I just love it!

Another multi-stop skating evening, with the lesson at Ally Pally followed by a public skate session down at the Littlest Rink.

I couldn't wait to get on the ice today - I was actually getting excited on my bus journey home from work about skating. I love it! Even with the difficulties I currently have with my FI3's and my backward crossovers, I absolutely adore it. And it's nice as an adult to have something that causes that feeling of anticipation and excitement. It is so easy these days to get dragged down into a humdrum routine - I relish the thrill that skating gives me.

However, usual struggles to deal with this evening!
Backward Crossovers: Did some near the barrier and they felt okay. They are feeling more relaxed and more stable now. Still froze up on the hockey circle though.
FI3's: Another pain in the bum. We were given another tip by a different coach today - instead of trying to turn the top of your body and then letting your feet catch up, she was recommending that we try actually pushing the free foot behind us to initiate the turn. I can see how it might work, but haven't got it to work yet. The problem with these I find at the moment is that I am trying to remember all the tiny things that I have been told, and I just can't do them all at once! I will just have to keep on practicing them religiously.
Continuous Curves: These are feeling really nice now. I think when I had some level of skiddiness before and I was blaming it on blunt blades, I was wrong. I just think I wasn't over my outside edge enough - now it feels much better.
Change of Edge - Outside to Inside: Although I am more coordinated with these now this week, the change isn't happening as well as it was last week. Almost started doing swimming movements to try and get myself onto the inside edge! They got better though.

After the lesson, Stacey and her fiance picked me up and we went off down to the Littlest Rink, where joy of joys, they have fixed the Zamboni. And i have to say - the ice was magic! Never thought I would say that about this particular rink but there you go. The other bonus was that there was only about six people there beside Stace and I. For the last half hour, there was only three! I went through a few bits with Stacey, including one foot glides on the straight and on edges, forward chasse's and the start of forward crossovers. It was very encouraging for myself actually - I love doing FXO's CCW, but CW always have worried me a bit. However, as I had to demonstrate them in both directions, I found out they actually feel fairly comfortable so I was happy about that.

For myself, I redid everything we did in the lessons - and I had a little tiny success with the backward crossovers. I started doing them by gradually edging away little by little from the barrier and got up to about two metres away from it. And then I managed one in the middle of the rink! And it felt good!!! It was just the one, as shortly afterwards I nearly lost my balance just standing there (I obviously can't take the excitement!), but it was one stable, backward crossover! Well, I was pleased anyway. Next time I will make myself do at least two. And then three, and so on.

Tomorrow is the Bracknell Adult Opens - good luck to everyone who is participating. My coach reckons I could be doing it next year . . . . that's so exciting!!!