Monthly skating review: progress and goals adjustment

And... as in all my latest post, I have some bad news. I've got on e-mail from my rink, that lessons are not allowed anymore on the adult only ice... At this rink, my home rink, coaches were never allowed on ice after the rink reopened, they coach by the doors and bleachers (so more skaters could be on ice). For the adults only ice, the coach could signed up as a regular skater and be on ice, and as long as we socially distanced, we could do whatever we wanted. I've sent an e-mail asking for clarifications, I expect an answer just on Monday.

I shared that I was having choreographed a Solo Free Dance (on the adult ice). It is roughly put together, structured, but it is far from finished. If my choreographer is not allowed on ice anymore, the program will take a hit. I'm grateful the rink is open, and whenever I sign up for ice there are waivers and rules, and a reminder that it can be canceled at any time... So we'll see... I have a lot to say about the program. I'll make a separate post about it soon, that will be a good summery for me to use while working at it, very probably without the choreographer... The biggest news here is that I've learned to Twizzle! I've got one and a half revolution on the Right Forward Inside, just one revolution on the left side...

Anyhow, let me tell you about the rest of my skating during last month. Part of the time from my lessons with my regular coach were used to support the program. I needed to learn twizzles, and brackets, the forward inside ones. The rest of the time was used for Ice Dancing... the Ten Fox, partnered, and I've asked to work a little bit on dance exercises, because those make my skating evolve. I've felt I had a better control and I was faster on the exercises. On the Ten Fox I still hesitated on the spots that were harder for me, like the partnered 3-turned and partnered outside mowhawk. But... I picked up the corrections easier then before. I also occasionally work, on my own ,on Foxtrot and European Waltz, on the dances I concentrate on flow, and I also work on technique on the Closed Outside Mohawk for the Foxtrot and on the drop 2-turns for the European Waltz...

The Moves in the field took a little of a back sit in the sense that I just couldn't make myself work on the 3-turns anymore. Everything else from the Pre-Juvenile test goes very well. I had one day when the 3-turns worked very well, and I'm able to remember the feeling of soft knee, lean and the speed. I can do them... I think that when I think about testing them I get tense, I lose the soft knee... So, I think I'll ask my coach to start me on the double 3 turns, the forward ones, and hopefully working on those I'll improve the Pre-Juvenile ones too.

Freestyle... I cannot really work on jumps if my legs muscles are tired, and they are tired because I skate 3 days in a row (Monday trough Wednesday), then I have a rest day and skate again on Friday. I did a Waltz Jump here and there and lately I've started working on the Loop Jump, as my coach said that I have to build calf and ankle strength. Spins: I did work on the regular forward spin a lot, because I'll have it in my dance program.  I'm happy on how it's progressing and I'm happy that working at it made me improve the knowledge and awareness in spinning in general.

I work on figures whenever I'm tired, mostly on the restart, the push of the edges. I'm trying to go slower, because if I'm fast I cannot restart with precision, but I cannot go to slow either. I need just enough speed to make it around, then I pivot the skating foot into the push for the next circle, on the exact mark from the previous push...

And I've started ballet again. It is not my former ballet class, that was Saturday morning at 40 minutes driving distance, that class hasn't started again after the quarantine. There are newly offered ballet classes at my rinks studio and there is an adult one, once a week ( mask on and social distanced). It is different then the one I used to take... it is only 45 minutes long, I don't feel I'm warming up, and it's faster paced... I liked it enough to sign up for the second session.

Other off ice exercises... not much... and I really really should work on core strength and hip strength, I need it...

The plan for next month is to keep up what I was doing this month... work a little bit on everything and choose each time on ice to work on something in detail.