Getting better in spite of lack of time to practice

Well, work kicked my ass again this week, and between that and trying to finish up the costumes for the high school's musical, I only got to the rink twice this week, and one day of that was my lesson! I hope I can stabilize things better next week so I can skate more...

That being said, I actually did make some progress this week, and managed to surprise Will in the process! He taught me three-turns about two lessons ago, and during my practicing, I started doing them while skating forward ("in the field") rather than around the circle, which is where he taught me. At the start of my lesson, he said "let's see your turns", and as we went down to the other end of the rink to find some space, I did one out of the blue. He was actually surprised! Woo Hoo!

Of course, the rest of the lesson was back to the microscope. Will and his dance partner are going to nationals next week, and were there practicing before and after my lesson - which of course meant that they both did my lesson this week. :) It's kind of fun to watch them team-teach. They have such different methods for teaching skills, and they sort of get into arguments sometimes about it DURING my lesson (don't you hate it when Mom and Dad start fighting?). :) She loses patience with him sometimes and you can VERY much tell they are a couple when that happens... she gets this "there he goes again doing it WRONG" look on her face when she doesn't agree with how he's explaining something, and he's WAY patient when she jumps in after she just can't stand it any longer - with this long-suffering look on his face along with a loving smile. They are going to be a VERY cute old married couple one day if they don't kill each other first. :)

Because they will be gone to nationals next week, we will be missing a lesson, so Will poured on the new stuff to keep me busy. I've got my hands full practicing two of the three dances for my first test, as well as some new footwork stuff that my feet simply refuse to understand.

Step, Step, Tangle, LooneyTunesFall, sheepish grin.....

All in all, however - things are really settling in. I'm feeling less the mutant on the ice now, and if I can figure out how to balance things so I can get to the rink consistently, there might just be hope for me yet!

Oh - and I worked out with Blue this week - and once again I was nearly prostrate with exhaustion by the end... in fact I actually got sick DURING the workout and had to ask him to back off the intensity. I'm willing to work as hard as he pushes me, and I don't seem to have a "governor" that will stop me from killing myself.

You see, the problem is that I'm a middle-aged has-been with a testosterone poisoning problem. During my workouts, Blue is always asking "where are you painwise on a scale of 1 to 10? 8?". My response? "4, bring it on!", even though I'm much nearer 11 by that point. Yes, I'm an idiot. Testosterone doesn't make that any better.

We had a long talk and he's going to ease up on the intensity so I won't die in his studio. We can work hard without killing me - and his 32-year-old underwear-model brain just has to learn that I'm friggin' 47 and can't keep up!

At least, not yet :)

Better and better

This has really been an ego-positive week on the ice. I'm really starting to "get" all this, and now that I'm getting good enough to start doing things that are interesting, my attitude is improving.

At my lesson today, Will deconstructed my backward inside edges (posture problems again - when oh when will I stop looking down at the ice!!), checked in on my backwards serpentines (the new trick I learned last week that I LOVE), and at the end of the lesson, threw TWO new somethings at me.

Three Turns - Will said "it's time to start learning turns" and promptly showed me the quickest way yet to put my butt on the ice.... turns out (and he warned me, but did I listen?) when you first learn inside three-turns, you are absolutely, positively guaranteed to land on your ass. No questions and no exceptions. On outside three-turns, you have a free leg on the side you are moving toward that you can use to catch yourself. No problems there. However, on an INSIDE three-turn, the leg you might use to catch yourself is conveniently placed on the wrong side of your body.... so when you catch an edge (which you WILL DO), there's nothing keeping you from a technicolor wipeout.

Ouch.

I finally got it, after a fashion, and now I have something new to obsess about during my practice sessions.

The other thing he threw at me was my SECOND DANCE!!!! The Canasta Tango isn't that hard, but it's a smaller pattern on the ice and being 6'3", small is always an issue for me. Hell, as a dancer, by the time I did tombe, pas de bouree, glissade I was already at the other wall and had no room for the beautiful jete that's supposed to come at the end of that classic floor combination. Tombe, pas de bouree, glissade, WALL. Not pretty. Same problem here.... too much Clay, not enough ice. Trying to keep this sucker small will be good for me.

Still, I take it as a good sign that Will is starting to throw more stuff at me. But DAMN I'm going to have to start working even harder in my practice sessions if I'm going to keep up. I normally get to the rink 4 mornings a week, but I'm going to have to really try for five. The rink is canceling the Saturday morning times beginning next week (I think the hockey program is doing so well they need the time), so my only opportunities will be weekdays - gotta make the most of them

So all in all - good week. I seem to be having more of those than not these days. Thank goodness!

My coach ROCKS

I probably don't say it often enough, but my coach ROCKS!

I had my pickup lesson this morning. After spending Monday and Tuesday practicing the new backwards arabesque thingy he threw at me on Friday, he was really pleased with my progress and helped me deconstruct why I was less stable on my left leg than on my right. I am continually amazed at his ability to figure out exactly why something isn't working, and give me just the right guidance to correct it. Given how subtle a lot of the positioning can be, that's a minor miracle.

I really worked hard the past few days - possibly too hard, as I'm pretty sore right now. I really like doing that new move - it's the first time I've actually felt like a dancer again, rather than a mutant on ice with an extra elbow or three. I even started playing around with different arm positions and variations (which Will chided me for... it was messing up my alignment, and was part of my problem on the left). Be that as it may, the past three days have really been a joy at the rink.

And wonder of wonders, Anna even complimented me on my forward stroking as I was finishing up my practice!

It's officially the end of the world, and hell has truly frozen over.

Want to have a snowball fight? :)