to the rink.  I have a private lesson with Harry, my coach.  He tries to carve a tiny piece of ice out of the center of the rink for me to practice my jumps and spins.  He wants me to jump BIG, so he puts his hands on my waist and spots me and gets exactly the result he wants.  "Now let's see you do it by yourself."  My waltz jump returns to a waltz hop.  So, he spots me again and gets the result he wants.  "Holly, I'm not doing anything to help you jump.  Why don't you jump like this when I'm not spotting you?"

"I dunno."  That's 10-year-old for, "Because it's a lot more fun this way and I think I'd really like to learn how to skate with a partner.  Can we please make that a goal, and talk about how I can get there, because I'm bored senseless doing the same old thing every week, and how on earth can I get a program so that I can compete?  I've got music picked out and I choreographed it in our living room." 

By the time my 30 minute private lesson is over, the rink is filled with people who don't know how to skate.  There is a little bit of space left in the center where some of the really good girls are practicing their jumps and spins, but I'm not as advanced as them, so I go cower in a corner of the rink and try squeeze in a few moves between the throngs of people stumbling around the ice.  Mom calls me over and tells me that if I'm just going to goof off, it's time to go home.

"OK."  That's 10-year-old for, "Hey, why don't you get out there and try to practice a sour cow with a little boy in shorts cutting you off every time you turn around?"  (FYI, "sour cow" is 10-year-old for Salchow.)

These are the memories flitting around my mind every time I step on the rink at the Galleria.  The shops have changed names, but it's really pretty much the same. 

Except, wasn't the rink a whole lot bigger when I was 10?