Fixed my boots at Harlick's. Skated at Belmont Iceland.

Great day.  Arrived in Oakland around 10:00 am.  Picked up a rental car and drove straight to Harlick Boot Company in San Carlos.  Phil was out of town at Adult Nationals, but Jason was there to help me.  I tried my boots on to show him where the new bunion was hurting me.  He called it a "tailors bunion" and said he could fix it  for me  He punched out the area that was rubbing on my bunion and also softened up the upper part of my boots so I won't have to wrap my ankles in Ace bandages any more.  Thanks Jason.

Afterwards went skating at Belmont Iceland.  Wow.  Warm rink.  Low Ceiling.  Soft Ice. 

No Video Today

Great ice today.  Unfortunately I could not execute either a Back Spin or a Waltz Jump - Toe Loop combination.  As a matter of fact, the more times I attempted the combination the more FEAR built up in my mind.

I makes no sense why I can do a Flip Jump without fear, but not a Toe Loop.  I won't spend much time analyzing it.  I just hope it will work itself out.  I came home and watched Michael Weiss do 30 of them on Monkey See.  He gets great height off a single Toe Loop and shows it in real time and then slow motion.  I need to just go for it .... reach way back, stick that toe pick in and vault myself up and around.

Tomorrow I am taking the day off the ice.  I have too much to do around the house and Friday I am going to California and plan to skate at Belmont on Friday after I have my boots looked at by Harlick and then at Dublin on Monday.

Maybe I'm Not Ready For Twizzles

My lesson today was very productive.  We went over the elements that were already choreographed and added on the next part.  So far we've planned:

• A Forward Pivot
• A Back Spin
• An Ina Bauer
• A Waltz Jump - Toe Loop Combination
• A Sit Spin

With connecting moves and arms in between ..... 

Can I do all this?  Pretty half way at this point.  I can see that once it is fully planned out, there will be weeks of tweaking and months of building up the stamina to pull it all off.

I got a great tip today on the Sit Spin.  I was putting my free leg too far off to the side.  My coach told me to put it more in front.  Just like that ... I was centered- sitting on top of my boot and completing nearly 10 revolutions.  Getting up again... I sort of fell out of it, but it was a great hurdle.  Afterwards in practice I didn't do as well as you will see on the video.

Below is a video for anyone who has never skated who wants to know what a skater sees when we spin.  This is a relatively slow spin too.

Meanwhile ... Back on the Ice

I was so happy to pull up to the rink today and only see so few cars out front.  For the most part, spring break is over in my neck of the woods.

The ice was freshly scraped and there were only 3 other people skating.  That left me no excuses for not trying.  As you can see I also wore a skating skirt today to try and force myself to work a little harder.  Have I mentioned my rink is freezing?  So wearing a skirt forces you to skate hard enough to warm up your muscles ... or else.

I also noticed my new bunion didn't hurt as bad.  Maybe it's not going to be permanent.  I hope not.

I brought my music and headphones today to try and experiment with some connecting moves for my program.  I hope to be able to contribute to the program and not let my coach just tell me every element, step, gesture.

Today I worked at spirals, backspins, sit spins, camel spins, attitude spins, footwork, spread eagle, ina bauers, waltz jump, salchow, loop jumps.  I still need to straighten out my skating leg and lock it and my free leg on my spirals.  I feel as though it is, but it's not.

Question:  Are names of jumps proper nouns?  Should I capitalize them?  I think so.

I was kind of happy about my sit spin.  My video turned off and I didn't catch one in practice... you will have to take my word for it.  I seem to be able to get a little lower and hold it longer and almost ..get up and complete an upright scratch spin when I finish.  The rules say you have to do at least 3 revolutions in position.

I attempted a few camel spins too (also not captured on video) and not being able to get into that position quickly are going to make the road to re learning a camel spin more difficult.

Too Much Information

I should probably put a warning or disclaimer before posting these photos.  These are not what I would call attractive feet.  They have been toting me around for 52 years, many of which they have supported me  20-30 lbs over weight and crammed into pointed, high heeled shoes.  I have seen worse (ballet dancers feet).

When I returned from a wonderful 10 day cruise to the Caribbean (after wearing flip flops nearly the entire time), something occurred on the outside of my left foot.  It appears I have a new bunion baby ...

The day after we returned I skated my Pre Bronze Test and when I put my skates on and stood up I thought there was a rock in my boot.  I unlaced and checked my tights.  Nothing was bunched up, no seam there, no rock obviously... I re-laced and adjusted the best I could.  I could still feel it.  Once I got home I noticed the new bunion.  Great.

This week I have skated 3 times and it's still there.  My coach suggested I have it punched out.  I have this trust issue when it comes to my new investment.  Fortunately, I am planning a trip to the Bay Area next Friday and conveniently flying into Oakland, CA and renting a car, then meeting a friend near Stanford.  Once again.... Harlick to my rescue!

I called Harlick's today and spoke to Ginger.  She said Phil will be away at Adult Nationals, but Jason will be there to check out my feet and punch out my boots, if necessary.  I was planning on bringing my skates anyway so that I could skate a day or two in California.

Problem solved!  Thank you Harlick!

New Bunionette

I know .. I need a pedicure

What I Learned Today

1. When you get a cold you should take a few days off
2. Public sessions when school is out are a waste of time
3. I  definitely do not like Thai food 

I  attended my regular public session today with a friend.  We spent most of the time gliding along and chatting and dodging the kids tearing up the ice with hockey skates.   I tried a few spins and a few jumps, but was really out of breath and dizzier than usual.  I think my cold must have settled in my chest and lungs.  I plan on taking the rest of the week off the ice.   I can see now that summer is going to be a challenge to skate during public sessions.

Started Working on a Program

Following a night of restless sleep and with a cold, I took to the ice today at 11:00 am for my lesson.  

Much to my surprise my coach Berkley wanted to start working on my Adult Bronze Program right away.  She debriefed me on my test last Tuesday and told me one of the judges verbally complimented my skate and said it was obvious I must have skated as a child.  I will take that as a compliment.

I selected a piece of music and edited it to 1:50, the max time allowed for Adult Bronze Free Skate testing or an Adult Bronze competition program.  I am keeping the music a secret until the program is complete and performance ready.  It's a piano piece .. I will say that.

I mentioned to my coach that I did not want to skate to a big piece of overly dramatic music and not have the skills to back it up.  When she heard what I chose, she was really pleased.  She said it will work because I am a "quiet skater".  I had to laugh at that.  My childhood coach told me I skated like I was a linebacker for the Rams!  Perhaps I have acquired some grace on the ice after 41 years.

So right off the bat she came out on the ice and we selected a starting position!  Just like that.  Actually,  first she asked me how I felt - emotionally - about the piece.  What emotion did I feel and want to convey in the program?  She agreed with my idea and proceeded to find an opening position for the program.

Little did I know how much work goes into the simplest thing:  Skating up to and holding a starting pose.  It's just a turned out right foot with the left leg behind, toe pick in the ice, but the position she put my hands in and the subsequent hand and arm movements require some core strength.  It felt so abnormal for me.  I have not been doing anything artistic with my body for so long.  I never took ballet - wish I had.

So far we have

1. A starting pose
2. Some hand and arm movement (artistic expression)
3. A forward pivot
4. Two footed glide exit (arm position pending)
5. L + R inside edges
6. Backspin (obviously she has faith... she is choreographing the spin before I can do it)

That covers about the first 18 seconds.  92 seconds to go!

Practicing 3 Turns

It's spring break and the public session I normally skate at was crowded.  Add to that some post nasal drip from a cold and the result was not too much excitement on the ice today.

I practiced 3 turns from the Adult Silver MIF test on a smaller scale.  Realizing soon after I  started that I can not really do them very well any more, I decided to video tape myself to see if I could see what I am doing wrong.  Splat!

Lesson tomorrow at 11:00 am at the start of the session.  I hope it goes better than today!

I also met the nicest lady named Jill.  She is 76 years old and still skates.  She skated in 1958 with Holiday On Ice and Dick Button.  Amazing.  She is very graceful, but  she wisely wears a helmet.

Next Chapter - Adult Bronze

Here is the next hurdle.  Adult Bronze

TR 25.10 Adult Bronze Moves in the Field Test

The fundamentals of ice skating must be demonstrated although not necessarily mastered. Candidates must show knowledge of the steps and continuous flow and strength. Attention should be given to depth of edges and proper curvature of lobes.

1. Forward and backward perimeter power stroking

2. Forward power three-turns 3. Alternating backward crossovers to backward outside edges 4 Forward circle eight 5. Five-step mohawk sequence

One element may be retried, if necessary.

(Approximate time for test: 12 minutes)

TR 32.10 Adult Bronze Free Skate Test

The candidate must give a reasonably good performance showing a command of the following technical elements, a sense of speed, flow and depth of edge. The fundamentals of free skating must be demonstrated, although not necessarily mastered.

Jumps:

1. At least three different single jumps of which one must be a Salchow and one must be a toe loop

2. One jump combination consisting of a waltz jump and a toe loop (no turn

or change of foot between jumps)

1. One-foot upright spin (minimum four revolutions in position)

2. One-foot backspin, entry optional (minimum three revolutions in position) 3. Sit spin (minimum three revolutions in position)

Steps: Connecting moves, steps and edges throughout the program

Extra elements may be added without penalty. Duration: Ladies and Men — Not to exceed 1:50 to music of the skater’s choice. Two different elements may be retried, if necessary


Now that I have passed Pre Bronze I am eligible to compete at either the Pre Bronze level or I can do what they call "skating up", which means if I wanted to, I could enter a competition and skate one level higher than that in which I am qualified by testing.


The competition season has only a few months left.  I don't know if I can compile a program in such short order.  1:50 is a lot of time to fill with jumps and spins and connecting steps ... I still don't have a combination jump or a backspin and my sit spin is too high to qualify for a sit spin position.  

Adult Pre Bronze Test

Returned from a fabulous holiday in the Caribbean last night.  Had to get up this morning and skate for the first time in 11 days, then take my Pre Bronze Moves In The Field Test.

I am thrilled to report that I passed both tests with many positive comments as well as constructive criticism from all three judges.

Here is the video of both tests.  It's slightly cut off.  The memory card filled up during my Waltz Three.  Also I completely forgot to tell him the test was in two parts.  After the MIF were done he thought it was over.  So guess which jump is missing ?????

The WALTZ JUMP of course!  Don't worry.  There will be plenty more in the future.