Serpentine Breakthrough!

My figures lesson with Lynne on the Chandler coffee club.  This was rescheduled from Wednesday due to a work meeting; and my lesson was in the 2nd half of the session as one of Lynne's other students had the first lesson.  It's just as well since I hadn't had a chance to skate in my patch blades since last week!

Today's lesson:

• FO8 -- We started (as usual, recently) with the test items minus the edges.  FO8 was okay although I was a little challenged to keep my L shoulder back on the RFO first time.  Not bad though.
• FI8 -- these were awesome!  Good tracing :-)
• Waltz-8 -- ugh.  Same issues, different day.  Step forward stinks (although, to be fair, it has noticeably improved in the last few months, it used to be much worse).
• 3s to center -- about the same.  I'm getting good flow on the RFO3 but still need to check better to hold the circle out.  We fixed an issue with it not being a good edge right before the turn.  L side still considerably weaker.
• serpentines -- just working FOI.  Change of edge much improved.  After we were working on them for a while I came to the conclusion that the big thing that's lacking now is that I'm just not pushing hard enough to get all the way around the last circle.  Discussed with Lynne what's needed -- bend more into the push (compress the spring) and then a more explosive push.  So.. I gave it a try, and had a really strong push, and made it ALL THE WAY AROUND THE CIRCLE!  Well, okay I was maybe a foot shy, but close enough!  So that's 1.5 circles on one push, with the change of edge.  YAY!!!  That was on the R side.  Tried it on the L side... not yet.  Grrr.  Anyway I'm really happy, it was a big breakthrough!