Training to Adult Nationals for 1/16/2007

First thing, Happy New Year to everyone!!!

Now... on to the good stuff...

My weight is now somewhere between 120 and 123lbs, which is still normal but I think now is a good time to start increasing my caloric and particularly my protein intake. The goal with my personal trainers this year is to build muscle and I need the carbs for the energy and the protein to repair the muscle. One of my personal trainer is a ballet dancer and I will have him work me more on dance position stuff and just "being aware of my body position so I won't have to rely on the mirror or plexi-glass to check on my body position. This will be a major undertaking for me since I'm definitely weak in this area. The other personal trainer is a figure skater herself and will work more on off ice training and overall strength stuff relevant to skating. (She wants to build up my upper body!!! She thinks my legs are very strong. She's, of course, right!!! I have NO upper body strength to speak off. LOL!!!)

I was training during the holiday "break" (from my real job as a software engineer...) at Peak Performance Fitness Center in Manhattan (where I was initiated in by pushing a 95 lb Prowler and pulled an equally heavy weighted sled...LOL!!!) and at Chelsea Piers with my wonderful NYC ice skating coach, Emanuele. This year in particularly, Emanuele, with his charm, infinite wisdom, patience, creative thought, care, managed to help me strive for a nice low sit spin (not the "adult" one I have but a much lower on that the kids would go "OOOOOOH!!!" about since it's coming from a middle aged lady!) a process to get me to get into a good jump position on pretty much all my jumps and pretty much all but fixed my toe-waltz problem on the toe loop and gave me at least a "barely" toe loop. (It's technically correct, but it's quite a wimpy small jump!!!)

My one accomplishment this week and last week.

Last week, I've managed not only a double run-thru, but a CLEAN double runthru where the only thing that went wrong was that I was a bit sluggish towards the end and I had to end after the music. Otherwise, ALL my elements were there and all my jumps (including the loop and the flip) were cleanly landed. I'll work on the beginning parts that just got changed around, so it will be better the next time around and I will end with the music! LOL!!!

This week (Wednesday, in fact) I managed even the impossible... I actually did a loop-loop IN the program runthru! I managed it under fear of my secondary coach starting the program again if I missed this jump combo. It's scary b/c EVERYONE in that FS session knows that if she ends the music on the first run-thru that I didn't make the jump and she will start over again and repeat this if I don't land that jump again. THAT fear of humilation is scary enough to take action to do all possible to make me land this jump clean!!! LOL!!! (It was also scary enough that I wanted to skip my lesson for this week, in fact!!! But I figured if I skip this week, I will eventually have to face this fear anyway! Better sooner than later, right?) Again, I ended after the music ended, BUT I did land the flip clean again!!! (WOW!!! The flip was a surprise as well! It was not expected from my coaches!!! Just a challenge for myself to see if I could do it.)

I am also playing around with the lutz. They are "flutzes" right now (BOOOOO!!!) but I'm starting to get more clean landings on those too! (I managed 3 clean lutzes at a recent lesson with my primary coach, in fact!!!)

I want to take the opportunity to wish Johnny Weir the best in reclaiming his US Nationals title, Rohene Ward to finally hold it together thru both programs and show us the beautiful skater that I saw at Caberet On Ice both years that he was here in San Francisco for. He's a remarkable and humble young man and I enjoy watching him skate. Last, but CERTAINLY not least, I hope that the people in TV land will finally show Braden Overett on TV, especially his "Pirates" Free Skate Program. I first saw this program at Skate San Francisco 2006 and I've instantly became a fan of his at that moment. It's time for him to get the TV time and the recognition!!! He's EARNED it!!! (Plus I love reading his blog. It's fun reading about the perspective of someone preparing to go to US Nationals -- mental, physical, etc. A lot of it, I can related as a fellow skater also preparing for my own (Adult) Nationals!)