New hope and update on progress and goals

I've heard that my rink is gonna have back on the schedule the adult figure skaters only, noon ice, from the second week of September. Before the covid interruption, it used to be offered Monday, Wednesday, Friday on the big rink and Tuesday and Thursday on the studio rink, except during the summer. It was usually quite empty ice, and if crowded, we were all adults, looking out for each other. I usually skated Monday, Wednesday, Friday on the main rink on that session, on Mondays I also had a private lesson later in the day on Freestyle Package Ice and just before the lockdown I was also skating Thursdays on the studio rink, mainly figures. That was my ice... I really really hope it's gonna be back. I haven't seen it yet on the schedule.

I feel so comfortable on that adult ice. And I was often spooked going for lessons on regular ice. To my coach's visible disappointment, I often aborted patterns even if (in his view that I bet was right) I was in absolutely no danger of collision... When I was a beginner, I was more confused and uncomfortable then afraid, but after I hurt my hip, I was afraid. The little kids are not looking and the big kids are soo fast, so of course I'm afraid. But you know that my goal is to progress into an intermediate-ish level skater, not an adult skater... and I test standard not adult track. Well, that ice is "standard", the adult ice is comfortable because is slow...

After the initial excitement of having my comfortable ice back, I've realized that I'm not that uncomfortable anymore on the Freestyle package ice! Yeap, I've grown, I'm a big kid now. I'm sure this is a result of me progressing. Sometimes I feel I hold myself back by not being confident. After the quarantine, we've first come back on ice with maximum 10 skaters, then 15, now 20. It was a progression that made me forgot to think if I'm afraid. I just thought to acknowledge this new skill and confidence, as I'll soon go to my slow ice. While I feel happy and hopeful for the easier ice conditions, I think I can also be hopeful for progress!

My other goal (beside progress) is to find a way to, occasionally, break away from training and to skate for my my own enjoyment. I've set up in the past to train and test as kids do, and lately it backfired. I had to reduce the time I've spent on ice not because I've got bored but I think mostly because my hip injury. Then I've wondered if it's even realistic to expect my aging body to train as kids do. I also wondered about motivation... I feel that kids have their skating buddies, syncro teams, shows, competitions to motivate them and make them enjoy. I do have skating friends, but I feel that for the majority of them skating is a social thing, so I don't get the motivation. I also have adult skating friends that compete and I feel that is a good vehicle for both motivation and enjoyment. What I see them doing, is skating twice a week and that much time on ice allows them to maintain the skills they have and have one or two programs choreographed per season. But I want progress... and I don't skate enough to both progress and prepare for competitions. The only thing is that if I get unmotivated it's not good for progress. So, I'm having a program choreographed, for testing but mostly for myself!

I've had in plan for a while to have another Freestyle program choreographed, because I enjoyed working on the previous one so much. But before the covid I was working on moves and dance for testing so I didn't want to take time away from that. Now, my choreographer is out of the city. I've decided to ask somebody else, and she is a dance coach, so she can choreograph both dance and Freestyle, while my previous choreographer can do only Freestyle. So I've decided to have Solo Free Dance choreographed instead of the Freestyle. We'll start working on it from September, we couldn't find ice for now.

I'll mention just shortly that this month as I skate just twice a week, I know I cannot progress. But my skating goes better compared with the last month when the schedule, ice quality and a little injury worked against me. I'll try from next week to have weekly lessons and from next month I think I'll be able to skate on my own 3 times a week, and then I think I can settle into a training rhythm.

So I see lots of hope!