Lunchtime skate

I took a half day at work today, and as I had to be in really early at 08:00 for a patch (not the ice kind, the software kind!) release, I was able to leave at 11:30 and get to the rink for the last hour of the morning session.

Annoyingly, a third of the rink was cordoned off for the usual "Dancing On Ice" coaching that you get this time of year. Only a few celebs - I recognised two out of the three, but I think the one I don't recognise is on standby as he is not on the "official" list . . . (edit: just realised who he is, and no . . . he's not on "The List". But then neither was Clare Buckfield at first!)

What was left of the rink was busy, and the ice was a state - snow everywhere! Managed to get quite a bit done though.

I spent a lot of time working on my MITF FO and FI edges. FI edges are feeling better, and are not "hooking" around quite as much as they were. D now wants me to do all of these starting from standstill, so I am also trying to get more power into the initial pushes - it gets easier once I get going!

I ran through my dances, focussing on the speed of weight transfer and change of edge. I think there was a little improvement. The bit I find most difficult to do cleanly is the two consecutive swings on the Dutch Waltz, but it's good that I am now able to break these dances down much more, rather than just concentrating on remembering the steps!

Last of all, I spent some time on mohawks, 3-turns and some closed chasse's. Mohawks are peeing me off at the moment. I'm trying to get the speed up on my FI mohawks and struggling - but I need to be able to do them faster for the exercise D taught me on Wednesday and also on my MITF FXO/BXO fig 8's to change from front to back. And I still can't get my feet around FO mohawks at all! . . . sigh . . .

3-turns were okay and crossed chasse's are getting better too. They have stopped feeling horribly unstable - on Monday, I want to try and get these happening at a higher speed.

PS. How long does the cough from the Evil Winter Virus take to shift?! It's driving me nuts!! Luckily it never went down onto my chest, but still, so annoying!