Inside, I'm Screaming . . .

I took the day off today, so pottered up to Ally Pally for the two and a half hour public session.

Although this is normally a beautifully quiet, space to do anything kind of session, as mentioned previously, this week is half term. It wasn't as packed as I have seen it before, but still pretty full. So I spent an inordinate amount of time avoiding flailing legs and arms, having people crash into the back of me (luckily, not hard enough to knock me over), cursing under my breath when witnessing small boys smashing the back of their blade into the ice to make big holes and the usual little tots blindly staggering right across the middle of the rink from one side to the other.

And the 3-turns are now making me hugely frustrated. Away from the barrier, I turn and stop. There's too much of a scratchy sound, which apparently means I am not far enough over on my outside edge and I fall towards my free leg after turning. If I turn at the barrier, it's a lovely smooth swivel on the foot, but my weight still falls towards the barrier (although not as heavily as before). So my current action plan is that I repeatedly do the 3-turns, alternating foot each time, and so at the point of the turn I rest a hand on the barrier. As soon as I turn I take my hand off the barrier to get used to gliding backwards. I am hoping if I keep doing this over and over and over again, I will eventually sort out where my weight should be and find that I don't need the barrier. Something has to work eventually, before I rip my skates off and chuck 'em across the ice screaming!!

Did all usual stuff otherwise, forward stroking fast and slow, edges, a few backward chasses and a couple of crossovers.

I was tempted to stay for the next two and a half hour session, but I was getting a blister on my heel and decided to go home. I may still go to the quiet session tonight at the small rink though! Four hours skating in one day would be a record for me - is this what AOSS is about?