Ouch . . . OUCH!!!

I have had my usual three practice sessions since my last lesson but just not been good at updating!!

Lesson this evening though, and since Mrs Redboots kindly let me know what dances will be at Oxford, we are starting to work on those ones intensively. However, Oxford is about a month earlier than last year, thus a month earlier than we bargained on, and I haven't even TRIED the Golden Skaters Waltz on ice yet, so Oxford may not happen - it may just be straight to the British Adult Championships in February. Gulp . . .

Did a few exercises to start with. However, my brain has been in steady decline since the weekend and not too much better today so wasn't one of my best lessons.

Forward and Backward Stroking: Not bad - don't often get to do vanilla backward stroking, and not quite getting my weight over my left foot (right side better). I need to slow it down to get a more powerful push.
Backward Crossrolls: Almost unsupported! Still don't see how this is going to translate to just six up the long axis, but time will get it there, I'm sure! Placing my foot slightly better now and feeling a tad smoother.
Level 2 Mohawk exercise: Done it better - didn't do a good job of maintaining my exit edge today (weight far too far forward on the blade) and left mohawks still pretty horrible comparitively. Did it better in practice afterwards though.
Level 1 Forward & Backward Crossovers in Fig 8: Shaved 10 seconds off this week compared to last week and doing the whole exercise in just over a minute - it used to be about a minute and 30 seconds!!
Rhythm Blues: Starting picking this one to bits. Main points to work on this week is to remember to do a lilting run on the second progressive (I always forget!), make sure my swings push out rather than up the rink and to ensure my progressives place directly in front of my skating foot, rather than next to and then sliding forward. However, I seem to be slightly less reluctant about the cross-behinds (I still don't much like them but was determined to do them today, even down the hilly bit!) and doing this to music, it was perfectly in time which is good! Need to sort out the pattern though as well - overshooting on the first progressive which pushes the whole of the rest of it out.
Forward Spin: First ouch of the evening - first spin and managed to find the only hole within a ten foot radius to get my toepick stuck in. Fell right on my hip. I kind of lost my nerve a bit then, but managed to do one reasonable one with the correct exit in the end! Still not many revs though . . . one problem is that I am still trying to spin on my toes a little, as I did for many, many years! You would have thought I would have unlearned that by now . . .
Pivots: All directions, all feet - hehe, they don't want to happen on my right foot! This is all stuff that she wants to put into my dance intro. Along with a two foot spin from pulling my feet together. With pretty arms and stuff. Actually, the pretty arms made it easier!

I then did a Rhythm Blues to music. As I said, all in time which is good. However, a munchkin pushed backward from the barrier right into my path, made me stumble, he fell over and then decided to grab hold of me pulling me down again and falling on top of him. Right onto the same hip I fell on with my spin! Definitely feeling somewhat bruised now!!

Unlikely to skate this weekend as it is Stacey's hen-weekend, so off to bed now so I can be up at some obscene hour to skate again. In nine hours . . .