Wednesday Practice - Raw footage

 Today I didn’t have much motivation on the ice.  I skipped skating on Monday and today I didn’t put out much effort.  I did show up and skate for 45 minutes but it wasn’t a great practice.  Lots of ice noise!! Sorry!

2nd Day Back … After a Week of Margaritas in Mexico!

 I was wastin’ away in Margaritaville -  Now I am paying the price.  At 62 and with my current level of activity (not enough) I am really hurting when I try to finish a run of my program.  

Today I warmed up for my lesson working on some of the elements.  Did a run through with my coach and then we tweaked some steps that were sounding too scratchy on the ice.  Then to help condition me .. and probably to warm up my coach …. She made me put my program music back on and we skated the full 1:40 power stroking together.  It was fun trying to keep up with my 5 time US Champion Ice Dance and Olympian coach Naomi Lang Strong!

Groundhog Day !!!

Well I never thought I would say this again, but I have entered a competition.  My home club Lilac City Figure Skating Club is hosting the 2022 PCAS - Pacific Coast Adult Sectionals in March 2022.

I am most decidedly NOT in competitive shape nor am I expecting anything more than to show up and hopefully skate without falling.

My last competitive event was September 2016 at the ISU International Adult event in Vancouver WA.  There I skated in the Silver Pairs and Silver Ladies III event.  

Skating since then has taken a back seat to many other things.  I keep posting my practice videos and blogging when I skate but there is no longer a learning curve .. seems more like a slow-but-steady decline in my skills.

Since taking up ice dancing I have come to learn that the discipline is WAY HARDER than one may think by looking at the pattern/compulsory dances.  Putting those steps into the proper rhythm, using good extension, pointing toes and fingertips, good knee action, strong edges and turns and OMG TWIZZLES is not easy.   

When I was free skating I could see progress and improvement but in ice dancing my thoughts of disappointment and self loathing are an everyday occurrence when I watch the playback of my skating.

Nevertheless, I continue.  I do enjoy getting out there and trying and I am coming to grips with my age and body’s reconciliation with what it can and cant do.  Some of it is a mental barrier for sure and I suppose if I wanted it bad enough I would work a little harder.  More stretching, more gym time, doing things to build up stamina, etc .. but I don’t seem to be able to make the sacrifices necessary to do that.

So it is what it is … as they say.

  

Run Day - Lessons

Not much to say. Lessons didn’t accomplish much today. I was exhausted and low energy. I need more ice time. 

Ran it all today.

Happy New Year 2022 !

 First day back on the ice today.  Skipped my Monday practice and trying to cram it all into a short session.  I was pretty tired - PHFS ?  Post Holiday Fatigue Syndrome !  My stamina really bites right now. A run of my solo free dance threw my heart rate up to 164 today.  I never even leave the ice except for a couple of hops.  Gotta work on that.  

Fourteen Step:  Getting better on the pattern but still cannot skate to tempo without coach Vitali.  I sped up the video to 1.25% of the speed and it nearly matched the music.

Foxtrot:  Also getting better and I am thinking this is probably my favorite of the three evil Pre-Silver Dances!  Just need a nicer Closed Mohawk and more power to get the 2nd  pattern in the proper place

European Waltz:  My nemesis.  I am trying so hard to not wide step.  Someday somebody’s words will click with me and I will find a way to make them clean.

Solo Free Dance:  Looks pretty sloppy all throughout.  I plan to really attack this one since there is a possibility I will try and compete with it at Adult Sectionals (non-qual) event in March of 2022.  I also plan to use this program as a test: Adult Juvenile Solo Free Dance sometime.   I need to clean up my twizzles.  Coach would like to see a triple vs a double on both of them.  Me too but I lack the confidence and don’t have good form.  My counter and my chocktaw need improvements.  Most of all my overall extension, hands, head, body need a lot of work to make this a performance skate.    Nothing like a video playback to show you the TRUTH! 

Catching up on Missing Videos

 I just realized I have posted several videos on YouTube but forgotten to post them here.  So this is just a catch up on all my skating sessions since the previous blogpost.

All are just practice sessions on dance ice on Mondays.  Ice Cafe Adult sessions on Wed and Thursday with my lesson day on Thursday.

As they say in publishing:  Nothing to write home about!  I am making minuscule progress while partnering my Pre-Silver Dances.  Skating them alone they rarely are on tempo or complete full patterns.

Hellooooooo Arizona

Yep. I’m back on the ice in AZ.  And today I had 2 lessons back to back.  First with Naomi Lang.  We really needed to work on fundamentals and you’ll see why…..

Following that I had a partnering lesson with Vitali Vakunov.  Not quite up to speed but it sure felt good to be working on these dances IN HOLD!

Shamefully Back on the Ice After Another Month Off

  I finally snagged an afternoon public session to get back on the ice for the first time in a month!

No lesson scheduled for the near future due to more pending summer activities - but I tried to work on my dances and moves in the field, turns and twizzles.

Pairs Reunion with Hank

As much as I am enjoying learning to ice dance and practicing moves in the field ... this was the best day of skating I have had in a long time.  

Hank and I made a skate-date and just went for it.  We couldn't remember any of our programs but we tried to do some stroking exercises and a few little jumps and spins both together and apart.

If I had my druthers ... I'd skate partnered all the time.  2 is better than 1 ... you sure laugh more!

My Intro To Synchro

 After weeks of company and summer travel and limited ice … I finally got a chance for some EARLY morning ice and a lesson.

I also got to try a little basic synchro exercises with Amy, Sherry and coach John Saitta.  It was so fun.  I have missed tracking … from my pairs days.