Class: Week 2

My lessons include one free public session a week and I went on Wednesday after work. I was so tired and weak that I felt like my legs weren't connected to my brain. 2 laps around the rink and I was gasping for breath. I couldn't do a simple waltz jump, mohawk or spin. I was really frustrated and nothing went right. So I was worried that I would feel the same way last night on the ice...but I felt good from the moment I stepped out onto the ice and it only got better from there!

It was a lot more challenging being in class 2 this week than it was being in class 1 last week. Ok, I am in class 2, lower than I thought I would be but I'm ok with that because there are a lot of challenging things to learn at that level as well and things all build off of the basic moves so I have to become good at those too. During class we did backward crossovers in both directions. Then we did this leg extension from a crossover. Not the easiest thing to do. I can do it on my right leg going backward, setting up for a spin but not forward in either direction, at least not well. I can pretty much pull all the things off that I'm learning but it's not pretty or smooth. Then we worked on pivots for the rest of class. I got those down pretty well. You just stand in place with a toe pick i the ice, then you shift your weight onto the other foot and go in a circle. Harder than it sounds at first. Everything looks so easy when the coach shows me...but it rarely is.

Marcy, the coach, had a private lesson with a little girl after us so she was occupied with her for a while (about an hour). John, an adult skater returning to the ice after 1 1/2 years, Kate a level 4 and me were still out there practicing and she came over to us. I told her I had the entry to the toe loop down but that I couldn't do the revolution in the air. She wanted to see it so I showed her. Turns out that it's not a toe loop, it's a flip jump. She liked the air I got on it, even though I didn't spin. It was pointed out that the flip jump is harder than a toe loop. She gave me some pointers on how to get the revolution. So many things to do with your body at once! I couldn't handle everything at once so I just concentrated on a couple things to see what I could do. I tried it and it worked! Well, I landed on two foot, but I did it. Marcy looked pleased but I could tell she was seeing all the things I did wrong too...which is good...I need to know what I did wrong or I won't get better. John had a look of amazement on his face. "I can't believe you just did that! That's crazy that you can do that!" Then this girl skated up and asked if I could do it again. I said, "I have no idea!" but I tried again and managed to land it again. John clapped and said, that's what happens when you doing something amazing, people want to see it again." Then the little girl chimed in, "Can you do it again?" I just laughed and did it again. It was so much fun!

So since what I thought was a toe loop wasn't, I wanted to know what a toe loop was so I could try that...it was supposed to be easier after all. It might be easier for some, but I didn't think so. After several tries, I managed to land it one footed. Again, not pretty, but I got it! Sadly, that was at the end of the practice session so I had to get off the ice.

I had so much fun!!! I love learning all these big things that sometimes I have trouble wanting to learn the little things. They're just not as fun. However, they are challenging and I don't like not being able to do something so I will continue to practice the little things as well....with the bigger stuff mixed in to keep it fun.

Starting my classes

Last night was my first figure skating lesson. The teacher told me that she would be evaluating the students and move any up that needed to be moved up after the first class. We spent the first part off ice, learning to fall without getting hurt and then learning how to get up after a fall. Then we marched in place, and across the ice, then we added a one foot glide in there, then the other foot. We worked on learning to stop, doing rocking horses and swizzles. I was pretty bored and afraid I'd be stuck in this class. But when we did one foot glides, she told me I passed. So after class was finished, she took me over to the other teacher and introduced me. I'll be in her class. There are supposed to be 4 different adult classes but since there aren't enough aduts, there are two groups. For whatever reason, they said that it's 1 & 3 together and 2 & 4 together. Well, they didn't concentrate on anything other than the very basic stuff so even if I'm only in the two class, it doesn't matter because I'm with people at about my level and I can learn things that don't have to do with staying upright...which is still important to do but I already know how.
After the lesson was a public session that we got to stay and practice at. I was skating around and one of the ladies from the class came up to me and asked me why I was in their class because there was another lady that couldn't do a three turn, and I could, and she was a level 2. I told her they already moved me up.

But the fun part came when the two teachers from my new class level stayed at the session and started working with us. At first, I kept my distance. I didn't want to bother them on their own time but as they continued, I joined in. Marcy and Rob are the teachers' names. Marcy was showing us how to do a spiral. I was having a lot of trouble with it at first but got it to be ok by the time we moved on. One of the girls had the wrong position on it so we went over to the wall so Marcy could show her the right position. Her response was, "Oh, that burns!" I just laughed. Yes, it does burn! You're bending your back in the wrong direction.


You're supposed to get it up to hip level for it to count, like she has. I can get it up there when I can hang onto the wall for balance support but when I am actually moving, and dealing with trying to keep my balance, it doesn't get very high. All the elite skaters can almost do the splits like this...and then they can grab their skate up over their head...crazy stuff!

Then Marcy left and I was just messing around when Rob came over to us and asked who wanted to learn something...me, me, me! So he got his book and started seeing what we could and couldn't do. He took us through a number of different things which I was catching onto pretty quickly. The last thing he worked on with us was a lunge. It looks like a lunge you would do during a workout except that you're moving when you do it. You have to get the inside of your back boot to scrape along the ice or else you start spinning out to the side. Try it on the ground for about 10 minutes. That burns too! But when he told me it was the boot that had to touch the ice, it made a bunch of difference. Weird how such small things makes such a big difference in control.


My lunges didn't look so good, of course.

After the session ended, we were all sitting near each other getting back into shoes and he told me that at the rate I am learning things, I'll probably be skipping a class or two. :o) I guess I shouldn't be in a hurry to skip classes though since there are only 4 basic adult classes and then 4 freeskate classes. Freeskate is where you learn jumps and one foot spins. After that, your option is to stay in freeskate 4 or get a private coach which sounds expensive to me.

Anyway, I had a great time and got to start to learn lots of different things which I can continue to practice at my practice sessions (which are included with my lessons). :o)

Olympics dreams

Citius, Altius ,Fortius...that's the official Olympic slogan. It means Faster, Higher, Stronger (in Latin). It's everything that the Olympic embodies...man/woman pushing themselves beyond their limits to achieve more...more than their best, more than people thought was possible...athletes laying everything on the line to achieve their highest goals.

As a child, I remember being really excited that the olympics were on again. For two weeks, you would find me planted in front of the tv as much as possible. The athletes could do amazing things that I didn't know were even possible. And it almost didn't matter what the sport was, I was enthralled by the superhuman abilities. To this day, there are very few sports I won't watch during the olympics but there are a few I don't care about watching at all. I can't tell you most of the names of the athletes I watched or what country won what medals in any events but the feeling I got while watching them has always been with me. They always tell the stories of the underdogs and their rise to the top. These inspiring stories taught me to dream big because it is possible!

We had lots of pairs of roller skates growing up so we were out often skating. When I felt like I could have some privacy for a little while (long enough to practice some) I would dress up in my bathing suit, my tourqoise skirt and tights, with a scarf tied around my waist. I doubt it looked much like a real ice skating costume but it made me very happy to be wearing it. Then I would run downstairs to the basement and put on a pair of roller skates. I would do my routines down there in secrecy. I was so sure I was going to be a great figure skater someday if I could just get on the ice. Evetually, I finally got to go ice skating. I loved it every bit as much as I thought I would. When I 16, I took a beginner's class with a friend of mine from Australlia. The beginner's class was all 4-6 year olds, except us and we mastered the moves much more quickly than them so we had a lot of practice time and it was a little boring. But after I got married, I worked at a rink and I used a pair of rental skates every day. One day, Don (the owner), got in a shipment of new rental skates. I asked him how much they were and if I could buy a pair with his bulk discount. He made a call and next thing I know, I had a pair of very nice skates on the way. It was Christmas gift from him. He wanted me to have a good pair of skates because he wanted to teach me some moves. I hadn't asked him to teach me anything...only to do them so I could watch. After I got the skates, everyday, during the slow times he would go out with me and teach me something new or try to fix what I was doing wrong. That was the funnest job I have EVER had. I never became great at it but I was proud of what I was able to learn to do in my short time with him.


These pics were taken as Don was melting the ice (it was a portable rink) so it was very sloshy and I fell in the puddles many times but I had fun. This was the last time I saw Don.


Landing from either a toe loop or a salcow.

Preparing to spin.

In the middle of a spin.

I had another olympic dream. When I was 19 I started biking. I rode every waking moment...well, as much as I could anyway. I decided to try my hand at racing after a year or so. I participated in the Eureka Road Race in Eureka, Utah. My parents drove me out to the race. It was a 40 mile race. The first part of the race, I was out in the lead (which I found out later was a bad move). I felt amazing! after sometime, we came to this giant uphill (I was already lagging way in the back) and the sag car was behind me. I pushed so hard that I was SOOOO sure that the people in the car were going to see me throw up but that didn't happen. There was no way I was going to stop, not with a car following me. So I peadled on. I caught up to the youngest of the racers (13). At that point, Mom and Dad were in the car behind me acting as the sag vehicle. I was so tired and ready to stop but I didn't want them to see me stop so I kept on...and kept on and kept on. At the sprint line, the 13 year old took off at a sprint. I tried but it turns out, I was already going all out and no more speed could be had out of my tired legs. I crossed the finish lines after 2 hours. So I averaged 20 MPH for 2 hours making it the fastest ride of my life. It was exhausting, tiring, painful, gruleing and exhilirating. I couldn't wait to get better so I could do it again.


Later in the season, I met with a coach and spoke to him about my hope to someday make it to a Category one and maybe the Olympics. We rode together and he told me what he liked about what he saw and what needed work and that he felt that I had it in me to make it to a category 1...he didn't really mention the olympics but let's face it, I was already 20 and people are already ready for the olympics by then, or at least well on their way. So we started working together. At my next (and last) race, I was 1 of 3 woman racers in my category. This was a criterium race which means it goes in a circle over and over. It went around the outside loop of UVCC (or whatever it is now). The first couple of loops, I stayed in there with everyone else (all categories were out there together but not competeing against each other). Then, I started to fall behind. I kept my speed up as much as possible. I started to get a terrible stomach cramp but caught up to the older brother of the 13 year old I biked with in my first race. He gave me a Goo packet. It was horrible but was amazing for the stomach cramp. It went away almost instantly. One more lap around the college and I felt like I was going to explode. I made it to the top of the hill where my coach and all the spectators were. I pulled over next to the coach and told him that I had to quit. He told me "I won't coach anyone who quits." He told me I could do it. I could go slower, but don't quit. So I used my inhailer and got back out there. I put everything I had into it and each time I came back across where the crowd was, they were all clapping and yelling my name and it gave me the strength to go on. It was such a great feeling to have all those people pulling for me. In the end, I finished 2nd in my category. That was the last race of the season that year. And then I met Adam and moved out to Georgia where I pretty much quit biking.




Picture taken on my touring bike (not my racing bike) as I took off for a ride here in Georgia many years ago.

You can still find me planted in front of the tv for the two weeks of the Olympics every two years. Obviously, at 30 years old, I will never be in the olympics but I'll probably always have that big dream in the back of my mind...the one that makes me push myself to achieve more than I thought I could... Citius, Altius, Fortius!

New year's lunch

When I first moved here, Mary Ann Wilson, was very nice to me. She sat next to me in relief society and talked to me. Later that week, while Valerie and the kids were here, she told me she was going to bring over some snacks she had made for her kids' lunches. she ended up bringing a pizza and cheese sticks as well. She's called me a couple times just to see how I'm doing. She invited me over to her house for new year's lunch and a movie with her family. I felt a little weird going to a family thing (it was her family and her parents) but I ended up going anyway. Her family is very nice. Her two youngest were both adopted at birth about 3 years apart but are biological sisters. They had a holiday like meal and they were really just starting to cook everything except for the ham which had been cooking for a while. So I helped with what I could while trying to not be in the way. She has 2 ovens, 2 dishwashers, 2 fridges...but just one stove top which didn't have an oven below it. Lunch was really good. Afterward, we watched Errand of Angels (an LDS movie).

Before I left, I told her I was planning on going ice skating in the next day or two and asked her if she wanted to come along. She said she would talk to her girls and get back with me. So today, we went. All four of her girls still living at home came along as well. I haven't been ice skating since I went with Valerie and the kids. I wasn't expecting the rink to be too crowded but I think it was one of the busiest rinks I've ever been in. I pulled the two youngest girls around one at a time. By the end, we were playing crack the whip when we hit an open space. That was fun. I was glad to get off the skates when we finished though.

The day Adam left, the dishwasher broke. The Landlord came by today and checked it out. After looking it over, he decided to buy a new one rather than the replace the broken part. He and his wife should be by tomorrow to put the new one in. He's a good landlord. They put in the laminate wood floors because he has dogs himself, 6 to be exact. At least I know he won't sweat the yard being turned to dirt in a few spots.