Process oriented versus goal oriented training

I was writing at the beginning of the month, here, that I'm always surprised of how much more I enjoy skating when I just go and skate (without focusing on training and progress). And now, that I'm skating with the desire to test in my mind, I'm very surprised again of how less enjoyable skating becomes (the degree of it and also how quickly). To be clear, what I'm saying is that when I "train" I loose the enjoyment and also the motivation. Also, I'm wondering if I wouldn't make the same progress anyhow, without "pushing"...

I started private lessons knowing that I want to improve my skating. And the obvious process, was to do what everybody does, use the testing to structure and motivate the training. Somewhere along the way it seems to me that I've lost the "process" and I've lost sight on my goal to progress, and I've got hooked onto the goal of passing tests. And that, passing tests, wasn't even a goal to start with, that was just part of the "process"!

I've been talking to skating friends about this and also googling "process oriented versus goal oriented training" and it confirms what I feel, that in the long run, a process oriented training is more effective. But, wait, you still need to have goals! And you "have" to find ways to enjoy the process. And whoever red my older posts knows that I'm actively trying to find enjoyment  because I've lost it at points, I think when I was training too hard. In the end, my research's conclusion is that training should be a combination of process and goal oriented approaches. Great!, but I haven't really found specific advice, something that I could apply and help me.

Trying to analyze here: my goal was and is, progress... to became a goodish (in my mind that is an intermediate level) figure skater, and NOT an adult figure skater. The difference in my eyes is that the adult skaters look more hesitant. I don't think this is unrealistic... The second goal would be to enjoy my time skating, and in my past experience, pushing for progress was going against the enjoyment and vice versa.

My approach, "process" was to train as the kids do and test as the kids do (standard track too, as the kids test)... Is this unrealistic? Obviously the kids have more energy, stronger bodies, they come back quicker from injury, they don't injure themselves so easily, they have less life responsibilities (maybe?), they have their skating friends that do the exact same thing, they have a support system from this skating friends community, they "play" with their friends, are in competition with their friends, are inspired and motivated by their friends. On the other hand, my injury hold me back big time, and I feel alone in my endeavor, while there are adult skaters, they all are very different from each other and myself.

I'm wondering if testing standard (that is part of my "process" now), may be unrealistic? Should I switch to adult track testing to make it more manageable, it would be easier to pass the tests, so maybe not motivate me so much, but would still be a process. I haven't tested in a while (I wasn't ready) and that makes me feel I'm not progressing. I believe I AM progressing but I don't have that confirmation of progress and that makes me not confident. I have to keep an eye on this.

I'm also looking forward to make the training "process" more automatic, in the sense that I would make a plan to do a certain number of a certain element and move on. At this point I feel I "judge" myself all the time in an effort to improve what it needs the most improvement. On the other hand I feel I've used a more automatic approach in the past and it felt boring and it hasn't allowed me much emotional involvement... that translates to me in enjoyment. But then again, judging myself gets me frustrated, that it's not any better.

So, after all this thinking and research, my conclusion is that there is no conclusion... I should keep an eye on balancing things, like I feel I was trying anyway, but it seems I've lost the awareness of it lately.

Skating Technique: Figures

I decided to add "figures" to my skating practice. I feel practicing them brings awareness on the body alignment for good edges, and also create body memory of that alignment. Mostly I feel they are easier on the body then the rest of the skating. I'm trying to skate 5 times a week Monday to Friday, but I know my body cannot take intense skating every day, so I can practice figures when I feel tired or when I want to preserve energy for the next day.

So I've spent a private lesson, with my regular coach that luckily teaches everything, on figures. He brought a scribe (like a big compass) to make a perfect circle mark on ice. Interestingly, when testing figures, you cannot use marks, not even the hockey marks and line that are on ice, lower levels can mark the center, that's it. But for practice, having a perfect circle drawn (scratched really), gives you the opportunity to start learning correctly. There are many rules for figures, but the lesson was 30 minutes, I don't think that would be enough to talk trough all the rules... So we jumped right into the forward circle eight, outside and inside edges. Besides, the rules are online, here: https://www.usfigureskating.org/sites/default/files/media-files/Compulsory%20Figures%20Rules.pdf

 What I've learned in the lesson:
- 2 circles were drawn, tangent to each other, with a radius of 94 inches. In my calculations I would need 98, to follow the rule, that is that "the diameter of each circle should be approximately three times the height of the skater"
- The start push is very specific, very exact: from a perfect T position, with the ball of the skating foot exactly on the starting line. AND all the subsequent  pushes are like that... Plus they have to be on top of each other...
- You have to repeat a figure 3 times, and the tracing should be on top of each other (I know there is a few inches allowance, but I don't remember it now).
- On this first lesson I wasn't taught specifics about how I should hold my body. I'm already able to do the forward circle eight well, so we built into that. One correction I was given was to bring the free foot near the ankle of the skating foot as  soon as possible, so I'll have the hip position locked. Then I would change the upper body at the middle of the circle, and lift on the skating leg, leaning into the circle, to finish the circle.
- The forward eight outside and inside circles were not bad, the worst part was the push.
- I've also tried the waltz eight circles and that was quite bad. I couldn't keep the 3-turn on the circle, I went out of the circle. I'm sure I will need to work on the 3-turn too, I feel is more "delicately" done then the one in MITF.
- I've also tried the back circles and while I do them MITF style successfully, I was very off the circle, like a foot or two....

Mid month update

I'm posting another update because there is nothing new with my skating, I'm just... skating. I feel I'm finally back from the flu. I was feeling fine for two weeks now, but I just couldn't breath deeply. I've skated my usual days Monday, Wednesday, Friday, with a lesson on Monday. That is not enough to really improve on anything, is mostly maintaining and... some very slow progress.

Ice Dancing: The Ten Fox definitely improved lately, I've focused on it from last October I think. But, my coach was saying it and I agree... I need two lesson per week to push it to test. I think it would be fine for testing it as an adult, but the rest of the dances in this level I tested standard, and I still think I can test it standard. But I forget from one lesson to another some detail, so then, in the lesson I have to go again over things that theoretically I know and I can do, instead of working at new things. Also, I need to skate more then three times a week, as the kids at this level do, just if I want to test standard... I'm quick enough to feel of ice and to find the balancing points if I skate only three times a week.

MITF:
On the pre-Juvenile patterns, that I just maintained, not really work on them, from when I started to focus on the Ten Fox,  I saw how progress has sneaked in...
- On the first pattern, the power stroking, my coach kept adjusting the starting of the edges to be perpendicularly away from the axis, and the pressure into the ice. I finally got it in the backward side too...
- The 3 turns got stable and aster than I realized, but I was doing them by bringing the free foot at the ankle at the moment of the turn. My coach pushed me to do them with the foot extended (for the backward ones), despite my mumbling that that would make me unsure. He said, no, that would make you a better skater. How can I argue with that?
- The forward power pulls got good, sometimes really good. My coach was never happy with the backward ones and lately I'm doing them worse. I think I'm trying different things but it didn't come together yet. The correction that I doesn't seem to be able to apply is to not lean forward.
- The back circle eight was very consistent lately.
- The five step mohawk lobes were considered good long time ago, my coach haven't seen them in ages. I did get the correction to look up that I surely haven't succeed in apply yet. I'm trying...

Freestyle:
- The only jump I'm doing, maybe once a week are a couple of waltz jumps. I gave up working at the loop. But as I'm writing, I do realize I should keep jumping the salcow and the toe loop if I don't want to loose them, as I've lost the loop.
- I usually spin a little every time I'm on ice. I gave up on them while I had the flu and I was congested, and I just started them again this week. I'm maintaining the forward one foot spin, scratch spin and the backward upright spin, that's it.

Mid month update - regrouping

It is not really mid month, but I have new thoughts. I was telling you I had the flu and it kept me down for a good week and I still feel I'm not back, now, after two weeks...

But a good thing came out of it. As I couldn't do much physically while I was sick, my mind was available, clear and involved in what I was able to do. I skated just twice a week but with more intention that I was able to put in lately. Now, as I get back to my regular, busy life, I will be busy, surely overwhelmed at points, late skating... so I want to pay attention and find ways to get my whole attention to skating while I'm on ice. When I was doing yoga, it was something that we were instructed to do at the beginning of the class, allow yourself to be there.

That was the only good thing that came out of the flue. The biggest bad is that I still don't breath right, so I'm getting tired easier on ice and I felt tired during the ballet class too. I was also coughing more during the weekend. The best thing I can do is to not push, rest and allow myself to heal. I will have my lesson today, but I won't push for adding Tuesdays to my skating schedule. I will also not push for adding the second lesson on Thursday. On the other hand, whatever skating I'm able to do, I'm happy with. That would be the moves, because the Ten Fox took a break, I couldn't push it while sick and also I couldn't partner it and get my couch sick. But the moves progressed, the ones that ask for power I feel I have more control and then I allow myself to go faster. The 3-turns are good(ish) for a while now, so good, that my coach wants me to keep the free leg out now. At this point I like to bring the free foot at the ankle of the skating foot as I turn, it feels safer. But, surprise! I can do them with the foot out... It's truly a miracle! The miracle of perseverance...

As for Ice Dancing, I'm smitten with the Foxtrot. I had the excuse of not being able to skate out the Ten Fox so I worked on the Foxtrot instead. I still have to think about what I'm doing. Not necessarily the steps, but how the upper body is set to step into the next step. That is because many of the Foxtrot steps are cross rolls, so the upper body has to stay differently (almost opposite) then on the regular strokes. I'm also working on the new Mohawk, the closed Mohawk, the one where you place the free foot, behind the skating foot and hold the free leg extension hold coming out of  the turn. I feel I've got the idea at very slow speed. If I try to do in in the dance I panic. So I'll have to drill it a lot a low speed, and slowly increase the speed, just as I work on the dropped 3-turns.

The second bad thing coming out of me having been sick, is that I'm behind with my day to day life. I'm usually very busy, now I'm both behind and have some new things going on. I'm helping a lot the alley cats, more then before, if you are interested, read about it on my new blog: https://alleycatstales.blogspot.com/

Monthly skating review: progress and goals adjustment

At the beginning of last month I felt somehow defeated that I haven't progressed on the Ten Fox as much as I expected in the previous month. I tried and did reset my mind to get back to work at it methodically instead of pushing. On the other hand I had other things on my mind, so I don't think I could have pushed the skating even if I wanted too. Then, I haven't felt good the last two weeks because of a bad cold/ flu... I skated just twice a week and I took it easy. I know it by now, but I'm always surprised of how much more I enjoy skating when I don't push for progress. I just go and skate... But then I don't progress much, so at some point I have to get back in pushing as I do want to progress, I want it badly... The deadline for the next test sessions is in few days, I think I'll miss it again. At least I hope I can get back into pushing.

I do feel some progress on the Ten Fox. The only technical correction I was still getting was to not scrape the 3-turns. I don't scrape them anymore at low speeds and I keep drilling them by adding more speed into the one step I take before the 3-turn, then adding more steps. I think it goes better, but in the dance, I still scrape them, though maybe not so badly. Then, I still need more power and confidence to test standard track. And of course, I need to be able to don't forget I have a partner, when dancing with my partner/ coach. I'm literally embarrassed at points on how I forget he exists and I go on my own, while he is right there, arm distance. But my coach says I'm very close to testing. I hope he's right because I'm really loosing my patience. As I couldn't skate with any power during my cold (I couldn't breath), my coach taught me the Fourteen Step and the Foxtrot. I feel motivated to finish already with the Ten Fox so I can get to work on them.

I worked very little at the MITF Pre-Juvenile exercises, and I haven't work at all on Freestyle. I just haven't had the time, skating just twice a week, one time being the lesson...

I had few weeks, during the last few months, when I skated four times a week: Monday, when I have my lesson too, Wednesday and Friday as I usually do, plus an extra lesson on Thursday and to be sure I'm warmed I skated on the studio rink before the lesson. It felt good... I would hope I could skate Monday trough Friday. On Tuesdays there is some really empty package ice time, while kids are still in school. That would give me lots of space o practice dance. I would have to be careful to take it easy on Wednesday so I can still skate on Thursday (not be too tired) as it is the only other day besides Monday when my coach is at my rink and I could have a lesson. I really like the pace of my skating when I have two lessons a week, as I was doing two years ago, before I hurt my hip, but of course, I need practice time on my own... For every half hour private lesson, my coach recommends two hours of practice on my own and it feels about right. But today is Tuesday and I'm not feeling up for skating, so hopefully I'll skate Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and add Tuesdays from the next week.

About my other activities, I was telling you that I help alley cats for few years now, but last year it got more intense. Toward the end of the year I figured out how to consistently work with one organization to get the friendly ones adopted. I still have to figure out how to consistently spay/ neuter those that are less friendly. And here is the blog I started to tell their story: https://alleycatstales.blogspot.com/