Call this ice?!

Today was skating at the quiet session down at the small rink. Quiet? What a joke - it was about three times busier than at the public session I went to on Saturday. Shame really - after feeling so bleurgh on Saturday, I was really looking forward to skating. Roll on Wednesday, when my lessons start again! The ice was horrific as well - two melted trenches along the length of it, and still the big crater that I nearly fell into the other day.

Practiced basics today such as stroking, chasses, two foot turns and edges. I managed to skate the entire length of the rink backwards, although I wouldn't actually call it stroking yet - just tottering in a backward direction!

Another thing I tried out today (after explaining on Saturday that I feel the need to start doing new things) was practicing doing static crossovers at the barrier, trying to work out where my feet go. I have read about the technique for it in my skating book, and tried it out, lifting (and bending!) my knees, trying to keep my feet clear from each other and also kind of leaning into it. I also read on the Skating Forums about practising walking up the stairs sideways, like a crab, to get the crossover motion. So that will be a few more strange looks at work then!