Two Patterns Are Better Than One

Monday.  Everyones favorite day of the week!  

I try my best to rally for 7:00 am ice time and lesson.  Getting up at 6:00 and racing out of the house with NO COFFEE to get to the rink in time is so hard (for me) I know many skaters are ok with it and accept it as a part of the sport but for me - my joints don't really wake up until 10:00!

So the plan now is to try and put a target date for testing these dances (retesting the American Waltz which I failed the first time) and to start practicing full patterns during the lesson instead of just 1 pattern.  You can really see how fatigue and stiff knees shows up in my skating posture, extension and knee action.  

Trying to make some healthy changes but it will take time.

Monday - Monday

 I can’t seem to stay motivated to keep up the posting.  Probably because I’m so frustrated with getting back on the ice after a long summer off - new blades - sore knee.

Whatever the case.  I’m a week behind so here’s another montage of last weeks progress or lack thereof.

Summer is OVER - Back to Skating - Big Changes

Catching up on 3 vids.  

#1 was my first day back on the ice with a short lesson on my OLD blades.  MK Dance.  (They are for sale)

#2 was my first day skating on my new blades.  MK Dynasty. So far I love them.  They are the same length as the MK Dance blade (short in back) but they have a bottom toe pick that I can use while solo spinning.  I could not get centered on the MK Dance blades.  They also have a substantial top toe pick.  Not as meaty as the MK Phantoms I have on FS skates but honestly - at 65 I’m not jumping much and these could handle anything I want or need to do.

#3 was my first dance lesson on the new blades with Vitali.  One hour lesson.   When I edited the video on my phone I didn’t notice my foot placement on the dances.

They are far from perfect BUT  right out of the gate I see much less wide stepping than before.  Is this from the new boot/blade combo or just because I’m trying harder to fix what failed my dance test?  🤔 

My stamina is very low from not skating and as you can see I put on a good 15lbs this summer and on our 3 week Mediterranean cruise.  

 

A Mid-Summers Day Lesson

 Home for a couple of days before a trip to Cabo ~  Grabbed an impromptu lesson with Vitali.  Had rubber legs for the first 30 minutes but the lesson went ok, considering I haven’t skated in a month!

July 115º - No problem!

 Down in the valley for a few appointments from the White Mountains of Arizona where it’s much cooler.  It’s been over 110ª every day reaching 113-115 at our house.

Skating is a great way to beat the heat!  I didn’t skate great today and it was really early in the morning for me .. 7:00 am.

Summer Lesson w/Vitali

 In town for a few days and was able to snag a lesson with Vitali.  I don’t want to forget the steps of these dances being gone so long.

Last (regular) Dance (lesson) for the summer

Ok .. this is IT.  I’m off to the land of no ice rink for a month or so.  I’ll be back home a few times over the summer but won’t be able to take weekly lessons or skate much until fall.  Hate to lay off skating as it makes coming back that much harder but that’s the way it goes sometimes.

 

But Wait .. There’s More

 Able to squeeze in a few more lessons.  Thought I might have been done for the summer, but some of our plans have changed.

Season 12 (of Adult Skating) Finale Parts 1 & 2

I’ve been really falling apart on the ice the past few weeks.  After my big disappointment of not passing my American Waltz dance test ~ I  feel like I have kind of succumbed to a sense of failure.  My ongoing knee issues, blades issues and some busy off ice schedules have contributed, but I have only myself to blame.  There are lots of adult skaters older than I with more ailments who are “getting it done”.  

Maybe it’s time for a break and a reality check.. and maybe some new blades.  I’m also really missing freestyle and I just can’t do a darn thing on dance blades.  I’m going to dwell on this over the summer and find a solution.

Meanwhile these are my final lessons with both Naomi Lang and Vitali Vakunov for the season.

I may get a few scattered lessons over the summer when I am in town but we plan to be up in the mountains most of the time ~  enjoying life ~ off the ice.

~ Stay tuned.  Or change the channel.  💕 

Edge lesson with Naomi

Silver Dance lesson with Vitali

Frustrated.

 I didn’t skate at all since last Thursday so I guess I get what I deserve in the lack of progress department.  I am just so frustrated over not turning  a corner on these dances.