In The Swing of Things

Spring flowers in bloom.

It's been 10 weeks since the ankle fracture and I finally got back on the ice yesterday! My doctor said I could skate again after my 8 week check up but walking still felt a little strange because my proprioception was off and I wanted to make sure my calf muscle was stronger. They gave me a Theraband and I made sure to do daily strengthening and stretching exercises.  I read somewhere that if you can hop on your affected leg 15 times without pain then it's a good sign you're ready to get back into your sport. When I was able to to that (albeit tiny hops) I felt like I could skate again. I need to at this point because I am feeling super fat! 

We're also in our third week of kickball. The first time I kicked the ball at practice it felt like I kicked a cement block. It did not feel good at all. I felt like I needed to put my air cast back on. For the first game (in the rain) running wasn't so bad but sudden starting and stopping would be painful. It feels a lot better now though. It will be sore after a game but the next day it feels fine. 

Kickball 365 Harrisburg League on City Island.

It's almost May but still chilly!

Hopefully soon I can resume training for my Bronze test and start jumping again. One day at a time though. It'll be hard to get to the rink once the weather gets warmer! When will that be, exactly??

Injured Reserve

I've really been slacking on the blog posts, haven't I? The sun has finally come out with above freezing temps so I feel a little more motivated to write about what's been going on in my life. This winter has been brutal. A lot has been going on but the one major thing that happened to me was that I broke my ankle on February 11th -while skating!

I was practicing for the adult bronze moves test that was to take place on February 16th. It was the last 10 minutes of the session and I was practicing back crossovers to extensions. I remember feeling off balance on one of my right leg extensions (left foot on the ice) and I put my right foot down and caught the toe pick. I just remember my ankle rolled and my body weight was on top of it and I heard that dreadful "POP". It all happened so fast and then the pain set in. Like my ankle was on fire. I sprained the same ankle three months prior but this time it was much more painful.

I love/hate my toe picks! Love to jump high, but hate to eat ice!

My coach and a few others helped me off the ice. It took me a few long minutes to even think about getting up. The pain was intense. I managed to drive home somehow and there were some tears shed (mostly because I knew testing and synchro were out of the question - we had a competition in 4 days!). I got home and my ankle grew a golf ball size lump on the side of it so I knew I had to get it checked out.

Roy took me to urgent care and I could hobble into the clinic but after sitting in the waiting room for 15 minutes walking on my own wasn't going to happen anymore (I think the adrenaline was wearing off). They put me in a wheelchair and the doctor examined it and ordered X-rays. He eventually diagnosed it as acute lateral malleolus fracture. None of the bones shifted, thank goodness.

My first broken bone (fibula).

I'm kind of glad it was broken rather than just sprained because I knew I'd be forced to stay off the foot until the bone was healed. Either way, I knew I wasn't going to be able to skate for awhile. They gave me crutches and sent me along my way.  I was told to go see an orthopedist the next day to get proper treatment.  Sleeping with my ankle that night was extremely painful. It was swollen and sensitive to any movement. I went to the orthopedist the next morning and they put a cast on me and gave me pain meds. I was to come back in two weeks for a follow up X-ray. If the bones had shifted, I may have had to have surgery. That would have really sucked. I had to miss work the next two days in order to keep the foot elevated as much as possible. My toes looked like Vienna sausages. Oh, and on my second day off, I turned 35! Happy birthday to me, where are my pain pills?

New scratching post for the kitties.

I was told I could walk on the cast but at first it was painful to even try.  I think my left leg and back hurt more than my ankle for the first few days because my body wasn't used to the weight shift and being in awkward positions while trying to do normal tasks. After about a week though I could start putting a little weight on my right side and after about 10 days I could walk without crutches. My second X-ray looked good (no bone shifting) and I was told I could get the cast off in 3 more weeks (total of 5 weeks). Three more weeks would have been March 19th but the soonest available appointment was March 23rd, so the countdown is on!

As for what's going to happen after I get it off, I'll probably get a walking boot that I can take off for sleeping and showering. My doctor says it takes 8 weeks for a bone to heal. My calf muscle has shrunk - I can fit my whole hand down my cast. I'm not sure how long it'll take to get my muscle back to normal. Without knowing how it will feel, right now I'm thinking it'll be at least June until I can get back on the ice. I'm sure I sprained ligaments too so I have no idea how that's going to feel. My sprain from October 27 was finally feeling pain-free at the end of January so it took about 3 months (while actively skating) for that to heal. I'm hoping by June I can at least do some stroking.

I signed up for kickball, too, which starts on April 9th so I'm hoping that'll help get me back in shape. My food baby is due any day now! I might be overdoing it too soon but I'll sit out if I have to.

Injuries suck but what doesn't kill you makes you stronger!  Got any injury stores to share? 

You Can Dream of (Hot) Coco...

Synchro skating practice is in full swing and our Burlesque-themed routine is almost complete. Our team's first competition is the Eastern Sectional Championships in Lake Placid at the end of January. We'll have some warm up exhibitions before then. We had to match our music to our dress from last year so burlesque seemed like a good fit. And yes, we will be wearing dresses and not skating in our under garments!

I sprained my right ankle right before Halloween when I tried to do a back sit spin so I've been dealing with stiffness and occasional shooting pain when my ankle turns a certain way. I refrained from skating a full ten days over Thanksgiving break hoping to get it back to 100% but it's not quite there yet. I can walk on it fine and skate but I just hope I don't injure it more.

This weekend the Open Juv team travels to Stamford, CT for their first official competition of the season. Their music is a Lady Gaga medley and they have new dresses which I love. I think they will do well!

For my personal goals, my coach says she thinks I'll be ready to test Bronze MIF in February. I'm glad because if I pass that I can start working on an actual program with music. We'll see how the ankle holds up. I had my first harness axel lesson just before I sprained my ankle too so the timing is somewhat disheartening. But injuries happen and I feel lucky that I skated three years without anything major happening (other than a couple head knockers here and there but I have a thick skull).

But on the bright side, I think I finally have a consistent Lutz jump. I attempted one last night and I told myself that if I don't land this my ankle will break so I made sure I landed it.  Here's one from October. I wish they all could look like this!

#lutzjump #figureskating

A video posted by Judy Elmo (@jurrious) on Oct 10, 2014 at 3:52pm PDT

Puttin' on the Lutz

Here are a few skating clips from freestyle last night. The ice was empty after 5:30 which was nice because you don't have to worry about running into other skaters but it felt strange being on the ice all by lonesome. I ran through a little bit of everything and by the time I got the camera out I was beat. I'm still struggling with the Lutz. It is scary. I bail out mid-jump most times and it is not a pleasant feeling. I'm able to land on my feet but I'm usually in a piked position.  Here's one of me biting the ice. I have a good bruise on the inside of my left knee.




Here's one I landed. My leg is bent on the toe in which is not good.




My salchow jump has improved as of late. Salchow jumps are fun once you get the hang of it. If you jump off the edge at just the right moment it catapults you off the ice. Loop jumps do that too (both are called edge jumps). Here's my salchow - it wasn't that high, but I'm working on it.




Starting a weekly group class tonight to work on stroking, turns, and other skills that need fine tuning. I really need to stretch more.

PBF Test: Passed

Just a quick update on my figure skating test from Saturday - I passed!

The judge's comments:

• Half Rotation Jump - Waltz:  Nice hold landing position
• Full Rotation Jump - Toe Loop: Good
• One Foot Spin:  Super!
• Two Foot Spin:  Ok
• Crossovers - Forward:  Good extension
• Crossovers - Backward:  Good power
• Spiral:  Lovely height & position

I had a good test and performed the best I could on each element - even the two foot spin. I suck at it so the "ok" comment was fitting.  Glad it went well and now looking forward to Bronze tests. How many hours of practice will it take to get to Silver? I'm guessing hundreds...?!

Test Practice

More video! I think I'm getting the hang of using Windows Live Movie Maker to edit videos. Here's a run through of the test I'm going to take on May 17th. The elements are a Waltz jump, Toe Loop jump, one-foot spin, two-foot spin, forward and backward crossovers (either direction), and a spiral.




My toe loop needs more knee bend and my front crossovers and swing mohawk need work. Two-foot spins are just awkward but I still have some time to work on those to get them as perfect as can be. It's a PASS/FAIL test so I think I'll be able to pass but there's no nerves involved in these practice runs so what you see isn't always what you get when showtime comes. I am considering taking the Bronze MIF test on June 7th if all goes well next Saturday, oh, and if coach approves of course.

Sunday Freestyle

Jessica, Sophia and I hit up a Sunday freestyle session yesterday. I think I finally got my Camel-Sit figured out and my coach taught me how to scratch spin out of a sit position last week so I worked on that a bit. I was able to put it all together yesterday and catch it on video. The only downfall is I woke up this morning feeling like I needed a hip replacement. Ah, the joys of skating as an old person adult.




I need to work on straightening my leg, lessening the arch in my back, and getting lower in my sit spin. The work never ends but I'm glad there's progress! I have more video but will need to edit it. Hopefully I'll have more to show you here on the blog as time goes on. Now where's my ice pack...

Loopy Loops

Went to a Sunday Freestyle session and it was only me and another skater so I got the phone out to record some video. Here's my loop and loop-loop jumps. I should record myself more often because there's a lot of things I need to correct, like looking down less and more knee bending. I look so stiff!

Skating Update

Last Saturday officially wrapped up the 2013-2014 synchro season with the Team Reflections Banquet. I dragged Roy with me and it was a good time. I think his good time started after he got a few beers in him. It was nice to hang out with the other skaters and their families in normal clothes and in room temperature. You get to find out who they are in their non-skating world. Figure skaters seem like a rare breed but there are many of them out there.

We reminisced over our progress throughout the season and the coaches handed out awards. Surprisingly, I received the Most Improved Skater Award for the Adult Team for the second year in a row! I was certain I wouldn't get it again so I didn't even realize it when my name was called. I'm glad I'm improving each year. I'm certainly putting in the time and effort but I wish I could put in more. This is terrible but I'm going to compare it Candy Crush. Skating is like Candy Crush.  There are hundreds of levels or skills to work on and some you blow past and others you are stuck on, FOREVER. You can't pay $0.99 to move onto the next episode in skating, unfortunately.  I can't believe I just compared my life to Candy Crush, but my life IS Candy Crush lately, so there you have it.

Here's a pic of the lovely OJ team:

It's been over a year since I started taking weekly private lessons and I've managed to get my scratch spin, sit spin, and camel spin fairly consistent.  My Camel-Sit is there, but not always consistent. I am out of breath after doing just one of those so I have to get more fit. It's amazing how skaters make things look so easy but it takes so much energy to do all the things they do.

My jumps are getting more consistent and I can land my Lutz but I'm trying to make it look effortless. I'm practicing right now for my Pre-Bronze Free Skate test which consists of a waltz jump, toe loop, one foot spin, two foot spin, forward and backward crossovers, and a spiral. The last three years of practice should make me a pro at these elements, right? I wish.

My next goal would be to get a program together and get more fit (because otherwise I would never make it through the program).  Music makes skating more fun and it actually makes it easier to nail elements it seems because you stop thinking about what you're doing and you just go with the music. Over thinking and analyzing are killers for me. You don't want to know how many times I've adjusted my blades. So much that I should carry a screw gun in my skating bag.

Speaking of getting fit, Roy joined a kickball league. He has yet to play a game because the field wasn't ready. More on that later!

Happy Easter Weekend (aka regular weekend for me)!

We Are TR!

The 6th Annual Reflections Synchro Invitational was our last competition of the season. Team Reflections won first place in both the Open Juvenile and Open Adult divisions! Winning isn't everything, but it feels pretty darn good I must say. I could really get used to this. Here are videos of our gold medal performances:

My start position is on the far left in the camera view (on the "R")     My cousin Jess is the third to last one coming out of the Tornado    

We are TR!

 

Last Saturday was the first Saturday in a long time I got to sleep past 5 am which was really nice. That is probably the only part of synchro that is a con but it's so worth it. Looking forward to next season and a trip to Lake Placid again for Easterns. Hungry for more gold!

#easterns2014

Whew! What a weekend! Our figure skating club hosted the 2014 Eastern Sectional Synchronized Skating Championships in Hershey, PA last Wednesday to Saturday where over 156 teams (2,500+ skaters) from the eastern seaboard competed. From practicing, volunteering, to competing and driving from rink to rink and home and back - it's been quite an adventure.



My volunteer shift started at 3:30pm at the Giant Center on Thursday. My job was to monitor the ice (aka open/close the rink door). I got to see the intermediate and masters teams' official practice which was pretty cool.

My job also included arranging the skaters' hard guards. It's amazing how many don't match up!

On Friday morning, our Team Reflections Open Juvenile team skated in the qualifying round at the Hersheypark Arena. They placed third and moved onto the Championship Round which would be held the following day at the Giant Center.

Our Team Reflections Open Adult Team (I'm the fourth person from the right) skated on Friday evening. We placed second in our qualifying round and also moved onto the Championship Round! This photo is from our dress rehearsal at our home rink the weekend before.



Our qualifying results.

 

The final round was a nail biter but we ended up as the Open Adult Bronze Medalists!

Got to watch Novice teams compete at the Giant Center after all our competing events and volunteering shifts were over. They are so good. Wish we could have stayed for the Junior and Senior free skates but we were beat and we left before it began.

I have videos of the routines but I will post them once the season is over. The Open Juv team placed sixth out of 28 total teams (12 competed in the championship round). I really thought they would place in the top 4 but it was such a competitive group that it could have gone any which way. One judge did place Team Reflections first in her rankings (the same one that put our adult team last) so I guess that's one consolation. To compare how far we've come, the Adult team placed 7th last year at Easterns in the qualifying round and OJ placed 5th in theirs and just missed making the final round. So getting to the final round for both our teams was quite an accomplishment.

Overall the event was a huge success and I am so proud to have been a part of it! The weather was great also, thank goodness. Now the snow and ice has infiltrated the region and it's preventing me from getting to the rink! Not cool. I've only skated five total minutes in the last week so I've been anxious to get back to it.

There's more practicing yet because the Reflections Synchro Invitational is coming up in a couple weeks. Time to turn bronze into GOLD!

Grace, Gold, and Gracie Gold

In my last post about skating (other than synchro), I wrote about my goal to land the Lutz jump before Christmas. Technically, I did land it on one foot in December but it was not pretty. I may have landed two or three but they were all bent in the waist and very awkward-looking I'm sure. It felt awkward so I don't think it really counts. Doing it is one thing, doing it gracefully is another.

Fast forward to last Thursday and I landed two out of two Lutz attempts and they were done with pretty good form from what my coach told me and they felt good. So Lutz jump, check. But that doesn't mean it's here to stay. Nothing is in skating until I can do it in my sleep. 

Landing the Lutz on command, however, has allowed me to graduate to the Coach C School of Axel Jumps. My first homework assignment is practicing the (tiny) waltz jump-backspin drill. I've really been trying to get my backspin down and it's helped a lot with my jumps. The strange thing is, I can't for the life of me master the Waltz jump. My timing is off or I'm rotating too much or too soon. It should be easier than any other jump (it's only a one-half rotation) but it seems to be one of the hardest for me. Camel and sit spins have been blah as usual.

I've also been working on the Bronze MIF test elements. I've got the basics down, it's just staying on those imaginary patterns on the ice that are bugging me out. It's especially hard to practice patterns when others are standing where you need to go. Early morning practices would be best to practice MIF since there's less people but getting up in below zero temps these days is not going to happen for me. I want to hibernate!

Exhibit A: I suck at patterns.
 

Ultimately, I would love to achieve Adult Gold MIF and Freestyle status one day. I think that would be really cool if I could do that. I asked my synchro teammate (who recently passed her last gold test) how long it took her to complete the adult test track and she said about three years from the time she first started taking private lessons. I started private lessons at the end of last March, so I think I can make it happen within three years as long as I stay healthy, my brain cells keep it together, and my bank account stays funded.

So that's the SOTS (State of the Skating) right now. The ongoing goal has been to get the spins consistent and master the jumps, as well as do my best in synchro. My immediate goal is to pass Bronze in April. Maybe take the Pre-Bronze Free Skate test then also.  I'm hoping to have landed the Axel by mid-year. It seems like a long time away but Jess has been working on mastering hers for awhile now and she's a lot more nimble than I am (she's landed it multiple times already but the fear sets in when she attempts it and it's been hard to get past that).  So much to do, so little ice time!

February is around the corner and so is the Winter Olympics! The U.S. Figure Skating Championships were going on in Boston the weekend we were at Colonials. We were just outside of Boston and I wish we could have gone to the TD Garden to watch it in person (if we had a car, maybe!). Here's Gracie Gold's free skate from the event below. She took first place in the Ladies' Senior competition and is on her way to the Sochi Olympics. My fave will always be Queen Yuna but I'll be rooting for Gracie and Team USA, too. If she skates her best, I think she could win it all.


   

Chronicles of Synchro-nia: It's Go Time

Skating competition season is in full swing! We are exactly two weeks away from skating at the Eastern Sectionals in Hershey. This past weekend the Open Juvenile team headed up to Lowell, MA to compete at the 30th Colonial Classic. After a less than spectacular outing at the Cape Cod Classic back in December, the team was hoping to redeem themselves.

My cousin, Tiffany, and I. One of our many selfies as we had a lot of down time during the trip. Since we all rode the team bus (6 hour drive) we were confined to our hotel most of the time. No car = bored!

Went to Max & Dylan's twice during our 3 night stay. It was the only restaurant close enough to walk to (it was right across the street). We did get to go to the Burlington Mall nearby also which was a planned excursion with the whole team.

The girls face timing other skaters they met in the hotel - and inspecting manicures.

The competition was at the Tsongas Center on the UMASS Lowell campus. It's a pretty nice arena. Here's Team Delaware Intermediate skating to Footloose.

Team Reflections skated last in their group and ended up in 2nd place! We were all so happy they did so well.

Silver Medalists!

 

As for the Open Adult team, we have two practices tomorrow, a skating show on Sunday, and a three hour practice next Saturday.  It's go time!

Spiraling to the Poor House

In 2013, I decided to devote more time and effort into improving my figure skating skills. I decided this after synchro season was over because I really disliked being the weakest skater on the team.  So I began taking weekly private lessons and logged in at least two practice sessions a week. How much does all this skating cost, you wonder? Well, here's a breakdown of my skating expenses starting with my first 30 minute private lesson at the end of March (1 Freestyle Sticker = 45 minutes of ice time).

2013 Figure Skating Expenses
Date	Description	Amount
3/28/2013	30 Minute PL	$       (30.00)
3/28/2013	Freestyle Sticker (1)	$       (11.00)
4/4/2013	30 Minute PL	$       (30.00)
4/4/2013	Freestyle Stickers (10)	$      (105.00)
4/11/2013	30 Minute PL	$       (30.00)
4/17/2013	30 Minute PL	$       (30.00)
4/22/2013	6-Week Group Lessons	$       (81.00)
4/25/2013	30 Minute PL	$       (30.00)
5/2/2013	30 Minute PL	$       (30.00)
5/9/2013	30 Minute PL	$       (30.00)
5/16/2013	30 Minute PL	$       (30.00)
5/23/2013	30 Minute PL	$       (30.00)
5/30/2013	30 Minute PL	$       (30.00)
6/1/2013	Freestyle Stickers (10)	$      (105.00)
6/6/2013	30 Minute PL	$       (30.00)
6/13/2013	30 Minute PL	$       (30.00)
6/17/2013	5-Week Group Lessons	$       (45.00)
6/20/2013	30 Minute PL	$       (30.00)
6/27/2013	30 Minute PL	$       (30.00)
6/27/2013	Test Fees	$       (33.00)
6/27/2013	Club Membership	$       (70.00)
7/3/2013	30 Minute PL	$       (30.00)
7/11/2013	30 Minute PL	$       (30.00)
7/1/2013	TR Deposit	$       (25.00)
7/18/2013	30 Minute PL	$       (30.00)
7/22/2013	6-Week Group Lessons	$       (54.00)
7/25/2013	30 Minute PL	$       (30.00)
8/7/2013	30 Minute PL	$       (30.00)
8/12/2013	Freestyle Stickers (10)	$       (85.00)
8/14/2013	30 Minute PL	$       (30.00)
8/21/2013	30 Minute PL	$       (30.00)
9/4/2013	30 Minute PL	$       (30.00)
9/11/2013	30 Minute PL	$       (30.00)
9/28/2013	Freestyle Stickers (10)	$       (85.00)
10/3/2013	30 Minute PL	$       (30.00)
10/17/2013	30 Minute PL	$       (30.00)
10/24/2013	30 Minute PL	$       (30.00)
11/6/2013	Freestyle Stickers (10)	$       (85.00)
11/7/2013	30 Minute PL	$       (30.00)
11/14/2013	30 Minute PL	$       (30.00)
11/25/2013	30 Minute PL	$       (30.00)
12/4/2013	Freestyle Stickers (20)	$      (170.00)
12/5/2013	30 Minute PL	$       (30.00)
12/12/2013	30 Minute PL	$       (30.00)
12/19/2013	30 Minute PL	$       (30.00)
12/31/2014	New Skates	$      (561.50)
BALANCE		$ (2,475.50)

Yes, that's right. I spent THAT much money on ice skating in 2013. More, actually, because I skated in January, February and all of March too (though not as frequent). And the total also doesn't count the monthly program fee to be on the synchro team, the cost for tights, team jackets, fuel, souvenirs, laces, hotel rooms, meals, and other expenses for competitions. Oh, and the numerous boxes of Kleenex that I go through every month because my nose runs constantly while on the ice.

I've basically traded in college for figure skating.  It's also my gym membership.

The rink does offer contract ice where you pay a flat fee every month for unlimited practice time. But I did the math and I save a little money by not doing that. If it included private lessons then it'd be a bargain. Contract ice is a good option for the young Olympic hopefuls that skate 2-4 hours in the morning before school and 2-4 hours in the afternoon after school. I have this annoying thing called a job that gets in the way of getting to the rink everyday and the only glimmer of an Olympic dream I have MIGHT be found in my ovaries -  to be produced at a later date - definitely, maybe.

So I thought I'd share a bit of my insanity to prove to you that I am a crazy person. I couldn't skate today because there's a winter storm going on and I'm stuck at work - but that's probably a good thing because I have an expensive hobby.