Nothing But Ice
This was my last week before my fall classes begin. I skated every day. Luckily, most of the kids have already gone back to school, so I enjoyed empty daytime publics which I get to skate for free since I'm coaching.
It was a great week of skating. My allergies are still terrible, and I wouldn't have been surprised if my skating was awful, but all of the work Coach K and I have put into improving my technique has paid off. I was still congested and even somewhat dizzy from allergy medication, but I managed to practice all of the important skills that I'll need in my program this year.
Jumps have been going really well. I'm now consistently doing an outisde edge spread eagle into my axel. I have great flow in and out of the jump, probably better than the plain single. I just have to remember to keep my right side back on the take-off and step up into the jump.
Double sals have been much more consistent this week which has absolutely amazed me. I sure didn't expect consistency to come when I was feeling so awful. I'm really feeling a push off of the ice on take-off, and I'm jumping much straighter instead of spinning off of my toepick. I'm also keeping my arms over my right side which has stabilized the whole jump. The double sals that I've missed this week have been when I throw my left arm around my body, and I now recognize that feeling and know how to fix it!
Double toes are still not back to the consistency I had after Nationals, but they're getting better. I realized today that I was collapsing on the left side of my core while in the air. No wonder I kept falling out on my left hip! I did a lot of drills today and focused on really pulling up into the jump, left side included. I'll have to have Coach K look at these during Tuesday's lesson, but I'm pretty sure I made some progress today.
Double loops are still waaay cheated. They're still about 1/2 a turn short, but I'm starting to pull that last bit of rotation around instead of landing forward and doing a 3turn. Considering I've barely worked on these, I'm pleased with the progress. Maybe they'll be ready for Nationals this year???
I'm also spending a lot of time working on walleys. I want one in my program this year! Someday, I'd also like to learn to do reverse walleys, but that'll have to wait until another year. I'm getting pretty comfortable with a regular walley, and Coach K has me working on doing two in a row. They're quirky little jumps, and every time I do one, I feel like I'm going to die. In all of my other jumps, throwing my body to the left pretty much guarantees failure. In a walley, I have to throw myself to the left, and then pull back over my right side in mid-air. It's a freaky feeling, but I'm getting used to it.
Spins haven't been the best this week, but with the head congestion and dizziness, I'm not worried about it. I can now get a consistent back camel on an inside edge though. It's not 100% yet, but it should be ready for Nationals. My layback is also improving. I can now get 8 revs consistently, but I still need another feature to get a level 2.
I've also been working moves like crazy. I put in my application for the September test, but most likely, there won't be enough gold judges until the November session. I think the whole test has really improved. I was only .1 under passing on each move last time, and I think every move has gotten better. The outside rocker pattern is giving me the most trouble right now. I just barely fit it in, and I'm not even pushing as hard as I could. And, since I know that I'm tight on space, I tend to jerk out of the back turns in an attempt to save space by getting a deeper edge. It's not an attractive habit, and the judges did notice it on the last test, so I really need to show improvement in order to get a passing score this time. The good news is that my power pull rocker pattern is getting soooo much better. I feel like I'm absolutely flying through it now. I'm still a little weaker on the left foot, so I'm giving that side extra attention, but it's pretty good right now. I really want to be above passing average on this test. I just squeaked by on intermediate and novice, and I'd love to say that I nailed the junior test.
It was a great week of skating. My allergies are still terrible, and I wouldn't have been surprised if my skating was awful, but all of the work Coach K and I have put into improving my technique has paid off. I was still congested and even somewhat dizzy from allergy medication, but I managed to practice all of the important skills that I'll need in my program this year.
Jumps have been going really well. I'm now consistently doing an outisde edge spread eagle into my axel. I have great flow in and out of the jump, probably better than the plain single. I just have to remember to keep my right side back on the take-off and step up into the jump.
Double sals have been much more consistent this week which has absolutely amazed me. I sure didn't expect consistency to come when I was feeling so awful. I'm really feeling a push off of the ice on take-off, and I'm jumping much straighter instead of spinning off of my toepick. I'm also keeping my arms over my right side which has stabilized the whole jump. The double sals that I've missed this week have been when I throw my left arm around my body, and I now recognize that feeling and know how to fix it!
Double toes are still not back to the consistency I had after Nationals, but they're getting better. I realized today that I was collapsing on the left side of my core while in the air. No wonder I kept falling out on my left hip! I did a lot of drills today and focused on really pulling up into the jump, left side included. I'll have to have Coach K look at these during Tuesday's lesson, but I'm pretty sure I made some progress today.
Double loops are still waaay cheated. They're still about 1/2 a turn short, but I'm starting to pull that last bit of rotation around instead of landing forward and doing a 3turn. Considering I've barely worked on these, I'm pleased with the progress. Maybe they'll be ready for Nationals this year???
I'm also spending a lot of time working on walleys. I want one in my program this year! Someday, I'd also like to learn to do reverse walleys, but that'll have to wait until another year. I'm getting pretty comfortable with a regular walley, and Coach K has me working on doing two in a row. They're quirky little jumps, and every time I do one, I feel like I'm going to die. In all of my other jumps, throwing my body to the left pretty much guarantees failure. In a walley, I have to throw myself to the left, and then pull back over my right side in mid-air. It's a freaky feeling, but I'm getting used to it.
Spins haven't been the best this week, but with the head congestion and dizziness, I'm not worried about it. I can now get a consistent back camel on an inside edge though. It's not 100% yet, but it should be ready for Nationals. My layback is also improving. I can now get 8 revs consistently, but I still need another feature to get a level 2.
I've also been working moves like crazy. I put in my application for the September test, but most likely, there won't be enough gold judges until the November session. I think the whole test has really improved. I was only .1 under passing on each move last time, and I think every move has gotten better. The outside rocker pattern is giving me the most trouble right now. I just barely fit it in, and I'm not even pushing as hard as I could. And, since I know that I'm tight on space, I tend to jerk out of the back turns in an attempt to save space by getting a deeper edge. It's not an attractive habit, and the judges did notice it on the last test, so I really need to show improvement in order to get a passing score this time. The good news is that my power pull rocker pattern is getting soooo much better. I feel like I'm absolutely flying through it now. I'm still a little weaker on the left foot, so I'm giving that side extra attention, but it's pretty good right now. I really want to be above passing average on this test. I just squeaked by on intermediate and novice, and I'd love to say that I nailed the junior test.
posted by Jennifer @ 1:45 PM
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