Moves

So... I was back on the ice today at the 7:45 a.m. FS for my first lesson in... 5 weeks? sheesh. It was a very crowded session (like, 20 skaters and 4 or 5 coaches!) since the "Rush for Regionals" is right after this session. Not the best of circumstances for the my first time back on the ice in 3 weeks. I had intended to go skating this week to get my legs under me a bit, but it just didn't happen. I've had some personal stuff going on that has left me very unmotivated and tired so it's been difficult. Getting myself to the rink today was a bit tough, but I'm really glad I did.

Today's lesson (basically an APB MITF runthrough w/out Waltz 8):

• Stroking -- my tempo was a bit off, and I couldn't get myself to really do the FXOs on the end. Sheesh. We did CCW only. I felt pretty off (even though I'd warmed up for 30 minutes) and it showed.
• Edges -- Not too bad. Sonya reminded me to lift the free hip on the FO edges. We worked a bit more on the pushoff for the BI edges, and Sonya had me bringing my skating hand around a bit more than I'm used to when I bring the free foot back on the BI edges (when coming back to the line); this helped me control the size of the lobe a bit. Still working on keeping the free foot in front on the first part of the back lobes.
• FXOs -- *bleah* Not so great. Extension was weak, and I didn't get a good cross and hold on the bad side.
• BXOs -- these were actually not that bad. Still kind of scratchy, especially on the bad side, but I'm getting a decent cross and I'm not rushing them anymore so that's a good thing.
• 3-Turn pattern -- I was reluctant to do these, but that's the way it goes I guess! Still they actually were a lot better than I feared. Started with the good side and they weren't that much worse than before, although I was having a little trouble with the step forward after the BXO. On the bad side I was pleasantly surprised that my LFI3s were not that bad, especially since I had not done any in my warmup.

I'm sure today's lesson was a bit frustrating for Sonya (as it was for me) since I had a hard time convincing myself to do things without stopping. On the positive side things didn't hurt nearly as much as I was afraid they might. All in all I was really happy with it.

No lesson next week as Sonya is out on vacation, but I have a lot to practice anyway so not such a bad thing.

Still Off Ice

I went back to the doctor Wednesday and he checked me again and said that it seems like it's improving but just taking longer than expected. I expressed my dismay and concern, so he agreed to send me for an ultrasound to rule out anything untoward.

I went for the ultrasound today and everything seems okay, so apparently I just need to be more patient. It IS getting better, but after 2.5 weeks you would think so. My current plan is to take it easy over the weekend, then try to get on the ice Monday or Tuesday and see how it feels.

Lesson Wave-Off

So... I got up this morning and went to the rink for the 8:15 FS. I talked with Sonya when I got there and we agreed that I'd see how my leg felt during warmup and take it from there.

Well, I'm just not up to it yet, apparently. I just feel like I can't trust my leg/ankle, and even just stroking or XOs is problematic... so I told Sonya we'd have to wait a while and she agreed -- she doesn't want me to hurt it worse. So I'm going to take some more time off the ice and give this thing a chance, and see how it goes.

I'm very frustrated. I know it's the right thing to do, but with all the crap going on in my life it would really help to be able to skate, and I can't even do that. *sigh*

Pain Vs. Pragmatism

I managed to get off work a little early and zip over to Valley to skate the tail-end of the public session. Got there about 5. This was my first time on the ice since my fall, and I felt like those pictures of newborn deer trying to walk. Eeep! My leg and ankle still are painful (even after all this time, sheesh), so I only stayed half an hour. I just wanted to get my legs under me in prep for my lesson tomorrow. Depending on how things go I may have to stay off the ice a bit longer. Sheesh. And the ice was horrible, of course.