Spinnnin and Stuff

Well, first of all, Robin landed her double axel beautifully and numerous times today. It was really awesome to watch it happen and she was so excited. I hope that this shows her that when she works harder she has better results and will encourage her to work more.

I'm finally settling into my skates. I still need to learn how to lace them so that they are tight enough to support me but loose enough that they don't hurt like holyhannahbanana. It's a balane i'm still struggling to find, so I'm working on it. I di dhowever manage to start spinning again today. It's still going to take some work to overcome the bad habits I developed in my other skates, but it's improving.

There is this new adult skater that's starting to skate here regularly and um...I don't like him. He skates really really fast and hogs the ice and I just really don't like it. There's a definite "attitude" about him and i don't like it...not at all. He makes me uncomfortable on the ice and there's just something i can't put my finger on.

But it was another day back at the rink, and it did feel good to skate. :)

Skate woes fixed!

So, my new skates were still giving me issues but the "Skate guy" here at the rink finally fixed them for me today. He "punched" out the toe area of my right skate and adjusted the blade so I can get over on an outside edge. This should greatly help me get my spins back under control and help me from falling over on that inside edge on my right foot.

My lesson was pretty much a disaster. They all have been lately. I hope that once I get my skates all settled and my feet stop aching that everything will go more smoothly. I don't know if it will happen or not, but I'm really hoping., I'm starting to get to that "very frustrated with my skating" point and I don't want to be there.

Sam and Erin both test today. I hope they do well. Kensie also tests today...she's testing her senior moves again. I really hope she passes!

Robin almost got it...

She's almost got her double axel AND her triple salchow. She's so close. She's landed the double axel a couple of times...and it's been clean...she just has to get it consistent. I'm a little shocked she's gotten it because she doesn't seem to want it very much.

I was really glad to see Jill back at the rink this morning, but her mother...egads this woman! She was just so angry about the fact that a whole 50 minutes has been cut from the freestyle schedule on Saturdays to accomodate a Synchro team. Well...no one is here at 5:30 am...why not just get up earlier? Good grief. If i can drag my bottom out of bed, so can anyone else.

I'm really tired today and not quite feeling well...i can't put my finger on it, but i just don't feel quite right. I'll of course still skate during the afternoon session, but i'm tired...so tired. I can't wait until a sleep in day. Can not wait.

Inferior

When i'm on the ice with these kids i can't help but feel inferior. Long gone are the days when I could haul my 200 pound ass up off the ice and actually land an axel or a double salchow. Long gone are the days when I could skate at full speed for an hour and not get winded or tired.

I struggle. I mean I really struggle. I look at pictures and videos of myself skating and the struggle is so obvious. I look scared, I barely leave the ice when I jump, and my spins are a disaster of mis-balance and poor edge control. I'm slow...so slow and even when I feel like i'm going fast, i'm really going about half a mile an hour. It's so frustrating.

It's probably why I like skating by myself so much. When I'm here alone, there's no one watching me fail. I can be the skater I am in my mind instead of the one I am in actuality. The skater in my mind has beautiful deep edges, solid jumps, and beautiful spins. The skater I am in actuality is shaky, nervous, and really...just sad.

It's better with synchro because I dont' feel like I'm the worst skater on the team. I'm nowhere near the best skater, but I keep up and know what I'm doing for the most part. But when I'm out on the ice practicing my Moves in the Field or my Freestyle, I'm just...slow, old, fat, and akward. It gets really old feeling this way. Really old.

Robin doesn't fly...

So, Robin is working on her double axel. She has been working on it very very seriously for a few weeks and it just isn't improving. She's not consistent in her take off and she falls every single time she attempts the jump. It's frustrating to watch her because in the back of my mind, I know that if she were more committed to skating and tried harder, she'd land it. She just really doesn't care. I wonder at this point if her continuing to skate is even a good idea. If she doesn't want to be here, i'm not sure she should be. Maybe a month or two as a "normal kid" would cure her and she'd be back and skating harder than ever.

Another rink rat that i'm growing more used to seeing is Tim. He used to only skate on saturday mornings at this rink and apparently during the week skated elsewhere, but now that school has started Tim is here morning and afternoon. He's 11 and the best skater at this rink bar none. This kid WILL be an olympian, i"m quite sure of it and i'm looking forward to the day when I can say "i knew him when....".

Roxy's mom fixed my skating dress for me today-- the one that i had made myself. It's much better now, but i fear the skirt is going to be too short and look bad, but oh well. It's not like i'll be skating in it all that much. I'm grateful for the help, as I had made a complete mess of the hem.

The new skates are still hurting, but I'm going to take them upstairs tonight and get them punched out a bit. I'm still having trouble with the pressure on the outside of my arches, but I think that's just because my arches are so high that the skate is hitting me in an odd way. I keep going out for half an hour at a time to try to make the skates feel better.

I've decided I'm really upset about not getting to test on Sunday. I'm ready to test these moves and be able to move on, and now i feel like i'm stuck here for another 2 months. I'm not happy about it. I'm ready to pass bronze and move on to silver...soon.

Sharpening and such

So, today I learned how to sharpen rental skates. It's pretty mindlessly easy, but it's important that they all get sharpened before the start of Learn to Skate in September. I did 10 pair today. Janice is a bit overly excited about the fact that she's learned how to do this and has taught someone else. Of course, Janice is overly excited about just about everything, so I guess I shouldn't be suprised.

The new skates hurt my feet...of course they hurt my feet.  I'm hoping that will get better over time as my feet get used to them, but for now...OW. I'm pretty unhappy with the aching in my arches specifically...but at least they don't hurt my toes anymore...there's just a lot of pressure in an odd spot on my arches. I've removed the factory insoles which has helped considerably, but now i'm unsure of what to do about the arches. I'm hoping it kind of fixes itself or that I get health insurance soon so I can just go to a podiatrist.

I had another lesson with Chloe today! She's such a joy to spend time with!

In fun rink news, school has started so all of the rink-rats have new schedules. I miss my usual kiddos that are here in the mornings.

New Skates :(

So...I got new skates. They are Riedell 355's and I have my old Wilson Coronation Comet blades on them. They aren't the best skates in the world, but they are certainly a lot better than what I was skating in as far as the fit and the comfort level.

Tonight I met with the skate guy and he adjusted the blades for me, they are still not quite right, but they are definitely better than before. I'm feeling alot better about things when I don't have the searing awful pain in my foot, but there's the new pain of breaking in skates to deal with.

I guess the most amusing fun was that i skated for an hour with synchro in the new boots. Um ouch. But, synchro practice went really well. I totally nailed my back lunge and am getting stronger with the rest of the program. I'm slightly disappointed that we are going to have to be an Open Adult team instead of a Master's team and i'm REALLY disappointed that one of the skaters that gave me the most of a headache last season will be skating with us. I sincerely dislike being yelled at by pre-teens. It just doesn't seem right for a 12 year old to be bossing around adults on an adult team. 

I do love the program we're doing though...i really like the music and the choreography thusfar.

The Coaches...

There are several different types of coaches here at the rink...besides the obvious "good" and "bad", but i prefer my own special categories.

The Ice Princesses: These were the little girls who skated as children and who could do no wrong and still feel like they deserve to be princesses even today. These are the ones who amuse me the most because of their sense of entitlement.

Nichole: she's only got a few students because she's so hard to deal with, but she'll announce to anyone who will listen that she's a "national level coach" and a "technical specialist" and therefore she doesn't understand why skaters aren't just flocking to her and fawning over her every breath. She's not very nice to other coaches, tries to steal students, and is generally a poopiehead.

Ellen: a former dancer and still a competitor, she's got princess syndrome to the highest degree. It's almost kind of sad how princessy she is. This is the type of coach who takes six weeks worth of pre-payment and then doesn't show up for the lessons. She also doesn't show up alot for classes...it's classy.

Pam: She's the old princess....the princess that is wayyyy past her prime but still likes to brag about how wonderful and special she is. She'll tell anyone who will listen that she's got the best resume at the rink and loves to tout her "off ice" skills.

Then we have the Russians:

Viktor: Viktor is the most expensive coach at the rink. He was a national champion and an olympian, so I guess he can charge whatever he wants. He's actually a good coach, but i'm not sure he's as good as he thinks he is...but heck, i'm not sure any of the coaches are as good as they think they are.

Oksana: If there was a sterotypical russian figure skating coach, Oksana would be it. She's beautiful, and talented, and meaner than a two headed snake. I think her students are scared of her, to be honest.

Then there are those that really aren't here that often...Anna, Mary, aand Parker. They aren't great, aren't awful, but just kind of "are".

Kensie is a newer coach and teaches Learn to Skate with me, and Karen of course is my coach and the coach of the synchro team.

And then of course there is the Manager...Janice...she has 4 "competitive" skaters. She's got high expectations, but low commitment level to meeting them. She's also a disorganized mess, but that's an amusing story for another day I suppose.

The Rink Rats

I feel like I should introduce you to my usual "rink rats"-- the kids who i see on a near-daily basis here at the rink.

I start almost every day spending time with Megan. She gets to the rink around 7:30 every morning and gets on the ice around 8. She's 11 years old and in the 5th grade and is very very sweet. She's an excellent skater and is landing most of her doubles consistently. She's a very polite child and her mother is often with her. Megan speaks fluent Japanese and has a very solid skating work ethic. She skates pre-juv.

Sam is probably my favorite of the kids...he's one of the only boys at the rink and is a really funny kid. He's 13 and entering 7th grade. He'll be competing pre-juv this season and is regualrly landing doubles and has a combination jump of 3 doubles in a row. I often call him my "little coach" because he likes to coach me on the ice and make me skate even when I'm not feeling it. He's also very...umm...expressive.

Roxy is probably my other favorite. She's very cute, very funny, and has a huge smile that just goes on and on forever. She's a good skater, but lacks the drive to improve even more. She's her on worst enemy on the ice. Her mom is one of the skater moms that has a firm grip on reality and realizes her child's limitations and shortcomings.

Robin..oh Robin. Of all the kids at the rink with the most potential to really go far, Robin is the one. She could be an olympic champion. She's 12 years old, is home schooled, and is a beautiful skater. But this child...she has no drive and no self discipline. She has all of the potential in the world, natural skating talent, natural grace, but she's so un-committed to the sport. I think her mother and her coach want her to succeed more than she wants it for herself and it really shows. She doesn't do her warm up, she doesn't skate unless her coach is here to make her, and she's very very very rude.

Tara is such a beautiful girl and a beautiful skater. She's got these long beautiful legs that make her jumps gigantic. She struggles with being graceful, as her limbs kind of get tangled up around each other, but when everything works in her favor, it's beautiful.

Michele is gone now...and it makes me sad. She taught classes with me and was working on her Senior Moves test. She didnt' pass. She is a very committed skater, but is now off to college and will likely not skate anymore. I'm hoping she misses skating and makes a commitment to keep going at least until she can pass her tests, but in the meantime, i'm going to miss her at the rink and during class sessions.

Carrie is another one of thse high potential skaters who doesn't have the work ethic to follow through on what she does. She got a level 3 spin at her last competition, which is pretty awesome, but I have to be honest that I'm suprised she did that well. She doesn't even seem to care at all.

Jilll is probably the most beautiful skater at the rink. She's graceful  and talented and her jumps and spins are really developing into a quality that will be competitive on a national level. She's also one of the most polite self diciplined skaters here. She does everything she's supposed to do, follows the direction of her coaches and listens to all of the adults. Her largest downfall is her mother. She has one of  *those* mothers...a pushy overbearing skate mom. Gah.

The other kid with a crazy mom is Sarah. Sarah is also a lovely skater and also skates on a synchro (not mine) team. But her mom...her mom is a braggart talking about how wonderful Sarah is and how special she is and how special her team is and as a person who sits here all day, i can assure you listening to Sarah's mom begins to feel like listening to nails on a chalkboard.

Finally, for this group at least, is Moica. Monica kind of just decided to start skating a year or so ago and suddenly has an axel. She's flat out amazing. She's only 10 but is already 5'8 and still growing and her jumps are enormous. She's a little princess, but her mom is NOT one of those over indulgent princess pampering types, so Monica doesn't get away with much. It's actually quite funny to watch the two of them together.

So...those are the usual suspects...more introductions to come as necessary, and a coaches' overview is coming soon.

Chloe

I have my first private student. Her name is Chloe and she is by far the most adorable child on the planet. She's 2 years old. She was in my Tot 1 class on Saturday mornings and she just loved everything so much that her Mom wanted to keep her skating during the break between classes, so I have a private student. She was so cute today on the ice. She had never been on the ice with kids doing jumps and spins and programs before so, she was very easily distracted and kept turning her head to watch everything going on instead of watching what we were doing, but she did great! We had a really good time during our lesson and she did really well. I'm trying to teach her how to swizzle, which is taking some patience, but her marching is great and when she's even just barely holding my hand she marches so fast that she's almost really stroking already, which is pretty awesome. Spending 30 minutes on the ice with Chloe made my whole day just wonderful.

Chloe before skating

Working at the ice rink some more!

So another day another day at the rink. I got a new chair...it's lower than the stools i've been sitting on, so my hands have to reach way up to use the computer, but even so, it's wayyyyy more comfortable. It was 20bucks well spent.




I'm afraid i'm going to have to bite the bullet and buy new skates. My other ones are giving me so much trouble and i'm pulling to an inside edge on everything which is really not good when you're supposed to be nicely over your outside edge or spinning up on the flat. I can't get there...it takes so much work to get there and is so painful and in 2 weeks i start teaching again and will be on the ice for up to 4 hours at a time...i have to have skates that don't kill my feet. I'm not happy about this, BUT, i've managed to find a deal...brand new skates for $250. This is a huge deal...seriously huge, so i think i might just have to do it. Bah.



The freestyle schedule for fall came out today and unfortunately i'm going to hve to get here at 5:30 some mornings. 5:30!!!! OMFG! That's 30 minutes earlier than i get here now. Seriously...that's freaking insane. In-Sane. Crazy. I'm not happy about this. Not happy. I am however very happy to ahve a job and to be working, so i'll shut up about it...just a warning though "its too early" whining will commence soon. Just sayin :)



The good news is that it won't be every day because i'm teaching 12 hours of learn to skate each week so i only need 28 hours of ice monitor i'm not allowed to work more than 40...so i'll have to make some adjustments in my schedule. Basically, i set my schedule myself but i will be expected to be here mornings a few days a week...so we'll see. I'll figure it out tomorrow when we have our "coaches meeting".


I actually love love love what i'm doing right now...seriously. I get to hang out at the rink, watch my favorite sport, teach little ones how to skate, and i get free ice for myself. It's really a wonderful job and because i'm a member of the Professional Skater's Association, i'm going to be able to get health insurance. Insurance! How i have missed thee!!!



All in all, while it isn't what i went to 8 years of school to do, it's a job...and i like it...and there is ZERO stress and no long trips with obnoxious teenagers and the rude/obnoxious coaches that ARE here i don't have to really deal with all that much and my boss is a total ditz but a genuinely good person. I also dont' have to leave events early to get back to work for Sunday morning, although i do have to go to bed on Friday nights if i'm in town.



I'm rather content to tell the truth...and i'm getting lots of exercise. Yay. Seriously....Yay.



So..yeah...i'm sounding happier these days. There's much less stress in my life and i'm getting to spend a lot of time doing something i love. I might even have kids in a competition in January. Yay!

But I don't wanna!!!!

I think i'm going to have to suck it up and buy new skates. I don't want to buy them. I'm angry that i need to, but i'm also going to be spending 4-6 hours a day on the ice 2-3 days a week starting in september and i can't see how i'm going to do it if putting skates on my feet is painful. As much as it really bothers me to have to do it, i'm going to have to buy new skates. This really really really makes me sad, but at least i'm working and making money and i don't have to pull $250 out of thin air. Of course, if anyone has just a random $250 laying around and they wanted to buy skates for me because they think i'm awesome, that would rock. However, i'm not holding my breath on that, so...yeah...new skates.




I don't want to break in new skates! gah!

Six times!

Workin at the ice rink ice rink ice rink workin at the ice rink damn it's cold....




So...this morning I skated for 2 hours. I didn't mean to skate for 2 hours, but it happened and i'm rather glad it did. My skates feel much better after using huberds in them and shoving a hockey puck down into the toe overnight I could actually wear them :) I did my program six times today and it didn't suck, but it's not good. I videoed it, but can't get my dang camera card to download...growl.



I shouldn't have videoed it...i'ts depressing...my jumps barely leave the ice....like seriously....barely.



But everything is improving every single day.



well...almost everything...i'm tired....really tired...my body cant' quite adjust to the new schedule and to all the exercise and where 1300 calories a day was plenty when i was only skating once a week, now that i'm skating once a day? i'm freaking starving all the damn time.



gahhhhh.

Adventures in Cornville

Cornville... that lovely place situated upon my right pinky toe...it's a lovely place...um...no i'ts not. I"ve treated it, i've babied it, and it still freaking hurts. I had my skate punched out and that helped a little, but gah...idk...its still bad. So, today i lodged a hockey puck down in it and tied it up to see if that would stretch it out. We'll see what that does. If THAT doesn't work, i'm going to have to go buy a pair of used skate boots that have a bigger toe box or something because i can't skate every day and teach and coach if i can't put skates on my feet. It will not work. We'll see how the hockey puck works....i'm hopeful.




There are two skaters skating right nwo that are clearly synchro skaters...one had on a Team USA jacket and a Miami university t-shirt so i'm pretty sure she's on the MIami synchro team, which is hella awesome. They are one of hte best synchro teams in the US...actually one of the best in the world, so i'm really enjoying watching these girls skate. I wanna talk to them but dont' want to sound like a geeky fangirl.



I'm kind of amused by just how crowded the rink is today...seriously it's like rush hour out there today. I'm really glad that i'm not skating this session.



I did skate this morning, but yeah...cornville.



I also walked a mile around the track this morning. That was good...except um...yeah my feet keep going numb in my tennis shoes, which sucked alot, but i figure it's just gonna take some getting used to.



All of this working and being at the rink is starting to bother me in regards to the amount of time i'm spending at home. As much as i love working again, I hate not being home . I miss my boyrfiend and I miss the time together and the regularity of chores and the relaxed routine. But, for now, i need the financial help...i need to be able to pay my phone bill and a few other things. I'm hoping to get some private students...that pays muuuuuuuch bettter and if i do get them, that will help too.



I do love being here. I love that my job is mindlessly easy...i mean really easy...i sit here. I take receipts. That's it. i do nothing else...and i can skate when i want. it's kinda cake. I dont' even care that it doesn't pay very much...it pays

Synchro Practice :)

So last night was another synchro practice. It was rough, as we skated for an hour and a half solid with no break and the one break we thought we got we didn't get and the coach yelled at us for taking it even though she said "take a drink"...it was unclear at best. Anyway...practice went well. I again made it through the whole thing without dying, so that's a win,




Our program is kind of difficult and the person who happened to be to my left for most of it keeps breaking her grip on my hand. I hold on to her for dear life, but she gives up and lets go of me and I can't hold on anymore and the circle breaks and it seriously isn't all me. I'm trying to be uber patient because i know i'm not the best skater on the team either, but for cryin out loud i at least hold on to the person next to me.



Karen has me leading a couple of lines...this is a new thing for me as before she'd have moved me to make sure i wasn't in the lead. That means that she trusts my skating ability more than she used to. She still yells at me, but not as much and not for the same things. It feels pretty good that she'll let me be on the end of a line. That's kind of an earned position.



She put a backwards lunge in our program. This is not an easy move to do for anyone, but particularly not for someone who is old and a little less in shape. It's a hard move but i'm getting it. I worked on it during my practice time this morning and was able to do it well...well at least the getting down there part...,the getting up? yeah um...gotta work on that a bit more for sure. It was ummmm....yeah.



At the end of practice we did this circle thing a conditioning exercise...she made me do it twice. The second time my legs gave out, but i did manage to make it through most of it. It's frustrating to still have issues keeping up, but i do ok and i'm certainly not the slowest or the most akward, so that makes it better.



Anyway...just thinking about synchro...hoping my toe starts to play more nicely so i can practice again in the morning...tomorrow should be better...i'm giving it some time to breathe/heal a bit this afternoon. I might go upstairs and my skate punched some more, but we'll see how it is.

Another morning at the rink....

It's hard for me to believe its 90 degrees outside when i'm in a fleece and under a banket. It's kinda funny.




So the weekend was really good. I slept alot...like probably more than i should have, but my body is still totally adjusting to this new schedule. I'm trying to learn how my body is adapting to the exercise. I'm not sure where the line between enough and too much is. How much is too much? How do you know the difference between just tired and exhausted in the muscle department? I want to push myself to develop endurance, but I don't want to push myself so much that i can't keep going. It's hard to figure out where my body is right now. I mean...i'm tired...really tired, but I did skate. I'm just wokring on figuring it out. I might need to actually discuss this with my coach or possibly a personal trainer. i guess i need to figure this out soon. Lol. I need a fitness routine that makes sense.



In the continuing adventures of the corn on my toe, it was better and then i skated for an hour and a half last night and now it's not bettter. Now it hurts like a mo. I dunno what to do about it, but i know i need to maybe get my skate punched a bit more to leave myself more room in that skate. I don't know, but i do know i don 't like the searing pain in my toe when i put my skate on...it sucks alot.



It amazes me how the rink is empty at 6am and now at 25 til 10 there are easily 25 skaters on the ice. These skaters could all be so much more productive if they'd spread out their practice times. I think the coaches have some responsibility in that

Ice monitoring is superfun!

Well...i'm going to be updating alot when i'm here at the rink...all i do is sit here and make sure people pay for ice. I've already caught some people sneaking on, so it's a good thing i'm here, but it's not very exciting when i'm actually doing the work.

Working at the ice rink ice rink ice rink....

So, it's week one of the new life schedule...and um...yeah my body does not like being awake at 4:30. However, there was some way positve stuff this morning. First, my commute took less than 45 minutes-- woo hoo. Second, i got to see the sun rise. Third...i got to skate on a completely empty rink by myself. It was so wonderful to just be able to close my eyes and skate...just skate. When i'm alone on the ice, i'm not old and fat and out of shape and "that damn lefty"...when i'm by myself? I'm just me...skating. It feels so good. I'm looking forward to tomorrow morning when i can be alone again. Apparently, the kids don't really start arriving until 7 or 8...so the first hour or so of the session is nearly empty. This makes me very happy. So, basically, yeah I'm going to get paid to skate. I'm not sad about this.




I'm also amused by the number of kids who really believe they are going to be the next Michelle Kwan or Tara Lapinski or Evan Lysacheck. Seriously folks....out of the literal THOUSANDS (170,000 members of USFSA) of people who skate, 2 women and 2 men make it to that level every year. While many of these kids might have decent skating careers there might be 2-3 from our rink that even qualify on a national level at any point. I think the parents need a serious reality check and the kids need to either really focus on their skating or they need to acknowledge that they are a non-national level competitor. Some of these kids have zero work ethic and then wonder why their coaches get frustrated. Ah...oh well. It brings in money for the rink...the rink pays me...life is good.



I've got my fancy new employee id card for the park district now, so that means i can use all the facilities....which is awesome...so in my downtime between ice- monitor shifts, i'm going to try to use the gym facilities. In addition to skating, if i add some weights/resistance training, i think my weight loss will be accellerated and my skating will probably improve more quickcly which would be really nice. I just don't have the brute strength necessary to haul my ass off the ice for my jumps, so added strength would help.



I'm also going to be getting this fancy thing called a regular pay check. I've kind of forgotten what that is, but i'm kinda excited to be reminded.